Disco Clone

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Disco Clone is a 1978 disco-song by American singer Cristina, written by Ronald Melrose. It was released as a single on ZE Records after being recorded in May–June 1978 at Blank Tape Studios, produced by John Cale. Cristina has said she viewed the song as a Brechtian pastiche and initially called it “the worst song I have ever heard,” turning it into a satirical take on disco.

The track has a classic four-on-the-floor disco rhythm and a prominent string section with 24 violinists double tracked. Its lyrics joke about men who want to hook up with women who all look the same. The original 12-inch single was limited to 1,500 copies by ZE Records and was soon re-released. Early male vocals were recorded by Tony de Portago but discarded for sounding too foreign; Anthony Haden-Guest contributed English and French versions on the first release. On the re-release, Kevin Kline appeared, and Island Records founder Chris Blackwell mixed the track after Tom Moulton declined to do so because he didn’t want to mock disco. A remix on the re-release was titled The Ballad of Immoral Manufacture, a nod to Brecht’s The Ballad of Immoral Earnings from The Threepenny Opera. The single was not commercially successful. Ronald Melrose later became a Broadway arranger and musical director, working on shows such as Jersey Boys.