Balearic Breakfast | Episode 273 | Life on Mars (A tribute to Dexter Wansel)
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy broadcast the 273rd episode of Balearic Breakfast on her Mixcloud on June 2nd, 2026.
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
On his Facebook, Fitzroy Anthoney Facey, co-founder and sole owner of the Soul Survivors magazine, posted a heartfelt tribute to the late musical hero that Dexter Wansel was.
He shared, "Only yesterday morning Dexter's name and state of health came up in a conversation I was having with Anna Benton something providential and mos def not coincidental upon seeing the sad news of his passing . As I write this I am listening to Dexter's last album 'The Story Of The Flight Crew To Mars' that he kindly signed for me as well as his four Philly classics. And not that I needed any reminding, listening to it's sonical brilliance and vibrations , it remains consistently full of the wonderful ingredients, that made Dexter's music like Lonnie Liston Smith 'Astral Traveling'.
I interviewed Dexter for the magazine, and was the resident DJ for his Jazz Cafe dates every time he came over since 2020. I got to spend some quality time with Dexter and he was one of the most wonderful human beings I've had the fortune to meet. In my forthcoming single 'She' I wrote some lyrics mentioning Dexter and 'Life On Mars' as an ode. For those who didn't understand or who were disappointed as to why Dexter couldn't do the journey for the Philly gig at Hammersmith in April, his imminent departure from this plane will now make sense.
So I am saddened to hear the sad news but he is no longer suffering, so Rest In Paradise Dexter Wansel. Thanks so much for the music and safe journey to you next 'New Beginning' life cycle. Big love to Dexter's wife Judy, Jean Sarah Carn and all those close to him and who loved him and his music.. Here is an excerpt from our interview in the mag talking about Gamble & Huff's reception of his masterpiece debut album 'Life On Mars'
Me : With no commercial hits in the planning how was the making of that album a totally different concept and how was it received by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff?
Dexter : "I don’t really think they liked it. The whole thing of them signing me as an artist was to keep me in house as a producer, writer and arranger because people were moving on. Baker Harris & Young had left, MFSB and the arrangers like Bobby Martin were moving on and Thom Bell had his own career, you know what I’m saying? I think they wanted someone in house who wasn’t just a songwriter and someone who could arrange and help the other in house producers.
Even though I would experiment with other artists, it wasn’t anything like how I would have done it on my own albums. ‘Life On Mars’ was a culmination of the times I spent with MFSB, Yellow Sunshine and Instant Funk. It was experimental like you mentioned earlier, with me seeing those hundreds of meteor showers in the sky as a kid in Delaware, astronomy became very important to me, and ‘Life On Mars’ gave me a chance to document that.
I’m so grateful to that album because the drum intro from the late Dr Darryl Brown, may he RIP, is one of the foundation beats of hip-hop, and who would have thought that was going to happen? (Dexter laughs) I really loved working on that album ‘Together Once Again’ as it is just me with my 2600 Arp and Darryl Brown playing drums with Terri Wells on vocals. Even though I worked with other artists I couldn’t work my synthesizer the way that I did on those songs with the others."
Of course, for those of us following Colleen, we all know she loved the Maestro a lot, and that her Mentor, the late and great David Mancuso, played Dexter's records during the Loft parties he held over the years (Life on Mars was played, for instance, in 1984 during the last Loft party held at Prince Street and included in the Loft Compilations issued on the Nuphonic record label in 1999).
So it is no surprise that our Captain has made this tribute after Dexter passed to the next realm. Colleen's selections really seem to showcase a "transition", and tracks like JIM's "Love over gold" really fit this heartfelt tribute. Ending the set with the phenomenal "Love T.K.O", Colleen once more demonstrates how much music runs through her entire Soul...
This morning I woke up to the sad news that songwriter, composer, producer, arranger, musician, synth pioneer and musical polymath Dexter Wansel has passed or transitioned to the next realm as I say. Today’s Balearic Breakfast features a one hour tribute may he rest in paradise.
I’ve been a huge fan of Dexter Wansel since I started DJ-ing – anyone who has heard me DJ a lot knows that Life on Mars is one of my favourite favourite dancefloor cuts – and a few years ago, back in February 2020, he joined me on my Cosmodelica radio show on Worldwide FM and you can listen back to that show via the link in the comments. I was hoping to do a Classic Album Sundays session with him as he had a lot of shows lined up in London this year but then I saw them get cancelled one by one and never heard back from him and thought something was up. I’m gutted to hear this news. Thankfully we still have his music.
Today’s show also features some new tunes from @dawnagain__ @markbarrott_official @jim_uk15 @jonas.visti @vinniewho @musicfordreams @hellyeahrecordings as well as some psychedelic soul classics. Thanks for listening.
Listen back to the 273rd episode of Balearic Breakfast:
THE PLAYLIST
Dawn Again – Backyard Paradiso (Ambient Mix)
Mark Barrott – Variation 3
Statues – River Darkness
Visti's Vinyl Collective ft Vinnie Who – Up To You
JIM ft Edie Baron – Love Over Gold
Dexter Wansel – Theme from the Planets (Paul Simpson Remix)
Dexter Wansel ft Jean Carn – The Sweetest Pain
Dexter Wansel – New Beginning
Jean Carn – I'm In Love Once Again
Dexter Wansel – First Light of the Morning
Dexter Wansel – Disco Lights
The Jones Girls – Nights Over Egypt
Dexter Wansel ft. The Jones Girls – I'll Never Forget my Favourite Disco
Dexter Wansel – Life on Mars
Yellow Sunshine – Yellow Sunshine
Titanic – Sultana (Danny Krivit Edit)
Arts & Crafts – I've Been Searching (Al Kent Edit)
Mistura Pura – La Llegada (Jazz Dance Fusion Mix)
Dexter Wansel – Voyager
Teddy Pendergrass – Love T.K.O.
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