Mark Bicknell

I suggest you send the record back and demand a refund, the Yanks often grade totally different to us, they often think condition matters very little if it's a Northern 45, most of them just want your money and very few collect and basically don't care about the music in the first place. If you get no satisfaction inform Ebay, but they often do nothing about it, as they are also simply interested in making money.

What a question!!!!!! But for me pound for pound has to be Sam Williams - Love Slipped Through My Fingers - Tower Records........Why just awesome lyrics, a powerhouse vocal that will level a city and leave it begging for more. Regards - Mark Bicknell Ps - See you all on Saturday at THE NEW CENTURY SOUL CLUB, and i'll show you what i mean!!!!!!!!

There are two ways to break into DJ'ing on the northern scene, firstly you can do it the long and hard way, build a collection, build a reputation at local club soul nights and in time you will be invited to take the next step on the bigger stages or you can buy your way in and spend a fortune on records which often other people have made popular, this seems to be noticed by certain promoters who think you have to spend big to become a DJ and don't forget the northern DJ thing has always been a closed shop certainly almost impossible to crack or break into in the old days, possibly eaiser to do now but remember DJ's should be booked on merrit, quality of collection, entertainment value etc. ............??????? However many of this type of DJ's have come and gone over the years so perhaps the best way is to serve your time and wait until the invitation comes. As for re issue/second issues etc. being used by national or local DJ's, i can't really comment on this point but take it from someone who knows you get a lot more respect and bookings if you do it the original way, and as already mentioned there are some wonderful cheaper records to be sourced which could be played. But often the DJ's who get the bookings, respect etc. are the ones with the best records, how you judge that is difficult but if you hold what is considered to be the big heavyweight tunes then you are more likley to get more DJ bookings. It's fair to say that the likes of Mick H, Butch, Andy Dyson, Bob Hinsley, Carl Willingham, Keith Money, Mick Smith, Ady Croasdell, Roger Banks,Tim Brown, Ginger Taylor, Kenny Burrell, Soul Sam and myself ( i can include myself now as i'm stepping down now ) and several others are considered some of the top boys who spin the tunes on the scene, why? for a number of reasons two in particular either/and they are inovators of the music i.e they try and keep it fresh and move it forward and the records are without question originals whatever the value of a record. DJ'ing on this scene is very competative as often we are chasing the same or similar records, but also it's about having fun and to enjoy what you are doing. I wish you well in what you do but it takes a little luck and sometimes a huge investment not just financial but you have to invest the heart, soul and passion, have a good ear for a tune and you a half way there. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

I would think these are the only two releases but not totally sure. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Kolla and All, A big sorry but what with work commitments, solar show, 100 Club DJ visit Saturday i'm a little behind with this one so please can i have a few more days, you know it will be worth waiting for so please is this ok. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Firstly what a brilliant double sider this one is........ I first bought this record off Dave Thorley for £15.00 at an alldayer many moons ago then let it go for £25.00 in the early 80's, a big mistake one which i regreted until last year when i finally sourced my second copy for £600.00 from my good friend Dave Rivers, now Tim Brown included ' I Wanted To Tell You' on one of his Millonaires CD's and i seem to remember it being valued at a cool £1,000.00 perhaps a little high but in terms of how rare this is this price should be the selling price? 'You Said' is very much the Northern side and with a little turntable action this would i'm sure become a big tune second time round. Also check out The Four Arts - 'Who Do You Think You Are' also on Shee records out of the Bronx NYC, a beautiful looking pink label and if Nicky Soul is worth upwards of a grand then the Four Arts must be up the too, superb street corner to soul male group harmonies of the highest order. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Wendy, Drop me a quick email bicknellmark@aol.com and we can arrange something, i would gladly do you a tape of all the Sansu stuff i have, i'm not complete but have many of the good ones. Regards - Mark Bicknell

I paid £8.00 for Curly Moore eight or nine years ago, before i started playing this record it was just a nice little collectors record, pleased to see i started off a now nice top tune but i really don't think over £500.00 is a realistic price at all. Over £300.00 for Bobby Paris is a bit steep too sold a Capitol demo last year on Ebay myself for a lot less than that. It's remarkable that even over played oldies are fetching the incredible big price tickets. Nice if you still have a few nice titles in the collection. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

The High Keys - Let's Take A Chance - Verve - Flipside to Living A Lie, simply no one can sing like that and not mean every word, I've said it before that you must have lived it to sing about it with such emotion........... Regards - Mark Bicknell

Shane / Kate, It's ok guy's your be with us, we will look after you........... Looks like i'm giving up my first class train ticket and coming on the mini bus...... see you Saturday Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Oh dear!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just sorting out the Wayne Gibson and Dobie Grey 45's for Saturdays main spot at The 100 Club and saw this item, seems like a few are making their way down to that there London by all means possible, sorry to Ady in advance for the original coach trip idea falling apart so i'll pay you Ady ok...lol Should be a few of us coming down by train, mini bus, push bikes etc. email me bicknellmark@aol.com or telephone 0161 330 6267 and let me know where you are all meeting up. Looking forward to it more than you know...... Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Once their gone that's it, this can/could/does happen to many records, a case of paying your money and taking your chances, does it matter how many copies there are of a good record, just means more people can have a chance of owing it! Just because copies surface this should make no difference to it's appeal, if your into buying records for any other reason than the musical enjoyment and pleasure then best off collecting stamps me thinks.......... Does this mean if there are only one or two copies of a desired tune owned by a couple of DJ/collectors and it suddenly turns up in quantity then they don't like it anymore because it's no longer exclusive? Dream Team, Danny Moore etc. etc. Still the same tune, still the emotion, so what changes, nothing that's what. As long as the selling price is reflected with a multi copy find and not still sold at it's original ultra rare price tag then there is no problem, it's when they are sold a top price that this issue becomes a little cloudy. Regards - Mark Bicknell

'Keep The Faith' springs to mind here, i agree with the above comments, it was far too long and made the artists look foolish, it would have been far better to use original footage which is out there cut with straight interviews with artists, perhaps when you take a step back and look at the huge ego behind this project it's no wonder this possible epic turned out at best a very average 'B' flick. So far there has been no TV/Film coverage thats ever really come close to the real story, far too much on 'The Keep The Faith' ethic and not enough depth on the fundimental importance of the people who made the music in the first place, instead the focus is often on baggie trousers, the 1970's, drugs, three before eight and all the other watered down aspects to this otherwise unique scene. The only way we are ever going to 'tell it like it is' is to commission an independant proffessional film maker with the guidence of people connected with the scene and tell our story our way, 'The Strange World Of Northern Soul' had the chance to do this but i feel it failed by miles, a shame but fact. Yes there are very good parts and if your prepared to watch the re recorded nightmare then it's worth a look, as for the comments 'Johhny' made regarding the high cost of licencing original tracks perhaps it would have been better to have included a backing track of a few tunes to give the flava then at least it would have been authentic, i'm sure if the film maker had have contacted some of the re issue labels then a reasonable deal could have been struck. But again ego and i know better would have been the issue here. Still whats done is done and maybe in time we will look back on this package and reflect and say at least he had a go, for that you can't fault him as no one else so far has attempted to do this, so really do we have the right to down his efforts..... Just to say it could have had more impact and importance if it had been shorter by a third, more detailed on certain clubs etc. When this was first screened a few years ago in Blackburn, the antisipation was vast but as the day went on and the hours rolled by people there became restless and their attention was gone,loud cheers and thunderess claps at he start of the day were replaced by polite auidence partisipation towards the end, infact most people just wanted the gig to start so they could get down and party to authentic tunes, i went away with a headache and just wanted to get home and i've never seen it since. Still i guess the only way to judge this is to have a look yourself, it's still available and i'm sure it's sold well, as with most Northern related products Soul fans will invest in such things but it would be interesting to know how everyone rated this one. 6 out of 10 for effort and having the balls to tackle such an imotive subject. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Kolla, This sounds cool to me, are we sticking to this non CD tracks only i.e only taking from original 45's format or are we going for just as much quality and variation as possible? I wanna play by the rules here but also want to put together a corking CD. Regards - Mark Bicknell

The Montichello's on Red Cap takes some beating sorry if i spelt it wrong as well. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Looking good Mr Waterman, should be a good night.... See you all there - Mark Bicknell.

Sorry bit slow off the blocks with this one, had a bit of a strange week all in all, this is right up my street and would love to take part, only i wish it was a tape swap...lol or mini disc...lol - i think i can just about do this but please let us know when its all gonna start. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Is this what they call agro soul...lol serious now what a tune as with Chalkys comments, very under played, perhaps this quality tune needs some playing..... I've had a white promo for years since Stafford period, £30.00 sounds about right for this, still if it's given some turntable action it may go up in value, it's quality should give it a bigger price tag, still price has little to do with quality does it? Regards - Mark Bicknell Irma And The Fasinators - Lost Love - Scepter, is also up there with this one.

Oh dear, looks like we won't be going to Scotland then.......... oh well plus this won't help the promotion any will it. I hope it all works out. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Here we go again...sorry a question was asked and several people have replied to it, i'm with Ady and Mick on this one as i have made it clear on here before my feelings on the issue of bootlegs etc. some of us are simply from the old school and some of us like Ady at Kent try to do it the right and correct way, others just ride the back of others to make a fast buck again it's that simple..sad but true, where there's muck there's brass and all that in this case forty year old non hit Soul records are an easy target as the BPI/MCPS and other music people really don't give a toss .....do they? Some years ago i helped put out a four track EP we went through the MCPS route paid for each track and tried to do it the right way, i got stick off several people and pulled out of the project very quickly, so even if you do it the right way you can and will come up against critics who feel rare soul should be just that rare and not to be fucked with legal or otherwise. There are guidlines and rules in place to protect piracy but if huge movie production companies can not protect and stop their current blockbuster movies being copied then what chance have we got.....none is all. The best thing i can suggest is you do it your way and we will do it our way, collect and buy what you like it matters very little to me, it ain't record collecting so it matters again very little. You just want the tune, then that's fine but don't make out that the serious collectors and DJ's to be the bad guy's because we are not...... If it's the tunes you want then ok if you ain't got the money for the biggies, so why not instead collect semi known cheap originals there are thousands of good records out there to be found and not all with a £1000.00 price tag either.......... also this way you may discover future big records yourself, it should be about learing and hunting tunes down, buying boots etc. is just lining the pockets of some get rich quick chappie. Still this is just a small part of all the other crap that's going on right now on the scene along with the shite politics, promoters or a promoter telling DJ's who they can and can't work for, overpriced TV advertised Northern Soul compilation cd's featuring tracks that have been out many times before, badges, fried chicken, keep the fuckin' faith is all bollocks, everyone seems to be jumping on the Northern Soul bandwaggon again AND REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED AROUND 1980!!!! the scene fell on it's arse, don't we ever learn? trouble is if it pops again this time there may not be anyone to pick up the pieces. Just a thought...oh and before you all slag me off why is it that anti bootleg comments get slaughted on here yet no one questions the people doing them. Funny that - Mark Bicknell.

I believe Phil Dick and Chris King issued 45's on a look-a-like Soul City records a few years ago, same design etc. as Dave's original set up in the late 60's. I'm not sure if the venture came with Dave's blessing or not but it was claimed that these Soul City mark two records were infact legal re issues but i'm not totally sure, Phil Dick is now off the scene but perhaps Chris King could confirm if the label is still up and running and answer your questions. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

James, I've been booked to DJ at this one mate and have heard nothing in a couple of months so i really can't tell you anything that you don't already know, this contact number may help Derek 0176 4681413, like i say it may help, after the change of venue etc. and now this i don't think i will be attending as communication has been a little thin on the ground with this. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Has to be a couple pf hundred quid now perhaps more, but does not come up for sale that often, so it's price tag i feel does not reflect how hard to find this one is, i'm sure the dealers will give you a better idea on the price but as i say i dont think you would get a lot of change out of £300.00 with the current high prices situation but worth every penny. Mark Bicknell.

Has to be The Inverts - Time Will Change - Broadway Records part of the Sue/Symbol/Crackerjack/Eastern set up out of New York, slow to mid tempo track, brilliant intro......Come back to me baby...come back to me etc. Yes it's The Inverts I'm sure. Hope this helps - Mark Bicknell.

Interested in one of these tunes - can you send me an email and i'll contact you. bicknellmark@aol.com