Mark Bicknell

Just as I was calming down from the release of Otis Clay my buzzer went to my apartment and I am pleased to say The Ringleaders - Baby, What Has Happened To Our Love (Alternate take) b/w All Of My Life aka Sweet Little Girl is now at Bicknell Towers, both sides sound stunning being taken from the original M-Pac masters, All Of My Life sounds the very best it's ever sounded since it was first discovered and played by Mr Dave Thorley back in the early 80's. My heart sank a little when I first opened one of the 50 count boxes to check the record, on the top side the label specs must have been very slightly too small as when the records were dinked USA style the word 'Happened' is partly missing, now I looked at the options and after playing both sides the quality totally over shadows the minor label error, this is partly due to the dinking process as if we had gone for small centre hole it wold have been fine, I have spoken with HQ in the States and the pressing plant to adjust future label artwork specs to avoid this happening again (see label pictures and it really is a minor issue) DEMO COPIES £23.00 ALL IN UK MAIL AND £25.00 EUROPE AND REST OF THE WORLD - ISSUE COPIES £15.00 ALL IN UK MAIL AND £17.00 EUROPE AND REST OF THE WORLD, PAY PAL AS FAMILY AND FRIENDS TO AVOID FEES, INCLUDE ADDRESS WITH PAY PAL PAYMENT PLEASE, PAY PAL IS bicknellmark@aol.com PLEASE ALLOW A FEW DAYS FOR DESPATCH WHILE ALL ORDERS ARE PROCESSED. OTIS CLAY - I GOT PROBLEMS B/W THANK YOU LOVE SELLING LIKE HOT CAKES, LIMITED NUMBER OF DEMOS LEFT, SAME PRICES AND POSTAGE AS ABOVE. Mark Bicknell.

I have had these on ice for a few weeks as I am waiting on the new mixes to arrive, I have two previously unissued tracks and one amazing alternate take of their classic record, firstly a version of the Padded Cell Toddlin' Town release 'Mr Misery' which is incredible Northern Soul, secondly a version of Tyrone (The Wonder Boy) (Davis) Four Brothers release' Good Company' which gives 'The Wonder Boy' version a run for it's money and last but not least an alternate take with heavy horns on it of 'Tired Of Being Lonely' which is simply staggering, there is certainly a release here and I will be submitting it for clearance as soon as I hear the final mixes and decide which two to go with a nice dilemma to have. The Ringleaders - Baby What Has Happened To Our Love (Alternate Take) b/w All Of My Life aka Sweet Little Girl is due to be pressed on March 3rd so add a few days for cooling, packing and shipping to me the record should be ready mid march, I have a limited number of Demos available to pre reserve available so be quick, to pre reserve PM her or email bicknellmark@aol.com OTIS CLAY - I GOT PROBLEMS B/W THANK YOU LOVE - NOW AVAILABLE LIMITED NUMBER OF DEMOS LEFT @ £20.00 EACH PLUS POSTAGE £3.00 UK MAIL OR £5.00 EUROPE REST OF THE WORLD OR ISSUE COPY @ £12.00 PLUS POSTAGE £3.00 UK MAIL OR £5.00 REST OF THE WORLD. PAY PAL AS FAMILY AND FREINDS TO AVOID FEES, INCLUDE ADDRESS WITH PAYMENT PLEASE, PAY PAL bicknellmark@aol.com

Otis Clay - I Got Problems b/w Thank You Love - One-derful/Secret Stash now available, £12.00 plus postage £3.00 UK first class sign for and £5.00 Europe and rest of the world, pay pal as family and friends to avoid fees, please include full name and address with all payments please as I can't chase people for addresses, pay pal is bicknellmark@aol.com - due to the large number of pre reserved orders please allow 5 to 7 days for delivery as I like to process and send orders out in bulk. We have changed the title very slightly to 'I Got Problems' from 'I Got A Problem'as the actual title on the master tape box and studio log notes was 'I Got Problems' my mistake this, a minor change really the record looks and sounds fantastic, PM here to order or email bicknellmark@aol.com please don't forget to include name and address with payment. please note all Demos are pre sold out so Issues only available, please state if you have pre reserved a copy so I can tick off the pre reserve list. Mark Bicknell.

This little project I am involved in just gets better and better, doing a little work with the One-derful masters I have discovered 5 takes of Maxine Brown - One In A Million, how and why we have this tape is a complete mystery to me however One-derful did distribute for other labels so it may have found it's way to Chicago way back somehow, it's simply just under half an hour of soul history, I contacted Ady Crosdell regarding this as soon as I found them, as good as the find is there is nothing we can place it with at Secret Stash so I have hooked up my direct boss with Ady so they can discuss if there is any commercial use for this find, all I can say is the 5 takes are beautiful, it's like she is finding her way with the track, hairs on the back of the neck time for sure, also the good thing in all this with Ady being personal friends with Maxine I'm pretty sure she will get to hear the tape, has to be a one in a million find sorry I could not resist that. Mark Bicknell

Secret Stash News Update - February 2017 A new video plus all the latest new Secret Stash release news Video Promo view here Otis Clay - I Got A Problem b/w Thank You Love - One-derful/Secret Stash due for release towards the end of February 2017, two previously unissued One-derful masters from the legendary Otis Clay, the top side of this double header has certainly caught the imagination of the Soul scene, all Demos have pre sold out but you can still pre reserve an issue copy @ £12.00 plus postage, to secure a copy please PM here on Soulsource @Mark Bicknell or email bicknellmark@aol.com The Ringleaders - Baby. What Has Happened To Our Love (Alternate Take) b/w All Of My Life - M-Pac/Secret Stash is due for release after Otis Clay, I have had the test pressings which sound sublime taken from original studio masters 'All Of My Life' has never sounded this good, clean and crystal clear sound takes the tune into a different dimension from the bootlegs, Demos @ £20.00 are almost pre sold out so be quick, Issues are £12.00 plus postage, to pre reserve again PM here @Mark Bicknell or email bicknellmark@aol.com We have further releases which have just been submitted for clearance from Mckinley Mitchell - My Sweet Baby b/w Now That You're Gone - One-derful, two stunning unissued masters and two beautiful R'n'B winners from Ester Bell - Baby You Don't Know b/w Say What You Gonna Say - Mar-v-lus, again previously unissued, other tracks in the mix for release are Larry And The Hippies, Josephine Taylor and The Pagents to follow later on in the year. For further details check out the facebook group SECRET STASH CHICAGO SOUL RELEASES UK DIVISION, email bicknellmark@aol.com or PM here. @Mark Bicknell