jazzyjas

OH YEAH. HAD A PACKAGE SENT FROM THE USA(FROM ME) TO WIGAN. THE PACKAGE WAS STOLEN OUT OF HIS DOOR APPARENTLY. ALSO, I SENT A PACKAGE TO PETERBOROUGH THAT NEVER ARRIVED. SENT ONE TO NSW AUSTRALIA, CAME BACK 4 MONTHS LATER ALL MANGLED UP. COINCIDENTALLLY, E-BAY PUT UNEXPLAINED CHARGES ON MY ACCOUNT, PAYPAL REVERSED A CHARGE AND LEFT ME NGATIVE, AND THE POSTAL SYSTEM FAILED ME--ALL IN THE SAME WEEK. I WANTED TO KICK SOME ASS, BUT DIDN'T KNOW WHERE TO POINT THE FINGER. I HAVEN'T SOLD ONE ITEM SINCE JULY. I'M TOTALLY SKETCHED OUT NOW. ONCE SOMETHING LEAVES THE US, I'M BASICALLY SCREWED BECAUSE I HAVE NO WAY OF TRACKING IT. I AM COMPLETELY LIVID JUST LIKE YOU. HOPE YOU CAN WORK THINGS OUT. KTF JAS

Pete, Got a copy of this one myself. Just BARELY making into my soul boxes, too. This record is from Baltimore, which makes sense because I live here and that's where I found it. A friend of mine wrote a book called "Baltimore Sounds" and the group had a listing and a picture of the label. Unbelievable! Here's a link to the site: www.baltimoresounds.com KTF Jas

Pete, I've got the Buster Brown on Gwenn. I had it filed away with a bunch of junk for years and gave it another spin recently and was pleasantly suprised. After that, it went into the soul boxes. Never heard the Bob Robinson, but yes it IS the same Fantasy label. -J

Sheryl Swope on DUO...What a class record! Actually I got this record at age 10, in a big box of unplayed miscellaneous 45s that a girl gave my father back in 1982. He let me have them all to myself, as he wasn't really interested in them. At the time, I was more into the 50s sound and not really checking out much soul at all. And it's only circumstantial that I held onto most of that stuff, as I had it tucked away in a climate-controlled attic. Then 10 years later, when I matured into soul music more and was learning about northern, I decided to go up to the attic and sort through through that box to see what was in there. Here are a few singles I pulled out (all UNPLAYED!) 1. Can't Get Him Off My Mind-Sheryl Swope-DUO-got me interested in the productions of Bridges, Knight and Eaton, AKA Brothers of Soul. Really made a strong impression on me. 2. Bessie Girl-Bobby Eaton(b.o.s.)-ZODIAC 3. Sugar-Isonics-KAMMY 4. Determination-Fabulous Apollos-VALTONE (white demo) 5. Half a Man-Howard Tate-VERVE It's like I had bonds in the bank and waited for them to mature. It was a great jump start to a very nice soul collection, too. But, there were a few other times where, in the 80s, I got a hold of some nice soul records that turned out later to be northern. I regret letting one of them go in particular. It's "The Big Change" by Anna King on Ludix. I used to have a stone mint copy of this record and I let it go in a trade years ago for some doo wop or something else other than soul. To this day, I 've never come across the record and I don't remember what it sounds like at all. If someone could post a sound file, I'd greatly appreciate it. KTF Jas

If my memory serves me correctly, i believe this was a giveaway record promoting literacy or something. Stax also had an LP that was called "Don't Drop Out" that has the famous marquee photo at night. This track may also be included on that LP. As far as I know, it goes for around $40. Maybe more these days. I like the song personally, but wouldn't play it at a soul event. If you like the Stax sound, pick it up, though. GREAT STAX SITE: https://staxrecords.free.fr/nomads.htm OFFICIAL STAX SITE: https://www.soulsvilleusa.com KTF Jas

Tell that guy to eat a bag of d!cks. That's just rude! So insulting! -j

I'm not really all that big on collecting Beatles stuff, but I do have a nice CD sampler of the BBC sessions with an in-studio version of "Soldier of Love", dated 1963. Pretty cool hearing that. Has John on the lead vocal. KTF Jas

Agreed, Pete... "Hot Line" is a killer. But for me, personally, I've got to go with Darrow Fletcher, just for his overall body of work. And if I have to go with one particular track, it would be "The Way of a Man" on Revue. It's definitely not his most proper northern-sounding number, but great nonetheless. KTF Jas

I have to be fair and honest. Being someone who likes 50s music and other styles, I can't rightfully say that I hate the Dean Barlow, the Larry Trider, the Bobby Day or the Barbara Redd 45s for that matter. I like those records. But then again, I also like rockabilly music and lots of other things. BUT....as far as I'm concerned, these songs have no business being played at a northern soul do. Within their own genres, they're good, but trying to pass them off as northern puts a whole new spin on it, therefore causing people to not like these songs. There's a time and a place for things and when people hear a song that he/she feels doesn't belong, it's easy to feel like your "northern soul intelligence" has been insulted. You hear it and you're like "f*** off" that's not northern soul", you know? If I went to a popcorn do in Belgium, those songs would fit right in and work well. But when I'm going out with the intention of hearing northern soul...I want to hear northern soul. But don't forget...northern soul always evolves and changes. That's what I like about it. Being a trailblazer with some totally off-the-wall sounds takes balls. It's just that sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. That's what I gather. KTF, Jas ps. "Turd Window From the Right"-that's pretty funny. Someone else called it "Third Window From the Bin". Northern Soul-HELL NO! Belgian-DEFINITELY! Worth the Amount of Money People are Paying?-NO...NO...NO...AND..........NO!

WOW! Thanks everyone! I really, really appreciate the amount of respect all of you have shown me. Since my post, I have received nothing but kind personal messages and great replies. I'm very flattered and very satisfied by all of this. I plan to research this topic a bit more, since it's something that is very close to me. The parallels of a blue-collar, steel-manufacturing city like Pittsburgh having a culture of record collectors loving doo wop, r&b, and northern soul is just too much of a coincidence to be ignored. I have already contacted a reliable source to get a more complete list of sounds that is undeniably "northern". I'd also like to delve further into the sounds that came out of Pittsburgh that are northern classics, like Dave Love, Soul Communicaters, L. Allen, etc. I promise you, more information will come. Cities like Pittsburgh and Detroit are very similar, so it's inevitable that the northern sound will come through. Maybe some people who lived there and made music saw themselves as part of an alternate "Motown". I'll have to ask around. Before the internet, talking to a few people from Pittsburgh was my only means of learning about northern soul. I bought scores of import CDs there, as well. Over the years, the internet has enabled me to learn so much more about this stuff. And web sites and forums like this one have given me the platform that I've needed to ask questions and be able to share all of this otherwise useless information that's in my head. I'd also like to add that every individual whom I've encountered on this forum has been very welcoming to me and quite accomodating. This is exactly what I had hoped for after becoming more active on the forum. The compliments and the tremendous respect are truly bonuses for me. Thank You. Also, thanks to all of you for the compliments and rave reviews of my Midtempo collection. I put a lot of effort into it because I wanted people to see my amount of admiration for the music and the scene. I also wanted to do some graphic design to please myself, for a change. I always loved the LP cover for Jimmy Hughes 'Steal Away', so the design is sort of a tribute to a great soul LP and legend. I still owe you all some reviews and believe me, you will get them. It's very nice to be respected by my peers and I've met a lot of really cool people here. I mean, the people at my job didn't even acknowledge my birthday, but you guys did! I look forward to meeting all of you sometime next year, when I FINALLY make it over to the UK. You'll all be hearing more from me. Glad I could add something to this great site. KTF, Jas ps. PeteStoneIsland, the Wigan CD is great! The whole section with "Tainted Love", "I'm Gettin' On Life", and the home-made version of "Footsee" is killer! Thanks man!

Yes, you are correct. I saw it on Dusty groove; https://www.dustygroove.com/cgi-sys/cgiwrap...en&issearch=yes Hope this helps. KTF, Jas

OHHHHH MAN! This post is stirring some really strong feelings for me. You'd better grab your favorite beverage and get comfortable if you want to get through this long-ass post. But first, let's go back in time to the 70s to address the original question at hand... As far as things going on during the same time period, the closest things that I can think of are: 1. This doesn't really count, but the hip hop underground movement was a scene that revolved around deejays like Afrikka Bambaata, searching for rare soul records for people to dance to, which in the early 70s would have been pop-locking, doing the funky robot and the beginnings of breakdancing. But the fact still remains-they were seeking funk records and nothing that would truly constitute a "northern" sound. I only mention this because of the similar rituals involved, such as using "cover-ups". Grandmaster Flash actually used to soak his records in the bath tub to get the labels to fall off. Cover ups, doing acrobatic dancing and the fact that the deejay was the focal point of many a demanding crowd, instead of the individual artists on the records that he played, and their whole scene blossoming in the year 1973 seems very "northernesque" in my twisted little opinion. 2. This is a way more solid theory: the oldies scene in Pittsburgh. Since the 1950s, Pittsburgh has had a long-running tradition of their own "oldies" and record collecting. Porky Chedwick, a white deejay who still plays to this day(even in his eighties), started spinning records on WAMO in 1947. He actually was playing rhythm and blues music before Alan Freed, I think. Anyway, he totally controlled what he played and by the 1960s, he had built up a scene that revolved around dancing to his obscurities, very much like Alan Freed's Moondog Ball, except he wasn't playing politics, just killer sounds. By then, other deejays like "Mad Mike" Metrovich and Terry Lee were following suit. Pittsburgh had developed a taste for rarities and a danceable sound. So...in the 60s, when new releases came out with a certain sound, they became Pittsburgh sounds. When discotheques became popular, clubs were spinning a lot of garage/frat rock and soul records that had a four-on-the-floor beat that was easy to dance to. This tradition carried on into the 70s in clubs like the Teen Scene and the White Elephant. Even today, there are still dances and lots of collectors, but it focuses more heavily on rare doo-wop and r&b of the 50s. Not as much uptempo stuff is played. But as far as the soul sounds go, here is a sampling of the records that have been absolute standards in Pittsburgh: 1. Going to a Happening-Tommy Neal (big White Elephant spin) 2. Bearcat-Cecil Garrett and the Fascinations 3. Anyway You Wanta-Harvey (massive, massive standard) 4. The 81-Candy & the Kisses 5. Give In-The Webs 6. Arabian Jerk-Merits 7. When You're Dancing-Cliff Wagner 8. Whip It On Me Baby-Billy Guy 9. A Lot of Love-Taj Mahal 10. The Fife Piper-Dynatones (from Pittsburgh) 11. Bullfight-Chuck Edwards 12. Pass the Hatchet-Roger & the Gypsies 13. Arabia-Delcos (huge one there) 14. Hey Sah Lo Ney-Mickey Lee Lane (a mainstream oldies station in Pittsburgh will throw this on every now and then. That's how huge it is.) 15. Nobody Loves Me Like My Baby-Jimmy Gilford 16. No Time For You-Commands And the list goes on and on. Funny thing, too: a lot of these Pittsburgh guys have a real taste for doo wop and ballads in general, so they play the ballad sides of some northern records, like: 1. All Sold Out-Apollas(b-side of Mr. Creator) 2. Good Good Lovin'-Blossoms (b-side of That's When the Tears Start) 3. Master Four on Tay-Ster (b-side of Love From the Far East) 4. Why Do I Do These Foolish Things-Magicians (b-side of Is It All Gone) 5. A Real Love-Donnie Wells (b-side of You Got My Love) 6. I Guess That Don't Make Me a Loser-Brothers of Soul (b-side of Hurry Don't Linger) 7. A Toast to You-Louis Curry Cover-ups have played a huge role in the extremely competitive nature of the deejays and colletors around Pittsburgh, too. Mad Mike was absolutely the granddaddy of cover-ups. He still wouldn't name a record even after it had become known. Unbelievable. Another thing that was really big, was playing "cuts". "Cuts" are the same things as emidiscs. They were made of metal and an easy way for people to have the sounds that everyone was demanding. Someone made a sarcastic comment about Terry Lee once, stating that you could carry around his whole 45 collection with a giant magnet! As far as the dancing in Pittsburgh, a lot of them have adopted the whole beach thing. They are very close allies of the whole scene in the Carolinas from what I understand. They're really into the "oldies" thing, though. They wouldn't really adopt a soul playlist that had crossover and modern sounds in it, though. They are predominantly 50s and 60s kind of people. <<>>(mike, you may even want to make it a separate post-not sure) AMERICA DISCOVERING AND ADOPTING "NORTHERN SOUL" AS WE KNOW IT. Unlike, the scene in the UK, people here really don't get it. There are very very small handful of people in the USA, not including ex-pats, that really appreciate northern soul and it's traditions, like some people on the west coast like Mike Noriega, Nancy Yahiro, Justin Molnar(ace northern dancer-always has on bags) and a few others that I am not too familiar with. There are also some others scattered about the midwest, like the Circle City Soul Club in Indiana, a guy named Grover in Ohio and a few people on the east coast, such as myself, Greg Tormo, Haim Kenig and a couple of others. I'd love to meet more people like this, too. In actuality, people have known about northern soul over here since the 70s. But this was only for the purpose of supplying records to people in the UK. A lot of my friends and accquaintances have been supplying records to guys like John Anderson, Guy Hennigan, Martin Koppel, Butch and many others for decades, but when you talk about northern soul in itself, they're clueless and kind of uninterested, unless it's putting money in their pockets. As I once described it to John Manship "they're like mercenaries". A lot of these old dealer guys(but not all of them) can't spot a northern sound unless it's printed on a list! If they can turn over a northern record, it just means being able to afford the doo wop or rockabilly 45 to spin at their gig or put in their collection. OK, here's where I REALLY get pissed off at people. Damn near everything here is some kind of fashion show. More about the image than the music. Every time you want to put on a do that plays northern soul, you have to do it under the umbrella of MOD! Granted, there are some things I like in that category and I'm not here for all out mod-bashing and I love scooters, but the rituals and behaviors of some of the American wannabe anoraks leave me disgusted, frankly. For the majority of them, it's just about trying to be cool and be on the scene. They are more about getting drunk, popping pills and romanticising the shit out of "Quadrophenia". Everything you play has to be all "groovy" and shit. It's so damn phony here! Then, when I come on and play anything that doesn't sound like Eddie Parker, they clear the floor because they've got blinders on and don't appreciate northern like they think they do. I mean, you could play a track like "Hand It Over" by Chuck Jackson and they'd still walk off. WTF? Unbelievable! It drove me crazy! I don't want northern soul to be the bastard stepchild extension of the scooter scene over here in the states, you know? The reality is: there are just not enough people to go around on the east coast to go strictly northern. You have to appeal to a few different niches to get them in the door. Plus, if you go on a crusade about it, they won't follow because the mod thing has already been something proven to them, so they'll go that way because there is nothing to worry about. Taking on something as unpopular as northern soul has no benefit as far as they are concerned. At least the West Coast has some things going on-I will give them that credit. I wish I had a do to go to that was like the things that they put on. They're into it a bit more out there. YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT PISSES ME OFF EVEN MORE? Over here, some kid latches on to the whole mod thing, buys a few compilations, plays only the total aggro stuff, blatantly missuses the term "northern soul", mixes it with garage and all of this other shit and calls it a soul night. What the hell is that? Meanwhile, I'm spinning a cherry mint original of the Caressors on RuJac and cueing up an mint east coast issue of Yvonne Baker on turntable 2, while I have stock dance footage of "This England" playing on the TVs above the bar. Think anyone even gives a shit? You think anyone even gets curious enough to ask me what's on that TV screen? NO! Instead, I've got people telling me to "turn it down". And do you think any of these guys gets up early in the morning on a Saturday to dig for records and learn how to look at labels, learn producers names and do research? HELLLL NO! And here's where it really gets crazy: all of the sudden, people are playing soul music more. And proper dos like the ones Kev puts on here in the US are happening over here where I live. Not one person from the small American contingent has reached out to me to be a part of this or any other "proper"(although few) events going on in the US. Imagine being one of the top guys on the east coast who lives and breathes northern soul...then a bona-fide northern soul event comes around within 200 miles of where you live, and nobody has even tried to include you. WHY? (definitely not directed at you either, Kev R.) There is a very simple explanation for this. It's just lack of enthusiasm and interest in things over here. It's nearly impossible to get people to repeatedly come out to a do you put on, here. But, I am on good terms with pretty much everyone that I meet in this community, however, whenever it comes to something getting organized, it doesn't happen. People are just lazy bastards. I have yet to see the kind of comraderie in the states that exists in the UK. I've never even been asked to guest at Subway Soul Club in New York! How obsurd! Also, it's about stealing someone's thunder. With 26 years of collecting, 20 years of DJing skill and a good 13 years of serious interest in northern soul, I most definitely would. So maybe that's what it is. I don't know...I mean, if people are really into this stuff, there should be a soul club that covers the whole US, a soul forum for US people, too. It also bums me out that there aren't more Americans coming onto Soul Source. One one hand, I'm baffled, but on the other, not suprised at all... I feel like the Brits are the only people that ever understand what I'm talking about. (Thanks guys and gals.) God...I feel like I'm at a support group or something and you guys are saying "that's it, let it all out". In the words of Mugato, in the movie "Zoolander"... "I FEEL LIKE I'M TAKING CRAZY PILLS!!!!!!!!" Okay I'm gonna go walk it off, now. Phew! KTF, Jas ps. love to get some feedback on this

Actually... I am preparing my reviews and will post them soon. I am still missing CDs from Mark Bicknell, Miss Goldie, and Jock. Jock tried to send me one but got a return because of an incorrect zip code. My address again: JASON H. THORNTON CREATIVE PRINT GROUP 1560 CATON CENTER DRIVE BALTIMORE, MD 21227 USA Hope to see those CDs come thorugh. I've really enjoyed all of the others as a whole. My reviews are coming soon-I promise. KTF Jas

Label credits a movie called "Winning"

It's MOXY! She's having some late-nite fun at the playground on one of the swings. She's our Boston Terrier, who will be turning one year old in a couple of weeks. Could be from another planet, though. She makes some pretty weird gremlin sounds.

Young Holt Unlimited 'California Montage' - pure class - you don't even notice there is no words. That's the sign of a quality instrumental. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! Couldn't agree with you more. This is sooooo beautiful! I love this record and never tire of it. It's very classy indeed. One of my favorite enders. I'm not writing this to push anything, but I've got one available on a US Brunswick in really nice shape, in case anyone needs one. KTF Jas

I like these: "Father Dear" by the Miracles off the "Hi, We're the Miracles" LP "A Favor For a Girl" Brenda Holloway from the "Every Little Bit Hurts" LP (been loving that one since 1987 and someone just included that one on the midtempo swap) "Time Is Passing By" the Monitors: I don't know if this is LP only or a single, but I love this one. On the Gladys Knight LP that includes "Take a Walk In My Shoes", there is a great track at the end of one of the sides. Can't remember the name, though. Can anyone help? I'm all for the swap, too. Motown's got so much great overlooked stuff. -Jas

Last Manship Prices : Sound Masters: 600GBP Epsilons: 150GBP Paul Thompson: 700GBP But there is a brand new Manship Guide coming out in November. These prices may have gone up, you know? Go with your gut, man. You might be able to pull some decent prices from these three records. I've seen a Sound Masters on eBay in the past year, but don't remember what it went for; it was a lot, though. As for the Epsilons, it turns up every so often. As for Paul Thompson, I've never ever seen it. You might want to ask several people's opinions overall. My opinion is, flog the two big ones and try to hold onto the Epsilons. It's a great song and might be worth keeping for the fact that it's not super super rare. You'd be pissing money away on it. And you know how things go-it'll go big and you'll pay double to get it again. Try selling the other two and get a substantial amount of cash to do what you've got to do. That's my opinion. -Jas

For what its worth... Although I never knew Dave personally or even met him, I always respected his expertise and his contributions to the world of soul music. And I gather from everything that I've ever read about him over the years, that he was one righteous person indeed and a top-class individual. I'm proud to say that one of the most influential people on the scene that I tell people that I am a part of, was a positive role model for all. He was truly a remarkable, humble and multi-faceted human being. Even I can recognize that all the way over here in the states, so I can only imagine how much all of you who may encountered him or knew him personally must feel. Either way, it's a loss for all of us. R.I.P. Dave Godin (agree with you Dayo-He was Soul Brother Number One indeed) -Jas

Being from Wheeling, West Virgina left me with few options, but I still managed to find some nice sounds at the Salvation Army and St. Vincent & DePaul Thrift stores. There were also a couple of stores that were just second hand stores with mostly junk, but some records. There was a family of hillbillies who were like the rulers of the junk in Wheeling. They would have junk stores in two or three locations at once. They ALWAYS had records. I would get all sorts of things from them, but one time, I bought a 45 tote full of nothing but late 60s promos and damn near all of them had the northern sound. Most of them were RCA and Date labels. My friend and I also had a shop we went to that we called "The No-Name Lady". She was this old woman who smoked with a scruffy voice and had a super old mother living with her. My friend and I used to go over to her place when we were 11 and 13 years old, at 7pm at night and really odd times, because she lived there. We thought her 50 cent and $1.00 45 prices were insane, but we would always work a deal with her. So, the old mother would smile and hang around while we looked through records and then we would go back into the house and line up by the living room door and take our turns cutting deals with her daughter, the owner. Haven't really thought about those times until now. Very interesting experience to go through to buy records. It was like going to the back room to talk to the boss. But for the most part, I had to get the good stuff in Pittsburgh. I am close to Fred Bohn at the Attic Record store to this day. I bought Harvey on Tri-Phi from him at age 12 for a whopping $15.00 back in 1983, a year after he opened. It was my most expensive purchase at that time. The Harvey record was and still is in demand for its legendary cult status in Pittsburgh, thanks to DJs like Porky Chedwick. I also frequented Jerry's, where I once bumped into Mark "Butch" Dobson, who was picking up some 70s rarity on a tan United Artists label, which I believe was Nathan Williams. Also, when I was in college at West Virginia University in Morgantown, I was a regular at some flea markets and junk shops there. On my first trip there, I found Paul Sindab with the "Candy In the Sand" flip side and the Vontastics on Moon Shot. I also found Robert Taylor on Alteen and Robin Rice on Crackerjack. Since 1996, I've lived in Baltimore and have gotten good black records of all sorts from anywhere and everywhere, such as an unplayed Carresors on Ru-jac, an excellent Cashmeres on Hem and an excellent Les Chansonettes on Shrine, just to name a few. I also got a few nice ones from Dave Withers while he briefly lived here in Baltimore. Dave is tops in my book for being very reasonable on price and just being a cool guy in general. He always showed up at my soul nights, despite the poor attendances. Since I've been working at a printing company for the past year, I've managed to get 20,000 full color flyers printed up free, announcing that I'm seeking out records. I plan to stuff those into as many doorways as possible. I left a small pile out in a laundromat and got one call, which resulted in an excellent issue copy of Connie Questell on Decca. I'd better get moving on that! Keep on me about it, everyone. I'll get those flyers out and get some lists up as soon as I get a free moment. Then it'll be records for everyone! YEAH! KTF Jas

My opinion is: if you've got a decent voice and something worthwhile to say every now and then about a lesser-known record, go for it. The collectors want to know and the punters need a little bringing along as well. Information about values, etc. is something the hardcore collectors can ask the DJ themselves. The truly hardcore collectors most likely will know anyway. At the LA Weekender, I only came up to the stage twice the whole weekend to see what record was being played. Too much talking can ruin it, though. I have a recording of an allnighter in Peterborough from 1981 that my friend Nigel recorded. The DJ was a guy named Sean Burke who was a geezer even back then. His introductions were so terrible that we like to quote a few of them every so often just for laughs. ("eer's one frum li'il dionnnn!" that's my personal fave) I will say this: at the weekender in LA, Sean Chapman was excellent. He added so much energy to the room and had the balls to play "The Love I Lost" by Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes and introduce it in such a way to hold everyone's interest and get them on the floor. When you can take such a piss-easy record like that and play it successfully in the context of a northern do, that's gotta take talent. I was also glad to see that I wasn't the only one that danced during my sets. I have been doing that for years in Baltimore and that was the first time I saw someone else doing the same. Terry Davies was also good at keeping things upbeat. I haven't seen or heard too many northern DJs, but I stand my ground that Richard Searling is tops in my book as truly being a class act and being an all-around great DJ and personality. Ady Croasdell dropping a needle on "Baby I Need Your Lovin'" by the Four Tops a great example of timing, taste, and building up an amazing repore with the audience to give that record more dimension. Classy indeed. I have a decent amount of radio and DJing experience, and a lot of people have told me that I have a great voice, but I have to admit that I'd feel weird introducing northern records and talking them up in the same style, just by virtue of sounding American. Even though I am from the US, hearing an American voice introducing records at a northern do would be like fingernails across a chalk board. I'm also 32 and a non-smoker, so I don't have that classic gruff, you know? Plus, in the states, we don't talk between the records and more mixing is going on. My policy: the Brits made the scene so let 'em do their job. I'm a northern soul fan/expert of 13 years, I am a DJ of 20 years and a record collector of 26 years, but I prefer to come to the do strictly as a punter and a dancer. And I'm there to dance and hear music. But a little talk in between is cool with me once and a while. SIDE NOTE: Maybe another topic (Mike?) One thing I would like to know though...how do Brits feel on the whole about a really well-put together seamless mix of northern soul? I have a history of doing northern mixes for years and when I select records to play or when I comp up a CD, tempo is extremely important to me. How important is it to the average northern soul fan from the UK? Are you just going song-by-song or looking at the progression of a set as a whole? There is an art to building a nice set (and doing a nice comp) in my opinion. What do you all think? KTF Jason

I don't have any one single life-changing record, but my tastes went through phases and progressed through my youth, so here are a few milestones for me: 1977: 5 going on 6 years old: "Runaway"-Del Shannon. This was what got me listening to old music in general and gave birth to my record collecting which started in June of 1978. I liked 50s and early 60s music almost exclusively for many years after. 1982: 10 going on 11 years old: "Shotgun"-Jr. Walker. This was my first real introduction to soul music. It made me realize there was something else good out there besides the 50s stuff. My older cousin who was a kid in the 60s who grew up in Cleveland, brought me his old 45s and made a small pile of about 25 of them. He pulled out "Westbound #9" by The Flaming Ember with the long intro and "Get On Your Knees" by Los Canarios, which was one of his favorites. I still have those particular copies in my collection to this day. At that time, "Shotgun" really grabbed me, though. 1984: 12 years old: "It's Like That"-Run DMC. This record was the beginning of my youth culture and social life. I got into breakdancing and developed my skills as a DJ. This was a great time in my life and I have a lot of great memories from this time between 1984 and 1987. It also eventually made me see how much soul was an influence on hip hop music. 1991: 20 years old: "Sidra's Theme"-Ronnie & Robin. Holy crap! I finally made it! Summer of '91, I was running an ad in my local newspaper in Wheeling, West Virginia-where I grew up, advertising that I was looking for old records. So this woman calls me around 8pm on a Saturday evening, and I go to her place and it's a TOTAL hillbilly set-up. It's in a public housing project on a dead-end street in the worst part of town. There's garbage EVERYWHERE outside and the kids are running around, babies crying, dogs barking, etc. Anyway, I go in to this tiny kitchen area and this gross old fat woman brings out about 300 45s on a broomstick with cut-out pieces of newspaper between every single record. And the whole time, she's handing me little stacks and picking them up and bringing them up all the way over the stick and I'm peeling paper off and seeing all sorts of junk, like I expected. But then things started to look up. I grabbed every small-label odd-looking item I could find in any genre of music. So, by this time, it's dark and I'm hot as hell and finished in there. I give her a whopping $10 for about 50 records, which she was pleased with. So when I get home, I start playing these records and one of them happened to be a VG looking copy of "Sidra's Theme" that played very nicely. I was awestruck with this record immediately and played it again, much louder and got into it even more. Not more than a month or two later, I see the term "northern soul" for the very first time on a Craig Moerer Records by Mail sales list. I studied the hell out of the list not knowing what the term meant or what the common thread was between these 45s. As I realized that I had some of the records on the list, I listened to them and put the pieces together and made it my mission to learn about northern soul. It took me until 1994 to learn what it really was, because I got my first CDs of it. For the three years up to '94, I was almost completely on my own trying to pinpoint the sound, armed with about nothing except a Simon Soussan price guide I eventually got a hold of, which confirmed so many of my guesses of which records were northern but told me nothing about the history or the music itself. Of course, I eventually found out "Sidra's Theme" was considered northern soul. With no prior knowledge of any sub-culture, I continually sought out the sound, developed a keen ear for it. The more that I learned about the dancing and culture, I realized that this was for me and never looked back. Now I'm hooked for life and loving it! KTF Jason

Actually Wendy, I once tore up the floor to the entire long version of "Move On Up" . I was at a restaurant that had a do once a month in Baltimore, where the DJ played all sorts of odd music. Well, he decides to put a few soul numbers on that were funk, but then he puts on "Move On Up" and I took full advantage of actually hearing a northern soul song in a place where I could dance. I had no talc and was wearing sneakers, so I emptied a couple packets of sweet-n-low onto the floor. People were watching me and didn't know what to make of what I was doing either. Also, they were such ultra-hip pretensious art student types that they didn't want to look stupid by asking me WTF I was doing out there. Honestly, I couldn't even see people around me most of the time. It was just me and the song. I went for it for the entire length and was a sweaty mess by the end. Just another situation where I'm the only person in 1000 miles that knows northern soul. As for the dancing, it's definitely too fast for any shuffling. Just a lot of sliding and acrobatics, really. You can't do regimented northern steps, but there's more freedom to it. BTW-nice avatar. Anyway....back to the topic: FAST Velvet Satins-Nothing can Compare to You (odd tempo) Jewels-We Got Togetherness (the mix is bad on that one. The beat needs to be more upfront.) SLOW Ray Pollard-The Drifter (too SLOOOOW. Killer track, though) Charlie McCoy & the Escorts-My Baby's Back Again But I'll do my best out there on the floor. KTF -Jason

Hey Leo, I own a copy of the Ebony release as well. I love both of them, too. The Showcase version was the one I've been listening to since 1982, though. So, it's partially nostalgia, but I also like the fuller sound of the Showcase version blasting out of the speakers. Both are great though. -J.

NORTHERN SOUL ALL TIME CLASSICS These are actually in order. I tried to think of the songs that could almost never get knocked off the list. This is my best attempt at listing my absolute favorites. Pretty super-well-known stuff, but they're all killers in my opinion, as well as absolute classics, many of them. Chuck Wood, Darrell Banks and Ruby Andrews are the only ones I own originals of, too. But this is not a DJ set from original vinyl, here. No need for the originals police to come get me... 1. Stick By Me Baby-Salvadors-Wise World 2. I Really Love You-Tomangoes-Washpan 3. Just Loving You-Ruby Andrews-Zodiac 4. She'll Come Running Back-Mel Britt-FIP 5. Seven Days Too Long-Chuck Wood-Roulette 6. I Still Love You-Seven Souls-Okeh 7. Can't Be Still-Buster & Eddie-Class 8. Bari Track-Doni Burdick-Sound Impressions 9. Sweet Darlin'-Jimmy "Soul' Clark-Soulhawk 10. Open the Door to Your Heart-Darrell Banks-Revilot CROSSOVER & MODERN SOUL CLASSICS These aren't really in order, but I've tried to list them that way. Got a mint vinyl demo of the Bobby Sheen that I payed a lot for and worth every penny. All the others are on CD. 1. Ho Happy Day-Flame n King & the Bold Ones-NYCCS(?) 2. Don't Worry Baby(The best is yet to come)-Bessie Banks-Quality 3. Sad Girl-Carol Anderson-Fee (Yeah I know it's northern...Whatever!) 4. Something New to Do-Bobby Sheen-Warner Brothers 5. Because of You-Jackie Wilson-Brunswick 6. Can't Do Without You-Connie Laverne-GSF 7. If You Can't Say Something Good-Mark IV-Brite(?) 8. Top of the Stairs-Collins & Collins-A&M 9. There's a Girl Somewhere For Me-Bobby Rich-Sambea 10. I Need Love-Daybreak-PAP NORTHERN SOUL NEWIES-Current sounds, Stafford era, my car, my living room and beyond... These totally aren't in order, but the top three are very solid. 1. Crying Time Instrumental-Brenda Holloway-Andy Rix 2. You Got to Have Money-Exits-Gemini 3. The Magic Touch-Melba Moore-Horace's 4. Soul Sound-Jokers-Sko-Field 5. Just a Boy's Dream-Phonetics-Trudel 6. I'll Be On My Way-Bob & Fred-Big Mack(?) 7. Arabia-Delcos-Showcase 8. The Time Is Right For Love-Bobby Reed 9. Crook His Little Finger-Ann Heywood-Hondo 10. I'm Waiting-Bill Bush-Ronn I'm leaving out TONS of great stuff, but those are the songs I could think of immediately.