Mark Bicknell

As Jimmy Love said on his Josie 45 'There Are Two Sides To Every Story' and just to even up things with the other thread going on here about what you dislike about the scene, i thought it would even the balance to perhaps highlight the good stuff for a change so it's a simple question......"What Do You Most Like about the scene"? For me it's about the records, the fundimental most important thing of why we are all here in the first place, those wonderful, beautiful pieces of vinyl that can change moods at a flick of a turntable switch, take us to another place out of our normal everyday situations, also is the scene just about the club culture or is it far more than being about the weekends, travel, friendship, dancing, collecting etc.? I feel the scene and the efforts of everyone connected with it at times takes a bit of a battering so perhaps it's time to take stock of something which should be cherished, protected, celebrated, enjoyed and held in far higher regard than it sometimes is..............over to you! Regards - Mark Bicknell.

I trust we will all be sending you 'True True Love' Ady for going ahead with this next batch of gems, i've sent you a PM re starting the ball rolling via my Solar gig mate on a Sunday nights, just let me know the tracks coming out and i'll do my little bit. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Jones, Hackett, Smith, Rimmer, Howard, Weston infact all of you evil, nasty, teasing rotton sods.....lol what is this? 'The Tammy Wayne Appreciation Society' or what...best i join then...Boom!Boom! sorry could'nt resist that one, on a serious note you should be able to pick this one up without any trouble...he say's....lol Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Beautiful reply i'm just sorry i can't help out as mines not going anywhere just now, just played it upstairs.......Tunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnne! Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Need to DJ to do that...lol i've played it on the show a few times over the years though, i'm starting to do a few gigs from March (i hate the Winter...lol so only start coming out in the Spring) I'm pretty sure a few other DJ's have this beauty tucked away for a rainy day so perhaps it already started raining for this one...lol .......Let's get it played nice and loud! Mark Bicknell.

So £50.00 to £75.00 would be a reasonable ticket price for like you say this very under rated, under played Chicago gem, should be a huge record IMO. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Certainly played around that time, i think i must have picked up on it via a tape or Stafford spin yes. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Hi Christian, Here's the red issue/stock copy, hope it helps, as confirmed there are also yellow copies out there, not sure if there were Demo's which would look nice? Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Hi Nick....not like this one then???....lol 'DJ Copy - Not For Sale' is printed on my copy not hand written...could this be the Demo that sneaked out??? mines been in the collection for about twenty years, if my memory serves me correctly i paid about £70.00 for it then off 'Ady Pieace' i think, if you look closley you will see the name 'Chuck' written in red ink, i wonder if it was either 'Chuck's' copy or signed at a record hop for a fan...lol nice thought...dynamite record yet to have it's moment, if anything a little fast for today's more mature soul fan....lol Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Just taken me ages to catch up and read through this one, ok 'Soul Britannia' seems to have missed the point totally, however one beautiful 'Hit you full on the face Mr BBC producer' thing to come out of this is there is pretty much the whole story, the full story about soul music culture in this country, the true and real 'Soul Britannia' within this thread right here on 'Soul Source', rather than send your comments directly to the BBC which will be ignored anyway i suggest this thread is sent in full to them as a 'Treatment' for a follow up programme which would tell the story which most people with a passion for our scene want telling, as yet the real story has never quite been told 'SWONS' had the chance to tell the whole story but...well you know what i mean on that one....lol, one person i feel who has the influence within television, a passion and a true understanding of the subject is 'Stuart Cosgrove' could pull it off if something could be submitted of substance and content rather than a watered down version with minor celebs who really don't know what they are talking about with incorrect quotes,insulting comments etc. maybe subjects like this need to be made and told by the people who are actually involved with the scene/culture/subject or leave it totally alone and simply savor and enjoy what we love underground and behind closed doors. The subject of 'Soul' in this country needs far better treatment than this current series and until such programmes are made by the people for the people then sorry but it ain't really worth watching...i suggest the BBC, Robert Elms, Jazzie B and co 'Keep The Faith' well they invented it so they deserve it...enough said. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Musicals in this style worked about 50 years ago during the golden age of Hollywood the difference with the likes of 'Singing In The Rain' and possibly the last in this style 'West Side Story' are now considered classics and why? because there songs and production numbers were of a quality and became memorable in the first place and have stood the test of time entertaining many generations of people, i feel 'Dreamgirls' will soon be forgotton, be out on DVD pretty soon and straight into the discount bin. 'Dreamgirls' falls very short of becoming a classic musical as i feel the original stage production or at least the songs within were not strong enough to be made into a movie in the first place, 'Jonathan Ross' pretty much put me off when he was far from impressed on his 'Film 2007' show recently basically confirming that the songs were weak and did not reflect the period or the style of the inspired subject matter from the likes of Motown, Stax, Atlantic etc., i'd had enough after about ten minutes to be honest with you but gave it another half hour or so but the story as well as the songs were very shallow, had no depth or real emotion and lacked any Soul whatsoever and i pretty much knew what was coming despite not seeing the original stage production. I could see the stage version working far better than the movie as it was strung together 'narative' connecting each production number, again for this to work the songs need to be strong so despite the talents of Eddie Murphy, Jamie Foxx etc. this movie never gets out of the starting blocks. This style of movie musical is so dated which worked in the 40's and 50's but does not work in 2007 sorry. The performances were ok but nothing special, i feel movies like 'The Five Heartbeats', 'The Temps' movie already mentioned, one based on fact and one on fiction are far better examples and reflect the mood and period far better than 'Dreamgirls', i feel this movie has been hyped to death which it needed as the end product falls well short by miles and is at best an average movie, if it is based or inspired by 'The Supremes' then why oh why not just make a bio picture on them in the first place instead of this watered down tinsel town version of a unique time in musical history, 'Dreamgirls' is sugar, not very sweet and lacks no spice at all, 'Gene Kelly' still makes me cry 'Dreamgirls' would make anyone walk out in the rain....sorry it's crap. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Hi Christian, I sold one on Ebay a couple of years ago for £50.00 which was a Red copy, there are also Yellow copies i think, not sure which is the hardest to locate, a very under played under rated quality Chicago record that i've had for many years, like so many records out there this one has yet to have it's day as a huge record on the scene, it's quality should demand a much higher selling price and if someone got it for £12.00 then they had a bit of a bargain i think, i have played this record on my show and out and about a few times and it always creates reaction like "what the hell is this.....it's brilliant" A top tune no question has it all. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Scene wise my handbag is made of plastic infact it's a carrier bag lol, just requested to close my menbership to this site as better to do what we do rather than talk about it all the time. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Cheers Jo, still a bumpy road ahead as ever with funding but this time if we run out of petrol as least we can look back on a pretty good journey since November 2000, still there are plenty of good internet shows out there that are flying the flag as it were so if i am forced to finish then as they say the show will go on? just not with me....lol www.solarradio.com Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Been meaning to do this for ages, i had £1.95 left in my account and guess what the minimum you can draw out is £6.00 so i told them to give that to their boss as he must need the money....lol reckon we should all perhaps get back to buying records the old fashioned way via good old record lists and at venues...lol Regards - Mark Bicknell.

I've just canceled both my Paypal and Ebay accounts, f*** them not interested anymore, the whole system and it's practices stinks. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

First record i ever bought non soul was Alice Cooper - 'Schools Out' when i was 12 back in 1972, first Soul/Motown 45 was R.Dean Taylor - 'There's A Ghost In My House' when it was re issued in the UK was that around 1974ish???? again i was still at school, first Northern Soul record was around 1976 Little Anthony And The Imperials - 'Better Use Your Head' B/W 'Gonna Fix You Good' U/A British re issue then just left school...lol followed by the RCA 'Jumping At The Go-Go LP then the bug hit me....lol Regards - Mark Bicknell.

www.solarradio.com - Will be featuring some nice tunes via Dave Thorley in the next few weeks, bit of a spotlight on some quality tuneage Dave currently has in stock, should be interesting. Regards - Mark Bicknell. Regards - Mark Bicknell

Yes Mandy. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Nor mine, also have White Demo but have had Issue/Stocker in the past, superb record, covered up as 'The Metro's' if my memory serves me correctly...Chalky will know and remember...lol Regards - Mark Bicknell

Here! Here! nothing else to add, the last two posts pretty much sum it up. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Steve, i was simply showing Dave some support here in all the panic, i would not do or say anything on the show without the OK from Dave, i was in no way offering to name and shame someone without good cause, seems like there may be some resolution here and again i was only showing Dave some support and perhaps the possible offer to warn others if there was something underhand going off, seems that this is not the case here. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Hi Dob, 'Roll With The Punches (Take Three) originally recorded back in March 1967, was first issued on a Westside CD WESM 525 "Dr Good Soul" then again on another CD from them 'Blues Belles' The Complete Calla Recordings of Bettye Lavette and The Complete Port and Roulette recordings of Carol Fran - 1964 - 67 - WESM 549 which came out in 1999, not sure if these CD's are still available but well worth picking up (check out a belting track from little miss Detroit as Bettye Lavette really let's rip on another unissued gem of a track 'She Don't Love You Like I Love You'), Frans version is the original version also recorded by Garnet Mimms, Carol's version never came out on vinyl as Warren stated except on the two CD's mentioned here. Regards - Mark Bicknell

Just a quick update regarding 'The Soul Shack' - Solar Radio - Sunday Nights - 8pm - 10pm UK Time and 9pm - 11pm Central Europe - Channel 0129 Sky Digital - www.solarradio.com - Well I'm still hanging on in there just...lol the recent funding problems are still there in the background but with recent help from 'The Attic Boy's', Mansfield and numerous friends of 'The Soul Shack' I'm still able to broadcast every Sunday. Now well into seven years on the station i am determined to hang on in there and keep the Sunday slot alive but it's hard as i'm constantly worried about the funding issues, the support and listenership out there is fanstastic and if nothing else i will do all i can to stay on the air, self funding, gigs, basically whatever it takes? There is enough in the kitty from various contributions,from friends of 'The Soul Shack', 'The Orwell Boy's', 'Jo Wallace' who organised the 'Marine Broker' event in London last September and 'The Attic Boy's' as i said to keep me going until about the end of March and then it's back to the drawing board so if you have any ideas i would love to hear them, i promised myself i would not go down the begging bowl route again and i have told the station that, i basically need funding from a record company, event or organisation, i support all poduct i recieve and events so i'm not asking for much really, all the money from my DJ bookings will be going towards keeping the show together, i would also like to do a legit CD alongside the show of which some of the funds raised could go towards the upkeep of the show...so again any ideas????? I've had to hold fire with studio guests recently due to the funding issues but i hope to be getting some quality guest DJ's and collectors into The Shack real soon which will include John May, Keith Williams, Dave Greet, Chalky, Andy Whitmore and many others. Please note if there are any promotions who would like a mention on the show then please feel free to forward me all the dates and details and i will gladly give the events a massive plug and mention. For requests, mentions and dedications please contact bicknellmark@aol.com Looking forward to three specials in March with a Detroit, Philadelphia and a two hour Chicago special, plus all the regular features, what's on, CD previews and reviews, quality Northern, Crossover and much more. If you are interested in possibly funding or advertising on the station or maybe either some direct sponsorship please feel free to contact 'Solar' directly or me on bicknellmark@aol.com Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Terri Bryant - Geni B/W When I'm In Your Arms - Verve Demo, nice VG copy with some light marks on both sides but plays really well - £45.00 Junior Wells - I'm Gonna Cramp Your Style - Bright Star Stock/Issue - Class Chicago £20.00 The King Of Hearts - A Little Togetherness - Zea Stock/Issue - Nice quirky lable of this all time classic - £15.00 - Nice clean condition. The Darlings - Two Time Loser - Mercury Demo - Great record and a nice clean copy - £20.00 Judy Clay - You Busted My Mind - Scepter Stock/Issue - Classic record in nice condition - £15.00 Contact Bicknellmark@aol.com or IM me if interested. Few more titles to follow later. Regards - Mark Bicknell.