The Importance Of Melba Moore's The Magic Touch

[Ady Croasdell]

I'm doing my usual trumpet blowing, but can anyone think of a record that has recruited more people to the Northern scene than this one? I'm very much including Europe as I think it had an even bigger impact there.

Feel free to shoot me down in flames but put points objectively rather than subjectively; not each person's individual road to Damascus (not in the Bob Hope series).

Actually Frank Wilson's more influential but was it as pivotal in actually geting people onto the scene?

Ady

[Chalky]

One of my all time favourites and always in my box.

[Pete S]

I'm doing my usual trumpet blowing, but can anyone think of a record that has recruited more people to the Northern scene than this one? I'm very much including Europe as I think it had an even bigger impact there.

Feel free to shoot me down in flames but put points objectively rather than subjectively; not each person's individual road to Damascus (not in the Bob Hope series).

Actually Frank Wilson's more influential but was it as pivotal in actually geting people onto the scene?

Ady

I think there's a lot of records you could say that about Ady. I remember Harold Melvin "Get Out" being played at our youth club and everyone dancing to it, even the planks and the divs. I could probably think of a few more if my missus wasn't looking over my shoulder

[Ady Croasdell]

Great record Pete but isn't that an example of a massive tune? How many of those would say it got them into Northern and they stayed with it; I know quite a few say that about Magic Touch.

[Dennisoul]

A perfect northern soul tune...it's got the lot

[Pete S]

Great record Pete but isn't that an example of a massive tune? How many of those would say it got them into Northern and they stayed with it; I know quite a few say that about Magic Touch.

I'm not doubting that for a minute and I think it's one of THE greatest discoveries ever, but everyone has their own starting record; for me, I think I can safely say, it was (of all things "The Joker") and I know why, because of that relentless, pounding beat which was just not like any of the 'normal' soul records I liked.

[jocko]

Did it come out on any of the early LP's Adriana?

I would say they are the biggest attraction, ever. So many young Europeans as well as not so young UK moddies say that dragged them over into the real deal world.

[Davenpete]

That other bit of tosh you turned up Carla Thomas vies with it probably.

Dx

[Ady Croasdell]

That other bit of tosh you turned up Carla Thomas vies with it probably.

Dx

Good point in terms of quality Dave but was it as influential at its peak?

[Ady Croasdell]

Did it come out on any of the early LP's Adriana?

I would say they are the biggest attraction, ever. So many young Europeans as well as not so young UK moddies say that dragged them over into the real deal world.

Yep Jock, the one called 'The Magic Touch'! LOL

[Steve G]

I'm doing my usual trumpet blowing, but can anyone think of a record that has recruited more people to the Northern scene than this one? I'm very much including Europe as I think it had an even bigger impact there.

Feel free to shoot me down in flames but put points objectively rather than subjectively; not each person's individual road to Damascus (not in the Bob Hope series).

Actually Frank Wilson's more influential but was it as pivotal in actually geting people onto the scene?

Ady

Yes I'd agree, certainly in the post Wigan era. Great discovery.

[Benji]

Did it come out on any of the early LP's Adriana?

I would say they are the biggest attraction, ever. So many young Europeans as well as not so young UK moddies say that dragged them over into the real deal world.

Ady's Kent compilations were the major influence to the german scene. No doubt about that. And, at least over here, Magic Touch was the key record. Though fellow Krautsville members may disagree...

[Marc Forrest]

I'm doing my usual trumpet blowing, but can anyone think of a record that has recruited more people to the Northern scene than this one? I'm very much including Europe as I think it had an even bigger impact there.

Big record, esp. over here between say 1990 - 2000, still will fill any floor. Has it ever recruited one single person though ? I strongly doubt that. Have several individual Kent compilations recruited people ? Definietly yes. As many if not more as did those Soul Supply Lp´s back in the day.

[Guest DaveSwift]

I think it was a significant record as one of the (relatively) few classic sounds to turn up late a bit like some of the unreleased motown like Suspicion or Barabara mcNair Baby A Go Go. These helped the scene keep ticking over.

But i agree with Marc, i doubt whether it did much on it's own to bring people onto the scene.

It's probably things like The Snake or Papa Ooh Mah Mah (whatever the spelling) in the 70s that attract attention of outsiders

Otherwise i think most people gravitated to the scene because it suited the style for original Mods in sixties and later Mod revival.

[Little-stevie]

I will blow some smoke up your rear ADY but with the early kent albums as much more an influence than any one record....

Maybe it was regional, did the Magic touch not have a much bigger impact in the South/London???

A monster of a track indeed but i could say that about quite a few to influence our young bunch of teenage mods back then...

[Ady Croasdell]

Thanks people, I didn't want to overstate it.

Ady

[Tony Smith]

Maybe it was regional, did the Magic touch not have a much bigger impact in the South/London???

It certainly did the business at Stafford and Leicester and anywhere else Keb or Ady was playing it at the time!

[Souljer6]

Slightly off topic but the LP was a high for me; probably the best of the great series. Porgy & The Monarchs etc and the wonderful, wonderful but never really picked up on ( I don't think), He's Barbara's Guy. Wow.

[Pete S]

You're all forgetting the one record that bought more people onto the scene than any other - love it or hate it, it had a massive impact, most people didn't stay but some did and that's the important thing...the record was...

FOOTSEE

[Wiggyflat]

Magic touch had massive exposure on the TV...who can forget the first few bars and The dj with a tache(Hennigan) drawing off a fag on Whistle Test on the BBC....camera to decks..and were off.I have the versions by Triangle and Bobby Fuller Four but you can't beat Melba's.Here it is...these were times with little tv exposure.I can only remember a piece Dahi Behr did and also the sat early evening music show that did the feature wth Remember The feeling/The Champion....so any music show was being watched by a large audience....pre sky/internet.

Edited September 13, 2012 by wiggyflat

[Chalky]

It wasn't even Magic Touch on the decks either . Guy was the Dj but it was Jimmy Wensiora's voice.

Big record most places back then.

[Simsy]

I seem to remember you having the magic touch on your answering machine in the 80's Ade? So anyone phoning you back then would have got an earful!

Great track then and now and as influential still with the nu-rave crowd picking it up as 'Simon Harris' - 'Your Smile'.

[Geeselad]

Magic touch had massive exposure on the TV...who can forget the first few bars and The dj with a tache(Hennigan) drawing off a fag on Whistle Test on the BBC....camera to decks..and were off.I have the versions by Triangle and Bobby Fuller Four but you can't beat Melba's.Here it is...these were times with little tv exposure.I can only remember a piece Dahi Behr did and also the sat early evening music show that did the feature wth Remember The feeling/The Champion....so any music show was being watched by a large audience....pre sky/internet.

Well it certainly helped to get me into the scene via the clip above, As I've said before, within the year I was attending Blackburn my self.

[Guest daz mycroft]

cant remember the djs but the documentry was deffo the whistle test/ narrated buy Andy Kershaw at the blackburn All niter around 86 oh and by the wat best intro of any tune ever imho

[Little-stevie]

whats the guys name @ 1.min 56..... I knew him pretty well but can't recall...

A very pretty and young looking Ronny there too ...

[Wiggyflat]

Remembered the other bit of tv...Hearsay on channel 4 with Shaun Gibbons,Searling,John Vincent and Levine ..Gary Crowley narrates and its footage from Morecambe.Some good footage of dancers and The Champion/You Want To Change Me/ Remember The Feeling all get aired.I'm sure I have it on video.

Edited September 13, 2012 by wiggyflat

[Pete S]

Remembered the other bit of tv...Hearsay on channel 4 with Steve Gibbons,Searling,John Vincent and Levine ..Gary Crowley narrates and its footage from Morecambe.Some good footage of dancers and The Champion/You Want To Change Me/ Remember The Feeling all get aired.I'm sure I have it on video.

All these clips are on that Northern Soul on DVD volume 1 I did - I wonder how many copies of that are in circulation now, must be in the thousands.

[Ady Croasdell]

I liked the one where the bloke danced to Marva Josie 'Don't' Can anyone post that up?

[Peter99]

All these clips are on that Northern Soul on DVD volume 1 I did - I wonder how many copies of that are in circulation now, must be in the thousands.

Pete

I had an Odd Fellows dvd from you I think - but not aware of the one above. I wouldn't mind a copy if you can still do em? Happy to cross yer palm with a bit of dollar!

Let me know buddy.

Peter

[Wiggyflat]

I liked the one where the bloke danced to Marva Josie 'Don't' Can anyone post that up?

What programme was it? Ive got the footage filmed at he Dance Chase Clapham with Keb...i think from memory it was a Sunday morning show called Network seven...it must have propelled Jimmy Soul Clark Sweet Darlin sales up as i went and bought one straight away.That footage isn't on youtube either

[Ady Croasdell]

What programme was it? Ive got the footage filmed at he Dance Chase Clapham with Keb...i think from memory it was a Sunday morning show called Network seven...it must have propelled Jimmy Soul Clark Sweet Darlin sales up as i went and bought one straight away.That footage isn't on youtube either

I think it was a London based magazine type show, quite long about 10 minutes I think

[Pete S]

What programme was it? Ive got the footage filmed at he Dance Chase Clapham with Keb...i think from memory it was a Sunday morning show called Network seven...it must have propelled Jimmy Soul Clark Sweet Darlin sales up as i went and bought one straight away.That footage isn't on youtube either

That was on my dvd as well - the one where a guy is dressed as a postman - it's a fashion spread basically set to Northern

[Tony Smith]

That was on my dvd as well - the one where a guy is dressed as a postman - it's a fashion spread basically set to Northern

It wasn't filmed like that though, I was DJ'ing for Kev Moore that night, they did short interviews with us, then gave Keb some clothes to wear (the penny should've dropped then) . I remember staying up to watch it, after a particular long weekend....was a bit disappointed ce la vie!

[Ian Dewhirst]

I think Ady has a point here. "The Magic Touch" had a massive amount of relevance with many of our European cousins. Dan D who runs the Baltic Soul Weekenders was positively raving about the legacy of the record when he interviewed Melba recently. I think this record exported beautifully to the rest of the world at a key time for traditional Northern Soul. So, yes, a key record in the evolution of the scene without a doubt.

Ian D

[Guest Duncan Ball]

as a scooterist in dursley Gloucestershire this was massive in the 80s but you need to remembers that without us would northern survived?

[Chalky]

as a scooterist in dursley Gloucestershire this was massive in the 80s but you need to remembers that without us would northern survived?

Without doubt yes....there was a lot more that weren't scooterists.

[Dave Rimmer]

as a scooterist in dursley Gloucestershire this was massive in the 80s but you need to remembers that without us would northern survived?

Like Chalky says, without a doubt. There are lots of people around who have never been scooterists, and never wanted to be either.

[Benji]

as a scooterist in dursley Gloucestershire this was massive in the 80s but you need to remembers that without us would northern survived?

at least the german scene wouldn't have survived w/out the scooterists, fact.

[Guest Duncan Ball]

i agree and i didn't mean to offend , sometimes i do feel the ties between the two are some what played down!

[Ady Croasdell]

The scooterists were a very good injection of young life into an ageing scene and were originally very Northern until Oi and the rest got into the playlists. I think the ones who preferred the soul would go to nighters too and boosted the scene, no doubt many recruits came that way including Elaine Constantine who is in the middle of shooting a great film about the scene. Pete Wid used to sell masses of Northern at the runs and woke 'em up to Binky Baker & His Pit Orchestra!

Ady

[Marc Forrest]

at least the german scene wouldn't have survived w/out the scooterists, fact.

I disagree. It definitely would and indeed has survived without it. At least as long as Berlin, Hamburg and other major cities are concerned. May have been different in north-west germany and bavaria though.

[Manfromsoul45s]

I'm doing my usual trumpet blowing, but can anyone think of a record that has recruited more people to the Northern scene than this one? I'm very much including Europe as I think it had an even bigger impact there.

Feel free to shoot me down in flames but put points objectively rather than subjectively; not each person's individual road to Damascus (not in the Bob Hope series).

Actually Frank Wilson's more influential but was it as pivotal in actually geting people onto the scene?

Ady

Still have one of or the original acetate you cut when you first bought this back. Can't remember who i got it from? A perfect allnighter northern record when it was played and still have a soft spot for it. Good call Ady...

Edited September 14, 2012 by hootenannie

[Marc Forrest]

Still have one of or the original acetate you cut when you first bought this back. Can't remember who i got it from? A perfect allnighter northern record when it was played and still have a soft spot for it. Good call Ady...

what was the story behind the acetate JM had up for auction some six/seven or maybe even eight years ago, anyone remember ? It stated sth like "the only original/first whatsoever" acetate of Melba Moore..I understood it was recorded off the orig tapes by Ady and put onto some carvers for friends/DJ`s to play out and promote ?

[Manfromsoul45s]

what was the story behind the acetate JM had up for auction some six/seven or maybe even eight years ago, anyone remember ? It stated sth like "the only original/first whatsoever" acetate of Melba Moore..I understood it was recorded off the orig tapes by Ady and put onto some carvers for friends/DJ`s to play out and promote ?

Not sure mark. Quite a long time ago, i swapped it with someone i think? Brain ain't what it used to be!!

[Gene-r]

The scooterists were a very good injection of young life into an ageing scene and were originally very Northern until Oi and the rest got into the playlists. I think the ones who preferred the soul would go to nighters too and boosted the scene, no doubt many recruits came that way including Elaine Constantine who is in the middle of shooting a great film about the scene. Pete Wid used to sell masses of Northern at the runs and woke 'em up to Binky Baker & His Pit Orchestra!

Ady

Surely you don't mean this, Ady?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fs6fAsJ_U4

Edited September 14, 2012 by Gene-R

[Tony Smith]

what was the story behind the acetate JM had up for auction some six/seven or maybe even eight years ago, anyone remember ? It stated sth like "the only original/first whatsoever" acetate of Melba Moore..I understood it was recorded off the orig tapes by Ady and put onto some carvers for friends/DJ`s to play out and promote ?

There were quite a few of them done for other DJs to play obvs Ady will know more, a friend of mine has "Magic Touch", "I Want A Guarantee", "Love Is Gonna Get You" and few others he got off Keb, Guy had a few as well...

[viphitman]

at least the german scene wouldn't have survived w/out the scooterists, fact.

At it's peak the scooterists certainly made up a big chunk of the ''northern scene'' but mods & a few skinheads had always a soft spot for a little bit of soul. In Hamburg from 79 onwards it was firstly soul & rnb what keept the mods moving but soon garage was the preverred diet of the mods. At allnighers throughout the 80's/90's mods, scooterists, skinheads & herberts made up the punters. Soul was always quite popular in Hamburg but I guess the scooter scene certainly got a lot of people into Northern Soul as well. In the 90's Northern Soul became a stable diet for more and more tradional Skinheads in Germany and also the mods found their way back into soul. At the same time the music policy at many scooter runs went far far away from northern soul ......house, techno, hip hop and a little bit of northern soul & ska was keeping the crowd happy. Now, the scooter scene is pretty small and somehow northern soul crept back into it but you only see a few at allnighters. The rock & roll scene however seems to turn up a little more often nowadays and even some of them enjoy a little bit of modern ;) .... In Hamburg however soul, funk, acid jazz and so on......was always quite popular troughout the 80's/ early 90's with the ''normal'' punters. Especially the mojo club got a few people into soul/northern soul as well. So, would the soul scene survived without the scooter scene ??? Yes, but it would have been a lot smaller !!!!!!!!

..... it was the whole ''Kent Package'' what got many people into northern soul who had no connection to any scene. Nevertheless, the ''Magic Touch'' certainly was a biiiiiiiig tune and always on the menue at allnighters & runs !!!!

Edited September 14, 2012 by viphitman

[Pete S]

There were quite a few of them done for other DJs to play obvs Ady will know more, a friend of mine has "Magic Touch", "I Want A Guarantee", "Love Is Gonna Get You" and few others he got off Keb, Guy had a few as well...

I sold one of "Torture" last year at a ridiculously low price, serves me right for not checking it's history

[Pete S]

Surely you don't mean this, Ady?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fs6fAsJ_U4

Oh God I bought that when it came out, or not long after, I was going through a stage of collecting the Stiff label but most of them turned out to be disappointing with a few exceptions. Binky Baker was Anne Nightingale's husband I think, what a mental record.

[Gene-r]

Oh God I bought that when it came out, or not long after, I was going through a stage of collecting the Stiff label but most of them turned out to be disappointing with a few exceptions. Binky Baker was Anne Nightingale's husband I think, what a mental record.

You're lucky Pete - I've still got mine!