Tomangoes

Six by six, Theres a ghost in my house, Overture, Human zoo, The night, Going to a go go, Suspicion, Nothings too good for my baby. as examples along with hundreds more. All played as Northern Soul. All unique. Look at the artists and musicians that 'moonlighted' on other Detroit labels, Connie (Chris) Clark - My sugar baby for example is it Motown or Northern or both? Again I still maintain Motown is only a detail not a definintion. Ed

Im not sure its so cut and dried as some suggest. My point is that Motowns stable holds the whole spectrum of soul music so the only thing in common is the label. If a purely motown night was promoted then to be fair you would expect a sample of the whole range played. (Of those I have been to, its still largely 'Northern Soul' sounding records that get played.) We dont treat other labels in the same way and of those other labels like Atlantic or Stax who also offer the same range of soul they are broken into sub labels like Northern, Funk, Ballad, Deep etc. Its obvious a record can be classified as more than one thing but why bother? For me the label is not relevant, just the genre. I accept I may be in a minority on this point. Ed

Tunes like My weakness is you, Tell me its just a rumour, Six by six etc etc etc. Just because they appear on a Motown family label, should they be classed as 'Motown' or should they be classed as' Northern Soul', or 'Rare Soul' when appropriate? It seems that when a soul event is promoted 'Motown' is a one size fits all label. Is it justified ?? Ed

If I remember correctly, 50 something YO John Benson, (South Yorks DJ/Collector) told me HIS MAM, had an article published in B&S in one of the first issues when she was into early 60s soul music. I suppose along with Black Echoes it was the 'Soul-Source.co.uk' of its time and a sad loss if only for nostalgia's sake. Ed

Sterling Magee - Keep on - Sylvia (Hug me, dont bug me). Just right for todays R & B upsurge. Paul Sindab - Do you you gotta do - Hype and whilst on the old cleethorpes sounds - Joey Dee - How can I forget you - Caniel (strut in time). Theres just so many if DJs dug deep. Ed

Its seems the Kev Roberts new/rising top 100 featured in the 2nd edition of the top 500 (confused?), get played quite a lot. Perhaps the DJs should play 400 to 500 for the next 12 months and work their way up. Better still, pick some NOT in this book. (As an example, I have a copy of the John Manship price list book, and hand on heart can say at the most, I think I know 40% of them. Thats about 12,000, so lots more for me to discover. Thats without even talking about stuff thats not in the price guide, lp tracks, etc etc.) Oops, better not or the venue will empty. Ed

'It fills the dancefloor' so it must be OK So did Tim Tam, Muriel Day, Weakspot, Hawai 5/0, and the like. All the DJs that played this crap used the same excuse that they play what the crowd want to hear. Net Result - Northern Soul almost died. WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND. Sorry I cant be PC on this subject, but its going once again in the wrong direction. Ed

You would have thought it would be made into a 'working' museum at the least. Next the Appollo will go. The reality is that real estate value in Manhattan is as high as its buildings, so sentiment wont buy much time. As Edwin Starr(RIP) once sang 'Aint it hell up in Harlem' - coming true I think for Bobby Robinson. Ed

As an indicator of 'intensity', I am fairly confident to say that a conservative estimate of 2 hours per day for 365 days per year (lets not argue about leap years) for 31 years is the time I have spent listening to our music, or approx 2.6 years in total. Another way of looking at it is I have listened to approx 450,000 soul tracks (quite a few more than once it must be said). Considering I am only a wippa snappa who got into the music at 14 in 1975/6, the guys who were in at the start and have survived to tell the tale would have done at least 25% more than me. I suppose for the real 'soul freaks' its possible they could have racked up a million tunes, so I'm only half way up the ladder in that 'indicator'. Cant see me changing now, not that I ever wanted to. Ed

Gene Chandler - Nothing can stop me - Stateside demo (Coronation Street a few weeks back) - Does that count? Everybody loves Raymond - Paramount Comedy Channel/Sky FW - DILYIID background music to advert/promos. Its like a rash, this soul thing, its taking over - whoops Henry Lumpkin already said that. Ed

I know its normally heaving on a weekend, great city. If you want a good night out regardless of music, try the hard rock cafe. Dancing on the tables etc. Ed

And just to add salt to the cut, if you were a commercial success you would be accused of profiteering. London would be best due to the amount of visitors and tourists, but realistically most 'new outlets' change identity every few years and rare soul has not always been as popular as now. Personally I agree with the concept of theme nights in an existing outlet looking to boost sales by virtue of a 'new experience'. After all most soul nights and all dayers/nighters have to share venues that put other events on aswell. Ed

But at least she got what she deserved. Ed

Commercially speaking, I am told the Windmill costs £150 to hire. Not being a promoter, I am not sure if that is a good price or not, but RUFC deffo need the cash. Again good luck if you go down that route. Incidently, I thought the CP had fired up again, clashing with the regular Lord Conyers night. Ed

To get the best price you have to know whats in demand. If you watch ebay (highest price first selection) and othe auction sites like John Manship, you can monitor what todays prices are. Timing is everything, and always has been. I think ebay has improved with items like buy it now and best offer. Good luck. Ed

Deffo a £5 record at one point, but heard it twice in the last few weeks, so it has probably super inflated. Ed

You know the toon (Mrs Doubtfire). If it got played at a soul night would you (attempt) to dance to it? I will wait to guage opinion before I commit Ed

If it was Northern Soul after Dave Godin (RIP) it must have been Northern Soul before. My older Sister's used to play: Harlem shuffle, Baby make your own sweet music, Lovers Concerto, Where did our love go, and Sitting on the dock of the bay, what seemed like all the time as I was growing up in the 60's, so I assume they were played at clubs like the Top Rank etc. Ed

A mixed reaction as expected. At least with a patch/badge/pin it can be removed, but what about the guys and girls that went one step further and had the 'Northern Soul - Keep the faith' type message in a tattoo? Being elitist was a big part of the attraction when you were a kid getting into this scene, and deep down its probably still important to most. Ed

If you want to win some Brownie points, take the family for a meal to 'Sugar and Spice'. Its opposite the Patch in Las Americas. Top nosh at low prices. I think Manhattans has the market cornered for Northern, although a few venues like Jazzimo claim to promote soul acts. Noticed a 'soul bar' up past the San Eugenio shopping center, but the staff were miserable, and after an hour we left. Good luck anyway. Ed

In 1975 I got my first and last 'Northern Soul - Keep the faith' woven soul patch and quickly had it sewn onto my new Fred Perry polo shirt. At school, I thought I was some boy, but alas, upon going to the local Soul Night, where there was 'bigger boys' it did not go down well, and was the butt of a few jokes. Lesson Learned. The trend for advertising your love of this scene at that point must have reversed 180 degrees and it was no longer cool to do that although obviously, the clothes were still a give away. Fast forward 32 years, and has it now turned again, as I see more and more 'labelling' on clothes worn at soul nights. Should Nothern Soul be 'worn with pride' or quickly buried as before???

Cant remember the name of the pub, but just opposite the Jungle bar, there was another small venue where the DJ had about 25000 soul records on a mp3/computer thingy and seemed to know his stuff. Ed

Rob Smith used to declare a records virtues on the sleeve, of course no bad ones, he was a diplomat. Ed

Where have you let the world listen to Northern Soul as you drove your car, windows down, getting carried away. Rodeo Drive - FW /DILYIID Las Vegas Strip - The Joker (Instigated by Joey from Rossington) Made a few heads turn......................................WTF Ed

What ever the written conclusive long definition is, it will never cover all the bases and please everyone, but a few have tried. It used to be a common definition on NS compilation LP notes. The guys also have a go at it in the intro of the DVD 'The strange world of NS'. In its originating simplest form it might be 'soulfull sounding dance music, favoured in the North' Straight away it can be picked apart, but if its kept simple it gives a label and definition to most tracks played on the scene, good bad and ugly. Ed