Let’s lighten the mood in the room.

When looking for good old-fashioned fun in the 70s, you could, of course, turn to the bubblegum pop from early in the decade, or the sparkly glam rock that followed, but I’m going straight for 1977.

Now, I can see some of the more astute in our little music appreciation group raising their hands, and with good reason. Yes, Jane. Yes, Johnny. 1977 was, indeed, well known for the blossoming of punk and New Wave, two styles not associated with smiley happy funtime. But it’s also the year disco left the clubs and truly began to infiltrate almost everybody’s music in the wake of Saturday Night Fever. Frothy confections abound!

The fame of our guest today, Paul Nicholas, resides primarily on the stages of the West End in London, where he played leading roles in the original UK runs of Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Grease (a British Grease? Prithee, tell me more!). When he briefly left the stage for the studio, Nicholas immediately struck gold with the joyous disco-pop of “Heaven On The 7th Floor” before returning to the spotlight a couple of years later in Cats.

I’m even going to keep the reading workload light this time around — give your brainmeat a rest. Instead, get up on your feet and heed this sage advice from the Brothers Gibb: “You should be dancin’.”