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

Check out The Ascots - Another Day - Mir - A - Don " House Of Hit's" They had the faith and we kept it...lol Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Yes it is a personal thing Kolla and Co but as a very close friend to Neil and being in the car on Sunday on the way home it really hurts to see one of your best buddy's close to tears with total anger and various other emotions flowing. I take your point that it would be wrong to drag perhaps inocent people into this, but the stealing of records is totally against all that we are about and i feel if we don't make a stand sometimes and vent our frustrations then if it's left totally alone have the bad guy's not won? and be left to feel that they have got away with this criminal act, you steal from a shop and get caught you appear in court repeat the action and you go to jail, so what protection and justice can we secure to stop this happening?, has to be retribution if caught and a total ban for life from soul events. Several years ago someone was caught red handed total named and shamed, banished from the scene and has never been seen since which is how it should be. As ever Kolla your point is spot on so lets hope something comes of this and my mate Neil gets his 45 back. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Yes have this on the shelf somewhere but it's pretty hard to find now so not sure of it's value but at a guess if for sale which it's not at the present time must be worth £300/400.00 two good sides. Regards Mark Bicknell.

It's simply amazing some of tha actions and tatics some people go to on this scene to make a fast buck and a little name to go with the greed, basically these people leach off the skill and commitment of others and have nothing to say or contribute. Chris Waterman is a decent bloke and a very good promoter, his passion and legwork is without question first class, if others are jealous or wish to ride the back of the New Century set up then i feel sorry for them, f*** em' Chris don't let them hold you to ransom mate you have worked too hard so far to let such under hand tatics get you down. Since the New Century Soul Club came on the scene back in December 2003 there has been loads of dirty tricks, back stabbing and general bollocks from certain factions on this scene that you would not believe so give us a break, New Century is here to stay and from my own viewpoint better to be involved in a genuine set up than others who book you because it's jobs for the boys over record collection and talent to DJ. We now seem to be working together, talking to each other and looking forward to less venue clashing etc. so it's really not a problem when these dick heads play their very low hands. We have a very strong set up now within New Century something that i am very proud to be involved with, i support Chris 100% for his efforts and all the hard work Lee Crank does his co promoter. We are soul fans trying to put on quality soul nights for soul fans it's that simply and yes if Chris and Lee make a few bob then good luck to em' for having the balls ( very big one's i might add ) for putting on such good high profile events, which take a lot of time, effort and money to put on, this is not a Micky Mouse promotion if it was i would not be involved, anyone that try's it on with Chris and Lee is also messing with me, our resident and guest DJ's and the hundreds of loyal dedicated people who attend the venues as they are the people that matter the hard core rare soul fan and not the shit heads who think they know better. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Let me tell you........Neil is one of my best friends on the scene and infact gave me a ride to this allnighter so the topic of converstion during the drive home was this very sad incident, as friends do we shoot from the hip and can talk with trust, now i'm going to break that trust now and let you all know that Neil was so angry, upset and very hurt that some low life would even think about taking a record out of his box, Neil is a decent top bloke and does not deserve this, infact this practice is simply not fair and totally against what we are about. How anyone can steal a record and get any pleasure from it is just beyond me, may i wish these people simply bad luck for the future.......do the right thing and send the record back, Neil was selling this tune to secure other tunes so not only have they taken the record without payment but they have upset a really decent bloke who i care about and value as a mate. Neil has been as ever a gentleman about this, however i am a little less nice on this topic and if ever we catch these bastards at it i can promise total retribution. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Kev, Been there mate several times over the years and got the t - shirt, but i don't stand for it now mate it's simply taking the piss of your good nature and your time, you should have maybe asked the guy for some financial kick back, but it's hard to do that as we all think a full night means some payment, as far as top DJ's being treated in this way i really can't comment or speak for others but when someone asks me to play their gig i have a simply check list to follow, which is where, when and my fee is........ we don't move or work in the dark ages and if someone has faith in us to play records and money is taken on the door then the DJ's should be payed. Some of us spend far more money on records than kick back from DJ'ing but as a token gesture a decent fee goes someway towards buying new tunes. All this keep the faith bollocks and we do it because we love it simply does not wash with me i'm sorry, if a promoter desides to have a go at running a venue then they should go into it with a financial stake in his or her back pocket if things go wrong then all expences should be paid, when i ran Soul nights and Allnighters even if i had an average night or a wash out i always made a point of paying the DJ's even if it was less than agreed. Veunes are run yes because we love the music etc. but there is also an eliment of possible financial gain when they are successful so when it's good share the rewards and when it's not still pay your bills. Chin up Kev it won't happen again. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

One for the retro nostalgia set here me thinks, or typical of the part time soul crowd who have a habbit of getting on my nerves at some of the local type soul nights...i.e play something we know mate!!!!! what am a DJ or a jukebox..lol don't answer that one i know i look like one a jukebox that it, now thers a thought pipe the music from one central location to the various venues who go down this route as the same 200 playlist seems to do, save on DJ fee's and wasting my time. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

I'll just add this in the mix, which may also help me. I have this record on a lime green colour with a proper printed design and is totally different to the more common green/yellow copies where the script / type face looks like a type writter was used, infact the type face on mine is bold and beautiful and takes the record into a different dimension, I've not seen another like this so it's interesting if nothing else. Still a fantastic record whatever it's value or format it's on. Regards - Mark Bicknell

In my humble opinion it's not ebay or other outlet's that hype and inflate current prices it's people simple as that, some are trying to buy into something for various reasons and i'm sorry if bidding on ebay gets out of hand then who are we to question what people do with THERE money, DJ'ing and collecting northern soul these days has become very much a rich mans pass time, however all the time there are fair dealers around like Mick Smith we can use a little imagination and try and create big records out of the many hundreds of lesser known and underplayed gems out there. The thing is that many of us remember only too well the good old days of Stafford and the early 80's when you could come out of the venue with a pile of records for a couple of hundred quid........oh the joy of finding Sam Dee's / Fletcher for under £20.00, Betty Wilson £8.00, Empires £40.00 and many more. But times change we are dealing with a global collectors scene now, northern soul is still a big time scene and the fact is that many of the records have proved to be rare and hard to find, some are out there in mass and do not warrent the inflated price tickets, and some sell for a ton of money because they are simply brilliant records and more people are after them and is basically a supply and demand thing or rather a lack of supply, it only takes a top tune to come up for sale two people want it and the one with the most money gets it, this is ok but puts such tunes out of the reach of many collectors even the seasoned ones. I've sold one or two on Ebay for big money......... what shall we do put them on for a quid, no i think not, often these day's i sell to buy turnover stuff for the DJ thing, if people wanna pay £400.00 for a Christine Cooper demo etc. then thanks very much i/we can get some new records. One thing to remember like the housing market, stocks and shares etc. sometimes these arena's have a habbit in crashing and in time this could happen with rare soul 45's then we can get back to basics collect and enjoy the reocords for their soulful content and quality over how many copies there are, how rare they are or which moovers and shakers are playing them. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Welcome Ben, Your mention of Sunday on Alteen made me smile as we currently have two copies of that beautiful record and you are so right one at best is VG- and the other has seen better days......fantastic record, it must have been a small hit in Chicago back in 1969. You do realise that they/we/us/me at some stage will ask you to look out and source records, watch em' there are a few in the know on here...lol Again welcome Ben good to have you on board, I'm one of the crazy ones also watch out for the Big O', Mr Rimmer, Mr Croasdell, Mr Smith and a few others. Been to the 'Windy City' several times always found tunes at places like The Record Dugout ( Steve ) is he still there on West 63rd Street? I normally forget looking for records and end up falling out the Kingston Mines at 4am very drunk indeed................ Regards Mark Bicknell.

Muriel Day........I'll get my coat........play it at Halifax Saturday........again I'll get my coat, seems like this is going to be fun...lol Regards - Mark Bicknell.

I'm with Mick Smith on this one, fantastic record but come on guy's it's getting a little silly, picked mine up for about £25.00 and not one of the water damaged copies either, still play it now and again, and still a popular record but not a three hundred quider.....makes you think what the really rare records should go for. Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Most of the so called Top Tunes do fill the floors thesedays, however it's not about rare or how much they cost should always be about quality what ever the era or period it's from, we have some four decades to select music from so we must be in the best possible postion to provide the best possible quality music, which does not always happen but most venues try to get a good mix of the tried and tested alongside the more upfront tunes, from my own personal point of view or from a DJ perspective i try to play the best i've got at all times which works most of the time i.e current big tunes, big oldies a dab of the more soulful R'n'B etc. and more importsntly a few little known things that may work on the dance floor. Keep It Real - Mark Bicknell.

Hi, Like this topic as it takes us back to another time another place, when tunes could be found for a few quid, i have had my moments in the past like Claude Huey - Why Would You Blow It ( Galaxy ) for £4.00, Reggie Alexander -It's Better ( Boss ) for i seem to remember £6.00 but Richie Andrews seems to think it was £20.00 what ever it turned out to be a very popular record for me at the gigs. Melvin Davis - Find A Quiet Place ( Wheel City ) back in 1989 for £70.00 a few friends thought i was mad...lol now try finding one! i think he signed three copies out of 3,000 people back in March when he was over performing. Andrea Henry - MGM Demo for £8.00 when it was a nothing record, Tempos - Diamond Jim for £12.00 way back. But it was in the days when we all erned £80.00 lol. Those were the days - Regards Mark Bicknell.