Garethx

Margaret Mandolph's "I Wanna Make You Happy Tonight" on Planetary has that eerie, echoey sound. I think it can be attributed to arrangers trying to copy the Wall Of Sound but with small combos and very few tape tracks: hence the use of lots of reverb on the rhythm sections, strings and vocals.

The white DJ copies on styrene play fine. Reportedly a subsidiary of Golden World via the Myto Music credit too.

Really like that Debutantes record on Standout, although it divides opinion. Think I ended up selling it to someone on here but not until more than one person had returned it as 'unusable'.

I'm 99% certain the picture above of Gary Haines is indeed the 'Sound' recording artist. Always had a real soft spot for this 45 and have always felt that a more conventional 'soul' vocal would not have necessarily made for a better record.

Members of The Fifth Estate wrote the record. The identity of the vocalists is shrouded in mystery, although wikipedia makes an intriguing suggestion as to the group's involvement in a solo recording by an erstwhile Vandella. Could this be it?

None other than Soul Source member Lorraine Chandler with "Mend The Torn Pieces", an unreleased RCA recording issued by Ace/Kent in the 1990s.

^ Very fishy. The bit of label peel is in exactly the same place. Interesting the second seller didn't provide an image of the b-side as the promo stamping on that side is very distinctive from the first, US listing.

Definitely not an EP. That listing is the original 45. One track on each side and nothing to do with an Extended Play format, just a mistake in the listing.

It's a leap in logic to say that any attempt to portray something in art is necessarily 'commercialising' that subject. I can't speak directly for Elaine Constantine but I would imagine that this is a story which is very personal to her and one she wants to tell through the medium of film. You seem to have a very one dimensional view of film in general. Not everything on the big screen needs to be a flashy commercial blockbuster on one hand or a 'Mutiny on the Buses' on the other. I don't think the aim of this film is to 'revive' interest in Northern Soul or if it even needs reviving. As I said above I understand scepticism about any project like this as one of the guiding principles of Northern or rare soul as a scene or movement is that it was entirely created by its participants, maybe the first thing in Britain ever distinctly like that in character. It wasn't a case of the music industry or television channels or daily newspapers in London telling young people what clothes to wear or what records to buy or what night clubs to go to. Its very underground nature was one of the defining reasons why it was so important to the people who followed the lifestyle every weekend and maybe the biggest key to its longevity. If someone who was on the scene wishes to make a film about what it meant to them and how it shaped their values we should respect their choice to try to tell that story.

I wonder what musicdonkey's agenda is here. A handful of posts all critical of this project. Accusations of a 'cash-in' are so wide of the mark as to be ridiculous and need to be answered. Elaine has been working on this project for a very long time. As Byrney and others have said above this is the best chance the soul scene will ever have of getting a decent representation on film. Here is a director with long-standing first-hand knowledge of the thing but crucially also one with real talent and vision. I can understand a degree of scepticism given previous attempts to represent Northern Soul in a feature film but the crucial difference here is that the creative drive behind all of this is from someone who's been on the scene whereas projects in the past have been written and directed by people who by and large were not there. I know we all like to grumble about aspects of the scene every day here but the simple fact is that at its heart is the genuine magic we all fell in love with: the music, the dancing, shenanigans with chemicals and the friendships (and rivalries) which have come to last a lifetime. These are stories that deserve to be told. They are part of the fabric of ordinary people's lives, experiencing something extraordinary during their weekends. British cinema has been chock-full of 'coming of age' dramas based on the lives and angst of the middle classes. Here is an opportunity to try to represent some of the particular magic of the NS phenomenon with all the style and passion that the topic merits.

To me the very best cut of 'She's A Lovemaker" is on the "Let's Talk It Over" album.

^ Fair enough, but what do you actually like?

This topic is always fascinating and sometimes disturbing. I can't believe some of the choices. Frank Wilson and Ruby Andrews may have outstayed their respective welcomes but are prime NS records. Frankie & Johnny seems to get up noses perhaps because of its 'British' heritage but is a beautifully crafted piece of music with real emotional impact. Lady In Green is underground vocal group soul of the very highest order. If Lou Pride on Suemi was discovered today people would be fighting each other in the streets to own a copy. Joe Jama and Joey DeLorenzo are maybe not to my personal taste but would undeniably have been huge records at any of the pivotal venues in the scene's history. The one record which always seems to get a free pass on here for reasons which I cannot fathom is Babe Ruth, which sounds like nothing more than a fourth-rate Lena Lovitch album track. If anyone tried to play that as a newie today they would surely be lucky to escape a venue without being tarred and feathered.

I'm sure some of the members here will be more than willing to offer you some advice via personal message with regard to this particular 45.

That is a later re-issue after ABC took over BackBeat. All the images of Why Don't posted so far a legitimate pressings. There may also be a black label with silver type as issued in Canada.

I take what Bob's saying about the longer version with the spoken passage giving the record an added dimension of collectability but that popsike result is still an anomaly to me. Over five hundred dollars is way over the top.

I'd say the popsike result is either a couple of snipes gone wrong or a series of malicious bids as this is only a ten quidder in that format.

Rare and has long been in demand on other scenes. On the same Solo label as the great Theron & Darrell. From Wichita, Kansas. Compiled in the Eccentric Soul series with some great pictures and sleevenotes here: https://www.numerogroup.com/catalog_detail.php?uid=01007 I would think it's a four-figure record now, although a few went relatively cheaply through Craig Moerer auctions three or four years ago.

Hi Rod re: two label layouts for the Monarch demo; Monarch used two local printers for labels, one called Alco Research and one called Bert & Co. I'm guessing the one in the scan above was typeset at Bert by the use of Spartan Bold, Spartan Bold Condensed and Trade Gothic Condensed (TG18 and TG20 variants). Spartan was the Linotype version of Futura. The Alco labels from this time tended to use Franklin Gothic Bold for title and artist information. As to why they would use two separate print houses for labels on demo copies of one release I have no idea, but there are lots of examples of Monarch-pressed releases where this is indeed the case. If there is a scan of the other Monarch demo of The Remarkables I would be interested to see it in order to test my theory.

From the Allmusic guide: Frank Wilson (b. 1942) grew up in South Central Los Angeles in a house with a piano and musically talented siblings. His father, Thomas, managed the Velvetones, and Frank's sister Ruth married one of the members. The younger Wilsons -- Thomas, Frank, Henry, Vance, and Virginia -- formed the Wil-Sons, a harmony group modeled after the Four Aces, the Ames Brothers, and the Ink Spots They worked the clubs; and waxed a single, thanks to a hookup with L.A.'s legendary record lady Madelon Baker, that never left the 'hood, entitled "Let Me Love You" b/w "Come on Mama," for Highland Records (1961). Economics break up marriages and disband groups, even family groups, and the Wil-Sons were soon a fond memory. Frank, the most ambitious of the brood, found staff-writing gigs at companies like Del-Fi Records, that paid a laughable 40 dollars a week wages. The siblings regrouped in 1965 as the Remarkables on Baker's Audio Arts label, with smoothies like the Incredibles. The Remarkables were Frank, Vance, Henry, and non-relative David Cason. They cut three good but unremarkable singles (actually two, the second was re-released with an instrumental flip): "Is the Feeling Still There" b/w "Easily Mislead," and "I Can't Give Up" b/w "You Wouldn't Have Anything" -- Frank and Vance handled the leads. The records didn't get far, but they were able to work the clubs. In the '60s, he wrote some songs for Motown artists, which cause many to confuse him with a more famous Frank Wilson who also wrote for Motown; in addition, both had a connection with Hal Davis. Adding to the perplexity, both Wilsons recorded, albeit briefly, for Motown. This Frank Wilson performs (unaccredited) on "Oh How I Miss You" (written by Hal Davis, Frank, and Vance) with Tammi Terrell, on Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's United album. The other Frank Wilson recorded "Do I Love You (Deed I Do)," which did nothing in the States, but is an extremely popular and rare favorite with the Northern soul club. With Vance, he recorded for Revue Records as Frankie Vance, pumping out two singles in 1969: "Can't Break the Habit of Love" and "Somewhere in Your Life." He finally received some acclaim when he started writing songs with Barry White, a lifelong friend, in the '70s. ~ Andrew Hamilton

Hi Pete. I suspect the mark you describe is on all pressings of this 45. It's a hand drawn version of the Audio Arts 'window' logo which appears on the issues and would have been etched at the cutting stage. As for a 45 with a Monarch delta number being pressed at another plant there are rare instances of this. Monarch also had mastering (as well as pressing) facilities. For certain unexplained reasons a client could have had Monarch produce metalwork for another factory to press. Probably not for reasons of cost as Monarch was notoriously the cheapest major pressing operation in the US. You're spot on about the "Not For Sale" info looking exactly as per the Cameo-Parkway typesetting. The thing that worries me about this 45 is that the rest of the typesetting looks quite unlike any other C-P 45 from the time. Also worth mentioning that this is not the 'Do I Love You' Frank Wilson but another writer/artist from the same town who also amazingly went on to work for Motown in LA in the 70s. This FW also recorded with his brother as Frankie Vance on Revue.

I'm not so sure about it being a genuine Monarch pressing: the typesetting is unlike anything else I've seen pressed at the plant. Here is a definite Monarch WDJ of the record with the 59729 number. Note that it is styrene as you would expect of Monarchs from that timeframe and the typefaces are all exactly from the sets typically used by the company.

The other Africano 45, "Open Your Hearts" seems to finding more fans too.

"Looking Straight Ahead" by Darryl Carter? Seems to have been under the radar but is a competent midtempo thing. There's also Eddie McGee "What Made You Change?" or Don Bryant "What Are You Doing To My World?" or Willie Walker "Reaching For The Real Thing" or Gene MIller "What Do You Mean?" or Gene Anderson "Baby Love". As others have said lots of quality records which might fall under the Crossover heading. This is all without mentioning classics by Prince Phillip Mitchell or George Jackson or Al Green or even the record which often vies for my personal accolade as best Hi 45: "It Was Jealousy" by Otis Clay.

First record I ever bought on Modern was The Styles. While the uptempo side was maybe the weakest use of the "Bashful Guy" backing track the harmony ballad on the other side "You Know That I Know" is still a record I cherish. Beautiful west coast soul.