Markw

How do you turn a duck into a soul singer?......................................put it in the oven until it's Bill Withers I'll get me coat

Absolutely Dave. You put me onto this some years back and I bought it blind off Tim Ashibende. Though when I got it onto the deck, I knew from an old sales tape. Definitely one that should have its day. MARK

Anyone remember Tony Gordon from Bournemouth. No acrobatics, totally superb on the spot footwork, no sliding around. Probably the coolest guy I ever met. He'd wear 50s style clothing. He could also hold conversations in rhyme. Finished up as sax player in Blue Rondo A La Turk in the early 80s with Mark Riley (a nifty jazz funk dancer himself), who went on to become Matt Bianco.

Sugar - Isonics With Another Guy - Del Counts

I think Mark Bicknell's comments summed up Ian's impact on a lot of people. But this one ads another dimension to describing what a great DJ Ian was and how much feeling he had for the music - totally unafraid to play common-or-garden cheapies alongside the big hitting stuff, simply because they were great records and fitted the set. For me, the cheapie in those early 80s 100 Club niters that exemplified Ian's impeccable taste was Deon Jackson's "I Can't Go On". Great DJ and, echoing other people's remarks on the collecting side, a total gentleman always willing to share his knowledge and experience.

Ha! I was there that night. It was mad. The club owners had varnished the dancefloor and the varnish was still sticky. It was a mess. Absolutely nuts. Hilarious. Not sure Leon saw it quite that way................

With you there Mike on the Johnnie Mae and Buddy Smith. Tough ones, very, very tough ones indeed in the circumstances. Hope you're keeping well Mate.

Not wrong there Dave. I loved it. The people, the atmosphere, the tunes. I'm sorry to all the guys who tried to keep it going after Greg and Flynny's final night.

Anyone who knew "Cockney Mick" Webb might remember his scribblings on record covers which matched the way he talked........."Is this brill or WHAT?"........."If you dont like this, you need your ears cleaned out"..............mate of mine took to collecting Mick Webb covers for a while. He'd borrow a few bits to tape and they'd come back with different covers because he'd taken the ones Mick had written. Quite a collection in the end. Better than the 45s if I recall.

So, is James playing this?

Was tuned in to Sounds of the Sixties this morning. Dear old Brian Matthews played a version of the Ray Pollard classic off a a Long John Baldry LP from '66 or '67 I think. Anybody else heard this? What do you think? I thought it was a great version - LBJ, despite being a fine singer himself, not up to the mighty Ray standard, the orchestration was fab (much in line with the original) but the version was more uptempo than the original.

errrrrr...........waltz?

I "appropriated" (or maybe liberated) my brother's Chartbusters Volumes 1, 2 and 3 when I was 13.

Very sad. My condolences to you Ady.

Agree. Secretly is good but Little Bit Longer is better. Old Butch cover up.

Another fun night at the Casino perhaps???

Great idea for a thread. A few years back, a car load of us from Cardiff and Bristol were heading into London - either Dome or 100 Club - one of our number was the small but perfectly formed Mod fella, Mark Thomas who only got into the music big time around 6/7 years ago. The rest of us in the car dated back to early 80s and that. As we were ploughing through the West End, I had the RCA CD comp on the player and we kept playing Peggy March, Beverley Ann and MVPs over and over and singin along - Mark was doing his nut whilst we were revelling in the pop classics of our past. I'd love to hear Kiki Dee - Magic Carpet out at a big do. Fab memories. Do it someone, do it.

Just edited list to show what's gone. Signing off now until tomorrow when I'm in the office, so if you don't get a prompt reply, that's why!! Keep in touch. Thanks. M

This has been a fantastic thread and to read those Mod reminiscences from those that were there over 40 years ago is just amazing, particularly from Dr Bob Jones - great to see him on here. These would make an absolutely brilliant book project. Does anybody remember Randy Cozens' Mod Top 100 in NME from about 1979 or 1980? NME ran an article looking back at the original Mod scene in the light of what was in 79/80 of course the massive revival. Randy was asked to compile a "true" Mod 100 faves and the list was superb and, at least for me and my mates, a shopping list of what to get! Some of us had the bloody thing stuck on the bedroom wall for reference!! As I recall, it was all authentic soul, r&b etc, by which I mean no English bands like the Who or Small Faces etc. The list covered all the top black music spectrum of the time (except the more commercially successful stuff, like Otis Redding, Tamla etc) from Howlin' Wolf and John lee Hooker to what now gets referred to as "club soul", i.e your gritty Howard Tate etc right across to what became (and still is now) regarded as evergreen "Northern" classics. Examples on the list as I recall included Sapphires - Gotta Have Your love Invitations - What's Wrong With Me Baby Fascinations - Girls Are Out To Get You Doris Troy - I'll Do Anything Candy & The Kisses - The 81 Bob Kuban & The In Men - The Cheater All were quoted as being on British labels, though as we all know, the clubs back then pushing soul music were already pioneering the import of more obscure stuff. Love to hear more fom Bob Jones about some of the sounds he was dancing to back then.

Likewise Kirsty

Got you message mate and PMd back. Thanks.

Infrequent access to the interwebnet, so bear with me if you PM. Alternatively, call me on 07890 966934. All tidy condition unless stated. Soul Invaders - Price of Love - ABC - 10 Ruby & The Romantics - Does He Really Care For Me - Kapp - 10 Andre WIlliams - You Got It And I Want It - Ric Tic - 15 Bean Brothers - Spinning Around - DI - £15 Garnet Mimms - prove It To Me - UA - £10 (bit of label wear) Geraldine Latham - Lazy Lover - Winner 7/11 - 10 Jackie WIlson - Whispers - Brunswick - 10 The Big Guys - Hang My Head And Cry - WB - 30 Vontastics - Never Let Your Love Grow Cold - St Lawrence - 20 Billy McGregor - Mr Shy - Flash - 10 Syl Johnson - Try Me - Twinight - 10 Deena Johnson - I'm A Sad Girl - Simpson - 20 The Chances - It Takes More Than Love Alone - Bea & Baby - 15 Cookie Scott - Your Love It Won Me Over - Orr (yellow label) - 15 Bobby Samson - Don't Leave - Sublime - 20 (SOLD) Jimmy norman - This I Beg Of You - Samar - 15 Donald Jenkins - My Lucky Day - Black Beauty - 10 Zodiacs - Don't Ever Leave Me - Deesu - 15 Prince La La - She Put The Hurt On Me - AFO - 10 (Label wear) Ronny Shannon - One Way Street - Ston Roc - 10 Spare Change - Alive and Well - Vanguard - 10 Henry Richardson - Dancing Girl - Elois - 20 Roddie Joy - Walking Back - Parkway - 15 Oscar Weathers - Just To prove I Love You - Top & Bottom - 10 Fawns - Nothing But Love Can Save Me - Cap City - 10 Lorraine Rudolph - Keep Coming Back For More - Jetstream - 15 (SOLD) The Puzzles - I Need You / My Sweet Baby - Fat Back - 15 (label wear) Visitors - What About Me / My Love Is Ready - Tangerine - 20 (SOLD) Four Mints - You Want To Come Back - Cap Soul - 20 Tommy Hunt - I'll Make You Happy - Capitol - 20 Vipers - Little Miss Sweetness - Duchess - 15 (SOLD) Soul Notes - How Long Will It Last - Way Out - 20 (SOLD) Winfield Parker - I'm On My Way - Spring - 10 Patti Drew - Stop and Listen - Capitol - 30 Dynamics - Woman - Brainstorm - 20 (SOLD) Jackie Wilson - It's All Over - Brunswick WD - 10 Liz Lands - Don't Shut Me Out - Onederful - 10 Jesse James - Thank you Darling - 20th Century - 10 Admirations - Don't Leave Me - Onederful - 10 Newby & Johnson - I Want To Give You My everything / Sweet Happiness - Mercury (UK N/C) - 15 Bobby Patterson - Sock Some Loving At Me - Jetstar - 10 Ray Pollard - Wanderlust - Decca demo - 25 (SOLD) Lovemasters - Pushin' and Pullin' - Jacklyn - 20 Jimmy Lewis - Let Me Know - Minit - 15 Traits - Some Day Some Way / You've Waited Too Long - Contact - 20 (VG+) Sweet Breeze - Good Thing - Willpower - 25 Fortson & Scott - Just A Little Step - Pzazz - 50 Lenny Welch - The Right To Cry - Kapp - 10 (label wear) O'Jays - It Won't Hurt - Imperial WD - 15 James Brown - People Wake Up And Live - Polydor - 10 Candace Love - Wonderful Night - Aquarius - 15 (VG+) (SOLD) Thanks.

With all deference to his past influence on the scene, which was well before I became acquainted with Northern/Rare Soul or whatever, but I heard him 5/6 times when he returned. First time was at the 100 Club. He played nothing very daring and it was pretty much a nostalgic walk and talk through the story of Northern Soul, bit like a former prime minister doing the lecture circuit. He played Unique Blend which was a big spin for Butch at the time and not yet as widely known as it went on to be. Ian claimed he'd played it at the Mecca. Who knows if he did or not - he could claim to have played anything there and, unless someone confirmed they'd heard it sometime, somenight, we'd be none the wiser. One thing we do know though is he couldn't claim to have played the Four Vandals there. To be fair, the floor at the 100 Club was packed that night, Adey had broken with 100 Club "tradition" and given Ian a 2 hour slot and the reception he received was rapturous. Caught him 3 times at the Marrs Bar and thought his sets were pants - far too long (Ian insisted he had a 2 hour slot at all venues that booked him), far too much lecturing between records, no structure/coordination to the sets, no sensitivity to the type of records that had been making the grade since his first departure from the scene. The dancers simply melted away each time and the venue began to suffer as I'm sure the promoters will confirm having taken the risk of making Ian their resident DJ. He was obviously a great Northern Soul DJ in his time, but second time around, in very different times and circumstances, he did the one thing a good DJ shouldn't do - ignored his (paying) audience, a lot of whom didn't know who he was from any other aspiring jock. I don't think he was hounded out by anybody. In fact, given the foregoing, he was given bucket loads of opportunities by all sorts of people. Fact was his DJ slots dried up because he couldn't work a dancefloor, promoters couldn't afford the risk of booking him and then his own venue failed for the same reasons.

You're a star!! Thanks. What a great tune. Glad to hear Keith Williams gives it an airing. Hard to find?

Still need a clip of it that I can open...................................... :search: