macca

a camera phone would be too intrusive. the notebook is very hello, hello, hello, what have got here then, isn't it?

You'd be surprised how useful a little notebook & pencil can be whilst having a quick shufty at the decks, Soul Inquisition style.

Sad news indeed. When I met Dean Parrish in Madrid three years ago he told me that Ellie had sung backing vocals on 'I'm On My Way'. When you think of the Brill Building and fellow wordsmiths like Doc Pomus, you realise just how vitally important they were in the making and breaking of the stars of the day, especially in the days before artists wrote their own stuff... M

Mick will do a sterling job, as he's done in Spain for the last three Halloweens on the trot. I get to even fewer do's than our friend in California and I can't exactly blame it on the lack of quality events, as anyone who has been over from the UK will know. For me, it's about marrying my current obsessions with my long term 'condition'. Sometimes a weekend of Soul in the company of likeminded folk might win the day over a weekend spent visiting vineyards and generally feeding the face. Other times it's the other way round. My next event will be the Runaway Love Weekender in two weeks time and I'm looking forward to it. We all do our bit, or I like to think so... Mac

Very interesting thread. I think it's a key part of the UK scene's heritage, as are the 'quaint' sound systems still to be found in some parts. I do like to hear 'understable' people like Mick Smith and Soul Sam do their stuff though. Plus, if you listen to those old recordings of Wigan, Cleethorpes etc, they would be inconceivable without the likes of Richard Searling cueing up sounds with comments like 'here's one that may well prove to define the era'. Comments like that would stop you in your tracks. You'd suddenly forget the very profound chat you were having with someone's ear and look towards the stage. We've all been there, haven't we? :-) However, going to events here in Spain I don't expect it and I can't say I miss it either. I also get the impression that people think it's idiosyncratic of UK jocks, part of the package, mildly exotic even.

Dancer number three's raised hand just before he goes into the backdrop has reached mythical status where I live. Internet has definitely assured him a place in the Olympia of NS stuntsmen.

Barry Hamilton from Gwent? Looks more like Daf Rhees from Talybont on Usk to me. Somehow I doubt the sincerity of your reply Mr. Sadot. ;-)

Mine are tucked into a little white envelope inside the draw of my PC desk, along with all my membership cards. Strangely enough, records have come and gone over the years but I could never bring myself to part with the contents of that little envelope. Someone gave me a pair of lapel badges a while back. One of the Palmer label, the other Gordy. In 1976 I made my own little silver and black TMG badge by cutting out the logo from an LP jacket and mounting it on a piece of cardboard with a safety pin and sellotaped to the back. A lot of us did that. It was a very adolescent thing, rather like rock fans wearing USAF wings & peace signs. It identified you as a member of the tribe. Like baggy trousers, they also had a limited shelf life. How many people were wearing them by 1980? Only the Spencers clad diehards as I remember. So apart from the aesthetical question, I'd just feel like mutton dressed as lamb and tremendously self-conscious if I wore that stuff today. But each to his own of course.

I wasn't on about the commission but the whoring accusations. You're a heartless bunch.

That's a serious accusation, if I'm not mistaken.

In true parrot fashion I will say... why am I not surprised?

'A Change Is Gonna Come' is perfection full stop, but 'Sugar Dumpling', I think, is perfectly throw away. The man influenced so many artists it's unbelievable. Didn't Dave Evison play Another Saturday Night at Wigan towards the end?

If one points the finger at Ian Levine for being divisive and encouraging civil war in the mid 70's, then one must also point the finger at Colin Curtis, who still commands enormous respect on this scene, as they were pretty much a double act. They chose what they considered to be the forward path, in spite of the carping from 60's enthusiasts. A lot of people at the time referred to this new music as Funk, if my memory serves me well, venues had Funk rooms, not Modern rooms. Divisive? It largely depends on what side of the fence you sat.

Maybe that was Dave's Teutonic side getting the better of him. German is full of multi-compound nouns. I particularly like this one: Ueberseedeutschlehrerinternetmailinglistenfragenstellundantwortkundigen which means, wait for it: People well versed in asking questions and supplying answers on the Internet Mailing List of German teachers abroad. Did Blackamericansoulexploitation finally get whittled down, without Dave's consent, to Blaxploitation, the tremendously hip cinema genre?

Have you guys listened to the clips of 'say something nice to me' & 'taking care of business', graded VG+ & VG- respectively ? They sound lousy to me, surely the seller has been a bit over keen with his grading here, no? It's only been going a day & there are 6 bids already. People must be barking. I wouldn't want a record that sounded like that, even if it was Bobby Kline. https://cgi.ebay.com/BOBBY-KLINE-Say-Something-Nice-MEGA-RARE-NORTHERN-45_W0QQitemZ380144435430QQcategoryZ306QQcmdZViewItem

Bang on. I saw some 60's footage featuring a mixed crowd dancing to Davis & Tyler, and what a record that is! Instrumentals were an integral part of the dance scene both here and in the US. Phil Upchurch anybody? To not play them today seems a bit odd, to say the least.

Anyone remember the series broadcast around 1994 called 'Dancing In The Street - 40 Years of Rock & Roll'? In it we can see Chuck Berry, Little Richard & Bo Diddley gathered round a table, musing on the impact of Elvis Presley. To say they were bitter would be an understatement. Little Richard was, unsurprisingly, the most vocal. Berry & Diddley couldn't get a word in, but when they did manage to, it was very revealing. I have it on video. Might be a good idea to transfer it and stick some of it on Youtube so we can muse as well. There's nothing wrong with a good muse once in a while.

Post duplicated.

Thanks for posting that Ken. To my ears it's got that 'the essence of' feel to it. I'd agree that Double Cookin' has been thrashed to death, but the tambourine shaker in My Sugar Baby still brings out the goose pimples. Ronnie & Robyn's vocals always seemed 'other worldly' to me & that coupled with the sheer drama of the music, makes it unique as far as NS records go. Astral Trip used to be fabulous on a heaving night at Wigan. I can only conclude that it must've been the smarties.

What an engaging debate. It's a pity we have to be so dismissive of each other though. Didn't white boy Darryl Hall have a crack at said toon?

Tried to post Gerry & Paul, but can't get the hang of it.

Sidra´s Theme and the instrumental of My Sugar Baby really used to get the old adrenalin flowing, I still love those records. I would add Bari Track & The Cat Walk to that list. Who cares if they're not PC in today's climate? Bugger PC!

Johnny Rivers is great. His drummer was Mickey Jones, who later replaced Levon Helm when Bob Dylan toured the world with The Hawks (later to be The Band) in 1966. If I think of any more useless info, I'll be back.

I've got one like the one Richard has posted. When I raised the subject on here, several experts concluded that it was probably a US counterfeit made at the time of release. It's in my 'dodgy' box...