Back in 1979, a full two decades after Diana Ross has started out on her path to stardom, Rolling Stone reviewer Stephen Holden wrote of the release of her new solo album: “After the meticulous but anemic [sic] Baby It's Me and the careless patchwork of Ross, I'd just about given up on Diana Ross' recording career, figuring that from here on, it'd only be an adjunct to her movie stardom”.   Enter The Boss, an uninhibited tour de force, led ultimately by its wonderfully uplifting title track.

Written and produced by long-time Ross collaborators Ashford & Simpson, ‘The Boss’ didn’t reach the dizzy commercial heights of some of her previous singles. It was, however, a success, and – perhaps more importantly – a brave record for Ross, representing as it did the album’s only proper disco cut at a time when the genre couldn’t have been viewed more dimly by a at least a healthy proportion of her fanbase.



From its relatively subdued percussive intro, it doesn’t take long for ‘The Boss’ to find its stride, the rich bassline present almost throughout while the brass and string sections dart playfully into the spaces left by Ross’s vocal. Upon its release, there was even a club-friendly 12” version available. In which case, why did Dimitri want to remix the record? 

“The Boss is written by my favourite Disco duo: Ashford & Simpson” says Dimitri. “They penned, for themselves as an act or others like Diana Ross, some of the most beautiful Disco songs, with a unique gospel and inspirational touch.

“Even though there was a proper extended remix available at the time, I felt it wasn't doing the song full justice. Ashford & Simpson did their own live recording of ‘The Boss’ which in my opinion was a much more powerful rendition. Since I heard it, I always wanted to recreate that vibe with the original Diana Ross version. When I finally was able to remix it from the original masters, it was like a dream come true.”  

The last track on CD1 of Dimtri From Paris In The House Of Disco, Dimitri’s remix of ‘The Boss’ is an appropriate finale for this sublime mix of neo vintage disco. 

Dimitri From Paris In The House of Disco is out now - order on iTunes and Amazon

Dimitri is resident for Glitterbox at Booom Ibiza every Saturday throughout the season - click for full event listings