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2 Of The Most Exciting Semi Known Rarities On The Scene


Paul-s

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Im not out and about much now and its time to move some incredible tunes.... These two are just the bollocks!



SACRED FOUR - Somebody Watching You vg++ (plays) Champ Fuck me this tune is the bollocks, floor filling dirtry soul/gospel/ $%&^ dancewr! £800

JOHN HARRIS & the soul Sayers - Hangin In Kerstan vg+ Plays superb) The BEST new tune on the scene...but not on it cos i dont go out and its so fucking rare!ha! Stunning is an understatement! One copy lives in Norway and i dont know of others (sure theres a couple!) Offers over £1500 SOLD (to a very wise man!)


clip is smple extracts of horrible quality...not off my record!

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Im not out and about much now and its time to move some incredible tunes.... These two are just the bollocks!

SACRED FOUR - Somebody Watching You vg++ (plays) Champ Fuck me this tune is the bollocks, floor filling dirtry soul/gospel/ $%&^ dancewr! £800

JOHN HARRIS & the soul Sayers - Hangin In Kerstan vg+ Plays superb) The BEST new tune on the scene...but not on it cos i dont go out and its so fucking rare!ha! Stunning is an understatement! One copy lives in Norway and i dont know of others (sure theres a couple!) Offers over £1500

clip is smple extracts of horrible quality...not off my record!

Wow that John Harris fingy is the dogs doodahs

DJ

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Germany. Think he was posted there with USA air force.?

Probably the Army rather than the Air Force, but essentially the same. A friend worked on tracking the artist a few years back and almost positively reached a member of the band, but the person denied having anything to do with it. I still believe that this WAS the correct person, but obviously, can't say for certain. If my suspicions are correct, the group, or at least a couple of them, were from the Southeastern US and were stationed in Germany with the US Army when the record was made. I'm kinda surprised more copies never surfaced. I know people have been looking hard for it for at least 5-6 years now.

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Probably the Army rather than the Air Force, but essentially the same. A friend worked on tracking the artist a few years back and almost positively reached a member of the band, but the person denied having anything to do with it. I still believe that this WAS the correct person, but obviously, can't say for certain. If my suspicions are correct, the group, or at least a couple of them, were from the Southeastern US and were stationed in Germany with the US Army when the record was made. I'm kinda surprised more copies never surfaced. I know people have been looking hard for it for at least 5-6 years now.

Great info..cheers! I looked for a while and only know of Marius in Norway who has another copy! Its a very unique record indeed..

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Im not out and about much now and its time to move some incredible tunes.... These two are just the bollocks!

SACRED FOUR - Somebody Watching You vg++ (plays) Champ Fuck me this tune is the bollocks, floor filling dirtry soul/gospel/ $%&^ dancewr! £800

JOHN HARRIS & the soul Sayers - Hangin In Kerstan vg+ Plays superb) The BEST new tune on the scene...but not on it cos i dont go out and its so fucking rare!ha! Stunning is an understatement! One copy lives in Norway and i dont know of others (sure theres a couple!) Offers over £1500

clip is smple extracts of horrible quality...not off my record!

2 Very Tasty Tunes ! ! :Dyes.gif:ohmy:

Edited by mrtag
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  • 1 month later...

John Harris

Here`s the german picture cover.

awesome Ralf, thanks for sharing !

While searching for the label and the people runnning it I came across two more Soul 45s on the label. The Soul Sisters and Mel Jackson. The best thing about the Mel Jackson is the picture cover though. The Soul Sisters were a nice girl group doing cover versions. The former label owner exlained to me that these girls in fact were from the UK and tried to make a living in the 6ts by playing the GI nightclubs in southern west germany.

John Harris & The Soul Sayers were a band consisting of GI`s from the Heidelberg base. They too made a extra buck by playing all the American nightclubs in Southern West Germany. When asked how this record ("Hanging In") came about the former label owner told me that John Harris one day came to him and aksed him to press 250 copies of this record. Because "Hanging In" was the tune that was most well received by their audience they -the band- thought it would make sense to press it up and try to sell the copies at their gigs. After John Harris came to pay for the stock and took it with him the label owner never ever again heard of him. Asked what year that was he told me 64. I doubt this somehow..to me it sounds definitely more like 66/67..

Back then Germans were not allowed in those nightclubs which might explain why all of the so far four known copies were found in the US.

What a great record indeed.

Marc

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Full length clip of the Sacred Four now in refosoul;

Hi Greg

Do you have any background on the band members?

The lead sounds astonishingly like the guy from 'The Blind Boys Of Alabama' who did the theme tune of Tom Waits penned 'Way Down In The Hole' for The Wire on HBO

Thanks

Greg.

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Marc,

great write up. thanks for sharing.

Mel Jackson picture cover rings a bell, think a mate played it to me a long time ago. But I don't recall it as being good, you're sure you're not mixing it up with Marv Williams - Goodbye my love? Because that's a lovely funky track, sadly a bit too fast for the dancefloor IMO.

Kerston Records started in 1965 so 1967 for John Harris makes more sense.

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Marc,

great write up. thanks for sharing.

Mel Jackson picture cover rings a bell, think a mate played it to me a long time ago. But I don't recall it as being good, you're sure you're not mixing it up with Marv Williams - Goodbye my love? Because that's a lovely funky track, sadly a bit too fast for the dancefloor IMO.

Kerston Records started in 1965 so 1967 for John Harris makes more sense.

cheers Benji, appreciated. The Mel Jackson indeed is quite a weak 45. As I said, the best thing about the whole record seems to be the picture cover.

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Marc,

great write up. thanks for sharing.

Mel Jackson picture cover rings a bell, think a mate played it to me a long time ago. But I don't recall it as being good, you're sure you're not mixing it up with Marv Williams - Goodbye my love? Because that's a lovely funky track, sadly a bit too fast for the dancefloor IMO.

Kerston Records started in 1965 so 1967 for John Harris makes more sense.

a shame the kerston numbering system seems to be all over the place...still, their 1966 release by the Strangers carries 60039. So John Harris with 60050 ain`t too far away. Seems we are both right with our estimation 66/67.

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Hi Greg

Do you have any background on the band members?

The lead sounds astonishingly like the guy from 'The Blind Boys Of Alabama' who did the theme tune of Tom Waits penned 'Way Down In The Hole' for The Wire on HBO

Thanks

Greg.

There's some info elsewhere on the 'net.....here it is copied verbatum.

'Functional since 1936, the Sacred Four are among the oldest continuously performing acts in Indiana. After nine 78s, issued on the Bullet label during the 40s and early 50s, Junior Townsend took over the group in 1956. A poorly pressed 45 of "Somebody Watching You" appeared on Champ in 1975, and the group leased the master to James Bennett's J&B label. Its two songs were expanded to eight and issued on 1979's The Lord Will Make A Way. Townsend plays preacher to a choir that includes James Turnbull, Jerry Barnes, and Richard Davis, while bassist Fred Hardy, drummer Paul Carter, and dueling guitarists Wesley Bailey and Jimmy Smith keep the energy in the tent high. Two albums followed on T-Jaye and Shield before the rechristened Junior & the Sacred Four pushed on to the shiny pastures of the CD era.'

I'm not entirely sure what they mean by 'a poorly pressed 45' - whether they mean quantity or actual quality. I'll disagree if it's the quality as the 2 copies I've had of it, including my filed copy, play loud and strong.

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awesome Ralf, thanks for sharing !

While searching for the label and the people runnning it I came across two more Soul 45s on the label. The Soul Sisters and Mel Jackson. The best thing about the Mel Jackson is the picture cover though. The Soul Sisters were a nice girl group doing cover versions. The former label owner exlained to me that these girls in fact were from the UK and tried to make a living in the 6ts by playing the GI nightclubs in southern west germany.

John Harris & The Soul Sayers were a band consisting of GI`s from the Heidelberg base. They too made a extra buck by playing all the American nightclubs in Southern West Germany. When asked how this record ("Hanging In") came about the former label owner told me that John Harris one day came to him and aksed him to press 250 copies of this record. Because "Hanging In" was the tune that was most well received by their audience they -the band- thought it would make sense to press it up and try to sell the copies at their gigs. After John Harris came to pay for the stock and took it with him the label owner never ever again heard of him. Asked what year that was he told me 64. I doubt this somehow..to me it sounds definitely more like 66/67..

Back then Germans were not allowed in those nightclubs which might explain why all of the so far four known copies were found in the US.

What a great record indeed.

Marc

the most common soul 45 in the label in my experience is marv williams and sound unlimited. it's pretty good.

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Im not out and about much now and its time to move some incredible tunes.... These two are just the bollocks!

SACRED FOUR - Somebody Watching You vg++ (plays) Champ Fuck me this tune is the bollocks, floor filling dirtry soul/gospel/ $%&^ dancewr! £800

JOHN HARRIS & the soul Sayers - Hangin In Kerstan vg+ Plays superb) The BEST new tune on the scene...but not on it cos i dont go out and its so fucking rare!ha! Stunning is an understatement! One copy lives in Norway and i dont know of others (sure theres a couple!) Offers over £1500 SOLD (to a very wise man!)

clip is smple extracts of horrible quality...not off my record!

aye up paul

hope you well been a while

agree john harris is a killer and been an alex jones spin for many a year. early nineties i think. one of my fave tunes

take it easy

phil

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Guest sigher the gutter snype

got to say that john harris is the best thing ive heard for such a long long time...incredible

now i just got to get one...yeah yeah i know get in the queue.....

on everybodys ebay search and im trawling the u.s army records as we speak :lol:

brilliant for us funky soul boys.....what a sound.........how much more incredible records are out there

waiting to be discovered..

anyone with a spare please pm me thumbsup.gif

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I'm looking forward to dancing to it out somewhere soon now theres two or three copies in the hands of DJs....great news for the scene with stuff like this being found.

Don`t we just love to keep track with rare records:

Personally I know the names of two lucky UK Soulies who own a copy, one a collector the other a DJ.

Plus the copy Kitch has.

Plus the two copies that gone thru ebay lately which seem to have gone to the UK as well (and cant have gone to one of the two aforementioned collectors/DJ´s as its too short a time since they have been auctioned..)

Plus one copy in Norway

Plus one copy in Germany

Makes it seven copies so far...

Marc

Edited by Marc Forrest
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Don`t we just love to keep track with rare records:

Personally I know the names of two lucky UK Soulies who own a copy, one a collector the other a DJ.

Plus the copy Kitch has.

Plus the two copies that gone thru ebay lately which seem to have gone to the UK as well (and cant have gone to one of the two aforementioned collectors/DJ´s as its too short a time since they have been auctioned..)

Plus one copy in Norway

Plus one copy in Germany

Makes it seven copies so far...

Marc

I know of a UK DJ who's just bought one & it didn't come from ebay ? Could of been from owner of one of the other known copies of course

Edited by SHSDave
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Even better chance of hearing it out then! :yes:hatsoff2.gif

Coming to London soon..................John Harris & The Soul Sayers amonst other top tunes

Alex Jones is the Guest DJ at Solid Hit Soul Friday 15th April :lol:

A night of Underplayed, semi-knowns & current niter tunes in a packed basement .......what more could you want ?

See you there (but we've got 18th Feb with Rob Smith to come first)

Dave :thumbsup:

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I know of a UK DJ who's just bought one & it didn't come from ebay ? Could of been from owner of one of the other known copies of course

hi dave, as you say, may have been one of the other two copies if not from ebay...but just like paul sadot stated so correctly in his very first post in this thread "sure there are more somewhere in collections"...you never know really how many are tucked away and come to light once the price is right, do you ?

so maybe seven plus eventually one now :thumbsup:

Have a great night at SHS with Alex...John Harris will go down a storm I am sure!

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hi dave, as you say, may have been one of the other two copies if not from ebay...but just like paul sadot stated so correctly in his very first post in this thread "sure there are more somewhere in collections"...you never know really how many are tucked away and come to light once the price is right, do you ?

so maybe seven plus eventually one now wink.gif

Have a great night at SHS with Alex...John Harris will go down a storm I am sure!

Hi Marc

Exactly mate, once 1 emerges it can bring others out for the right price.

Thanks I'm sure Alex / John Harris will go down brilliantly at SHS, they'll dance to quality newies/semi knowns the same as to stuff they know :lol:

Always quality guests at Solid Hit :thumbsup::D

All best

Dave

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I wonder whether the John Harris in question is the same as the British band leader/arranger Johnny Harris, who put out the "Movements" Jazz/Funk/Fusion LP on Warner Bros that features the jazz funk stormer 'Stepping Stones' and his version of Light My Fire (which was also the version that Shirley Bassey sang over, incidentally - lush, strings-laden funky version)?

I ask because the white fella on the left in the picture sleeve photo could pass for him and me and Joel reckon the production does sound a little 'British Jazz' and experimental for a soul record - double bass, left field guitar arrangement etc etc?

Anyone? Tony (Smith) - can you shed any light? Gareth?

PS not usually a fan of gospel soul vocals in a club context but the guys on backing and great backing track give Sacred Four an edge for me. Certainly sounds very powerful out loud. Lyrics not too heavily religious either.

Edited by marco
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PS not usually a fan of gospel soul vocals in a club context but the guys on backing and great backing track give Sacred Four an edge for me. Certainly sounds very powerful out loud. Lyrics not too heavily religious either.

yes agree here the lyrics do have a secular meaning but its not to obvious or in your face.

we have to draw the line somewhere or we might as well pack up gouing to soul nights and start attending church.

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Guest sigher the gutter snype

I wonder whether the John Harris in question is the same as the British band leader/arranger Johnny Harris, who put out the "Movements" Jazz/Funk/Fusion LP on Warner Bros that features the jazz funk stormer 'Stepping Stones' and his version of Light My Fire (which was also the version that Shirley Bassey sang over, incidentally - lush, strings-laden funky version)?

I ask because the white fella on the left in the picture sleeve photo could pass for him and me and Joel reckon the production does sound a little 'British Jazz' and experimental for a soul record - double bass, left field guitar arrangement etc etc?

Anyone? Tony (Smith) - can you shed any light? Gareth?

PS not usually a fan of gospel soul vocals in a club context but the guys on backing and great backing track give Sacred Four an edge for me. Certainly sounds very powerful out loud. Lyrics not too heavily religious either.

from what i can see on the german sleeve john harris being the front man would be the guy wearing black...the soul sayers would be the rest of the kats wearing white......thats nornally how it works

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from what i can see on the german sleeve john harris being the front man would be the guy wearing black...the soul sayers would be the rest of the kats wearing white......thats nornally how it works

You're probably right - that's what I thought at first too... just that the more you listen to the record the more it feels like a British 'jazz influenced' production. Probably just coincidence tho...

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I wonder whether the John Harris in question is the same as the British band leader/arranger Johnny Harris, who put out the "Movements" Jazz/Funk/Fusion LP on Warner Bros that features the jazz funk stormer 'Stepping Stones' and his version of Light My Fire (which was also the version that Shirley Bassey sang over, incidentally - lush, strings-laden funky version)?

I ask because the white fella on the left in the picture sleeve photo could pass for him and me and Joel reckon the production does sound a little 'British Jazz' and experimental for a soul record - double bass, left field guitar arrangement etc etc?

Anyone? Tony (Smith) - can you shed any light? Gareth?

PS not usually a fan of gospel soul vocals in a club context but the guys on backing and great backing track give Sacred Four an edge for me. Certainly sounds very powerful out loud. Lyrics not too heavily religious either.

See post #16 for background of John Harris.

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See post #16 for background of John Harris.

Thanks Benji - I suppose I wondered whether Johnny Harris hooked-up with the vocalists (Soul Sayers) - was he posted in Germany too perhaps? But the more I think about it the more unlikely it seems...

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Guest sigher the gutter snype

the u.k johnny harris was to busy frying bigger fish for sure, shirley bassey, his own material, paul anka etc....

as for the production dont think its sounds u.k, just sounds awseome thats all

someone put me out of my mysery and sell me a copy..

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