Mike

Scottish Herald Article - 100 Club 1999 Here's a article ripped from scotlands top broadsheet - the herald A few odd things in it but overall a good outside view, thanks to Frank Murphy for pointing it out Still trying to save soul Twenty years of dancing and forgotten American singles are celebrated this weekend. KEVIN McCARDLE sets the mood There must have been times when the most enduring youth cult ever to have flourished in these isles must have seemed to be on its last legs. Few could have dreamed that it would last this long, including one Adrian Croasdell, the man most responsible for its longevity - indeed, for its current good health and its excellent prospects. But this weekend sees a significant anniversary, as the 100 Club in London's Oxford Street hosts its twentieth anniversary soul all-nighter - 20 years of high kicks and back flips, of Oxford bags and penny loafers, dogtooth checks and rara skirts, of forgotten American 7in singles trading hands for the price of a mid-range BMW. Not that the 100 Club was the first all-nighter venue, not by a long way - nights at the Twisted Wheel in Manchester, the Mecca in Blackpool, and the world-famous Wigan Casino were all flourishing long before Croasdell and fellow enthusiast Randy Cozens spun those rare, searing pieces of Black American pop to an audience of 200 in a basement club in 1979. But what the 100 Club has is staying power - and Croasdell's guiding hand. He became interested in promoting all-night dances because "there was nowhere else to go and hear these records in London", and for someone with no experience of club promotion he's rightly chuffed that 20 years later the club is still going strong. There have been some lean times, however. "In the early to mid-eighties, crowds were very sparse - sometimes only 100 people - and there were times at eight in the morning when everyone had gone and we were playing records just to the bar staff. One time we made £15, and I went with two of the bar staff to the Savoy, and splashed out the £15 on breakfast, looking out over the Thames." That things picked up again is due in no small measure to Croasdell's day job, as the prime mover behind the reissue supremos, Kent records. Kent's series of reissues began in 1981 with For Dancers Only, a compilation of rare, up-tempo dance records (with outre sleevenotes from "Harbro Horace", Croasdell's compiling alter ego) that appealed not just to the die-hard soul fan but caught the fishtail parka of the early eighties Mod revival, a piece of good fortune that allowed Croasdell to keep on compiling LPs of sixties and seventies rarities with the knowledge that an eager audience existed. It's not unusual nowadays to see the rarer of the Kent LP releases on sale at record fairs for £15 or £20 or more - still a bargain when the original 7in singles of the tracks contained therein can change hands for several thousand pounds in some instances. As Kent's reissues percolated their way into the hands of a new generation of fans, the Northern and sixties soul scenes have undergone something of a rejuvenation: Croasdell says that there are 10,000 members on the books for the 100 Club's nights, with members as far afield as the antipodes and back again. For this weekend's anniversary, one woman will be travelling from Australia, other revellers will be coming from Germany and France, the Scots will number in their dozens. What draws them may be hard to explain but is not hard to fathom: Black American music of the sixties and seventies came so close to perfection at times that it inspires nothing short of awe-filled reverence. And to be in the company of several hundred dancers united in a common love of this terribly overlooked music is something close to heaven. For those for whom a mere all-nighter is not enough, Croasdell also organises soul weekenders at a holiday camp near Cleethorpes, where 1000 fans enjoy 72 hours of non-stop soul. And there's so much quantity, of so much quality: for every hit by the Supremes or the Temptations or the Impressions, there were a hundred, a thousand records that never got beyond the test-pressing stage and more likely found their way across the Atlantic as ship's ballast than as items for retail - and Croasdell, owner of an estimated 50,000 singles and growing, has no doubt that there are still records waiting to be discovered. "I got a mail order list this morning with at least two dozen records on it I've never heard of." Croasdell collects and compiles these days by label, particular favourites being the polished gems put out by the mighty RCA-Victor organisation (Kent's Rare Collectable and Soulful Vol I is representative of that company's thrilling output), and Atlantic, the cream of whose back catalogue will appear on 25 Kent CDs over the next few years. And for the next 20 years, Ady? "More of the same - so long as I can still stay awake all night." For more information on the next 100 Club all-nighter (October 16) or Cleethorpes weekenders, send an SAE to Flat 9, 61 Riding House Street, London W1P 7PP.- Sept 10

Jimmy Ruffin BBC interview Thanks go to Mel for taking time in getting this sent in The Jimmy Ruffin Interview Part One Born and brought up in Mississippi, Jimmy Ruffin was singing in his local church choir by the age of eight. He had a spell in the army before being signed up by the burgeoning Tamla Motown label in the Sixties and touring with The Supremes and The Temptations. His chart hits include What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted, It's Wonderful To Be Loved By You, I've Passed This Way Before, and - with Martin Ware and Glenn Gregory of Heaven 17 - The Foolish Thing To Do. He moved to London in 1970. His own show on BBC Radio 2 begins on Saturday 10 October. When did you decide you wanted to be a professional singer? I never wanted to be a professional singer. I wasn't ambitious - it was just that I loved singing. My father sang in a gospel group and I would hear him and my older brother and these teenage guys practising at our house when I was seven or eight and I decided I wanted to do that. Then later I heard Mahalia Jackson. We had no electricity in our home so I would hear records at other people's houses and at the local juke joint - a bar where you'd have gospel music on the juke box but also blues, and rhythm and blues. How were you discovered? I used to sing around the house and people could hear me - the windows and doors were always open. Then I joined the military and I was still singing gospel and R&B. When I was about 20 I started singing with a group touring the US service clubs in Europe. At that time I was going to make a career of the army and was about to re-enlist, when the woman who booked the acts said I should turn professional. We had little plastic recorders in the military so that you could send a message back home. I recorded myself playing guitar and singing Sam Cooke's She Was Only Sixteen. I played it back and darn if Ididn't sound better than Sam! We had a guy in our group used to play with a professional outfit called The Spaniards, and he couldn't sing worth a damn -I knew I sang better than him. So I began to think maybe I could do it. I went back to Detroit - my brother David was there - and Mary Wells heard me and she said go down and audition for Motown. Well, I didn't necessarily want to be discovered but I went and sang for Ronnie White of Smokey Robinson and The Miracles. He called in Ray Gordy, the wife of Berry Gordy [founder of Tamla Motown}. She heard me and she called up Berry and he came over. He rushed into the room, I sang and he was beaming and he said, "We'll sign him up and record everything he's got." What was it like getting your first smash hit with What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted? I'd been working for the Ford motor company around the time of the audition and I had a back injury that kept me off work. So I thought I'd use that year to see if I could make it as a singer. The first single, Don't Feel Sorry For Me, did okay. The second - As Long As There's L-O-V-E - was a smash in Detroit. Brokenhearted came out third and that was it. I didn't go back to the motor company, I can tell you that! But the pressure is incredible. A lot of people died from the pressure, including my brother David [singer with the Temptations before going solo]. Suddenly you're moving up in society, going to places you're not really prepared for - beyond your own race, culture and class, your own country. I was pretty well grounded, I'd got a philosophy of life from my grandmother. I'm an observer not a joiner, so I didn't participate in the drugs except in a minor way - I don't like being out of my mind. So I survived. I may not have had as much celebrity as people like Marvin [Gaye] but I'm still here. What was it like taking part in the Motown Review travelling shows, with the likes of The Tempations and The Supremes? Hard work. The only enjoyment was in the performing. There was a lot of learning the business, learning how to perform - Marvin Gaye never thought he was any good. I'd done it in the military so it was okay for me. In the early days with The Temptations you'd go by station wagon with your bags tied on top. There'd be six of us and we'd drive up to Baltimore then on to Washington and New York and Chicago and on and on. I could drive but I said I couldn't - man, I didn't want that responsibility. By the time I toured with the Supremes we'd progressed to going by coach. Well, Mary [Wilson] and Florence [ballard] and I went by coach - Diana [Ross] never took the bus. The problem there was that I was too good. They were headlining but I got the standing ovations - so they took me off the tour. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Jimmy Ruffin Interview - Part Two Who have you been influenced by in your approach to singing? It's less to do with influence than with the kind of singer I admire. I was real big on the opera singer Mario Lanza, for instance, when I was growing up. I like all kinds of singers but especially the big ballad singers Sam Cooke, Bonnie Raitt's dad John - he sang Hey, You With The Stars In Your Eyes - Joel McCrea and Frankie Laine. Then there was Mahalia Jackson and a Mississippi group, The Five Brown Boys. Do you still keep up with pop music? Sure I do. I like all kinds of stuff - The Manic Street Preachers, All Saints, Celine Dion, The Fun Lovin' Criminals - I got a big range. Why did you move to London in 1970? I moved because I was very popular in England and I'd benched my record company. I was too aware of the game and sometimes I didn't agree and I would say No so we didn't always see eye to eye. Plus I'm an ex-soldier, trained since the age of 16 to react aggressively in certain situations. In America those situations arise quite often. London is much more laid back. How did your collaborations with the Bee Gees and Heaven 17 come about? And is there anybody you'd like to collaborate with? I met Robin Gibb years ago - a really nice person, he was even more reclusive than I so we got on well. We talked a lot about working together, then suddenly with Saturday Night Fever they became so hot we couldn't work together until 1979. So we made an album, and almost immediately the record company went out of business. Then in 1984 I met Martin from Heaven 17 - he was producing a piece I was doing with Paul Weller for the striking miners. Martin asked me to sing a song as a demo - he wanted to give it to a girl in France to record. And I decided to sing it so well he couldn't give it to her, he'd have to give it to me. And that's what I did. There are lots of other people I'd like to work with but the one I'm the biggest fan of - and I think she of me - is Aretha Franklin. How do you feel about having your own radio show? I'm very excited about it. It's easy for me to talk, I enjoy that. Since I was a young person in Mississippi people have been telling me I'd be great on the radio but I did that as a singer first. Now I'm looking forward to being a DJ, creating that sort of character. What were the best and worst decisions in your life? Will you take two best decisions? One was getting out of the army to be a singer - I'd intended to make the army my career. The second was NOT joining The Temptations. They were begging me to join but I wanted to be solo - I'd been used to having my own group, I didn't want to have another one. So then I spent time persuading my brother David that he should join them instead. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Ruffin

Loaded Magazine does Northern soul with a visit to the 100 Club Allnighter just in time for the March 99 Issue ADAPTED FROM LOADED MAGAZINE MARCH 1999 Thanks to Dave Cassidy for sending me this, photo's to follow...... "Keep your Wigan - Northern Soul is alive and well and living in London..." You know something is happening when you get to the club and a man from the Guardian is waiting in the queue. Actually, it happens every five years or so, when the Northern Soul scene is dragged blinking into the spotlight, looking just like its dedicated followers do as they hit the morning streets after another exhilarating night of dancing to the most exclusive and best soul music around. Unlike other scenes, Northern Soul has never been dependent on a popular group or musician-a Soft Cell or a Kevin Rowland-to expose it to a wider world. It stays underground and thrives on a network of utterly dedicated followers. Then, once in a while, the media pokes its head.. around the corner. "It's a cyclical thing," Ady Croasdell explains. Ady is the man behind Kent Records' long-running and excellent compilation series. He is also the driving force behind the 6T's Club, an all-nighter which happens every month at London's 100 Club. He is not at all purist in his approach. "Every five or six years there's a sudden upsurge of interest, which is great," he says. "It brings in new people, maybe younger ones, and the attention it gets reminds the older ones of the brilliant clubs they used to frequent." Northern Soul's roots lie in the mid-'60s, when a major shift in club culture occurred. The mod scene, which had built its appeal on R'n'B music at places like The Scene or the Whiskey A Go Go (now The Wag), had finally died, and London's hip clubs started playing the newer and funkier sounds emanating out of America. Out went Motown and in came James Brown. Up north, clubs such as The Twisted Wheel in Manchester (the first ever all-nighter) ignored the choice of the beautiful people and stuck to the soul tunes they adored so passionately. It was Dave Godin, writing for Blues And Soul magazine, who coined the phrase Northern Soul - noting that, as time progressed, the DJs and club runners were exhibiting a real dislike for mainstream soul music. As far as they were concerned, the more obscure the tune the better. At the time, such small American indie labels as Loma and Thelma could only find limited distribution within the States, thus bestowing a real exclusivity on their releases. So it was that Northern Soul fans would relentlessly hunt down copies. Meanwhile, groups like The Hesitations and singers such as Tommy Hunt became heroes-if not legends. When many of those artists played here, they did so at Northern Soul's most famed club, the Wigan Casino. The Casino exists no more (tragically demolished), but in the early thousands of kids from all over the country went to this small northwest town to dance the night away. Fashion was a major part of the scene. Kids would arrive at the Casino with a change of clothes. Some even took talc, which they sprinkled onto the floor to make it easier to slide across. Flares, tank-tops and sturdy shoes were all part of the look. Admission was cheap but, at the club itself, record dealers would set up stalls where singles would exchange hands for huge sums of money. One seven-inch single -for example Frank Wilson's 'Do I Love you? (Indeed I Do)'-could command a thousand-pound price tag; £200 is a common price these days for a rare slice of soul. And out on the floor, a new style of dancing, graceful, athletic and incredibly compelling to watch, was being developed. Dancers would execute amazing back flips and other exertions while others effortlessly glided across the floor. Drugs played a part in keeping the people awake and on the floor, but it is a subject that all involved are quick to disassociate themselves from now. Unlike the E crowd, drugs - specifically amphetamine - were taken by some but never talked about by others. When Pete McKenna wrote Nightshift, an autobiography about a youth spent in clubs such as the Casino, there was a furore over the claims he made about drug use. "Let's just say I never smelt any marijuana when I went to Wigan," Ady Croasdell tells me. Instead, people tend to focus on the obsessiveness that Northern Soul brings out - a desire to own the rarest records and dance the best dances. "People realise its an authentic scene," says Croasdell, "with its own values and roots. Even if people aren't into the scene, it always gets an awful lot of respect." Even, no doubt, from the Guardian. PAULO HEWITT For details on the next 6T's Club events call 0171 6362622. Of the numerous Northern Soul compilations to choose from. Start with any Kent Records album - there'll always beat least two or three blinding tunes. On the CD front, my current faves are Goldmine's The Cream Of Northern Soul" and Hallmark's accessible Northern Soul Originals. One essential is Dave Godin 's Deep Soul Treasures, while Motown's This is Northern Soul! is well worth investigating too. Specialist shops: · Expansions, Manchester.Tel: 0161 8321364. · Fopp, Glasgow. 01413570774. · Division One, London.01716377734.

Mick Lyons - Manifesto Interview Mick Lyons is about as far from the stereotype soulie as you can get but don't let his image fool you, this is a man who's passionate about music. As a Dj Mick can be heard at most of the top all-nighters and as an MC he's been long active on the rave scene. Add to this his track record as promoter of Blackburn and his involvement in the soul scene since the mid sixties and you soon realise that there's more to this man than meets the eye. Often misunderstood or misquoted we decided to have a chat with Mick and see what makes him tick. The following interview was recorded after Blackbum all-nighterin May of this year, this is what he had to say. I've lived music all my life me, when I was young I worked on the fairgrounds, they used to call it 'The Soul Castle' cause we had all the American import records. Most of the records you'll still hear me playing today we had then and I still remember doing places like the Nottingham Goose Fair where all the black kids would go back in the sixties. M. That's what surprised me about you. Brian Rae was telling me earlier tonight about how he first met you back in the mid sixties. Yeh I remember Brian coming up to me one night and asking 'What was that record'. That was the first time we met, I think it was about 1967, that’s how far back we go. Working on the fairground and in the clubs meant that I have always been surrounded by music. Even as a kid of about 12 or 13, I always had a preference for American music. I listened to the radio stations like Radio Caroline and London and through the night they played loads of American music. Tony the Prince and all that lot. It was crossover but there was some really good powerful stuff played. The first all-nighters I attended were at The Room At The Top in Wigan in late '65 which were on every Saturday night. They'd play a lot of American imports Robert Parker 'Barefootin' and loads of Otis Reading and that kind of stuff. In the middle of the night you'd usually get a live band that did Atlantic and Stax stuff. There was also the Iron Door at Liverpool which was a good club as was the Cavern Club which had all-nighters. Liverpool was a good place for soul in those days because of course it was all coming straight off the ships. A lot of those records that we were into then went under and disappeared, reappearing around '72/3 and helped form the backbone of what became northern soul. At this time I was working as head doorman for Gerry Marshall at the Casino and when the all-nighters started there many of the punters thought they were discovering all these old tunes for the first time not realising they all been massive I remember I used to lock up The Casino last thing at night and me and Gerry Marshall who used to sleep in the place would often sit down and have a drink and a chat. One night he said Mick what do you reckon we should do to get this place happening again. As I'd been watching how the crowd reacted when the Dj's who were on between the bands played soul music I said 'Mr Marshall, I reckon you should go for an all-night license. Thinking back to how popular The Room At The Top was. Soon after that Mike Walker joined the staff and everyone knows the rest. Through my work as a bodyguard and doorman I've gotten to meet so many of the big names in fact practically all the big names of that era with the exception of Elvis Presley. I've seen em all Bo Didley, Chuck Berry, Little Richard and not just once but many times. I saw Bo Didley again in California in 1990 and I've always been influenced by his music, it's really soulful. This is my opinion of soul music, feeling it from the inside and not being superficial and copying anybody else. In other words, it's not the jokes it the way you tell them. In '73 I went to work and live in Germany and they had a good thriving soul scene over there then. I came back in '77/78 and The Casino was still doing nothing for me. It was far too commercialized I've always been a lover of underground clubs. I went to a few things during the late 70's early 80's but nothing really caught me. Then in the mid 80's I started running all-nighters. Through my security job I had access to a lot of venues and so I started opening up some of them after hours for illegal all-night sessions. We'd get around 1/200 hundred in and then Bradford started kicking in and they had it half right over there. Then they lost their license which was a shame because that could have gone on to be really good. I wish I could remember the guy's name i liked the bloke and he had a really knowledge of the music. Over there the northern was upstairs and they'd have Rave going on downstairs and the two mixed really well. I mean I can give tapes of our stuff to mates of mine on the rave scene and they can really get off on it, and vice versa. It just seems that too many people on the soul scene now have forgotten how to enjoy themselves. Their lives revolve around not being good themselves and getting praise for that but having a go at someone else to make them look bad. People's paranoia is their problem, most of the time they're just insecure and can only make themselves look better by making others around . them look worse. Q. Has your work on the rave scene had an effect on how you view northern. When I'm Dj'ing I'll talk at the begining and end of a set but not in the middle because I don't think you can complement the music. When I'm MCing on the rave scene I'll be shouting all over it, it's a way of boosting up the atmosphere. Bul northern doesn't need that, just let the music talk. This fashion of stopping the record and speaking in the gap is just to make it easier for the Dj. There's no point stopping the dancefloor and introducing a new record because if people realise they don't know it they might just use the break as an opportunity to get off the floor. The way I do it is to slip something in and let them think it's user friendly and dance to it even though they might not have heard it before. On the same token if I play two or three of these new tunes and lose the flow I'll see it and bring it back. I've got loads of crowd have come to be entertained. It's not what you've got in your box but what you play in that sixty minutes and how you effect their emotions. It all about taking them on a little journey, touching their heartstrings and helping them leave all their troubles behind. If you can do that then you've succeded. By not interrupting the flow and talking between tracks I'll get to play probably 5 records more than some of the other guys, well over 12 hours that's 60 more records that those people will get to hear which is a hell of a lot of music. As a promoter I like to get the Dj's working as a team, not everyone will do great all the time, but if one doesn't do well it should be the job of the next to pull it back, it's the night what matters. I also think it's wrong to try and plan a spot in advance. I'll get on stage a minute before a spot and my records are everywhere. I'll look at the crowd and see how there reacting to what's being played, if it's working you try and complement that record and continue the journey. If it's not you try and pull them back and take them down another road. But I often won't know I'm going to play next until the previous record's nearly finished. It's like when people come up and ask for requests. If that record fits in with where you're going then fine but if not and it's anti, even though I may have the record I can't take the others off of their little journey, if the majority are happy you're doing your job. M The starnge thing about the northern scene which doesn’t happen on say the club scene, this constant stream of requests which seems to be a tradition. Trouble is most of me time don 't you get the feeling that it's done to impress you with their knowledge or to try and catch you out with things that they know you probably haven't got Yeh, you're right, or they'll come up and ask you what was that record you played 5 records ago! while I'm in the middle of working. They love to be able to go back to there mates and say 'Oh, he hasn't got it'. But like I said earlier it's all about entertaining, you can get the crowd up and then take them higher and higher. Then maybe drop them back down into something a bit moody and mellow, and then back up again. I used to think that many of these big name Dj's could do it but just didn't want to. Now I've realised that in fact a lot of them simply can't do it. Some of my mates from the rave scene will come to all-nighters with me and there baffled by some of the sets that they hear getting played. They simply can't understand why a Dj who has the crowd in the palm of his hand will then drop them by playing something totally the opposite next. I've taken Dj's off at Blackburn when I see them going down badly, it's nothing personal it's just that as a promoter that's your responsibility to give the crowd good quality entertainment. Your not responsible for that Dj's ego. With Blackburn I've tried to take them back while taking them forward if you get what I mean, that’s why you’ll hear some really old and obscure tracks played there along with plenty of new stuff and as on any scene you sort the wheat from the chaff. The middle of the road people will end up going to middle of the road clubs, and the stronger and more open minded crowd will go to the stronger clubs and I think the Blackburn crowd are amongst the latter and that's because they been fed a diet of good quality music. The thing is not many people realise what good records I've actually got and how long I've had them. And if I do play something they don't know they won't ask me what it is. Some of the ordinary punters will but not the Dj's, they'll normally ask Brian Rae, and usually say ask him. I often laugh when reading in some of these soul magazines about the latest big record that so and so is playing because I know that I've been playing for years but then all of a sudden somebody else has 'discovered' it! One such tune is one that's proving very popular at the moment and it's the Pee Wee Montgomery record 'Crazy In Love'. Pee Wee was one of the Iketes and a lot of people think it's Ike and Tina. I remember being in Hyde all-righter one morning and Mark Bicknell and Saus were all there and on comes this record. 'Who's this then?' they start asking. So I said 'That's Johnny Nash. No no, they wouldn't have it, but it was. I remember seeing Gary Spencer at a venue in Carlisle and he'd been playing a cover up of a record that was supposed to be Lou Pride, so I said to this lad to go up and ask him for that Fats Domino record at which point he got a panic on. The point I'm trying to make is that people tend to dismiss what I actually know about the music. At the end of the day soul is something that's inside you and once you know you've got it there all the bullocks that goes around with the scene just bounces off you. I live for music and can't imagine life without it. If I can make people happy by playing them records that I think they'll like then I'm satisfied. If they don't like them I don't need to be told, I'll see it for myself. Some people can never have that, they'll always need to be led. Believe me Mick had plenty more to say that day but sadly this is all we have space for in this issue but we hope that this has helped give you a little insight into what makes Mick tick. ORIGINALLY PRINTED IN MANIFESTO MAG AND REPRINTED BY PERMISSON.

Thanks go out to Mike Lofthouse for this review on the Soul Essence weekender Soul Essence 13 - 9 10 11 April 1999 - The Raynscourt Hotel Great Yarmouth. The Event... The Soul Essence Yarmouth weekender number 13. It is a twice yearly event held in Spring and Autumn with the first one taking place back in April '93 - check out 'Voices From The Shadows' magazine issue no. 20 for a full review of that weekend. The Town ... Gt Yarmouth is one of those typical British seaside resorts that are past their best - the lure of sunnier climes has long since taken the shine off the place and it's also bloody awful to get to from ANYWHERE in the UK - our journey took a good 4.5 hours (only 200 miles or so up the east coast). The Venue..... The hotel - like the resort is a little run down - it would be best described as 'small and homely'. Basically the event takes over the entire hotel from Friday through Sunday - which is great - no 'tourists' (of any kind ) wandering in and out. A tiny dance floor - ample for the shuffling style of dancing that you tend to get at less 'Northern' inclined do's - I'm not sure it is the slower tempo of the records or the geriatric state of the audience! There is a fair sized area partitioned of for the record dealers - Voices From The Shadows, Ian Clarke, Soul Bowl, John Manship and Steve Plumb all had large selections for sale. Record selling was restricted to the dealers until Sunday morning - which I guess is fair, they pay for the privilege. Food and beer is available round the clock (or at least whilst I was awake). The 'Downbeat' lounge ... In addition to the main area there is a 'Downbeat' lounge which as the title suggests features much slower and deep records throughout the day from a number of guests each doing a one hour spot, this goes on throughout the day until about 7 or 8 each night. This lounge is a brilliant idea, although I did not spend as much time in there as I would of liked - football is always a bit of a distraction on a weekend. Saturday afternoon - sat with a pint reading a great Tom Waits interview in the Telegraph whilst listening to Hans 'n' Harry (from Holland) playing the likes of Gloria Lynn's - 'Don't You Pay No Mind' - sheer bliss! It would seem to be something of a tradiition now for Scot Fraser Dunn to end the last downbeat spot of the weekend (on the Saturday night) with an absolutely stunning Gospel track - Tessie Hill - 'Never let a day go by' on ABC , it's awesome! I know Han's and Harry make a note of everyone's playlist and publish them of their web site - I don't think they are up there yet but keep a look out (and check out those already posted)

An extract from Lois Wilson - MOJO Magazine April/May 1999 Sent in by Dave Cassidy, thanks for the contribution mate, appreciated. How To Buy... Every month we navigate the high-water marks, rapids and stagnant ponds of the CD racks, so you don't have to. We continue with... NORTHERN SOUL It was the venerable Blues And Soul pundit, Dave Godin, who coined the term 'Northern Soul' to describe the rare soul sounds that were attracting fanatical crowds to the massive dance clubs in the North of England in the late '60s and early '70s. The key word here is "rare". In those days, DJs and collectors would think nothing of popping over to the US on the off-chance of finding that arcane "read about but never seen gem, or wading through the second-hand racks and parting with chunky bankrolls for a holy grail 7-inch. Thankfully, if you want to get into Northern Soul these days, all it takes is a stroll to your local record shop. The only problem is where to begin when faced with track lists of obscure artists whose songs are duplicated time and time again on a number of discs. Your best bet for a comprehensive introduction and overview is Soul Survivors (Telstar, £18.49), which has become the biggest-selling album to document the scene. Compiled by Wigan Casino DJ Russ Winstanley, it includes Tobi Legend's Time Will Pass You By, Jimmy Radcliffe's Long After Tonight Is All Over and Dean Parrish's I'm On My Way, collectively known as the "three before eight" - the last three songs to be played before the 8am wind-down at the Casino each week. It also features Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) by Frank Wilson, one of the rarest and most-prized Northern Soul singles (fetching around £5,000 for an original promo copy), and, for me, the genre's definitive classic, R. Dean Taylor's There's A Ghost In My House. Other, more famous luminaries, like Jackie Wilson, Barbara Acklin, Dobie Gray and Little Anthony And The Imperials, are also on board. Soul Survivors Volume 2 (Telstar, £18.49) has a more mainstream selection that includes Booker T. And The MG's Green Onions and La belle's Lady Marmalade but also the must-have original of Tainted Love by Gloria Jones, Mary Love's You Turned My Bitter Into Sweet and Beverly Ann's insightful You Got Your Mind On Other Things. You'll also find here The Just Brothers' Sliced Tomatoes, which formed the basis for Fatboy Slim's Rockafeller Skank. Dancing 'Til Dawn (Kent £14.99), compiled by Ady Croasdell (Harboro Horace), would cause mayhem on the dancefloor with its 25 non-stop frenetic dancers, including The Shirelles' Last Minute Miracle, Sandy Waddy's Everything Is Everything and Judy Clay's You Busted My Mind. Another essential CD, also compiled by Ady, is For Dancers Forever (Kent. £14.99). which combines the cream from the first two LPs released on reissue label Kent plus new findings and overlooked gems, among them Lowell Fulson's humorous R&B groover My Aching Back and Yvonne Baker's sugar coated My Baby Needs Me. Floorfillers! (Global, £16.99), is a fine compilation containing 45 classic tracks that span the scene from its early Motown obsession through to its later crossover leanings If you're on a tight budget but still want more of that four-to-the-floor, check out Cooler Shakers! (Music Club, £6.99). Get past the dreadful pun and there are timeless classics, like The Wrong Girl by The Showmen featuring Norman Johnson before he, became a General and Chairman Of The Board), I'm A Fool I Must Love You by The Falcons (featuring a young Wilson Pickett) and the riotous high- pitched frenzy of Breakaway by The Valentines. Also mid-priced, Talcum, Soul (Stateside, £10.49), compiled by Dean Rudland, concentrates on the Um, Stateside label and collects the main movers in the Mod branch, such as Chuck Wood's frantic Seven Days Too Long, Garnet Mimms' achingly soulful Looking For You, The Poets' mammoth She Blew A Good Thing and Bobby Sheen's boastful Dr. Love. From the Motown stable try This ls Northern Soul Volume 1 and 2 (Debutante, both £9.99). Volume 2 is best with choice cuts such as Lonely, Lonely Girl Am I by The Velvelettes and Spinners' I'll Always Love You. The Golden Torch Story (Goldmine, £14.99) gathers together the floorshakers that packed out the Torch club every week, including N. F. Porter's catch-phrase coining Keep On Keeping On. Also worth investigating are The Wigan Casino Story, The Wigan Casino Story Continues and The Wigan Casino Volume 3: The Final Chapter (Goldmine, all £14.99), which spotlight the Casino's evolving taste in soul. For a variation on and Yvonne Baker's sugar-coated My Baby the theme check out Mo' Mod Jazz (Kent, Needs Me. Floorfillers! (Global, £16.99) is a fine £14.99) to discover Smokey Joe's La La by the compilation containing 45 classic tracks that curiously named Googie Rene Combo, which was reworked by David Holmes on My Mate Paul. No self-respecting NS fan would be without some thing from the OKeh label, so check out OKeh - A Northern Soul Obsession Volume 1 and 2 (Kent £14.99) and hear Little Richard on top form with the stomping I Don't Want To Discuss It. OKeh was also home to one of Chicago's greatest vocalists, Major Lance, and it's worth tracking dawn his Best Of (BGO £11.99). It includes the fabulously titled Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Ain't No Soul Left In These Old Shoes and The Monkey Time, written by Curtis Mayfield. Mayfield's own sublime voice can be heard on Definitive Impressions (Kent £14.99), which features the storming I Can't Satisfy and You've Been Cheatin'. Oh No Not My Baby: The Best Of Maxine Brown (Kent £14.99) shows the '60s soulstress at her most dynamic with the beat ballad that lends its name to the title of the CD, alongside the emotive intensity of All ln My Mind, the up beat lt's Torture and the classic One In A Million. Other important releases: A Cellar Full Of Soul (Jan fm, £15.99), compiled by Richard Searling from tracks played on his radio show; Blackpool Mecca Story (Goldmine, £14.99) for that '70s crossover sound; Ain't Nothing But A House Party (Sequel, £10.49), which documents the Philly end of things; and Essential Northern Soul '60s Dancefloor Classics Volume 2 (Deep Beats, £10.49), a fine mix of classics and obscurities. Finally, check out Kev Robert's compilation The Roots Of Northern Soul (Goldmine, £1 4.99), which traces the early years, concentrating on the R&B tracks that kept dancefloors shaking throughout the '60s. Beginners: Soul Survivors (Telstar, £18.49) A fine one-stop introduction to the Northern Soul scene. Connoisseurs A Soul Celebration Of The World's Most Famous Club (Joe Boy, £16.99) Packaged with a free 7-inch single, contains prime tracks from the Wigan Casino playlist. Avoid: The Northern Soul Scene (Deram, £12.99) An interesting CD but one that addresses the more bizarre side of the scene where anything with the right number of beats per minute was sanctioned, hence David Essex and The Brotherhood Of Man.

Ripped from Big Daddy Mag issue 3, (of course with permission from Mr Bones, no blatant stealing here ....!) got for your reading a Beginners Guide to Northern Soul Big Daddies Guide to Northern Yeah Yeah Yeah, know there's about 5001 "what is....northern" type things scattered all over the web , so why another one? Well first of all it comes from a different angle, not a 40+ guy with too much time on his hands but from a younger guy and its aimed at a younger audience, thus comes from a different angle and has a lot fresher today sort of feel Plus always be useful for visitors from mainstream sort of soul world asking about it, so hopefully by giving it a read will understand basics of it all NORTHERN SOUL A beginners guide Few people of our generation and younger know what Northern Soul is. The scene is unlike any other, existing way outside of the mainstream. Since the early 70s, normal, unassuming British folk have been travelling miles from home to dance like the devil to long-forgotten, obscure soul music, much of it dating back to the days when your Ma & Pa just met and f you, like many, have ever wandered off the dancefloor in disinterest at a wedding reception when the Motown comes on, you must wonder at what the fuss is all about. Perhaps your notion of Soul music begins and ends with the Supremes (or Reggae with UB40). Not to worry. The lack of "popular" interest over the years has never hindered the real soul scene. It has survived nigh on 30 years pretty much untainted and is as healthy now as it was at it"s peak in the simply because of the unparallelled passion of the dedicated fans who just can"t get enough of a timeless music. It may even become "cool" amongst the young hipsters who are growing weary of the heavy-handed current club sounds - there"s most certainly increasing interest right now. And if it wanes for the trendy many, it will still be there for the smitten few. For those who appreciate a pulse-racing good time there"s nothing quite like it -you"ve only to watch the dancers to see that. If it's all just a mystery to you, here's a basic introduction... The Roots Of Northern Soul in a peanut-shell The history of this uniquely British phenomenon has been told from so many perspectives and with varying degrees of accuracy and conviction that its difficult for such a relative newcomer as myself to know where to begin. So I"ll begin where everyone else did. The Mods. You know that Black American music has always had a happy home in the UK, more so than in its place of origin usually. The original London Mods at the beginning of the 60"s had a taste for obscurity in their chosen nightclub soundtrack (The Crawdaddy and Eel Pie Island are just two of the legendary Mod haunts). Not for them the whine of Skiffle, "Golly Wow" Pop or faded Rock & Roll (can you blame them?). The fresh, "knowing" sounds of US R&B, club soul and Jamaica ska (perhaps even a little hip jazz too) were the purist"s bag before the additional influx of white groups onto the scene (Small Faces, Artwoods etc). Rare vinyl imports and British issues on Stateside, Bluebeat and Sue were discs to have bagged up under the arm whilst checking each other"s suits for the lengths of side vents etc. Their favoured music grew up and spread all over the land as the decade supposedly "swung" on, but as the original scene moved toward Psychedelia and more freaky rock styles, the subsiding Mod flood apparently left little pools of Black American Soul and Rhythm & Blues devotees dotted all around the North and the Midlands. Manchester"s Twisted Wheel Club, the North's premier mod venue, is the famous example to quote. A haven for the local happenin" hardcore, the DJ (Les Cockell - R.I.P.) generally ignored the then current soul music that was either too polished and poppy, or too funky and bumpy. Rawer, driving soul dancer tunes that had perhaps been overlooked at the time of release were brought to the fore and the fever quickly spread. By the time the venue and others like it were forced to close up by police drug raids in 1970 the hooks were already in. As the soul nights started to pop up all over, these powerful sounds that the all-night dancers demanded (and were prepared to travel for) were one way or another christened "Northern Soul" to differentiate from the R&B based "Stax" or perhaps "James Brown" type of soul that was more popular in the South of England. By happy coincidence, a great many of the striding "Northern" Soul favourites came from the North of America (Detroit, Chicago, NY) and the "Southern" sounds from the South. The music As new soul events began to crop up, especially in places like the legendary Torch club (Hanley), the DJ"s bore the weight of the burgeoning scene and used their resources in finding "new", rarer sounds with which to whip up the crowds. The mainstream, radio-supported ends of the soul spectrum (Motown at one, Atlantic at the other) barely hinted at what else might be out there. Every track that was big enough to warrant a UK release had countless others in its shadow that didn"t break the US borders. Many never even made so much as a hit in their home town. Contacts were made and dealers were tipped off and dispatched to unearth more of these examples of forgotten talent - as soulful and danceable as they could find, and the more obscure the better. The predominant sound of 60s Northern Soul is the sound of emotion in the raw. The intensity of a truly distinctive voice (rare these days) spinning a tale of heartache over a cookin" rhythm section still wreaks dancefloor havoc. In mono, my friend. The production values may have grown more sophisticated through the turn of the 70's, giving the "modern" soul sound an outwardly smoother sound, but the real stuff is no less powerful to the open-minded. If you tend to refer to this kind of magnificent music as "too girly", then you probably don't know how to listen to music honestly - shame. Rewrite your agenda. The bulk of the music played at the venues through the halcyon 70s was Black American soul vocals, but the mix varied widely from place to place. Some DJ"s swore by "true" 60s soul and would wrinkle their features at white artists or new releases - and like any other music scene, some were less bothered about the origins of the track so long as it was a beater and kept the dancers moving. The broadmindedness and ear for quality of the scene"s leading jocks has kept the scene alive throughout. A quality soul night in my mind ought to bring you it all - dip-dip-doo wop tinged oldies, stompers, floaters, screamers, instrumentals, crossover, modern, two-steppers and hopefully a big fat deep beat-ballad right at the sweaty end. What it never ought to bring is the "soul" you get in clubnights now. Swingbeat. Don"t try and call it anything else. Too much syrupy whining and not enough belting it out coz"-your-girl-left-you-for-the-guy-down-the-street-for-no-apparent-reason. Tim Brown tells that Dave Godin seemingly said it best - "The problem started when they took soul out of the church and put it in the penthouse." Tim himself came in a close second - "Anita Baker and Luther Vandross...so much to answer for." Fill in your own comments regarding R. Kelly and Mark Morrison. The Records Right from off, the emphasis was on finding rare 45rpm singles - for the simple reason that few of the vaunted artists or labels got as far as making a whole album. Groups would form, record a couple of sides, chip in to press it up on a small label (their own or a local independent maybe) and hopefully get airplay and be picked up by a bigger label. Most failed at step 3 and disbanded, leaving a few hundred unsold copies of their wannabe smash to gather cobwebs. Finding such soul gems to call your own in a huge country like the US is like locating a needle in Giant Haystacks, but the gatherers tended hard and pulled in more and more criminally ignored platters, whether they be one-off acetates, indie flops or big-label failures that never went beyond the demo stage. It"s quite remarkable that so many tracks made it as huge anthems to thousands of UK club goers without anybody realising just how rare they would turn out to be. Just as odd is the fact that nearly all the classic rarities are actually here in the UK, so intense was the hunting activity back in the day. Some lonely discs have only ever been known from the existence of a single copy and fans often have done ticklish things like sell their cars to own one (just the one, mind). With a poker-face, ask a specialist soul dealer if they, perchance, know of a genuine copy of The Turbines" "We Got To Start Over", for example. As you look sheepishly into the middle distance they"ll probably tell you not only who is known to own each of the documented discs, but that you"ll need five numbers and the bonus on the lottery to persuade one of them to part with one. As far as eye-popping wallet activity goes there"s no other style of music like it (except maybe doo-wop & pre-war Blues in the US) and as far as the DJs themselves go, it hardly seems just. The heroic soul jock will tell you of the times they barely made enough from a gig to pay for their travel home for turning up and playing a boxful of tunes worth more than your house, whilst some "dance" club fools can command four figure fees for dishing out a pile of metronomic euro-cheese they got sent the week before....and yet the effort to turn up a fresh sound continues apace. Praise be. Previously undocumented releases are still showing up in 1999 and as impressive as anything that has gone before. Even the flipside of a "had-it's-day" tune may be successful revelation - once the "new" side picks up belated recognition and interest, perhaps the disc becomes in-demand once more. Such discoveries have long been kept secret by DJs and their cloak-and-dagger "cover-up" method - they usually will introduce their newie on the microphone (still a quaint notion to younger clubbers) under a false artist and/or title. Better yet is to actually stick a fake label on the disc itself, should prying eyes try to discover its true identity as it spins. What the original artists would make of this is anybody's guess, having lived and, sadly, sometimes died in obscurity, their only shot at stardom never truly revealed. As if to nail this point of occasional jealousy home, a certain top DJ recently purchased a semi-legendary unique record from a dealer in a quite private transaction. Before the package had even arrived in the post, another obsessive was 'phoning him with an intervening offer of £3000+ to get it straight off of him. Don't know how he found out about the deal, but "You what? I haven't even got the f***ker myself yet" seems more than appropriate a retort. Such is the demand for soul records, you see - the DJs and collectors all insist on original copies, even though so many goodies have been bootlegged or repressed. The scene The first time you wander into a Northern Soul do, it'll be a revelation. Couples of at least 40 years of age are performing feats of dancefloor skill that leave you feeling ashamed to be so unfit. You don't recognise a single track the DJ is playing, but everyone else does, and they whoop and clap in unison in all the right places. When the record stops, they applaud and the DJ unleashes another 7 inches of pleasure whilst you go "Damn, this is so strange." It kind of jolts you into thinking "Why haven't I seen this kind of thing before? Is this some crazy cult?" - you can see how it can become addictive and how it all grew like it did. The scene has now become so delightfully widespread that the "Northern" tag no longer seems so appropriate - it'll never lose it's distinction, but many just refer to it as the "Rare Soul" scene. Call it what you will, outbreaks of soul fever have appeared all over, with proper goings on throughout Western Europe, Scandinavia, Australia, Canada and even the US of sorts. News of the scene in Japan is a personal favourite. Their devotion and attention to authenticity is legendary (ever seen Japanese rockabillies?) and it just seems so right. A core of little noted old-school collectors have not long been introduced to a young generation of ready-to-go fans and a scene is set to blossom. The guys with the cool records are now out DJing and entertaining those who have been digging the import CDs, but may have lacked a venue to get out meet in and do it properly (good work, Kenneth). It probably helps the continuation of domestic and foreign scenes that every young new set of young "Mod" types ultimately arrives at Northern Soul music- the ever resurging fashions and phenomena like the cult success of the film, "Quadrophenia", accurate or not, may well have prodded youth interest everywhere into a scene predominantly populated by on older generation. The overall pace of many soul nights here has slowed a little - nicely I think - to allow more soulful tracks to shine once more, and give space to newer stuff too. Happily, R&B styles and hectic pounders still live on too and you can still hear the soul spectrum all over the UK. Almost every British Northwestern or Midlands dirtpot town has, at the least, a pub with a "Soul & Motown Night" with "DJs Bob & Terry" - I pass four in the short walk from my filthy home to this filthy office. All you really need for a soul night is a good room with a dancefloor (preferably wooden, sprung a bonus), a dedicated DJ (you may occasionally get to see an original artist at some big "national" nights), a record bar and the requisite number of soul-happy punters of course. Legends have been made out of such basic ingredients throughout musical history and the UK Soul scene carries a pretty large flag in the legend march. The Soul venue You must have heard of the Wigan Casino. Northern Soul's most celebrated WW1 ballroom, between 1973 and 1981 it drew both admiration and consternation over its music policy, but will always be remembered as the favourite venue - the room with the finest dancefloor, the people who travelled such lengths to attend, the charged atmosphere and the hole it left for so many dancers when it was razed to the ground by the council. It was voted (by Billboard) Best Disco in the world in 1978, famously beating NY's Studio 54, been the focus of a (rather shoddy) Granada TV documentary and provided a nocturnal weekly other-life for it's thousands of members. It's main "rival", Blackpool's Mecca received similar mixed views on its music, usually centered around the DJ Ian Levine's forays into New York Disco and Jazz-Funk (That offended a some hardcore soulies, did that). The mention of places such as Bolton, Yate, Woverhampton and Cleethorpes bring a snigger to some, but towns like these all had their legendary venues with their own anthems and championed local DJs more impressive than the Creams, Renaissances and Ministrys of recent years. The trousers just aren't so big anymore. The flag is flown high today by venues like the 100 Club in London (now the longest running all-nighter), Keele University, and the Manchester Ritz (the big three since the closure of the Casino) - compare the dancefloor antics to those in your "clubnights" and see the difference for yourself. Sorry Gatecrasher, but being subjected to relentless "DJ" Paul Van Dyk whilst having your crowd look like fancy-dress retards does not necessarily an atmosphere create. Let us demand respectful applause and DJ banter between the tunes. And of course, big trousers. Soul folk Back in the day it was possible in some parts of the Northwest to go to a soul bash every night of the week without travelling further than a few miles in any direction. Many did just so and often started in their early teens, making quick headway down that dark path to soul addiction. Youths that committed the crime of not being into the soul ("Divs") were usually mocked during school breaktime by the soulies who swapped the tapes and the knowledge. The music and styles of the outside "pop" world never has or had any effect on the dedicated core, even when great hoardes of sightseers slowly wandered onto the scene in the latter half of the 70s, trying to get a handle on what this mysterious "Northern" thing really was. These dedicated ones, who stayed with it through the dry 80s and are still getting out to do barrel-rolls at soul nights 25 years on, are obviously your hardcore. It's now up to the idler lovers of the music (myself included) to actually go to more of the decent events and give the scene a hot youth injection. It will ultimately need it, even if some of the more staunch "old guard" will still have their grumble about curious newcomers. These are the same snobbier sorts found in any type of music scene, who claim only to like a certain type of sound or perhaps tracks that are "rare and obscure" as opposed to just good. Thankfully, the body of the soul world are working class characters who leave the politics and backbiting by the wayside and are pleased to meet new converts - any age, colour or sex. Soul events are about music and a sociable time, rather than doing funny things to your head & liver and letching at the other half. Although having said that, a few more lithe young women wouldn't go amiss, if I must stick my oar in. Periphery Its customary to mention drugs, I suppose. To keep up-and-at-it, dancers use/used speed, if anything. Some take it to stay on their feet at long sessions, some don't, a few took it too far, most are more sensible - the scene has never actually revolved round drugs themselves. Subject closed. Oh no, hang on - don't try anything like LSD - the mind-blowing sounds and the sight of the acrobatics and the gents' white terylene socks are bound to set you off. For some grade "A" nostalgia of which you're probably too young to know or undersatnd, check out old photo's in the mags and on the websites. Ahh yes - pictures of memorabilia and obscure record labels, artists attired in shiny suits and conks (the black quiff-like hairstyle), fans sporting vests with sew-on patches and shlongs ("short on top, long at the back") - the sounds translated, the sharp style didn't. Its almost a relief to see a scene upon which the shallow notions of fashion haven't encroached. And believe me they haven't, not by any stretch of the imagination. So, anyway, back to the music - we're just trying to spread the good word. Everyone you play the sounds to finds something to like. Buy some. Go to a local do with friends. Enjoy. Meet veterans. Be impressed by newfound nuggets of information you will doubtless pick up from the older chaps hanging around the record stalls, like - "Nah, it's a bootleg. You can tell by the shiny paper they've used for the label", "Classic. I danced to this as a new release" or "Yeah, got this one. Well rare. The singer wasn't thought to have a solo career back then." An Entry Level Northern Styles Guide Chances are if you pick up a Rare Soul Compilation, none of the listed artists or tracks will mean anything to you. Yeah, same here to an extent - there"s so much of it to get stuck into. Here"s a few odd soul "styles" to drop into conversation and some basic examples to look out for when scouring for new sounds. I've just picked out common or garden stuff I like, really. Go forth and Soultiply. Stompers Before the advent of "Beats-per-Minute" the fast ones were referred to as "100mph". Chuck Wood"s "Seven Days Too Long" (as covered by Dexy"s Midnight Runners) is your basic stomper - great sound, still thrashed out at soul do"s in boozers and suchlike, but rarely heard at big nights because it"s considered a bit passe - a bit like "Sex Machine" at a funk night. There are countless tracks in this beating-snare-driven vein, nearly all 60s, but just three basics that Big Daddy are most fond of that you should keep "em peeled for are "I Can't Get Enough" - Johnny Sayles, "Life Goes On" - Fabulous Downbeats and "So Is The Sun" - The World Column. Deep Soul Tracks that are deep in emotion - slow burners, but never "mellow" or slushy like pop or rock ballads tend to be. These beauties are heart-rending and usually tear-soaked but ultimately uplifting because of it, I find. Dave Godin"s "Deep Soul Treasures" volumes 1 and 2 on CD (Kent) are unmissable for a route into this, the epitome Black Soul Music. Snooker ace Steve Davis (unlikely as it may seem to you) is one of the biggest Deep Soul collectors there is - he even fairly recently persuaded a large record company to release one certain track as a single at his behest. Good chap. Irma Thomas - "Anyone Who Knows What Love Is" and Frankie Beverly - "Love (Your Pain Goes Deep)" - they're the Daddy deep faves. Crossover I"d long assumed this term was meant to suggest that a track had pop appeal and could "cross over" into the mainstream market. Well, when you"re not quite right, you"re often wrong. It simply refers to a period (roughly "68-"74) when rhythms became "trickier" - crossing over from the simpler Motown structure towards a more sophisticated Philly/Norman Whitfield feel. The city of Chicago chopped out a lot of the classics of this type. Check Ruby Andrews - "Just Loving You", The Creations - "A Dream" or Celeste Hardie - "You're Gone". Modern/70s-90s Anything made between 1970 and yesterday can be classified as modern, really. Hmmm. A rather broad category, then. It ranges from featherlight velvet-beat "floaters" (Pffff! No jokes, please!) to the later incarnations of the old pounders, with ballads, Boogie numbers and instrumentals all in there, too. There's obviously more evidence of technology and musical progression in the later soul - synths here and there, more "popping" of the bassline and often a more sparse production feel. There's a deal of sophistication on show and I find some of the respected material a shade tame sounding. It's not really Jazz-Funk, though (too self-indulgent!), nor New York Disco particularly (especially the cheaper four-to-the-floor tracks that ended up as House music). Here's a varied bunch for the starting blocks - the "straight-up" classic "Moody Woman" - Jerry Butler, "It Really Does Hurt Me" - Carstairs, "For Real" - Flowers, "Can't Nobody Love Me like You Do" - Storm. The Soul scene has never been so 70s orientated - dive on in and do the breaststroke. Instrumentals I"ve no idea how you classify a track with no vocal as "Soul" exactly, but it don"t matter none. There are so many great instrumentals that power up a dancefloor - just don"t miss "Sidra"s Theme", Doni Burdick"s thunderous sax-appealling "Bari Track" by Doni Burdick or "Frantic Escape" by The Innocent Bystanders. Some will tell you that the old Northern Soul instrumental sound could be demonstrated in just one track - "Double Cookin"" by Checkerboard Squares. You"ll see what they mean when you hear it (!), but there"s a far greater range of voiceless dancers waiting to be heard by a new audience. Group Sounds Oh yes! Real voices in beautiful harmony, the stuff that makes you laugh out loud at "boy bands" or the likes of Boyz2Men. Male vocal groups are almost always called something like The "Reflections" or "Perfections" or "Something-Or-Others". The Doo-Wop-esque "Arabia" by Delcos is far and away my highest ranking oldie so far. Less obscure are the Incredibles or George Clinton's legendary Parliaments (a fine string of superb singles they released throughout the 60s, especially "I Wanna Testify" and "Heart Trouble") and of course the Impressions who shone from day one - "You've Been Cheatin'" is a classic. Girl groups ("the distaff side of soul" - if you've swallowed a thesaurus) tend more to be the "So-And-So-ettes", if that's not a dumb thing to say. Try to at least hear "Send Him Back" by the Pointer Sisters - I can't leave the track alone. Mid-Pace Another obvious and over-broad category. I think you're allowed to mix and match them, though - "Ahh yes, a superb mid-pace male group mover" for example. The average age of the Northern fan has reduced the dancing pace a little, the in-demand cuts are a shade slower because of it, and some of them are the best I've heard. Top of our oldies heap are the belting baritone of Doug Banks on "I Just Kept On Dancing" (me best mate Col's favourite), Betty Everett's "I Can't Say", "Got To Get To Know You" by Bobby Bland and "Peace Lovin' Man" by Emmanuel Laskey (not played enough these days). "Enders" Something special to finish off the night in style. Usually something with depth and a farewell feel, but danceable with it. My fave is Ray Pollard"s "The Drifter" - most Soul DJs have one of their own associated with them, such as the fine "What Difference Does It Make" by Kenny Sheppard or "You Better Go" by Derek Martin. Wigan Casino"s infamous "Three Before 8" - the last 3 records played just before 8am at virtually every one of the all-nighters - Tobi Legend, Dean Parrish and Jimmy Radcliffe - are all available together on the first Goldmine 45 (GS001). These type of records are played as a sort of "Thanks for coming, but it"s time to go", but they"re usually so good that you refuse to leave because it'd be very wrong not to stamp on the floorboards and demand more. Blue Eyed Around a quarter of the old dancefloor hits fitting into the Northern genre were by white artists, many of them bollocks. Skip the Jackie Trent and tailor-made nonsense like Wigan"s Chosen Few and look for the better work of artists like Johnny Maestro, Timi Yuro, Dean Parrish and Chapter 5 (The makers of one of the UK"s most sought after 45"s - the superb "You Can"t Mean It"). R&B/Modsoul A lot of standard Mod-ish stuff is well oiled thanks to the British "Acid Jazz" type scenes. Head for early soul shifters like Benny Spellman"s classic "Fortune Teller", "Soulful Dress" by Sugar Pie DeSanto (real name Umpeylia Marsema Balinton), Ray Charles' 60s club monster "I Don"t Need No Doctor", the Hammond Organ grooves of Jimmy McGriff (such as the much-sampled "The Worm") or R&B like Slim Harpo and Arthur Alexander.. There"s rakes of instrumentals championed by the old scene - too many to mention. OK, then. Try Googie Rene"s "Smokey Joe"s La La" or Dynatones" "Fife Piper" and go from there. Proper rare danceable R&B is enjoying a resurgence on the Northern scene. Published Date: 1999/3/28 18:00:00

Conniseurs CDS - Review mid price cds release from connoisseur collection In these days of overload of soul, with official releases of new soul cd releases every week, etc, many things may just pass you by as the vast torrent of soul flows past you a recent new set of reissued stuff from the company connoisseur collection may have just done that, this release is the start of a new set of mid price soul releases starting off with a set of 5, some if not all may look familiar as it seems that all the tracks have been re-licensed from goldmine normally you would start thinking oh yeah here we go, more re-cycled stuff, so what's the difference with the majority of these well first thing is it all depends on what type of cd buyer you are, if youre one who has the complete collection of goldmine/kent well think you better skip this page due to all the tracks have been out before on various cds, ok so youre still here, so chance you may be the more selective buyer (aka cheapskate), well these releases could be of interest all termed as mid-price, which to me is around the fiver mark, may be more in main street places less in mail order outlets, so that's a good point, as hard to say no to a cheapie. Content? Well the titles tells you all about it, four of the five being greatest hits, in these days of various artist comps it made a welcome change listening to a cd of one artist plus the sleeve notes are lengthy and informative overall apart from the compilation one I would say these cds do a good job of bringing cheap artist specific collections to the buying public, whilst all tracks have been out before, the price and packaging makes them worth thinking about if you like myself are a bit choosy when buying cds, and will score highly on the impulse buys especially when compared with some cheesy same price comps. CATALOGUE NUMBER: VSOP CD 288 JJ BARNES The Best Of 1. Baby Please Come Back Home 2. Chains Of Love 3. Forgive Me 4. Now That I Got You Back 5. Hold On To It 6. Now Shes Gone 7. Sad Day A Coming 8. Ill Keep Coming Back 9. Our Love Is In The Pocket 10. So Called Friends 11. Now Shes Gone 12. Got To Get Rid Of You 13. Snowflakes 14. Sweet Sherry 15. Help Me Help Me 16. I Need A Change 17. Welcome To The Club the best of jj barnes as you can see by the track listing on back cover, this cd covers some of his work after his spell at motown, covering his time at groovesville, revilot, volt, and some of his contempo stuff , as with all the cds the insert has a lengthy double insert of information, in this case written by david cole editor of in the basement, covering the going ons through out his career. As often remarked jj barnes has a bit of a tag as the man who motown thought was so like marvin gaye, that motown brought his contract to protect marvin, but as david c points out, it seems this is part of a soul urban legend as jj states "any suppression, he felt came from Gaye ...rather than Gordy", anyway 17 tracks covering a wide span of time from one of the legends, and at mid-price I would say a worthy listen, and addition to a collection, though as in all these cds if you have a lot of goldmine detroit releases there's a fair chance you may have a fair few already STEVE MANCHA The Best Of 1. Did My Baby Call 2. Whirlpool 3. Hate Yourself In The Morning 4. A Love Like Yours 5. Shes So Good 6. Youre Still In My Heart 7. I Dont Want To Lose You 8. Need To Be Be Needed 9. Friday Night 10. Monday Through Thursday 11. Dont Make Me A Story Teller 12. I Wont Love And Leave You 13. Just Keep On Loving Me 14. Sweet Baby Dont Ever Be Untrue 15. Easy Living 16. Lets Party 17. Deeper In Love 18. Your Love Got Sweeter 19. Souvenirs 20. Think Before You Walk Away CATALOGUE NUMBER: VSOP CD 287 detroit soul man- best of steve mancha well track listing says it all, steve mancha or clyde wilson using his real has been around just a while, from his early days as a duet with Wilbert Jackson on hpc in the late 50s to his recent work on the gospel side in Detroit, and in between also found fame as part of a ever changing 100% proof (aged in soul) line up not to mention his prolific song writing. But as you can guess the side chosen ere to represent is his are from his groove city, wheelsville and groovesville times, including 5 unreleased tracks, ranging from deep ballards to the arch-typical Detroit stompfests, a wide range of styles that again work well on a single artist release so if you fancy a listen to one of the constant Detroit soul singers this is for you and again a double page of notes charting his career THE PARLIAMENTS Testify! - The Best Of The Early Years 1.(I wanna) Testify 2. I can Feel The Ice Melting 3. All Your Goodies Are Gone 4. Dont Be Sore At Me 5. Little Man 6. The Goose That Laid The Golden Egg 7. Look At What I Almost Missed 8. What You Been Growing 9. Good Old Music 10. Time 11. A New Day Begins 12. Ill Wait 13. Ill Wait (Inst.) 14. All Your Goodies Are Gone 15. Baby I Owe You Something (Inst.) 16. Lets Make It Last - The Fellows 17. Shes Always There - The Fellows 18. Heart Trouble 19. That Was My Girl parliaments-testify-the best of as you may know, the parliaments later evolved into one of the most colourful acts the soul world ever saw, but for now this is all in the future, again this cd takes us to Detroit and back to the 1960s, and upto this point the parliaments path was very similar to other groups, keep it quiet but barber shops are mentioned and other non-funkadelic type stuff. Tracks range from the stand out monster heart trouble, through similar detroit types such as time and dont be sore at me, then onto a few tracks which give brief warnings of what the parliament or should I say george clinton were going to unleash on the world in the mid 70s, a interesting collection again with copious notes, and even though it is claimed that most of the tracks where recorded in one mamoth session, you can hear still make out the gradual changing sound from mainstream soul to the funkier side. One that will also appeal to the fan of their later stuff as well as some of the tracks here where later reincarnated in mid 70s parliament/funkadelic tracks Darrell Banks The Best Of 1. Open The Door To Your Heart 2. Our Love Is In The Pocket 3. Baby Watcha Got 4. Somebody Somewhere Needs You 5. Here Comes The Tears 6. Ive Got That Feelin 7. Angel Baby (Dont You Ever Leave Me) 8. Look Into The Eyes Of A Fool 9. Im Gonna Hang My Head And Cry 10. Youd Better Go 11. I Wanna Go Home 12. The Love Of My Woman 13. Im Knocking At Your Heart, Please Let Me In 14. The Harder You Love 15. Im The One Who Love You 16. I Will Fear No Evil CATALOGUE NUMBER: VSOP CD 286 open the door to your heart-the best of darrel banks darrel banks- a name forever identified with the song "open the door to your heart" which is a constant mention when people are asked for their all top ten northern sides, and as seems to follow most soul singers his life was a tragic story, even the story behind his biggest hit has a bit of controversy, again this release features double pages of sleeve notes detailing his career, as the track list shows, featured on this cd are his two releases on revilot before atco picked him up and then his atco and his cottlition sides. Main well knowns on this are the storming angel baby and the roaring our love is in the pocket. Again a great chance for a session with one of the most gifted soul singers and again makes a pleasant change to hear one artist rather than 29 various artist tracks and to me the best of the four. At mid price could be a winner CATALOGUE NUMBER: VSOP CD 289 GOING TO THE GOGO 20 Classic Northern Soul Stompers 1. The Duck - Jackie Lee 2. That Beatin Rhythm - Richard Temple 3. Baby Do The Philly Dog - The Olympics 4. Blowin My Mind To Pieces - Bob Relf 5. Do The Temptation Walk - Jackie Lee 6. Groovin At The GoGo - The 4 Larks 7. Our Love Is In The Pocket - J.J. Barnes 8. Open The Door To Your Heart - Darrell Banks 9. What Is It - Bobby Womack 10. Baby Please Come Home - J.J. Barnes 11. Somebody Somewhere (Needs You) - Darrell Banks 12. I Wanna Testify - The Parliaments 13. Papa Ooh Mow Mow - The Sharonettes 14. Mine Exclusively - The Olympics 15. Your My Mellow - Edwin Starr 16. Cracked Up Over You - Lee Rogers 17. Hit And Run - Rose Battiste 18. Hurt - Eddie Holman 19. Hole In The Wall - J.J. Barnes 20. I Cant Get Away - Bobby Garrett onto the fifth release and all i say on this one is look at the cover and look at the track listing, if youve got a few northern cds odds on you will have some of these tracks, if you havent well its a cheap place to start

Junior Walker Story Here's an article from Detroit City Limits by Graham Anthony (also has a good record list) who can be contacted at: 103 Buxton Road Chaddesden Derby DE 21 4 JN When Jr.Walker died of cancer on 23rd November 1995, Motown and the World lost it's most unlikely and genuine "stars".Motown who were promoting themselves as "The Sound Of Young America" used to give his date of birth as 1942,but Junior was older and had a legacy as a "Live" act going back to the mid 1950's,long before he cut his first Motown hits. The R+B Chart book gives his date of birth as 14th June 1931 and his given name as Oscar G.Mixon.Usual sources give his name as Autry DeWalt II (Junior) born in 1938 in Blythesville,Arkansas and he took the name Walker either from his step father or his tendency to walk everywhere. As a child he was in Chicago for a while before settling in South Bend, Indiana .Early influences were Charlie Parker and Boots Randolph after he learned the Saxophone from one loaned by his uncle before his mother bought him one.He perfected his craft on the road with R&B combos The Jumping Jacks and while in St. Louis,The Billy "Sticks" Nix Band.Finally, along with guitarist Willie Woods, he settled in Battle Creek, Michigan where he remained until his death. Legend has it that the band were christened The All Stars after a fan at a live gig enthused that the band were so good, they were all stars! More live work followed and a record contract was secured at Harvey Fuqua's Harvey-Tri Phi label after backing Johnny (Bristol) and Jackey (Beavers) at several gigs around Michigan. Three 45's were issued between 1962-3,"Twist lackawanne", "Cleo's Mood" and "Good rockin" but none charted. Junior's distinctive tenor Sax sound was now well established with his trademark squeal and a hot,cookin' R&B backing from The All Stars. Harvey Fuqua's labels were swallowed up by the by now growing Motown empire, Junior along with other Harvey acts like Shorty Long joined the Detroit giant and was assigned to the fledgling Soul subsidiary.In 1961 another All Stars group had a release scheduled for release on Motown but there was no connection between those "unknowns" and Junior's band. There was also no connection with The All Stars on Von who had "2-2-5 Special" in the late 50's. Junior's first release in 1964,"Satan's Blues'' failed to chart, but in '65 came the mighty "Shotgun" which blasted its way to #1 R&B and #4 Pop. Another 25 Hot 100 R&B hits, with 11 of them making the Pop top 40,followed.Junior wasn't the greatest of singers or the best Sax player (technically) but he had a unique style all of his own. His hits up until the melancholly of "What does it take to win your love" in '69 were good time Soul made for the dancefloor Junior cut records with a smile even when the Pop/Soul talents of Holland30zier-Holland got in on the act with the more "produced" sound of "I'm a Road Runner" Junior still made it sound as if he was at a party. "Road Runner" became Junior's anthem the lyrics aptly describing what was his life on the road was like, another town, another gig. He must have played it a million times in his "Live" shows but you talk to most who saw him live over the past 30 years and I bet they'd all say he played it like he was enjoying himself. Most of Junior's early hits didn't fit into the usual Motown mould of well produced Pop/ Soul of The Supremes or Four Tops. They were much more "earthy" in feel with his rough vocal and chunky back-up.Maybe that Is why he never really seemed to be part of the Motown "family" It's said that Junior wasn't that bothered about cutting records, prefering the adrenalin of performing before an audience. By the time of the late 60's and early 7O's Soul music had moved on, becoming less spontanious and more crafted. Still,Junior came up with hits,'What does it take to win your love" being his second #1 R&B hit, swiftly followed up by similar sounding hits. The early 70's saw Junior still up there in the charts with the likes of "Way back home's (now given Social commentary lyrics) and "Take me girl I'm ready'. After the mellow "Disco" sound of "Walk in the night" made #10 R&B in 1972,it was a steady decline chartwise for honkin' horn man.With the slick sounds of Funk bands like Parliament, Ohio Players, Earth Vind and Fire etc dominating the charts and the onslaught of the "Disco Beat" through the rest of the 7O's, Junior's sound became outdated. Although the big hits dried up and Motown lost interest, Junior continued touring and was, as he always had been, very popular in Britain and Europe as well as his homeland. A move to the West Coast and the Whitfield label failed to revive his recording career and he re-joined Motown for his final L.P. "Blow the house down" in 1983. He was due to have recorded for Ian Levine's Motor City project in the late 80's but I don't think anything was actually cut. He was also absent from the Motown reunion's that Ian Levine promoted, probably due to his live club gigs. Junior will always be remembered for the good-time music he made and though Motown didn't seem to quite accept him into the fold,the public did and can be summed up by a line from Roy Handy's "Baby that's a groove" (Stephanye)... "We were dancin' to the sound of Junior Walker's SHOTGUN!" The comments are owned by the poster. We aren't responsible for their content. Poster Thread Guest Posted: 2003/11/3 0:16 Updated: 2003/11/3 0:16 Too Cool How cool was Jr. Walker? At a cabaret in Philadelphia in 1968 a fist fight broke out while Jr. was playing on the stage. With fist swinging, chairs flying, food being passed like missiles, the man did not miss a beat!!!

Otis Clay - Sleeve Notes taken from a dutch 80/90s album Otis Clay Although he was on the brink of nationwide stardom in 1972 while on the same Memphis based Hi label that launched Al Green, Otis inexplicably never reached the same heights that Green did. But with his driving seven-piece band {featuring the unparalleled Chicago Fire horn section), Clay continues to epitomize the very finest in raw, emotionally supercharged soul.Like so many of his contemporaries, Otis Clay found his early inspiration in the gospel music he heard around his Waxhaw, Mississippi birthplace. His initial appearance on wax came as lead vocalist of the Gospel Songbirds, one of many such aggregations he joined after he moved to Chicago in 1957. But the secular scene beckoned, and after an unissued session for Columbia, Otis signed with Chicago's One-der-ful Records in 1965. Often working with writer-producers Jimmy Jones and Eddie Silvers, Clay debuted with an intense soul ballad, "A Flame In Your Heart," and solidified his reputation with brisk sellers such as "I'm Satisfied," Cash McCall's "That's How It Is" and the hard-charging "Got To Find A Way." Otis switched to the Atlantic Records combine in mid-'68, inaugurating their Cotillion subsidiary with a Rick Hall-produced Muscle Shoals cover of the Sir Douglas Quintet's "She's About A Mover," eventually cutting three more singles for the firm. But his most commercially successful period came under the productional wing of Willie Mitchell at Hi Records in Memphis. With Mitchell at the helm, Otis scored big with "Precious Precious," "If I Could Reach Out" and especially the original "Trying To Live My Life Without You," which reportedly sold half a million copies in 1972. In 1975, Otis decided to take his recording career into his own hands. He opened an office at 2131 S. Michigan Ave. (formerly the Chicago branch location of King Records) and began producing his own sides, releasing them sporadically on his Echo label. "Victim Of Circumstance" was Echo's initial release in the spring of '75. "A lot of things happened there. That's where the whole thing started," he recalls, "because that was my first venture into producing myself and arranging, the whole works." Prolific Southern soul writer George Jackson provided Otis with a potential smash in 1980, but Clay was a bit slow to follow through. "I called George in '80. and I was saying. 'George, hey man, let's get together and do some things.' So George flew in from Memphis, and we went in the studio here in Chicago," says Otis. "We recorded 'Cheatin' In The Next Room,' 'Messin' With My Mind,' another tune called 'If I Could Open Up My Heart. 'I sat on 'Cheatin' In The Next Room' for about two years, and I never got a deal on the album in this country," he says. "And this is ironic - the very same day I was getting ready to go to the studio to put the horns on 'Cheating' In The Next Room,' because the track had been laid ever since '80, but I was going to put some horns on it, and put some more voices on it.""As I was walking out the door, I had the radio on, and right from the intro. it hit me! I said,'What!!' and I listened, and here comes Z.Z. Hill singing 'Cheating' In The Next Room!'" But Otis readily admits his old friend had every right to cut the tune. Another Jackson contribution, the relentlessly cooking "Messin' With My Mind," did well around Chicago, but failed to break nationally. "A lot of the radio stations. especially the black radio stations, said, 'We don't play blues,'" says Otis. "It's not really a blues record, but it got thrown in that category. "We was selling 17,000 in Chicago, it was a big record, but we never could get the other radio stations to go with it." Clay's Echo sides range from the mellow, soulful balladry of "Check It Out" and "I'm Gonna Hate Myself In The Morning" to the irresistibly danceable "The Only Way is Up" and the brassy groove of "All I Need Is You." There's a medium-tempo treatment of Eddie Floyd's "Special Kind Of Love" and a brilliant remake of Tyrone Davis' classic "Turn Back The Hands Of Time" that could give his pal Tyrone serious cause for concern. Soul, blues, gospel - it's virtually impossible to pigeon-hole the music of Otis Clay. "I just sing,man. I don't ever put myself in a category," he says. "I got a long way to go with this thing, because I got a lot of music in me. "I like the idea of being free to create." - Bill Dahl Also available by Otis Clay: Live In Tokyo (1983) - where the Soul of Otis Clay drips on the dance floor Watch Me Now (1989) - produced in Memphis by Willie Mitchell