The Love Of 70's Soul..modern...newies

[Barry]

Now we're all au fait with the Bruce Lee Kung Fu moves et al...apologies, that was the only way I could think of opening this sorry thread, but...!

....being a 1964 borne child (8 in '72, 10 in '74 etc) and being the impressionable runt that I was led to believe we all are at that age - through my years of Psychology/Psychiatric Training (Get me?), - just little social sponges.

Would I be right in saying that all us shuffling 70's loving, James Wells, James Fountain, Willi J & Co, ZZ & Co (Don't read too much into my choices, I know what I've done Jay Jay & CoCo [cover up anyone?]) may possibly have been influenced by our love of sharp dressed hustlers, Lalo Schiffrin-esque theme tunes and fly New York Talk?

How else would an impressionable, working class 13 year old English lad (bespectacled also...oh yeah!) in the nightmare that was 'Great Britain' in the 70's be able to draw any kind of line between black America, black American culture, it's politics and all that I didn't know went with that at the time, without the only lifeline I had at my disposal....

...namely, American based TV series with seminal black characters and ace black American based theme tunes?

Shaft (After my brothers love of Tami Lynn, Al Green and all things Motown, this is a very early stick-in-the mind memory for me on my brothers Dansette in our lobby), Mission Impossible, The Green Hornet, Tenafly (James Mack - MWIOF in the lead role), The Rockford Files, Columbo, Starsky & Hutch, Baretta, Magnum PI (Ashford & Simpson, Leslie Uggams etc contained in episodes), I name but a few (cos I'm arseholed).

If you think about it, no wonder we UK children were charmed with the smooth skinned view we were fed of America, an America always twenty years ahead with their housesand decors, their 'not here then' McDonalds, their saketboards...their whatever....everything was light years ahead of anything me and mine had in my hometown of Parr, St Helens in the mid seventies.

I fell in love love with America back then and I didn't really know why...to my inner child, it just looked better, sounded better, I even knew through its mass of coffee and doughnut shops...it smelt better.

Why wouldn't I want to make my life, in some way, a part of this huge and beautiful melting pot?

Possibly by allowing my mind to eternally make a connection to these wonderful and other-worldly, beautiful images of America, mainly it's mysteriously yet always attracive blackness; it's gloriously misjudged underbelly that I had been weened on through our 'ten bob in the back meter' of a colour telly, every time I was blessed to hear 'Ton Of Dynamite' or 'Your Autumn Of Tomorrow' or 'I Love Music'?

I thank this music and this scene, as I thank America and it's Blackness for allowing me to knit together my youth and my adulthood.

One begat the other - I'm not sure which way it was meant to be played out but - thanks to a load of weird UK DJ's - seventies Soul, America, it's written charicatures, it's wonderful underbelly, it's burgers and it's boards all kind of make sense now.

Anyway back to the question:

Was it all Huggy Bears fault?

(Sorry, Its been a while though hasn't it?

[Guest]

Now we're all au fait with the Bruce Lee Kung Fu moves et al...apologies, that was the only way I could think of opening this sorry thread, but...!

....being a 1964 borne child (8 in '72, 10 in '74 etc) and being the impressionable runt that I was led to believe we all are at that age - through my years of Psychology/Psychiatric Training (Get me?), - just little social sponges.

Would I be right in saying that all us shuffling 70's loving, James Wells, James Fountain, Willi J & Co, ZZ & Co (Don't read too much into my choices, I know what I've done Jay Jay & CoCo [cover up anyone?]) may possibly have been influenced by our love of sharp dressed hustlers, Lalo Schiffrin-esque theme tunes and fly New York Talk?

How else would an impressionable, working class 13 year old English lad (bespectacled also...oh yeah!) in the nightmare that was 'Great Britain' in the 70's be able to draw any kind of line between black America, black American culture, it's politics and all that I didn't know went with that at the time, without the only lifeline I had at my disposal....

...namely, American based TV series with seminal black characters and ace black American based theme tunes?

Shaft (After my brothers love of Tami Lynn, Al Green and all things Motown, this is a very early stick-in-the mind memory for me on my brothers Dansette in our lobby), Mission Impossible, The Green Hornet, Tenafly (James Mack - MWIOF in the lead role), The Rockford Files, Columbo, Starsky & Hutch, Baretta, Magnum PI (Ashford & Simpson, Leslie Uggams etc contained in episodes), I name but a few (cos I'm arseholed).

If you think about it, no wonder we UK children were charmed with the smooth skinned view we were fed of America, an America always twenty years ahead with their housesand decors, their 'not here then' McDonalds, their saketboards...their whatever....everything was light years ahead of anything me and mine had in my hometown of Parr, St Helens in the mid seventies.

I fell in love love with America back then and I didn't really know why...to my inner child, it just looked better, sounded better, I even knew through its mass of coffee and doughnut shops...it smelt better.

Why wouldn't I want to make my life, in some way, a part of this huge and beautiful melting pot?

Possibly by allowing my mind to eternally make a connection to these wonderful and other-worldly, beautiful images of America, mainly it's mysteriously yet always attracive blackness; it's gloriously misjudged underbelly that I had been weened on through our 'ten bob in the back meter' of a colour telly, every time I was blessed to hear 'Ton Of Dynamite' or 'Your Autumn Of Tomorrow' or 'I Love Music'?

I thank this music and this scene, as I thank America and it's Blackness for allowing me to knit together my youth and my adulthood.

One begat the other - I'm not sure which way it was meant to be played out but - thanks to a load of weird UK DJ's - seventies Soul, America, it's written charicatures, it's wonderful underbelly, it's burgers and it's boards all kind of make sense now.

Anyway back to the question:

Was it all Huggy Bears fault?

(Sorry, Its been a while though hasn't it?

Yes .

Huggy would have not got into as much trouble with the people as he did , if he had not worn those appalling hats , which invariably drew attention to him .

A respectable flat cap - placed correctly on his head , and not at a jaunty angle like his normal headware was - would have given him an air of normality , and not alerted suspicion from nefarious characters .

Except for the glam rock aspect of it , I quite liked the 70s .......

Malc Burton

[Barry]

Yes .

Huggy would have not got into as much trouble with the people as he did , if he had not worn those appalling hats , which invariably drew attention to him .

A respectable flat cap - placed correctly on his head , and not at a jaunty angle like his normal headware was - would have given him an air of normality , and not alerted suspicion from nefarious characters .

Except for the glam rock aspect of it , I quite liked the 70s .......

Malc Burton

That took a lot out of me Malc, I'm on me alst legs here.

But it, in reality, desereved little more. ha ha

I testify son...I testify.

[Barry]

That took a lot out of me Malc, I'm on me alst legs here.

But it, in reality, desereved little more. ha ha

I testify son...I testify.

That's' 'last' legs.

[Guest]

That's' 'last' legs.

I knew what you meant .

I wish you had been around in the 70s Barrington : we could have had some fun me and thee - a sort of disfunctional Thelma and Louise ......

Malc Burton