macca

This thread is not necessarily about bad records is it? Just very unpopular ones, right? That Brian Hyland thing was godawful but loads of f***ers danced to it. Same goes for Ben Zine.

I used to love the French Fries. Great atmosphere at Cleggy, Peterborough, everybody shuffling in unison.

Didn't they have another sound played around 77?, 'baby's gone away', had it on a st.ives tape. Ginger Taylor?

gary haines - keep on going and debbie fleming- long gone they used to get hammered. today?

All you do-runners take note!

seven years from this thread, is it still a 1200 quid sound? did JM update his price guide? richard is in the UK now. wonder if he brought any spares with him. tremendous tune.

a couple of posts below the grandson's post we have this little snippet of invaluable session data. "David and Ruben played bass and Guitar on this single and¯»¿ did the vocals. The record was produced and arranged by Max Uballez. Some parts on the track were done in a follow up session by Max Uballez and The Romancers band. The Mariachi arrangement was done by Max Uballez. Using The Ralph Ventura Sr. Mariachi, Ralph Ventura Junior was the trumpet for the Romancers band. The Romancers were the studio band for Rampart/Linda/faro records." Clearly a hispanic pedigree for this classic tune, but then again it's written all over it, innit? Makes me want to search out Max Uballez and the Romancers. :-)

art robles grandson posted on youtube about a year ago. his moniker is trobles91. might be a good place to start. robles (oaks) is a spanish surname so I think it highly unlikely that those photos are of the rampart majestics.

I've always been partial to Ivy Hunter's recordings too. Get him over here! Looking at Lee Field's recent performances, reports I've had from Richard Caiton's show at Soul Essence, it's evident that some of these artists are still capable of captivating audiences. I'd love to see Charles Mintz do his stuff.

Echo Pete's words. Cool off by a mile.

beautiful and fitting post pep. lots of respect.

manus, I'm from peterborough originally and I'm sure our paths crossed a few times. you'll probably recall the white lion, bell & oak and the grapevine as haunts for people prior to all-nighters at the phoenix. monica was asking after you on facebook 'cos she initially thought I was you as my surname is mcmanus. take care.

fabulous thread. "sweet baby" is a great soul record for me and 'just the touch of your hand' which I hadn't heard till now is close to soul perfection, one of those that reaches inside you, like some of the stuff on the dave godin deep soul cds. is mr. gardner still with us by any chance? I understand he comes from selma, where it all got very nasty for the great reverend mlk back in 1965.

I was told that the late Skip from Norwich discovered this record.

Good question. It depends on my mood. I don't see it as any kind of duty. The last one I attended in Barcelona I stayed till the very end, the night just flew past and the crowd were definitely up for more when the lights went up. Back in the 70s, I'd slope off beforehand on numerous occasions and for various reasons, i.e. the music was boring me or I wasn't feeling as "enthusiastic" as I had earlier on in the evening, but then you'd be faced with the dilemma of asking your mate for the car keys or walking home if the all-nighter was on home ground, as it was on many occasions, living in Peterborough.

Lorraine talked about this on her thread, and wasn't impressed at all by all accounts. I remember not being impressed at the time, considering it a bit ersatz after being teethed on eddie parker's original. My opinion hasn't changed really.

This thread is interesting. If people misbehave, either through too much booze, or simply being anti-social and conducting themselves contrary to perceived soul ethics, kick the buggers out and be done with it. Seems to me that the tolerance threshold for this sort of behaviour is too generous, right? Not even a warning should be necessary. Perhaps a quick 'can we have a word upstairs/at the door please' type approach should be adopted. Once away from the 'sensitive zones', they can be put out, either politely or forcefully. As regards banning booze after 2am. Sod that. Why should I pay for someone else's sins?

It was me, on behalf of the Pope. And we all know which one.

That's what I mean about hoeing one's own cumber patch.

You're really getting arcane now. I've no idea what that means.

To save you from another religious rant, I'd just like to say this 'rule for all' business is nonsense. The scene's never been like that, nor should it be. People will hoe their own patch and reputations will be made and broken, depending on how they carry themselves as bonafide purveyors of this music. It's a karma thing for me. Some of the disc jockeys that have been villified on here and beyond will have their hoed their cumber patch according to their own moral compasses, and will have garnered either contempt or praise in the process. For me, Colin Curtis, as former high priest (Pope was a bit over the top, I know) of the veritable temple of soul music that was the Blackpool Mecca, will have nobody to answer to but himself. His integrity and credibility were intact in 1976 when the club radically changed musical direction and continues to be intact today, which can't be said of some of the figures of notoriety that have populated this scene. The man has absolutely nothing to be reproached for, full stop. Any other consideration is pointless farting in the wind. Nobody gave Jimmy Saville this crap.

I'm having a hard time this week, got to admit it. So, for fear of being reprimanded and told to stand in the corner. What does this actually mean, please? No comprendo, mucho years in Spain, sabe?

Not at all poncey mate. I was just slow making the link between integrity and financial accruity. Nothing wrong with a bit of loquaciousness from time to time.

This is so very, very true. Tastes are like colours, one for every mood. An old Spanish proverb, with your permission, of course.

What does this actually mean? Sorry to be thick.