Frank Wilson - Do I Love You

[Soulsmith]

Have you noticed how pleased some people are when they tell you that they dont like Frank Wilson - Do I Love?

Not liking it is almost a badge of honour in some quaters.

 

I like it & for want of a better expression I think its actually a bit of a standard bearer for the scence

 

The following poll should sort it out once & for all

[Soulsmith]

All sorted now, so I've locked down the previous thread.

[Guest]

Haven't you got anything to do today Colin?

Personally I can't bear it - and I can't remember a time that I ever did like it. One of the reasons maybe that I feel compelled to act out the words while I'm dancing... and these days once I'm on bended knees I occaisionally need a hand to get back on my feet...

I'm not voting until you put in a "can someone help me up" category

[Guest mel brat]

It's an iconic moment in my personal history. I don't enjoy hearing it now as much as I did 35yrs ago but it will always, for me, define my beginings in the northern scene. Even though it was a oldie by then. Youth clubs, full floors, load clapping, 1974.

Huh? I wasn't aware Frank Wilson was known in 1974!

As an example of the classic Northern Soul style it's a fine record, but the hype and general overkill have long soured it's impact. I wouldn't mind if I didn't hear it again for a long, long time. Besides which it has become a touchstone for those folk who are generally ignorant of the many other equally good records that the Northern scene - past and present - has to offer, let alone Soul music in general.

Surely almost everyone who needs to has heard of it by now, and I'm SO tired of seeing ill-informed articles (not to mention books, plays and TV interviews!) about Northern Soul that can't resist mentioning how much it sold for, rather than a description of it's true merits as a record! This reinforces the notion that the whole UK scene is more excited by rarity (and subsequent monetary value) than quality. Something I frequently have to agree with!

Personally speaking, it's far from being my own favourite Northern tune let alone Soul side, and I doubt it would even register in my top 50 Northern (though that doesn't detract from it's significance as a kind of short-hand guide to the Northern scene for beginners!) But dear God! let's give mentions of Frank Wilson a rest for the sake of our collective sanity!

Edited January 10, 2009 by mel brat

[Soulsmith]

Haven't you got anything to do today Colin?

Ooh, its that loud northern woman again

But in answer to your question - Idle Hands Are The Devils Playground

[Chalky]

Huh? I wasn't aware Frank Wilson was known in 1974!

1978 was when it was first played wasn't it?

[KevH]

Classic.

[Guest inspirations001]

Huh? I wasn't aware Frank Wilson was known in 1974!

As an example of the classic Northern Soul style it's a fine record, but the hype and general overkill have long soured it's impact. I wouldn't mind if I didn't hear it again for a long, long time. Besides which it has become a touchstone for those folk who are generally ignorant of the many other equally good records that the Northern scene - past and present - has to offer, let alone Soul music in general.

Surely almost everyone who needs to has heard of it by now, and I'm SO tired of seeing ill-informed articles (not to mention books, plays and TV interviews!) about Northern Soul that can't resist mentioning how much it sold for, rather than a description of it's true merits as a record! This reinforces the notion that the whole UK scene is more excited by rarity (and subsequent monetary value) than quality. Something I frequently have to agree with!

Personally speaking, it's far from being my own favourite Northern tune let alone Soul side, and I doubt it would even register in my top 50 Northern (though that doesn't detract from it's significance as a kind of short-hand guide to the Northern scene for beginners!) But dear God! let's give mentions of Frank Wilson a rest for the sake of our collective sanity!

well said. it's not the best northern sound ever. it's not even the best record on the motown stable. i think even mr wilson himself got carried away by all the hype. bit like mel britt and carstairs, cracking tunes to many,but soo overplayed. bit of the karen young syndrome methinks.i doubt it would get in my top 100 never mind 50. each to their own but i think it's tatt!

[Ian Parker]

amazing recording...... it may be overplayed and annoying to some but when that 'rim shot' blows your ear drums after the fourth bar (intro) you realise that it was something special. the string arrangement is to die for as well.

I think it is a fantastic record, it will get played at home now and again but if i dont hear it at a soul club i wont be upset. each to their own

[good angel]

Classic.

So is a Ford Anglia,and thats better thought of

Kev

[Chalky]

I doubt it would make my top 500 to be honest. Great as a newie back in the late 70's no doubt but it's tiresome now, so overplayed. If it wasn't for the fact it is so rare and all the hype etc surrounding it I doubt DJ's would give it a second look now.

[Guest inspirations001]

So is a Ford Anglia,and thats better thought of

Kev

at the moment, a ford anglia has more mileage in it too!

[Guest Beeks]

The very reason it's lost its impact is because it has been saturated...god even non soulies know it and Al Wilsons - The Snake usually follows in the same breath to a layman.

It's a great record though...and if it was unearthed today...and everyone was listening to it with fresh ears... it would be as massive as it has been.

[Guest inspirations001]

The very reason it's lost its impact is because it has been saturated...god even non soulies know it and Al Wilsons - The Snake usually follows in the same breath to a layman.

It's a great record though...and if it was unearthed today...and everyone was listening to it with fresh ears... it would be as massive as it has been.

i'll agree to disagree, i take ur point tho about listening to it with fresh ears. better records have gone and failed over the years. also if someone found a box of 2000 nowadays, would it be so cherished? i think the rarity factor has enhanced the story/fairytale somewhat!

[Ted Massey]

its on Radio WM every Friday along with the Snake played by that bloody woman Jennie Wilks

[Dave Fleming]

I think in many case`s people do like it,but don`t

want to hear when they go out to Soul nights/Nighters,i think it`s

the same case with a lot of other classics from back in the day,imho.

Dave f..........

[Guest inspirations001]

its on Radio WM every Friday along with the Snake played by that bloody woman Jennie Wilks

it gets played in my local on a sunday, but i'm not gonna have a nighter there as it's not a northern soul venue! peolpe dance round the handbags to it!

[Soulsmith]

Category 3 on the voting options was "I prefer to sit on the fence, my opinions don't count"....its quite surprising that 3 people have now voted for that option.

[pikeys dog]

I would have voted for "it's a classic record that should only be played out by people who own the original 45" - that way it wouldn't be overplayed.

[Guest Beeks]

Incidentally where was it actually broke?

[Tabs]

Casino

Incidentally where was it actually broke?

[NEV]

For what it's worth i think it was a perfect record for the "Northern soul" scene back in the day .

Same as a lot of records ,that are and have been hammered to death ,not crap but just overplayed to an annoying degree.

Always had and have the belief that dj's should rotate their sets ,and keep things fresh ,maybe put things away for a while ,instead of hammering em to death.

Then again , its more a case of dancers requesting em ,and i suppose as long as people still wanna dance to em.........

The promotors want to keep the place busy ,so it should always be a case of trying to balance things out ,to try and keep everybody happy.

Easier said than done ,but a dj's job is to entertain the crowd and not just be there to satisfy his own ego.

Hark at me

[Guest Matt Male]

Unfortunately i think it's become a symbol for many of the oldies nostalgia soul night scene, where big sounds are played off boots and CDs and obviously aren't originals because the DJs playing them are known to not own them. In other words it has (unfortunately for the record) become synonymous in most people's minds with the playing of boots and CDs. I expect when they say they don't like Frank Wilson they really mean they've had enough of hearing the same 50 sounds played off boots everywhere they go. So you're right, they probably don't hate the record, they just hate the associations it now has. Shame really.

Personally i can take it or leave it, it's never been a big favourite of mine. I'm not going to say i like it on this thread just so i don't look like one of the copycat FW haters. Maybe we need a 'I just don't like it overplayed or not' category?

Edited January 10, 2009 by Matt Male

[Baz Atkinson]

When you think of the fact that there is literally tens of thoushands of records that knock it into next week then whats the fuss.I was at the casino and even in its hey day [the record] was never better than average it would not get in my top 5000 never mind 500

Isnt the case that any scene needs a rallying call and this seems to be it for many people,I honestly also dont think it is a perfect northern soul record I would put MAC STATON , Jesse James,or THE TRANNELS in that category certainly not a record of this quality/

Finally perhaps the rarity adds to its myth but f--k me think of how many proper soul records you could get for the money spend on this slab of shit.

BAZ A

PS WHY DID YOU NOT PUT ON THE POLL DO YOU THINK THE RECORD IS SHITE?

[Supercorsa]

I like it, but as most people have said "over familiarilty breeds contempt". Mind you I couldn't tell you when I last heard it played out .

As for Pikeys mention of only if it was an original, what about all those UK originals? That is a subject that I always find confusing. Why some records it seems to be acceptable to play the UK release, whereby it isn't for others. FW for example.

[Guest Mart B]

Casino

What a record only Northern tune our lass likes ,I heard it broken for the first time at the casino in 1978 when i thought or the tunes along with many others had been discovered .. unbelievable dance floor reaction.Reading previous threads if this tune was discovered at the wheel or torch it would have been probably the best dancing round the handbag tune ever .

[Jaco]

It's beyond my humble comprehension, that people cannot consider this to be anything other than a magnificent piece of Northern Soul music.

It has all the ingredients of a classic northern track - a great intro, thumping rhythm, passable vocals ( in the context of the song ) and a great production. It ticks all the boxes as far as I'm concerned. Add to this, the origins of the track, it's rarity and price and you have something of considerable merit.

But.....

Due to it being significantly over-exposured and massively over-hyped ( and add in the Kev Roberts factor ), the kudos and mystique that should remain with the record, has, for a lot of folk, diminished and the record has lost much of its appeal.

On this basis it would be of no consequence to me if I never heard it again, and I probably could come up with many, many tracks that I would place ahead of this in a favourites list, which from the earlier posts

seems to apply to a few of us.

However, shite, it most certainly isn't

[Guest]

I love it, it's one of my favourite songs. I can understand why people who've lived through it think it's overrated/overplayed etc., but none of that applies to me.

[KevH]

So is a Ford Anglia,and thats better thought of

Kev

you been watching Heartbeat again?

[Steve L]

Loved it in 78 but now I wouldnt care if I never heard it again.

Loads of records piss all over it that never get played

[Guest andyrattigan]

The very reason it's lost its impact is because it has been saturated...god even non soulies know it and Al Wilsons - The Snake usually follows in the same breath to a layman.

It's a great record though...and if it was unearthed today...and everyone was listening to it with fresh ears... it would be as massive as it has been.

First time I heard it it blew me away. I had it on a cd and just played it over and over for weeks. It has been played to death but for a simple reason, its a record that so many people absolutely loved.

There are other tunes that have been hammered to death on the Soul scene that dont attract the same level of derision. I think these records are not known outside the scene though. Frank Wilson is both overplayed within the scene and has now become a popular track to those not involved in the scene. I believe its this added element of having become popular outside the rare soul circuit that leads so many to detest it even more in that the rare soul scene is by nature hostile to mainstream popularity.

[Jem Britttin]

Brilliant record! ....forget the hype and also opinions based on Northern Soul etiquette ,rare or not, just sit down and listen on your own and if you honestly still think that its a crap record in its own right then i am dumbfounded ....overplayed yes of course it is ,but still would be in my favourites list...and i actually could take it or leave it when I first heard it in 1978 at the Fleet, covered as Eddie Foster ...seems to have got better with maturity for me ...of course only my opinion

[Guest]

Brilliant record! ....forget the hype and also opinions based on Northern Soul etiquette ,rare or not, just sit down and listen on your own and if you honestly still think that its a crap record in its own right then i am dumbfounded ....overplayed yes of course it is ,but still would be in my favourites list...and i actually could take it or leave it when I first heard it in 1978 at the Fleet, covered as Eddie Foster ...seems to have got better with maturity for me ...of course only my opinion

" DILY " has now become one of the two records ( the other of course being " The Snay - ak ") , that is most synonymous with the Northern Soul scene .........

It might be through over kill that some people have grown to dislike the record , but I know if they were to be challenged ,

they could not deny the sheer exuberance and drive that the record has - and not sing every word of the lyrics -

Here I am on bended knees

I lay my heart down at your feet

Now do I love you

All you have to do is ask

I'll give until there's nothing left

do I love you

As long as there is life in me

Our happiness is guaranteed

I'll fill your heart with ecstasy, forever darling

Do I love you?

Do I love you?

Do I love you?

Indeed I do Indeed I do

The very thing that I want most

Is just to have and hold you close

Do I love you?

From early morning until late at night

You fill my heart with pure delight

Do I love you?

Now whenever I lay me down to sleep

I pray the Lord your soul to keep

And bring you home safe to me, for ever darling

Do I love you?

Do I love you?

Do I love you?

Indeed I do, sweet darling, indeed I do

Now whenever I lay me down to sleep

I pray the Lord your soul to keep

And bring you home safe to me

for ever darling

Do I love you?

Do I love you?

Do I love you?

Indeed I do, little darling, indeed I do

when it was played to them ........

My standing on " DILY " ? - I like the record ......... and sing along to it when I hear it , without lookings at the lyrics .

Malc Burton

Edited January 11, 2009 by Malc Burton

[Dave]

Category 3 on the voting options was "I prefer to sit on the fence, my opinions don't count"....its quite surprising that 3 people have now voted for that option.

They misread "face" for "fence".

[Dave]

What a record only Northern tune our lass likes ,I heard it broken for the first time at the casino in 1978 when i thought or the tunes along with many others had been discovered .. unbelievable dance floor reaction.Reading previous threads if this tune was discovered at the wheel or torch it would have been probably the best dancing round the handbag tune ever .

Please stay in Notts.

[Guest]

They misread "face" for "fence".

All together now - Monty Python's " Sit On My Face " ........

Malc Burton

[Guest]

Any soucer's like Chris Clark or does this get the order of the boot aswell,you dont wanna' hear Frank everyday dont turn on your radio simple in'it !!

If I was cornered and prodded with a stick , out of the two , I much prefer the CC vocals to that of FW ........

Malc Burton

[Epic]

IMO good record - not great!!

Biggest problem with it these days is that it has become synonymous with the current "badge buying - white label double sider reissue - spencer soul bags & beer towels still look good brigade"

They generally frequent "oldies only - keep the dancefloor full at all costs venues" The night for them is a "total washout - the worse DJs ever - they will never attend the venue" again unless the obligatory Frank Wilson is played!

[Guest posstot]

Huh? I wasn't aware Frank Wilson was known in 1974!

As an example of the classic Northern Soul style it's a fine record, but the hype and general overkill have long soured it's impact. I wouldn't mind if I didn't hear it again for a long, long time. Besides which it has become a touchstone for those folk who are generally ignorant of the many other equally good records that the Northern scene - past and present - has to offer, let alone Soul music in general.

Surely almost everyone who needs to has heard of it by now, and I'm SO tired of seeing ill-informed articles (not to mention books, plays and TV interviews!) about Northern Soul that can't resist mentioning how much it sold for, rather than a description of it's true merits as a record! This reinforces the notion that the whole UK scene is more excited by rarity (and subsequent monetary value) than quality. Something I frequently have to agree with!

Personally speaking, it's far from being my own favourite Northern tune let alone Soul side, and I doubt it would even register in my top 50 Northern (though that doesn't detract from it's significance as a kind of short-hand guide to the Northern scene for beginners!) But dear God! let's give mentions of Frank Wilson a rest for the sake of our collective sanity!

Thanks for getting that off my chest!! .....saves me the procees of thought(which helps) and typing too.(which saves lots of time)

[Jez Jones]

Who was / is responsible for putting this - badly - together ?

When I first heard it many moons ago , I would have been convinced it was pukka , if not for the joining of the two ......

Malc Burton

Exactly Malc . I came across this as an mp3 on t'internet a bit back and its confusing when yer listen to it

It doesn't sound like Chris Clarke--however if this is a relatively recent mix then voice may have matured or whatever.

Certainly been slowed down a bit to take account of age perhaps? haven't got a clue about this. Any 'proud' owners out there ?

If it wasn't bloody Do I love you you might be tempted to view this in a different light----but.............

Edited January 11, 2009 by jez jones

[Guest]

Exactly Malc . I came across this as an mp3 on t'internet a bit back and its confusing when yer listen to it

It doesn't sound like Chris Clarke--however if this is a relatively recent mix then voice may have matured or whatever.

Certainly been slowed down a bit to take account of age perhaps? haven't got a clue about this. Any 'proud' owners out there ?

If it wasn't bloody Do I love you you might be tempted to view this in a different light----but.............

I would be interested to hear the background from FW about CC's version ( if it is CC ) , and how it came to be recorded , and more to the point , why she was selected in preference to other vocalists , given that CC was not a favourite of BG ........

Malc Burton

Edited January 11, 2009 by Malc Burton

[Jez Jones]

I would be interested to hear the background from FW about CC's version ( if it is CC ) , and how it came to be recorded , and more to the point , why she was selected in preference to other vocalists , given that CC was not a favourite of BG ........

Malc Burton

Yeah,sure I read somewhere that his early work at Motown was with Brenda Holloway--so why not her.

Then of course there is 'My sugar Baby'.................... . someone should write a book...

[Jumpinjoan]

Have to say I have never been a fan.

Not a problem though cos I honestly can't remember the last time I heard this record.

Must be going to all the right venues

[Guest inspirations001]

When you think of the fact that there is literally tens of thoushands of records that knock it into next week then whats the fuss.I was at the casino and even in its hey day [the record] was never better than average it would not get in my top 5000 never mind 500

Isnt the case that any scene needs a rallying call and this seems to be it for many people,I honestly also dont think it is a perfect northern soul record I would put MAC STATON , Jesse James,or THE TRANNELS in that category certainly not a record of this quality/

Finally perhaps the rarity adds to its myth but f--k me think of how many proper soul records you could get for the money spend on this slab of shit.

BAZ A

PS WHY DID YOU NOT PUT ON THE POLL DO YOU THINK THE RECORD IS SHITE?

well said that man.there are like you said 1000's of records that won't/don't and should be played.costing from as little as a fiver.anyone can do a proper set of underplayed stuff for about £100/£200 and if you like educate a crowd.f*** me, i know about 1% of the knowledge of some of the guys on here,but i know for sure there are better records out there! it's all about the myth of the record methinks. i'm off now before the mancs come on to taunt me!

[Guest]

Yeah,sure I read somewhere that his early work at Motown was with Brenda Holloway--so why not her.

Then of course there is 'My sugar Baby'.................... . someone should write a book...

It may not be someone on SS that does , as we are not allowed sharp pencils or pens to write with .......

Malc Burton

[Jumpinjoan]

I can't believe there are four people on here who think their opinions don't count!!

Edited January 11, 2009 by jumpinjoan

[Russ Vickers]

I think in many case`s people do like it,but don`t

want to hear when they go out to Soul nights/Nighters,i think it`s

the same case with a lot of other classics from back in the day,imho.

Dave f..........

Russ

[Dave Moore]

For me it's the one rekkid that defined an era. The mid 70s was a great time for me and this 45 sort of encapsulates everything we got up to then as a gang of close mates. Not just the Casino, but travelling around the country with a tape deck, cars with bald tyres and no insurance, (or lights in one instance!), sat in the back of an illegally hired transit van en route to Bedford, the coach trips to Yate, visiting just about every second hand record shop in the NW, buying records that were heard for the first time in your home town, jumping in taxis for badly planned cross Pennine trips to Wakefield Unity.

It'll always be a special record to me. I don't wanna hear it every time i go out and could probably do without listening to it for a few more years but I'll never deny the way it became the backdrop to lots of happy soul shennanigans with a bunch of like minded friends. Happy Days! Hopefully more to come!

So I voted A/1

[Kev Moore]

Have you noticed how pleased some people are when they tell you that they dont like Frank Wilson - Do I Love?

Not liking it is almost a badge of honour in some quaters.

I wish I had one.

Kev

[Guest Carrie Mehome]

Yay I voted!