{{Redirect-distinguish|Phreek|Phreaking|Freq (disambiguation){{!}}Freq|Freek (disambiguation){{!}}Freek|Freak (disambiguation){{!}}Freak}} {{short description|Disco and post-disco musical projects}} {{use mdy dates|date=September 2021}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Class Action<br/>Phreek | image = | caption = | image_size = | origin = [[New York City]], U.S. | genre = {{hlist|[[Garage house]]|[[post-disco]]}} | years_active = 1978–1983 | label = {{hlist|[[Sleeping Bag Records|Sleeping Bag]]|[[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]]}} | website = | current_members = | past_members = *Christine Wiltshire *[[Leroy Burgess]] *[[Patrick Adams (musician)|Patrick Adams]] *Stan Lucas *Ken Mazur }} '''Class Action''' and '''Phreek''' were [[disco]] and [[Boogie|post-disco]] musical projects. The original Phreek comprised Christine Wiltshire, [[Leroy Burgess]], [[Patrick Adams (musician)|Patrick Adams]], Stan Lucas, Ken Mazur and others.<ref>Production notes on Phreek' records issued by Atlantic Records.</ref> Class Action was directed by [[Larry Levan]] and featured Christine Wiltshire as vocalist. Both groups are best known for their club hit "Weekend", written by James Calloway and [[Leroy Burgess]]. The 1983 version was remixed by [[Morales and Munzibai]] and Larry Levan and produced by [[Bob Blank]] and [[Lola Blank]].
==History== The song "Weekend" was originally recorded on [[Atlantic Records]] by [[Patrick Adams (musician)|Patrick Adams]]' studio group Phreek of which Wiltshire was a member.<ref name="Timmy2">{{cite book|first=Tim|last=Lawrence|year=2003|title=Love saves the day: a history of American dance music culture, 1970-1979|url=https://archive.org/details/lovesavesdayhist00lawr|url-access=registration|publisher=Duke University Press, 2003|isbn=0-8223-3198-5|page= [https://archive.org/details/lovesavesdayhist00lawr/page/356 356]}}</ref><ref name="billby">{{cite magazine|date=Feb 5, 1983|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|volume=95|page=51|title=Nightclubbing|issn=0006-2510}}</ref> The song was heavily played by [[Larry Levan]] yet it was commercially unavailable so it did not enter any charts.<ref name="Timmy">{{cite book|first=Tim|last=Lawrence|year=2009|title= Hold on to your dreams: Arthur Russell and the downtown music scene, 1973-1992|url=https://archive.org/details/holdontoyourdrea00lawr|url-access=registration|publisher=Duke University Press, 2009|isbn=978-0-89820-160-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/holdontoyourdrea00lawr/page/226 226]}}</ref> In the early 1980s, William Socolov, the co-owner of [[Sleeping Bag Records]], invited Levan to make a new version of "Weekend". This version, recorded by the studio group Class Action, which also featured Wiltshire, became more successful than the original version, peaking at No. 49 on the British pop chart<ref name="Timmy"/><ref name=UK>{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/20413/class-action/|title=Class Action - full Official Chart History|publisher=[[Official Charts Company]]|accessdate=2011-08-30}}</ref> and No. 9 on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' [[Club Play Singles|Dance chart]].<ref name="VF">{{cite web|title=Class Action Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography|url=https://www.musicvf.com/Class+Action.art|website=Music VF|access-date=27 September 2021}}</ref> The recording gained more success in 1991, when it was sampled on "I Can't Take The Power" by [[Off-Shore (band)|Off-Shore]], which reached the UK top ten.<ref>{{cite web |title=Off-Shore > I Can't Take the Power |url=https://www.whosampled.com/Off-Shore/I-Can%27t-Take-the-Power/ |website=Who Sampled |access-date=8 October 2025}}</ref>
==Discography== ===Phreek=== ;Albums *1978: ''Patrick Adams Presents Phreek'' ([[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]]) ;Singles *1978: "Weekend / "Have a Good Day" ([[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]]) *1978: "Weekend / "May My Love Be with You" ([[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]]) *1983: "Weekend" <small>(original version)</small> ([[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]])
===Class Action=== ;Singles *1983: "Weekend" ([[Sleeping Bag Records|Sleeping Bag]])
===Track listings=== ;Phreek version {| class="toccolours" border=1 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0 style="width: 400px; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; border-collapse: collapse; border: 1px solid #E2E2E2;" |- ! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" | 12" <br/>single | Side A: #"Weekend" (James Calloway, Leroy Burgess) – 8:12 Side B: #"Have a Good Day" (Patrick Adams, Venus Dodson) – 5:44
*'''Mix:''' Issy Sanchez (A), Patrick Adams (B) *'''Producer:''' Leroy Burgess, Patrick Adams |}
;Class Action version {| class="toccolours" border=1 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0 style="width: 400px; margin: 0 0 1em 1em; border-collapse: collapse; border: 1px solid #E2E2E2;" |- ! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" | 12" single | Weekday Side: # "Week End" (Vocal) – 9:38 # "Week End" (Dub) – 8:34 Weekend Side: # "Week End" (Vocal) – 8:21 # "Week End" (Acapella) – 3:03
*'''Mix''': Sergio Munzibai, John Morales (A1, A2, B2), Larry Levan (B1) *'''Written by:''' James Calloway, Leroy Burgess *'''Producer:''' [[Bob Blank]], [[Lola Blank]] |}
===Chart performance=== {| class="wikitable" |- ! rowspan="2"| Year ! rowspan="2"| Title ! rowspan="2"| Label ! colspan="4"| Peak chart positions |- ! width="40"| {{Small|[[Club Play Singles|US Dance]]<br><ref name="VF"/>}} ! width="40"| {{Small|[[UK Singles Chart|UK]]<br><ref name=UK/>}} |- | 1978 | "Weekend" {{Small|(by Phreek)}} | {{Small|Atlantic}} | align=center | ― | align=center | ― |- | 1983 | "Weekend" {{Small|(by Class Action)}} | {{Small|Sleeping Bag}} | align=center | 9 | align=center | 49 |- |}
==Legacy== * The Canadian group [[Killer Bunnies (dance project)|Killer Bunnies]] used the opening lyrics from "Weekend" as the basis for their 1997 single "I Can't Take the Heartbreak", which peaked at No. 36 on ''Billboard's'' Dance Club Songs chart that same year. * The song is featured in the 2006 video game ''[[Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories]]'', on the [[Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories soundtrack#Paradise FM|Paradise FM]] radio station.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Music of GTA: Vice City Stories |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2006/10/26/the-music-of-gta-vice-city-stories|website=[[IGN]]|access-date=27 September 2021|date=26 October 2006}}</ref> * In 1988, the song was covered by [[Todd Terry|Todd Terry Project]]. This version also appeared in the 2004 video game ''[[Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas]]'', on the [[SF-UR]] radio station.<ref name="CMJ">{{cite journal|date=Feb 26, 1983|journal=[[CMJ New Music Monthly]]|volume=29|page=6|title=Nightclubbing|issn=1074-6978}}</ref> * In 2004, Class Action's version was reissued on the [[Warlock Records|Warlock]] record label.
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{Discogs artist}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:American boogie musicians]] [[Category:American disco groups]] [[Category:American post-disco music groups]] [[Category:Musical groups established in 1978]] [[Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1983]] [[Category:1978 establishments in New York City]] [[Category:Atlantic Records artists]] [[Category:Sleeping Bag Records artists]]