Soul Source 2009 Awards

[Jaco]

Greetings to you all from a wintery Bolton!

I did this last year and on the basis that nobody seemed to violently object to it then, here we go again.....

First off I'd like to say that it was a strange year in some respects - the scene appears to be as healthy as ever for the major events - Burnely, Lifeline, 100 Club etc but perhaps the proliferation of small local events is putting some strain on the paying punter to keep such events going, particularly in light of the continued economic strife.

The music continues to inspire the DJ's who are out there attempting to keep the ethos of playing original uptempo (in the main) 60's rare or underplayed sounds but there continues to be, what appears to be, an ever widening gap between this movement and the oldies (in the main) only crowd which on the big stage ie Blackpool continues to pack them in.

And so the debate goes on as to which type of music scene can drive the Northern scene on into the next decade. Maybe both, maybe neither - only time will tell. It's all interesting stuff nonetheless.

From a personal perspective I've never heard as many quality tracks as I've heard this year, courtesy of the breadth and depth of music available via Refosoul and Bob's weekly radio show from Chicago - it's truely mind boggling what sounds people have in their collections that we have available to us to listen to at the click of a mouse. More power to the internet.

Anyway down to business.

Soul Source got a new (unelected) headmaster when Chorleysoul announced himself in grand style across the various forums, lecturing us in all manner of subjects ranging from Michael Jackson's funeral to the cultural influence of Black American music and how it was stolen by those pesky white boys in the UK and the war in Afghanistan amongst many others. His style of posting was suggested to be patronising and condescending but his INTERMITTENT USE OF capital letters WAS ANNOYING to say the LEAST .

But to be fair to Chorleysoul he stuck to his principles, argued his corner in elequent fashion and seemed to ease down on the somewhat superior tone as the year progressed - gosh, I even look forward to his posts now.

SPAT OF THE YEAR

Nothing came close to the Levine/Trouble punch up from 2008 though it continued to rumble on in the early part of 2009.

Just when it seemed to have finally run out of legs Trouble steamed back in with his Manifesto editorial rant which kicked it off all over again.

Trouble also gave Ian Dewhirst a verbal bashing over the Tim Brown sales issue and Beeks had a bit of a ruck with a few over his R & B cover up but nothing came close, in my opinion, to the considerable perplexity caused by Nordic Soul's opinions on race, multiculturalism etc on the "Political Parties With Extreme Racial Views" over in Freebasing - 7188 views and 623 posts made mostly by Nordic Soul and those that vehemently opposed his opinions which I admit did not sit too easily with me and many others.

EVENT OF THE YEAR

So not a musical event as such but two events probably dominated the year, one unconnected in real terms to the rare soul scene, the other, for some, representing the scene in it's very essence.

Firstly the death of Michael Jackson was probably THE global happening of the year and whilst there was some debate on here about his musical contribution, lifestyle etc it was probably something that we observed from a distance.

The second event was the sale of Kenny Burrell's copy of "Do I love you" for £27k which certainly was the biggest Northern Soul happening of 2009 even if the record completely polarises opinion. For some the interst remaind acute until the bidding ended, (possibly somewhat short of what was expected) whilst for others it was just one big yawn about an over-hyped and overplayed track.Some national press coverage propelled it into the mainstream and we may never see such dizzy heights in terms of money for a Northern record ever achieved again

THREAD OF THE YEAR

An early thread from Trouble - "Twisted Oldies" was enthusiastically received and "Northern Soul Snobs" caused a stir as did Kens' "Deep Funk and N/Soul". Considerable angst was portrayed in the "Souled Out Film" thread but a favourite of mine was the "Greatest Record Finds of All Time" thread

which has ultimately led to a late shout for the "Who Discovered What" thread which gets my vote because it always been one of the things that has intrigued me over the years, particularly for those sounds discovered after the Wigan era, but in a lot of ways also relevant for those classic sounds of the early 70's when they were being discovered by the bucket load.

DEBACLE OF THE YEAR

Only one winner, for which there were no winners at all, the Little Anthony gig fiasco. A salutory lesson for those with promoter aspirations. Enough said.

POST OF THE YEAR

There were many humorous posts within the main forums that caught the eye. The wit and humour of the likes of Godzilla (especially in the Picture Quiz threads), Modernsoulsucks, SteveM and Theresa in particular continued at full tilt throughout the year but the award goes to a beauty from Mark S on 19 August in the "6 Million People Can't Be Wrong" thread :

"James mate stop being a girl find Levine either fuck him or fight him and get it out of your system lifes far to short"

WEBBYDUBLIN THREAD OF THE YEAR

With so many to choose from this was a real toughy but ultimately I went for the one that epitomises the depth of pyschoanalysis that Webby is attempting to fathom from the SS members:

"Which sock do you put on first when you are getting dressed?"

A real killer that one for sure - so much controversy, so much debate.

Ok so I made that one up but you get my drift, dontcha?

MEDIA POSTER OF THE YEAR

Once again Baz Atkinson continued in a rich vein when it came to Media threads and posts ably assisted by Brett F, Gazman, Kev Cane, Kev Moore, Ken, Okehdokeh, Les F etc etc. The Crossover thread has now been running for nearly 2 years with approaching 7000 posts and nearly 100,000 views. Significant stats have been achieved for the "Sixties Soul Sunday" and "Sweet and Deep" threads - tremendous achievements by all those involved.

MIA

Notable absentees included Winnie, Stuart T, Baz, Dan (perhaps for good?). John Manship posts less frequently these days after some criticism was levelled at him regarding his auctions - a real shame as John is right up there with the doyens of the scene as far as knowledge is concerned.Tony Rounce appears to be on sabbatical, Trevski appears quiet of late, Barry had a self imposed(?) exile during the year but reappeared remarkably lucid and therefore did not qualify for the next award.....

THE SAMUEL K AMPHONG "What the f**k is that all about" AWARD

This goes to DtheDrug whose posting style is immpenetrable due to a complete lack of punctuation, grammar, sense made worse by a jammed CAPS LOCK AND BOLD FONT.

OVERSEAS POSTER OF THE YEAR

Nobody comes close to Bob Abrahams when it comes to our foreign representative - his weekly radio show an absolute must for any discerning soul fan.

OTHER NOTABLES

Pete Smith crashed through the 20,000 post barrier - you always get full value with a Pete Smith post - Paul Kyser and Cecil Washington became members, once again highlighting the power of the internet and Mark Bicknell gave up jocking (I think he mentioned it once) only kidding Mark but sadly notable deaths included Richard Pegue, Ted Jarrett, Johnny Carter and Sunny Munro along with some dearly loved scene members.

So there we go another year of opinions, counter opinions, truths, half-truths, lies, statistics, detail, information - the bedrock of our scene the platform for which is provided to us for free and for which Mike and the moderators at Soul Source are to be thanked wholeheartedly.

Best wishes to all on Soul Source for a splendid Christmas and a prosperous and Soulful New Year.

Mike Jacques (if you were not offended), Ian Levine (if you were)

PS

A final note regarding Imberboys offer of an ear to listen to anybody's troubles at this time. I don't know him and some on here do but that really is a very special offer and one that goes to the very heart of a community of like minded people who are prepared to help out others. Well done to him.

[Cunnie]

Great post Jaco & it brought some great & some not so great memories flooding back for me in what has been one of my most traumatic years away from the Soul scene for both good & bad reasons.

Soul Source eh, Can't live with us - Can't live without us either.

Been a great year for me as a Mod on here & I'm sure the other Mods will say the same & here's to next year.

Merry Christmas everybody.

Mart...

[Guest Matt Male]

Great post Jaco, i was ready to disagree (in soul source fashion) but found i couldn't find fault at all

Happy Christmas everyone and here's to a soulful and funfilled scene and soul source in 2010.

[Ady Croasdell]

Excellent Jaco, a great read and a few memories jogged.

[Ezzie Brown]

nice one . ......could you try awarding a "im overly excited cos im going to a second rate local niter , extended by half an hour cos im djin .in three months countdown post " award please .........not sure what some of these people wud do if something momentous happens to them ..... ......regards ezzie

Edited December 24, 2009 by ezzie brown

[Guest matt tees]

Hi Jaco, What a fantastic thread and well done mate.

[Soulcarp]

great read jaco have a good one regards johno

[Mike]

smile on your face stuff

timing and thread spot on

nice one Jaco:thumbsup:

[Jaco]

Greetings to you all from a wintery Bolton!

I did this last year and on the basis that nobody seemed to violently object to it then, here we go again.....

First off I'd like to say that it was a strange year in some respects - the scene appears to be as healthy as ever for the major events - Burnely, Lifeline, 100 Club etc but perhaps the proliferation of small local events is putting some strain on the paying punter to keep such events going, particularly in light of the continued economic strife.

The music continues to inspire the DJ's who are out there attempting to keep the ethos of playing original uptempo (in the main) 60's rare or underplayed sounds but there continues to be, what appears to be, an ever widening gap between this movement and the oldies (in the main) only crowd which on the big stage ie Blackpool continues to pack them in.

And so the debate goes on as to which type of music scene can drive the Northern scene on into the next decade. Maybe both, maybe neither - only time will tell. It's all interesting stuff nonetheless.

From a personal perspective I've never heard as many quality tracks as I've heard this year, courtesy of the breadth and depth of music available via Refosoul and Bob's weekly radio show from Chicago - it's truely mind boggling what sounds people have in their collections that we have available to us to listen to at the click of a mouse. More power to the internet.

Anyway down to business.

Soul Source got a new (unelected) headmaster when Chorleysoul announced himself in grand style across the various forums, lecturing us in all manner of subjects ranging from Michael Jackson's funeral to the cultural influence of Black American music and how it was stolen by those pesky white boys in the UK and the war in Afghanistan amongst many others. His style of posting was suggested to be patronising and condescending but his INTERMITTENT USE OF capital letters WAS ANNOYING to say the LEAST .

But to be fair to Chorleysoul he stuck to his principles, argued his corner in elequent fashion and seemed to ease down on the somewhat superior tone as the year progressed - gosh, I even look forward to his posts now.

SPAT OF THE YEAR

Nothing came close to the Levine/Trouble punch up from 2008 though it continued to rumble on in the early part of 2009.

Just when it seemed to have finally run out of legs Trouble steamed back in with his Manifesto editorial rant which kicked it off all over again.

Trouble also gave Ian Dewhirst a verbal bashing over the Tim Brown sales issue and Beeks had a bit of a ruck with a few over his R & B cover up but nothing came close, in my opinion, to the considerable perplexity caused by Nordic Soul's opinions on race, multiculturalism etc on the "Political Parties With Extreme Racial Views" over in Freebasing - 7188 views and 623 posts made mostly by Nordic Soul and those that vehemently opposed his opinions which I admit did not sit too easily with me and many others.

EVENT OF THE YEAR

So not a musical event as such but two events probably dominated the year, one unconnected in real terms to the rare soul scene, the other, for some, representing the scene in it's very essence.

Firstly the death of Michael Jackson was probably THE global happening of the year and whilst there was some debate on here about his musical contribution, lifestyle etc it was probably something that we observed from a distance.

The second event was the sale of Kenny Burrell's copy of "Do I love you" for £27k which certainly was the biggest Northern Soul happening of 2009 even if the record completely polarises opinion. For some the interst remaind acute until the bidding ended, (possibly somewhat short of what was expected) whilst for others it was just one big yawn about an over-hyped and overplayed track.Some national press coverage propelled it into the mainstream and we may never see such dizzy heights in terms of money for a Northern record ever achieved again

THREAD OF THE YEAR

An early thread from Trouble - "Twisted Oldies" was enthusiastically received and "Northern Soul Snobs" caused a stir as did Kens' "Deep Funk and N/Soul". Considerable angst was portrayed in the "Souled Out Film" thread but a favourite of mine was the "Greatest Record Finds of All Time" thread

which has ultimately led to a late shout for the "Who Discovered What" thread which gets my vote because it always been one of the things that has intrigued me over the years, particularly for those sounds discovered after the Wigan era, but in a lot of ways also relevant for those classic sounds of the early 70's when they were being discovered by the bucket load.

DEBACLE OF THE YEAR

Only one winner, for which there were no winners at all, the Little Anthony gig fiasco. A salutory lesson for those with promoter aspirations. Enough said.

POST OF THE YEAR

There were many humorous posts within the main forums that caught the eye. The wit and humour of the likes of Godzilla (especially in the Picture Quiz threads), Modernsoulsucks, SteveM and Theresa in particular continued at full tilt throughout the year but the award goes to a beauty from Mark S on 19 August in the "6 Million People Can't Be Wrong" thread :

"James mate stop being a girl find Levine either fuck him or fight him and get it out of your system lifes far to short"

WEBBYDUBLIN THREAD OF THE YEAR

With so many to choose from this was a real toughy but ultimately I went for the one that epitomises the depth of pyschoanalysis that Webby is attempting to fathom from the SS members:

"Which sock do you put on first when you are getting dressed?"

A real killer that one for sure - so much controversy, so much debate.

Ok so I made that one up but you get my drift, dontcha?

MEDIA POSTER OF THE YEAR

Once again Baz Atkinson continued in a rich vein when it came to Media threads and posts ably assisted by Brett F, Gazman, Kev Cane, Kev Moore, Ken, Okehdokeh, Les F etc etc. The Crossover thread has now been running for nearly 2 years with approaching 7000 posts and nearly 100,000 views. Significant stats have been achieved for the "Sixties Soul Sunday" and "Sweet and Deep" threads - tremendous achievements by all those involved.

MIA

Notable absentees included Winnie, Stuart T, Baz, Dan (perhaps for good?). John Manship posts less frequently these days after some criticism was levelled at him regarding his auctions - a real shame as John is right up there with the doyens of the scene as far as knowledge is concerned.Tony Rounce appears to be on sabbatical, Trevski appears quiet of late, Barry had a self imposed(?) exile during the year but reappeared remarkably lucid and therefore did not qualify for the next award.....

THE SAMUEL K AMPHONG "What the f**k is that all about" AWARD

This goes to DtheDrug whose posting style is immpenetrable due to a complete lack of punctuation, grammar, sense made worse by a jammed CAPS LOCK AND BOLD FONT.

OVERSEAS POSTER OF THE YEAR

Nobody comes close to Bob Abrahams when it comes to our foreign representative - his weekly radio show an absolute must for any discerning soul fan.

OTHER NOTABLES

Pete Smith crashed through the 20,000 post barrier - you always get full value with a Pete Smith post - Paul Kyser and Cecil Washington became members, once again highlighting the power of the internet and Mark Bicknell gave up jocking (I think he mentioned it once) only kidding Mark but sadly notable deaths included Richard Pegue, Ted Jarrett, Johnny Carter and Sunny Munro along with some dearly loved scene members.

So there we go another year of opinions, counter opinions, truths, half-truths, lies, statistics, detail, information - the bedrock of our scene the platform for which is provided to us for free and for which Mike and the moderators at Soul Source are to be thanked wholeheartedly.

Best wishes to all on Soul Source for a splendid Christmas and a prosperous and Soulful New Year.

Mike Jacques (if you were not offended), Ian Levine (if you were)

PS

A final note regarding Imberboys offer of an ear to listen to anybody's troubles at this time. I don't know him and some on here do but that really is a very special offer and one that goes to the very heart of a community of like minded people who are prepared to help out others. Well done to him.

I was putting this up at roughly the same time as Pete Smith was posting about Johnny Fingers. Had I seen Pete's thread it would have been featured in a category all of it's own - something along the lines of MOST INSPIRED GESTURE IN TIMES OF HARDSHIP AWARD and would once again have demonstrated just how unique this society, to which we all belong, truely is. First class effort from Pete and all those who have supported John so far.

[Guest Brett F]

Great topic, thanks for the mention.

Brett F