Ady Croasdell

Spinning off from the suedehead thread. I think the Old Soul scene that existed before the term Northern Soul was coined was exactly that scene, it was not a pre-cursor, it just happened that it didn't have the name the scene is known for. Looking at it nationally apart from the Wheel and the Northants/Beds scene which was running parallel with it, what other areas had established clubs and crowds that would play old mid 60s soul sounds? I'm sure there were clubs around Yorks and Lancs and there was the Blue Orchid in Derby, but I nebver heard of a scene in Leicester despite Jeff King's market stall and Batman, I think those lads hung out at the Wheel. Were there any nighters around Stoke pre-Torch or in Nottingham? Any in the West Midlands? The Saints & Sinners one was overwhelmingly full of the Northants crowd so that really can't be included as part of the Birmingham scene. I'm guessing that several towns would have a few soulies but that there were hardly any nighters and if you put one on anywhere in the country people would find their way there. When there wasn't one on one weekend the Northants lot went down to Soho to an all night gay cafe called the Ledouce(?) for the want of somewhere to take gear and listen to the sounds.

Yeah tonic trousers cut a bit short, sheepskins, crombies (Randy Cozens bought a £100 Crombie in 1966 which I eventually bought off him), red or white socks (I hitched a lift in the back of a greaser van to the California Ballroom and they were telling me how they kicked skinheads in while I was trying to pull my tonics down over my socks; luckily I had the long hair and they were very dumb), DMs or brogues.

My recollection differs from yours Kegsy in that the mods became skins and then later suedeheads. I'm pretty sure skinheads came before suedeheads though maybe the first skinheads were slightly hairier than the eventual accepted look. I'm tieing myself in knots here. How about this for a theory for kids on the Old Soul scene; the mods shaved their heads as a new style but when it got adopted by non-mod type scrappers they grew it out to suedeheads and concentrated on the nighter scene while the ones who would be full on skinheads got into reggae and a different world? Fell free to criticise, I'm just postulating. Ady

As I remember it I was in Leicester city centre about 1968 and I saw a bunch of mods who I knew including my future best mate and they had all had their hair cut so short they were skinheads. I didn't like the look, my hair was down my back, to be a bit different. I hadn't even heard the word skinhead mentioned until just after that and then I thought it was just a derogatory term coiuned by the press to poke fun at this rather ugly trend (some kids didn't realise what ridiculous shaped heads they had until it was too late); it was a great aggressive punk type statement though and really shocked the older generation. I thought the lads were still totally mod and that was the latest mod style. It was DMs at the time and when they started growing their hair again and wearing the bigger rounded collars on the shirts and going back to different style shoes, I considered that the next development. Some of those would have stuck with the skin look and maybe adapted it (severely bleached jeans perhaps), then I would have called them skins, but the first lot were really mods on a new style. Fantastic photos of our old crowd, I only recognise the guy on the right of the first picture who was from Desborough or Rothwell. The photo on the cover of Right Back Where We Started From is the Harborough lot at the Harborough all nighter. We were all around at the same time as the Wheel lot so I'd have thought that a similar fashion trend would have occurred there as a lot of our crowd went north to nighters and vice verca (Swish and Judy being cases in point). The scene was so small that anyone who knew what it was was a potential best friend.

At a Leicester Arsenal game in the 70s we got surrounded by a big gang of hoolies and this thug was about to hit my mate who was a hippy and he just put his arms up and said "I don't want no trouble man" at which the geezer turned round and smacked one of my other mates who nobody liked much anyway.

Rather off topic, as a punk I got attacked by a gang of Teds and skins going to Petticoal Lane market on a Sunday morning in 1977. It still qualifies as my earliest time of day for a scrap.

True but I think it's more down to family commitments and attitude than age. Look at our Geoff who had a 65th last year and has discovered a scene which has followed on from his love of soul in the original mod days. He treks all over the place and dances away when his legs aren't struggling and loves the new discoveries to boot!

Any chance of a bigger scan of the label and back cover please? Ady

Unfortunately whoever engineered the Temple sessions, with the exception of the Frenchie & The Chessmen single didn't have a clue. The master tapes are about as bad as the 45s which ain't great. Both sides of Harry Reid are OK for very early soul but I doubt if any have been played out. Great for us Dave Hamilton collectors though £100 sounds about right. Ady

I think you have read my response incorrectly. It was not meant to be an insult. It pointed out that the original poster had nullified his criticism of the photographer by saying it is too late to do any decent photos as the scene's best days are over anyway; in his opinion. By the poster saying that the best days are over, I assumed he thought his best days are over. That isn't an insult, my best days are over but i still enjoy myself immensely and am glad that others are discovering the scene and enjoying it.

I think you have read my response incorrectly. It was not meant to be an insult. It pointed out that the original poster had nullified his criticism of the photographer by saying it is too late to do any decent photos as the scene's best days are over anyway; in his opinion. By the poster saying that the best days are over, I assumed he thought his best days are over. That isn't an insult, my best days are over but i still enjoy myself immensely and am glad that others are discovering the scene and enjoying it.

I am not sure he could have brought anything new to the table for you when you are obviously disparaging of the current scene. It sounds like you have already experienced your best days on the scene but no need to knock it for all the people who are currently loving it. Ady

I am not sure he could have brought anything new to the table for you when you are obviously disparaging of the current scene. It sounds like you have already experienced your best days on the scene but no need to knock it for all the people who are currently loving it. Ady

Have no fear Steve we whooped it up splendidly at the Majestic and Wendy and her co-Horst danced their socks off along with Dave from Braintree and the Feltons from Salop also stranded in the Capital on a school night. It was some do. Ady

Have no fear Steve we whooped it up splendidly at the Majestic and Wendy and her co-Horst danced their socks off along with Dave from Braintree and the Feltons from Salop also stranded in the Capital on a school night. It was some do. Ady

Both sides of the Look At Me Know 45 and the three unissueds Take Your Time, Lover and You Were Just Foolin were annotated by Rupli as being on the same tape so were probably cut at the same time 1968 even if they sound a bit earlier, odds are they weren't. Interestingly the jazzier vocal to Look At Me Know is not annotated, it's the same backing track so must have been around the same time.

Both sides of the Look At Me Know 45 and the three unissueds Take Your Time, Lover and You Were Just Foolin were annotated by Rupli as being on the same tape so were probably cut at the same time 1968 even if they sound a bit earlier, odds are they weren't. Interestingly the jazzier vocal to Look At Me Know is not annotated, it's the same backing track so must have been around the same time.

Wow, I saw Pesky Gee at the Frollockin' Kneecap. Were there two great looking girl lead singers or was that The Ferris Wheel? Have you got any photos of the group I liked you so much I wrote your name in my schoolbook. Family wrote a song about the Burlesque, I never went there but saw Howlin' Wolf at the Il Rondo in Leicester.

Not at the time, just the CD when Kent found the master tapes.

Only on a Kent CD in 1997. The pressing must be a new one this year. They forgot to send me my promo

A lovely and talented man. He had a nightmare plane journey to the UK for his first vist and the plane was so delayed he had to travel straight from the airport to rehearsals up in Willesden. Though utterly drained he was happy to rehearse and as soon as the music struck up the energy and life just flowed back right into him. The jazz and funk scene then fell in love with him and he was a star in the UK and relatively unknown at home. He deserved all his acclaim.

A lovely and talented man. He had a nightmare plane journey to the UK for his first vist and the plane was so delayed he had to travel straight from the airport to rehearsals up in Willesden. Though utterly drained he was happy to rehearse and as soon as the music struck up the energy and life just flowed back right into him. The jazz and funk scene then fell in love with him and he was a star in the UK and relatively unknown at home. He deserved all his acclaim.

Sorted thanks to a very kind Belgian collector. Ta

Anyone know where I can see scans of both sides? Not the Sue versions please. Ta Ady

I preferred it to the normal night by the end but that was over thirty years ago. I've been on the scene all that time and if I'd just kept listening to those oldies I'd be in a nut house by now. Some time during those thirty years a DJ has played a record that nobody has heard before and cleared the floor, but then stuck with it and it is now one of the oldies that is being danced to today.