Ady Croasdell

Yeah, he had a gorgeous girlfriend called Isobel who went to dos too (she's on one of my Saints And Sinners photos) and at a punk do we were having a good pogo (i was a punk, he wasn't) and I found him throttling me which would have been a good dance move then, but when I started blacking out, I wasn't so sure. Doesn't anybody here remember the Birmingham Saints and Sinners then?

I also remember in the 80s when we switched from a more general 60s rhyth and soul sound to basic Northern that a lot of mods split off (particularly when 70s was all the rage) and just went to mod dos. The more astute went to both; they'd all turn up at the Xmas party though.

I'd have no problem with that and I can see where they're coming from. These records were made to be hits in the contemporary US market, usually black. We were generally the first to properly collect and idolise the music but some members of our scene do seem to take the attitude that if it hadn't been for us the music would have died. I think it was too good for that but we have undoubtedly championed it and given it its dues (bootlegging being a notable and shameful exception). However I don't think that we have any proprietorial rights over the music whatsoever, just over wanting to stay out all night dancing to it and bankrupting ourselves. Then again Northern is easier to say than black 60s dance music.

It's not a hand that's in the hand in this case.

Yeah I'm pretty sure Mick Parker ran the Dungeon, I worked for him at the Camden Palace in the 80s/90s when Lenny McLean was his head bouncer and personal minder. Nice bloke but tight as a duck's arse. He's still about.

I know you lot always called him Smelly, but to me he will always be "Big George; King Of Kelmarsh" who got me my first doobs, five black bombers for 50p. I think he died well after Bletsoe, but I wasn't from the Beds area. Bletsoe was great because it was so amateur and ad hoc, it felt really naughty! Now what about Saints and Sinners in Birmingham which was full of our crowd and one cool Brummie called Slip. I've got some great photos of there with Phil West from Rothwell; it was a he'll of a joint.

The Man Who Had Everything on Scepter

Yeah but these were twice the size of normal green and clears, probably for narcoleptic elephants. It was usually pretty quiet when I went to the Birds Nest, that was why I was surprised your mob had been. It was mainly 3 or 4 DJs, another 4 would be DJs and me dancing, occasionally off my tits. I wonder if Dave Burton or Dave Rivers has any photos of the gaff. We were back there in early 1980 for the second 6TS venue, upstairs in the Starlight

He's in the US, Florida I think. Got into the hard stuff too much and quit the lifestyle, I think relocating helped him start a new life. I spoke to him about 6 years ago and he was popping back to Wellingboro to vist relatives. I've got a killer photo of him somewhere.

Great Robb, that gives the record a full chain of title

Thanks for clarifying that, but i didn't mean it was the exact same copy. Cheers Ady

Excellent so did he first play it at Stafford and which year exactly? Come on Smiffy you should know that!

As Larry Banks sang: Ooh It Hurts Me!

Blimey Paul, not many people went there. I was living in London then and drove a battered Vespa (sorry!) up to it one night, drank a handful of Carlsberg Special Brew and drove home to St Pancras in 5 minutes and couldn't remember how I got there. I once had some of the biggest green and clears, from a Harboro Chemist that got done, anyone had ever seen. This lad who was acting very cool with me turned into a gibbering wreck when he saw them. I had my best night on Mandys then too. The Nolan Chance might have been the Bunky copy Dave Burton eventually sold me and was on Manships a couple of weeks ago. This is a great thread, I can't believe I've not posted on it. Bletsoe was the b*llocks, one of the most blocked times of my life and hearing I Don't Want To Discuss It and A Quitter Never Wins in that condition was unbeatable. I loved the rural aspect of it all, Kelmarsh was the same and I visited it after the Cleethorpes weekender prompted by a post from Swish. We were so lucky to go through all that. I love the photos please stick up more people.

When was it first a) discovered, b) played; presumably by Guy at Stafford.

That's the problem with acetates you really have to know their provenance and the honesty of their owners all along the way, even to the original label owner in a couple of cases.

Andrew moved to NYC with Bob babbit and wrote for Spring artists like Millie Jackson Garland Green and a couple of crackers for Act One like You Didn't Love Me Anyhow

Sorry Bob, I didn't get anywhere witht he research. Dig that number out again. Ady

Hi Ady, The Platters was a Musicor LP track and the Jeffrey Bowen a Mercury 45 as you probably know. Is the Crazy Baby an alternate recording? Ady

Yeah, defo acetate though.

He wrote the song with Joe Hunter and arranged/produced it with Joe. He worked at all sorts of early Detroit labels like MAHS, KeKe, Velvet Sound etc I had two copies of the acetates (I wouldn't be surprised if Mick's came from me too) and all were acetate not vinyl. There is a totally different mix which is harsher but with an accentuated beat, so better for dancers, which we will put out on a Kent 45 soonish.

I had it from master tape, I've never seen an acetate

That's a good read. I went to visit my sister at Manchester Uni in 1967 (got to see Cream live at the Uni for 6 shillings) and she hung out with a lot of the mods and reckoned there was a big Jewish contingent, as there had been in the early London scene. Does anyone remember that aspect?

There you go people Mark Freeman it is and congratulations; especially pleasing because he was coming down just to enjoy himself. Now we can't charge him on the door though. I didn't think this through, Rob's gonna be in tears. Well done Mark, I'll sort DJ times out a minute before the doors open, or pm me if you have special needs. Ady PS Thanks to everyone for taking part in this bit of fun, Sian's gonna get mithered by Kenny for letting Dave pip him to second place; so it's all been worthwhile!

Brilliant It's lucky Randy didn't know about this, he'd be on the train to Nottingham!