macca

I think all of us, or almost all of us, 'buy into' certain aspects of the scene, consciously or unconsciously. if you're not a collector then some of the more arcane stuff will inevitably leave you very cold. the politics, as it's inappropriately called, is also something that you can 'buy into'. controversy though, is never far away, as there's lots of ego massaging going on. this ego massaging has existed since the year zero. twisted wheel DJ roger eagle probably grumbled about the direction some jocks were taking the scene in 1967/8, for most of us, those early pathfinders were brave, innovative chaps who lit up the forward path, for others, they were playing sub-standard shite. debate is healthy, ramble, ramble... to any newcomer, I'd just say go out & enjoy the music & the community that's behind it, don't get drawn into the mud-slinging, unless you feel you have to take a principled stand on some matter. let your feet do the walking, support venues & do some some hard travell­n', ´cos the beauty of this scene is that it's now well & truly international, as anybody who attended the recent valencia/hamburg all-nighters will tell you.

& what's wrong with footsee?

I used to love this so much I bought john vincents emidisc of it when it was covered up as the gems. it had yvonne vernee on the other side. I had no qualms about spinning it at the local youth club. the dj in question is a complete canute. out the fecker now!!

is that linda who went around with frances, the red head. I knew them both very well. keith dunhill is on here, perhaps he'll know.

tony, did these american distributors have you down as foaming at the mouth nutters, or just knowlegdeable british entrepreneurs committed to spreading the word? it seems there has always always been some incomprehension regarding the british scene. jimmy ruffin, in SWONS, seemed very scornful of it, indeed. I still have my sisters showstoppers ain't nothing but a houseparty/what can a man do? and willie parker I live the life I love/you got your finger in my eye. but this doesn't count cos I was only 8 or 9 when they came out.

Now I wonder who you might be talking about... ;-)

bulging sacks? that sounds like a debilitating condition. hope it's not contagious. on a serious note, I'm supposed to be sending 4 records out tomorrow. would it be a good idea to send them or wait a while?

got a pretty hard corps one of me on stage, with a geetar, doing a bob dylan song. you'd love it pete.

hang on a minute chaps, I must be mistaken. on a trip back to my hometown last Christmas, I accompanied my sister to the huge tescos superstore on the outskirts of town, it was New Year's Eve & I was in search of some fresh shellfish (nephrops-nephrops) to serve with cava at midnight, introducing a little Spanish flavour into the proceedings. As we were parking, we saw a gaggle of shell-suited & hooded youths squaring up to each other. I commented on how awfully dressed these lads & lasses were. I know it sounds terrible, but the girls looked like cheap whores. I asked my sis' if that was the way british teenagers dressed in 2006 & she told me they were known as chavs. so what exactly is a chav?

& if he wanted to save himself the grief of sitting down in front of a laptop, I'd offer myself as his ghost writer (un negro in spanish). you might guess what my fee would be. M

Pikey I've LOL'd my socks off with that comment.

Why Euroshite pikey? Most of it was/is created by British DJ's & spun to mainly British crowds in European holiday resorts like Ibiza. Further evidence that mainland Europe has to divest itself of British culture I reckon. ;-)

Yeah, pretty naff. Especially when you compare it to the P-Funk T-Shirt chap in the Wigan Video. M

Stunning, simply stunning. Cheers Chalky. MIght look for that single. :-)

A weekender in Mallorca! That sounds cool. I guess it was quashed by the town hall. In those days, the Mayor was designated by Franco's man, the Civil Governor & I think in the case of the islands, the Military Governor. They'd have probably viewed the hordes of pasty-faced teenagers in baggy trousers as a serious threat to the integrity of the local marias. Having said that, the manuels would have had a field day accompanying soul fans to the chemist in Pollen§a town. Centramine, a type of generic dexedrine, was available over the counter back then. Bustades I think they were called. I have a DJ friend in Mallorca. He's on the 'white scene', but bound to have contacts. What Chris Burton couldn't pull off... Now that's got me thinking...

I saw some kids doing hip hop in the main square the other day. They marked the area off with chalk, & two or three guys really pulled off some impressive moves. The music wasn't bad either, quite melodic hip-hop, with a black, in yer face female vocal. A big portable CD player provided the sounds. I think it should be encouraged. The good thing about Spain is that there's no mall culture, kids just hang out in the streets. No chavs either, thank god. Some would say they are just aping what they've seen on MTV/VH1. I honestly don't think that anything's truly original, it's been magpied from generation to generation & each scene takes what it needs & discards the rest. The USA nor mainland Europe should have to worry about throwing off the chains of its culture.

thanks chaps, most helpful... M

anybody got a soundfile for timmy willis?

Thanks very much. Will search for thread.

oo'er. then my mate's cd track listing is wrong then. the lyric is "in spite of the danger I fell in love with a stranger" is it ike & tina then? M

was a counterfeit ever done of it, apart from the soul fox jobbies?

velly nice. could we have some info on billy as well, please?

Looking for info on this: Gladys Knight & The Pips - Danger (Gordy?) Heard it on a mate's compilation & it sounded more like Tina Turner that Gladys. Great tune though...

He's got the voice, great stage presence & he's dressed very tastefully, that black frock coat is a lot more elegant than some of the 'get ups' these chaps wear.

HIGH VOLTAGE Judge for yourselves. There's no denying that bass intro & listening to the socially conscious lyrics, I think they're having a swipe at that lump of saccharine 'Country Roads' by the Pinochet loving frustrated pilot, John Denver.