Best Soul Mags

[Lfcjunkie]

got the last in the basement mag this week been a great mag but now finished in this format and wish dave cole all the best in his new venture with what seems to be that it is still gonna be available on the internet as a download {no doubt i will subscribe to it]anyway it's still gonna be sorely missed as it is this has been one of my favourite mags what's yours?

my favourite soul mag of all time so far has to be Voices From The Shadows superb mag from Rod Dearlove covering eveything in soul music deep modern old and new releases reviewed by credible people Jan Barker Dave Cole John Lias Brian Goucher and many others

Shades of Soul from Derek Pearson another cracking mag that featured great write ups on deep stuff from Eddie Hubbard and northern from Bob Hinsley Roger Banks Brian Goucher all tastes catered for

Soul Underground-another goodie from Mark Bicknell covering RnB northern and 70s soul with Pete Thorpe Steve Guironi etc

Love Music Review-from Andrew Love out of warrington another cracking mag

what soul mags compare to these that are on the market today?

what's your fave soul mag of all time or so far?

Dave L

[Roburt]

Suprised Blackbeat / New Blackbeat (Steve G's baby) hasn't gotten a mention.

ALSO back in the day (60's / 70's), nothing touched Blues & Soul for in-depth mainstream (& some not-so mainstream) coverage.

Still love pulling my boxes of B&S out of the loft and 'getting lost' in the content for 4/5 hours at a time.

Manifesto is a quality up-market 'glossy'l

[muckyherbert]

There's That Beat

nothing to touch it IMO

[Pete S]

There's That Beat

nothing to touch it IMO

I agree, best ever. But, don't forget the advantages they have over what we had, when I started Beatin Rhythm in 1988 every label had to be photocopied and stuck on a page and then the text worked around it, we had no computers, just a typewriter and some scissors and pritt!

[Chalky]

Shades Of Soul was the best for me. I've recently been looking through the early SoS and the detail was fantastic for the time.

In recent times In The Basement for across the board soul music and There's The Beat for more Northern orientated.

But like Pete said the resources available far superior these days as is the research available compared to 20/30 years ago.

[Pete S]

Shades Of Soul was the best for me. I've recently been looking through the early SoS and the detail was fantastic for the time.

In recent times In The Basement for across the board soul music and There's The Beat for more Northern orientated.

But like Pete said the resources available far superior these days as is the research available compared to 20/30 years ago.

Yeah it's comparitively easy to put a magazine out now because of the internet, I bet I could have a 40 page magazine out by wednesday if I started it now, all the info is out there, you can get all your record label scans and artist photos off the net, the only thing I'd struggle with is the design - but of course there are templates for that as well. I remember having to buy loads of expensive discography books to enable me to do label listings, of course all that info is now available at the click of a mouse. But you've got to be interested, and I'm not anymore, I take my hat off to the people who've managed to carry on doing it for years and kept their enthusiasm.

[Stevie]

'Shades of Soul' for me too. They also put together some cracking tapes.

'Soul Notes' was a local mag for Penrhyn Old Hall in North Wales which contained a good mix of content. The Old Hall finished at 2.00am but nearly always turned into a niter for those who were lucky enough to be invited back to Bob Shaefers after. Dave Mcadden wrote a great review of this venue in 'Manifesto' which I loved for its irreverent slant on things during its early days.

[Dave Rimmer]

Yeah it's comparitively easy to put a magazine out now because of the internet, I bet I could have a 40 page magazine out by wednesday if I started it now, all the info is out there, you can get all your record label scans and artist photos off the net, the only thing I'd struggle with is the design - but of course there are templates for that as well. I remember having to buy loads of expensive discography books to enable me to do label listings, of course all that info is now available at the click of a mouse. But you've got to be interested, and I'm not anymore, I take my hat off to the people who've managed to carry on doing it for years and kept their enthusiasm.

With Soulful Kinda Music I managed 20 years, 72 issues and 10 Specials, but as Pete says the availablitity of the info at the click of a mouse meant people stopped buying magazines once they had internet access. To be honest I've got far more info on the website than I could have ever included in a magazine in another 20 years.

[Guest Nick Harrison]

Okeh Northern Soul fanzine editored by Glyn Thornhill and not forgetting Modernity by Pete Ferrie which was around in the early 1990's .

[Chalky]

Yeah it's comparitively easy to put a magazine out now because of the internet, I bet I could have a 40 page magazine out by wednesday if I started it now, all the info is out there, you can get all your record label scans and artist photos off the net, the only thing I'd struggle with is the design - but of course there are templates for that as well. I remember having to buy loads of expensive discography books to enable me to do label listings, of course all that info is now available at the click of a mouse. But you've got to be interested, and I'm not anymore, I take my hat off to the people who've managed to carry on doing it for years and kept their enthusiasm.

I don't think it is you that has to be interested Pete it is the customer and to be honest I think there is little interest in a magazine these days. As said it is all there at the click of a mouse.

[Guest Brett F]

I always enjoyed the magazine/fanzine element, nothing better than sitting outside in the summer with one of the aforementioned magazines enjoying a cold drink, got many various ones throughout the years, agreed the internet has made access to so much soul related material, information far easier, all at the at the click of a button, but i'm old school i like to read whilst having a bath, relaxing etc bought my wife a kindle, but you can't beat the book/magazine format for me, easy to carry or take to work, holiday etc. Voices was one of my favourites, but all the magazines mentioned are an excellent read, learned so much from just reading, plus always nice to write a review, i did 'On the Scene' and 'Shades of Soul' some years back, always enjoyed the record reviews, nothing like actually hearing a record, but the journalistic scribes always whetted my appetite. Its a bit like the internet radio related shows, i recall the early 1980's and being fortunate enough to have Richard Searling host a local radio show in Sheffield, it was a religious experience, think i taped just about every show, now i can fall out of bed and hear some rare/northern/modern soul show !, thankfully i think i've the experience to know who i'll enjoy and who i'll avoid, guess it's a little like attending venues you should only (surely!) attend those that appeal to your own musical taste and direction.

Brett

Edited March 18, 2012 by Brett F

[Guest JIM BARRY]

had all the mags since the very early days, started buying blues &soul in 1971, and that remained my favourite of all time, i bought as many back copies as i could including it's forerunner..home of the blues. pete coulsen ran a good mag that i used to contribute to " northern essence" which ran for a couple of years, pete smiths very detailed output on all things british was superb. togetherness was a good glossy mag but for me was mainly advertising its own events, even the charts and top tens were all togetherness connected.

Edited March 18, 2012 by JIM BARRY

[Pete S]

I don't think it is you that has to be interested Pete it is the customer and to be honest I think there is little interest in a magazine these days. As said it is all there at the click of a mouse.

I couldn't not be interested in a subject and write about it Chalky. I'd have to have some enthusiasm.

[Mark B]

Dave McAddens soul time, for wit and one that i had a couple of copies of soul rennaisance think it was Rob pheasent who did it, Soul up North i am with Brett i would rather read a magazine than read of the computer.

mark

[Otis Smith]

A little bit to add, soul time, new soul time, steve 'siz'sale and dave mccadden?, chri savoury mag?, an early blues/soul mag, about 14 editions, from down south somewhere?, that was kindly reprinted for me via the original compiler, and didn't pat brady do one, talk of the north, all my copies , I still have, all in storage. And sadly, shortlived involvement/contribution for a mag, from pete lawson.

[Lfcjunkie]

With Soulful Kinda Music I managed 20 years, 72 issues and 10 Specials, but as Pete says the availablitity of the info at the click of a mouse meant people stopped buying magazines once they had internet access. To be honest I've got far more info on the website than I could have ever included in a magazine in another 20 years.

hi dave do have some soulful kinda music mags and many other mags but to be fair to the mags i have mentioned they did,nt have internet access anything like today in fact voices had a printer that printed them for years Dave Ormerod i think his name was,nothing like todays printing world i know there are many good reads been put out over the years just ain't read them all

dave L

[Lfcjunkie]

Suprised Blackbeat / New Blackbeat (Steve G's baby) hasn't gotten a mention.

ALSO back in the day (60's / 70's), nothing touched Blues & Soul for in-depth mainstream (& some not-so mainstream) coverage.

Still love pulling my boxes of B&S out of the loft and 'getting lost' in the content for 4/5 hours at a time.

Manifesto is a quality up-market 'glossy'l

black beat was real good mag .i have my old blues and soul mags and pull them out occaisionally suprising what you miss sometimes Manifesto has got better if you ask me especially the Rob Moss detroit write ups are fascinating another couple of old mags Soul Cargo can.t remember who ran that and Midnite Express

all the best

dave l

[Soulfinger]

Still love pulling my boxes of B&S out of the loft and 'getting lost' in the content for 4/5 hours at a time.

I was doing this last night and when reading through B&S 210 from October '76 spotted a letter from David J. Cole bemoaning the reversion of B&S to fortnightly publication. In what turned out to be his usual, erudite fashion he went on to encourage no further "enlarging of the "Northern Soul" patronisation - you do have readers south of Watford."

I'll miss In the Basement. I have bought it from issue 13 onwards. Not sure how I missed the early ones. Good luck to Mr Cole in the future.

I know the internet's marvellous and instant and everything, but I like records, books and magazines about soul music better than the electronic equivalents.

[Roburt]

I like records, books and magazines about soul music better than the electronic equivalents.

... Got to agree with you there.

[Dave Moore]

:lol: Edited - It came across as whinge!!

Regards,

Dave

Edited March 19, 2012 by Dave Moore

[Guest dicklincoln72]

Whilst I was a regular B&S and Black Music reader in the 70's and still have hundreds of back numbers I would like to jog a few memories of Hot Buttered Soul a subscription only magazine but great for discography information and record sales.

[Chalky]

I asked Blues and Soul other day if they were join g to get with the times and offer the mag as a download, I like to get my reading on the iPad now, they said they are looking for a company to produce the download version so hopefully that will be available soon.

There is a download/online one called soulm8 which is a good read although basically new soul.

https://www.soulm8online.com/

[Guest allnightandy]

Dave McAddens soul time, for wit and one that i had a couple of copies of soul rennaisance think it was Rob pheasent who did it, Soul up North i am with Brett i would rather read a magazine than read of the computer.

mark

Dave was certainly a character some of his writings were really funny and he didn't give a s*it who he upset or slandered

we used to travel to Wigan together and from about 1975 he had a few magazines out

he also wrote a very scathing piece about one of the Wigan DJ's photo copied it and gave them out in the record room

The way he acquired his typewriters was al;so typical of Dave

He would go to Victoria in Manchester dressed up get in a black cab ,drive to a typewrite hire shop leave cab waiting outside , go in hire a top model electric typewriter under a false name get back in the cab and sod off

After a few magazine issues , he would flog the typewriter then when he started another magazine he would repeat the process at another shop LoL

RIP Dave McCadden