UPDATE: Due to some unfortunately delays at the pressing plant the release date has to be postponed to August 18th. Thanks for understanding and your support!
- Completely unissued Electro Funk / Boogie 12” from Germany with GI singer John Dillard
- Recorded in the mid 1980s
- 320 g picture sleeve
- Fully Licenced
- Restored and mastered by Zoey Cairns
- Vinyl Cut by Frederic Stader
Includes unlimited streaming of Breakin’ Out
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Download available in 24-bit/48kHz.
shipping out on or around August 18, 2026
Purchasable with gift card
€14.90EUR
Streaming + Download
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Highscore is one of the newest—and quite sensational—discoveries in funk of the 1980s out of Germany. Two tracks Breakin’ Out and Girls So Fine, both recorded about 40 years ago and shelved ever since, are finally receiving a long-overdue 12" release.
Label founder DJ Scientist tells the story of how the tracks were uncovered:
“Several years ago, while researching the Crea label—after we had already licensed ‘You’re Not The One For Me’ by Peter Patzer—I also wanted to find out more about another band on the label: Nuages, who had released the stunning jazz-funk/fusion album Cumulus.
Interestingly, a Discogs user had uploaded a hand written promo letter from one of the band members along with the LP. In it, drummer Mike Bach mentioned plans for a second album, as well as a single featuring a ‘coloured singer’—which caught my attention. (A note on language: the original letter from 1985 uses the term 'coloured.' We've chosen to quote it directly as a historical document, but want to be clear that this reflects the terminology of the era and not language we would use today.)
Digging deeper, more information was found on Bach’s own website, where a project called ‘High Score’ was mentioned. I immediately got in touch and asked if the recordings from that project still existed. Unfortunately, Bach couldn’t locate any of the material at the time.
Years passed before we reconnected, when we featured ‘Strange Weekend’ by Nuages on our recent yacht rock compilation. I still had the Highscore project in mind and asked again. Once more, Mike had to deny—but he made another effort and reached out to former collaborators. A few weeks later, guitarist and composer Hermann Behrens discovered cassette tapes containing tracks from the Highscore project. I couldn’t wait to hear them…”
To go back a bit: Nuages were a jazz-rock band from Bremerhaven, originally formed by guitarist Joachim “Fussy” Fuß in 1982. The lineup included Mike Bach (drums and percussion), Klaus Hinners (bass), and Frank Fischer (keyboards). In 1984, John Dillard, a U.S. GI stationed in Germany, joined Nuages for several live performances as a soul singer.
Around 1985/1986, Dillard and Bach then teamed up with Hermann Behrens with a new focus on electro funk and disco: Highscore was born.
When the three demo recordings were finally sent to us, they immediately blew us away. Breakin’ Out stood out as an incredible electro-funk boogie gem—exactly what we had been looking for. What’s more, it didn’t sound like a rough demo at all, Breakin Out was a well-arranged and almost perfectly recorded track, driven by fresh, vibrant synths, drum machines and guitar. The cassette mix wasn’t entirely final, but the remaining details could be refined during mastering.
The B-side, Girl So Fine, impressed just as much—equally strong and just as captivating as the A-side. Our reaction was immediate: this had to be released without delay!
Most importantly, there are a few more recordings from Highscore. However, these only exist as multi-track studio reels, which currently cannot be transferred. In the best case, more material from the band may surface soon—hopefully without another long wait.
The 12" release Breakin’ Out / Girl So Fine” comes with a newly designed picture sleeve, featuring an original photo of the band members, including background singer Ruben Hopkins who does not appear on these two recordings.
The vinyl edition is limited to 400 copies.
credits
released June 19, 2026
HIGHSCORE:
John Dillard (Lead Vocals, Keyboards)
Hermann Behrens (Guitar, Bass)
Mike Bach (Keyboards, Drums, Percussion)
Anka Gretner: Backing Vocals (guest) on "Girl So Fine"
Produced by Highscore
Composition and Lyrics by Mike Bach, Hermann Behrens and John Dillard
(Bach / Behrens / Dillard)
Both tracks previously unissued.
Research, reissue production and project coordination by DJ Scientist
Restoration, post-mix and mastering by Zoey Cairns
Love this absolutely couldn’t believe this was not made from the era of the mid 80’s because they got it DOWN!!
Heather Haywood is also so beautiful not just in vocals lol! m4adsd
