macca

I was thinking aloud on that last post. it's got sod all to do with the thread, sorry... Enjoyed it in parts. Elaine's description of the dancefloor vibe with the presenter grinning broadly was cool. Some of the This England 1977 outtakes were better than those that appeared in the final programme. Loved the one of the black guy's extended spin at the Casino at the beginning of the programme. The stuff on the retro scene, the dance class, King's Hall scenes simply made me cringe, and cringe a lot, sorry.

Arguable, to say the least.

Men of conviction!!

Ah', the so-called Golden Age... I caught some of that, the back end of it, late summer of 74. Looking back there was some right shite in there too, records which were greeted with dismay by the older punters. Those who jacked it in when Va-Va's, Torch and Cats closed will have there own vision of things too, music wise. Likewise those who came onboard in the late 70s and stuck with it through the 80s will have their own take on musical brilliance. It's so relative when it comes down to it...

I guess that with Ebay things have become much more democratic, so if you can lay your hands on the goods and your ego, diction and 6th sense are at least equal to those of the big name jock's, the sky's your limit. In the diction/clarity camp, there's much room for improvement, even among the upper echelons. I've always been astounded at the hectoring, monotone, psychobabble that comes out of some microphones.

Go out and enjoy what you have, we're a long time gone. Can you really substitute the living room for a room full of folk being "taken higher" by the DJ in question? I'm 53, in a relationship, in employment, still able to travel to a venue with a partner with no scene history who loves it all, and I count myself lucky for that. Our ventures are usually weekenders which we plan for months in advance. We all know each other, so there's a kind of unmanufactured togetherness factor which is very, very special. The music is top drawer and most varied. I consider myself a progressive sort, open to new sounds, but still get off on hearing the Del-Larks at 5am from Keith Money or Jimmy Burns from SteveG, Frankie Beverly from Soul Sam and whatever exclusive real deal job Butch might throw at you. It's still out there, you just have to be selective. Like someone else mentioned before, me and my partner factor in other things into the weekend, like meeting up for a 'fraternal lunch' with the crowd, afternoon drinks and bar hopping and "time to yourselves siestas" (mega important) before the evening really kicks off. Some people might scorn this, feeling that it's a million miles from the original ethos of the scene, i.e. spend all day travelling to some grothole, run the gauntlet of the drunks in the town centre, drop your gear and then dance, plough through record boxes or 'verbal' on the same spot all night to any similar-minded nutter. I no longer want that, and even if I did, it's no longer there. My eye is now on Movin' On in Barcelona early December, 'cos I can't make the Prince Phillip Mitchell Soul4Real weekender next month in Bilbao, which pains me mucho. Wake up and live etc...

Impatient buggers even then. They only had to wait an hour for Keith W and they'd get the Javells as well. Spoilt for choice.

Without going down that old road, the Wigan only played Pop crap road, I'll just say that for every dag (pellets of shite that cling to a sheeps arse) there was a sublime record. I know what you mean though, mate.

Are those two records the sum total of the Northern Soul scene 75-85 then?

I could have sworn there was a separate thread for said film.

Sorry, but my question in post #1 had bugger all to do with the coming film. I thought the applause after every record came in around 1978, based on trips I'd made to Wigan that year. I had witnessed what I called 'ripples' to Roy Hamilton prior to that, but that was different. Pete told us it was earlier, perhaps starting late 76 at Wigan with Garnett Mimms, an applause triggerer if ever there was one. His theory is supported by his tapes. Good enough for me. Post #5 is helpful in that it says that consultants on the coming film instructed dancers/actors not to applaud in between records, for authenticity's sake, as people didn't applaud till the late 70s. Late 76 or early 77 I think we can call post mid 70s, though not quite late 70s. I would call 1978 late 70s, of course. Not wishing to split hairs or discuss the film till I've seen it, though if the accompanying book is anything to go by, I think most of us will give it the thumbs up. Buenas noches amigos.

Brilliant, thanks a lot everybody. Just goes to show you can't always rely on your own memories.

Me too, Matt, but I'm just curious to know if anybody else thought it odd back then, simply because people started to do something they hadn't done previously. I could of course be imagining all this.

I've often wondered about this myself, so when do you think this first started to happen? I mean after practically every record, almost as a knee-jerk response, whether the record was hugely popular or not. I don't think I saw it in our area (East Anglia, East Midlands) till around 1978. In fact the first time I think I saw it was at Wigan around that time and thinking it all rather odd. Roy Hamilton's Crackin' Up Over You used to get a few ripples perhaps because it was always introduced as 'by the late great' and was for many of us an emotive record... ??

I thought Ian Levine was commendably conciliatory too. People should definitely buy this book.

My pre-ordered copy arrived from Amazon today. Well chuffed. Couldn't put it down. I think we can say that it's a true warts and all look at the scene. About time too!!

Who did 'People' from Funny Girl? The Tymes? That's actually a great version to my ears. Walter Jackson could get very cabaret too, couldn't he?

Nice sleeve writing, that. :-)

Loved it back then. I always remember it as a late on type of record, when I'd decided to slope off before the end of the night, it'd be johnny vanelli I'd hear on me way out. That's my memory of it, anyway. Heard Gary Spencer play this when he returned to the decks in the late 80s, early 90s. Sounded a bit strange alongside stuff like Howard Guyton, The Hy-Tones and Bobby Sheen... Things had slowed down. Lovely story and Ady's kind touch with the author great.

4 star review in Mojo too...

Billy Watkins was also very big for Soul Sam at St. Ives and other venues he worked at through 1977, in spite of it being dropped at Wigan by Richard.

"The love we shared honey/will long be remembered/love me, love me tender/all my love, I'll surrender to you baby, ooh' baby etc". That glorious middle eight or bridge or whatever musicians call it in Sweet Lover by Fortson & Scott. Gets me every bloody time!

Very addictive indeed. It takes great restraint but when there's no moolah coming in you have to take a step back. Credit cards are a danger in such that they're linked to your Paypal a/c and whilst browsing on Ebay you can fall prey to the dreaded impulse buying - I'll have that bugger, thank you very much - right now I'm having a bit of time out but by the Autumn I shall be on the lookout for stuff again. I love it and there's something so satisfying about opening that mailer, isn't there? :-)

She gets my vote (just my vote, I'll add)...

Not being thick, but I need an interpreter for this post. No comprendo.