Why 60S Newies?
life, love and the 60s newies crowd
Just been pondering life, love and the 60s newies crowd. As you do.
And whilst doing this, I stumbled accross a theory, that I'd like to run past you.
I'm 46. Many Northern Soul fans will have been into 'our' music, almost as long as I have been alive.When I first could the bug, like many, its wasnt a gradual process, it was hook line and sinker from the word go. BAM.
And when I first visited local venues, I would have at home maybe 20-30 singles (Pressings) and maybe a Casino Classics LP. Or the Capitol Soul LP. So in the venues, I'd probably not hear many, if any songs I knew. Even if it was an alldayer. And of course that didnt bother me. I expected it. And I'd marvel at the older people in there, and their knowledge of the artist, label, where it was played etc.
Now I'd been into soul for about 7 or 8 years by the time Stafford started. Before then the only niters I'd gone to regularly was Yate, One at Swanage, Hinckley and Leicester.
At Hinckley and to a lesser extent, Leicester, I guess I'd be snookered behind the 8 ball when it came to knowing old tracks. I might have grown more knowledgeable, but while I might know that Terrible Tom was a Torch sound, I had no hope of experiencing that. And while I loved oldies, the taster I'd been given at Yate by guys like Dave Thorley and Ian Clark meant that Stafford was to be my favourite home. I wonder if this is because of the following reason.
We all started on the same page. It didnt matter if you were in the in crowd at Wigan, or if you'd been a regular at the Flamingo.When Keb, Guy, Pat, Dave, Richard etc played a first time out sound, 90% of the guys in the room had never heard it before. We were all experiencing it at the same time. I didnt have to sit and listen to mates telling me how much better it sounds in the big hall at Wigan, or in the dungeon where the Wheel was held.
So for the first time, in Northern terms, I was as much a part of that songs Northern Soul heritage, as the guys who first danced to the Gems at Wigan. And maybe, that was the first time I felt like I wasnt at a disadvantage compared to many of the guys I was travelling with.
Since then, my taste for soul has erred on hearing new sounds. Not exclusive to oldies. But alongside. And as soon as my enthusiasm starts to wain, I find myself looking for new sounds to hear, rather than old faves like Pookie Hudson for example.
So I'm just wondering, about people the same age as me. Does this make sense, or am I talking more garbage than a fella full of Green and Clears? Also before my time. We had crazy barbs. Much less fun.
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