Rick Cooper

I quite liked the street scene clip. Good to see no one on a phone or holding a coffee. Simple times but everyone seemed happy and relaxed.

B&Q have been using Sliced Tomatoes for ages but just seen their ad and then followed straight after by some sort of sauce using Richie Barrett I Will Love You. Crazy. A chocolate bar a while back used Mean Man by Betty Harris . Assume the ad people just type a few words into YT or such like and pick a track from the results.

Nothing to do with the value of the record but as a bit of useless trivia there was a tape and one acetate done of the backing track of Are You Satisfied for a possible B side for a UK Cream release in 1976. Both seem to have been lost as Joe Boy couldn't find them when Rollercoaster gave them access to the Swan tapes. Rick

As with the previous seven volumes some well known tracks mixed with some I've not heard before so looking forward to getting this one. A fitting tribute to Terry who always wanted to share his passion for quality under appreciated records with everyone. Although I can't be sure, the choice of I'm On My Way To A Better Place as the final song at his funeral, and on the CD, could be slightly tongue in cheek and an example of his dry humour. He may have also chosen it as General Norman Johnson was also the lead singer on The Showmen's It Will Stand that he used to rave about nearly fifty years ago. Rick

Over the past couple of years a buzzard (?) has been hanging around. Quite often it circles high up and now and again gets agro from the local rooks. Most days it spends half an hour or so sitting on fence posts. I've finally managed to have a camera ready when it appeared today. This is it's favourite post where it spent some time preening and getting a bit of sun. It then had a little walk around before going back to the fence I was waiting for an action shot of it taking off but this happened instead After another 15 minutes it flew into a nearby tree There was a pair of them in the summer so maybe this is one of their offspring. Anyone know how old it might be and what sex it is? Rick

I did a guest spot in the main room around late 75. It's a bit of a blur now but I don't think I played anything unexpected. What I do remember is what a daunting task it was to play to a packed floor that knew exactly what they wanted. It would take a very brave person to play anything new and untested. Those DJs that regularly broke new sounds deserve all the credit they get. Later on I did a spot at the Beachcomber next door that was a lot easier. From 76 I sold quite a lot of my records so packed in my faltering DJ career. Rick

Well done Dave. Great label that got me collecting years ago. Have you got the promotional listing that they sent out to record shops. I think it was a A4 leaflet folded in 3 that was a complete list of all releases at the time. The one I saw had most of the red/yellow titles listed. Not seen one for 40 years so must be rare by now. Rick

Yes, the label credits are strange and I don't have info from the dealings with Irving that could help . You sometimes hear stories about publishing rights given over to get favours from people. Different production credits could be an argument about who actually did the most in the studio. I guess we'll never know for sure as it was so long ago. As an aside ,when I ran the Cream label the publishing info on some of the issues was just whatever was on the US issue and as long as the MCPS got paid no one bothered. I also got an A&R credit on the UK Inferno issue of Showstoppers Gotta Get Closer but did b***r all. Rick

Gotta Get Closer To Your Love was a Showstoppers track not Four Perfections . I gave one copy to Terry Thomas in Kidderminster and I think sold the other (for peanuts) to Neil Rushton. Neil issued the track on Inferno, he may have some info on the Party Time label which could be useful. Terry sold his copy via John Manship a few years ago. The test pressing was single sided so I wonder what the B side could have been, instrumental ? Rick

As MrC rightly points out way back in 2011 it also came out in the UK on Cream Records which I was involved with in the 70s. If I remember rightly, which is not guaranteed, the owner of Global and Cream records ,Ed Balbier, got the contact details of Showtime Records from Jamie/Guyden/Universal so we could arrange a deal for a UK release. The owner was Irvine Weinroth who set up Showtime for his son. When we did the deal for House Party no one had seen the Party Time release so I didn't know then that Irvine also owned the rights to the Four Perfections.When Soul Bowl got the Party Time House Party copies I asked Irving if we could lease The Four Perfections. So Showtime and Party Time were owned by the same person so I can't see any legal problems over these two labels but maybe when Jerry Ross got involved Irvine handed over the US rights to House Party for a number of years. However Jamie/Guyden were selling House Party on Showtime in the 1970s with the full knowledge of Irvine. As to why House Party came out later on Party Time I know as much as others, i.e nothing, but maybe they used up some left over blank Party Time labels for a very small run of House Party to sell at gigs. As the Showstoppers came over to the UK these copies never got used or distributed. Irvine gave me a couple of copies of a test pressing for the Showstoppers Gotta Get Closer to Your Love which had STR 102 as the record number. So he had planned a follow up on Showtime not Party Time. It never came out in the US so maybe the Jerry Ross deal scuppered this. I think Glenn at Outtasight spoke to Jerry Ross about this but I'm not sure what he said. Rick

Around 1975/6 Soul Bowl were selling the Party Time version of Houseparty for under £2.00. They were original issues that they had got hold of from somewhere. So if you got your copy around this time it will be original. The record was freely available on Showtime from Jamie/Guyden via Universal Distribution so no point bootlegging a common record. Rick

So that's why the Sam Baker record came out. I went to the Sam and Dave show with Eddie Floyd and Arthur Conley at the Manchester Odeon but don't remember Sam Baker or Linda Carr on the bill, maybe they only did certain venues.

Thanks for your reply. It seems like loads of unusual places were really "happening". The UK press at the time considered London was where everything in music was centered. Dave Godin famously dismissed this as London elitism but I wonder if he was aware how far flung soul was appreciated. I wonder what happened to all the records the reps and foreign companies got from the US, probably binned.

Some of the foreign releases put on this thread are truly amazing ,especially the S American and Lebanon records, so does anyone know for sure how the record companies got the records and decided to issue them in their country. Roburt has pointed out EMIs worldwide influence for US label representation. So would EMI receive a copy or tape of every release issued by the labels they had a deal with, i.e Capitol, UA, Uptown, Liberty,Minit,Tower,Motown, Musicor, Amy/Mala, Okeh and others. Ditto RCA, CBS, Decca, Pye,Polydor . If so this must have amounted to hundreds or thousands of 45s and LPs every week. Would every other country with a similar set up also get samples of all US issues? Also would publishers get a record or just the sheet music. The other scenario is that the US labels picked the records they wanted the foreign companies to push and recommended them for issue. This doesn't seem likely except maybe when an artist was touring overseas or had a built up a fanbase in certain countries. In one of John Broven's books he relates how UK Decca had US based representatives on the lookout for new releases to issue in the UK. Did other companies do the same? Maybe this is how the Velvets got issued in Argentina. I suppose we'll never know for sure but maybe someone has some answers. Rick

Some information about 60s UK record sessions here. https://blog.oup.com/2015/10/studio-musician-london-sixties-pop-music-industry/ Also a new session trying to recreate a 60s soul sound https://www.uaudio.com/blog/producers-corner-steve-levine/ Quite interesting, any comments?

John Thanks for the reply, fascinating stuff that could do with more writing about. The story behind Name It And Claim It is interesting. They seemed to spend a lot of time and money on the track. One more question on this. The recording costs would have been paid by the production company, so did they get an advance from Scepter/Wand when they did the deal for it? Would Daryl Stewart have paid any his own money upfront or did he just have the cost set against any future sales? Rick

I have a vague recollection that someone told me that someone had told them that when they asked Fatback records (or someone claiming to own the tapes) for a tape of The Catwalk they were sent a tape that played A Little Bit of Soul. So it looks like the mix up with what recording is which started with a mistake on a tape box. The changed matrix number with the scratched out A and B on the deadwax could be an attempt to get it right. However as both tracks are instrumentals and the titles are fairly meaningless I don't suppose it matters what we know it by, but The Cat Walk sounds cool and who wants a little bit of soul. Rick

John If someone asked me where Porgy and the Monarchs -My Heart Cries for You was recorded , Memphis would have the last place I'd have thought of. Any idea if they used the regular session musicians or out of town guys. Could you help with a couple of questions about sessions in the sixties. Would a session usually last three hours and if it overran the time would the musicians be on double pay? Also would a newly signed artist be expected to record four songs in a session so they had an initial single and a possible follow up. From the info in your post it looks like some artists only did one or two songs in a session or were the others not listed or finished. Perhaps once you'd had a hit the label would allow more time to get a song right and sod the expense. Rick

Kegsy The record I remember as The Cat Walk is not the one on your link ,although I've been told it is really The Cat Walk and the one that was played at the Torch was one of the many that had reversed labels , so this is "The Cat Walk" that really isn't as it is the other side. confusing! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEKgaB

Rob The original 1976 issue of Seven Day Lover never had a white demo. The demo was an issue copy with a rubber stamp- "A Promotion Copy Not For Sale" on the label as on the photo. Not many were done of these and most went to radio stations and the individual presenters. Many years later a re-press was done when James Fountain was possibly going to appear at The Gala Gran. Unfortunately he died before he could come over but William Bell did the tour and I got one of the new issues signed by him. The original issue has "master room" in the deadwax and has an anti slip ring around the label. The second issue has "orlake" in the deadwax and no slip ring. I think the second issue used the old label stocks from the 70s. If you have a demo with red lettering some one may have been creative with a felt pen. Could you post a photo Rick

Ian I was one of the DJs at the Leeds Allnighter. I think I was asked as I had DJ'd at the Leeds Central prior to the tram/bus station event. If I remember rightly the whole night was a disaster. Concrete dance floor ,echoing sound and live acts that couldn't really do their best on a poor stage and bad sound system. There were full page ads in Blues and Soul but I can't get to my copies just now. The records you remember were all well established at the time but not easily available. I could have played the first three singles on your list but definitely weren't anywhere close to being the first to play them. Saxie Russell I thought was a Midlands discovery, I remember first hearing it played by Barry Tasker at The Pendulum in Manchester around 71/72. Tony Clarke- Landslide was an Ian Levine play and was a featured title in the adverts he placed for the Mecca. I don't remember it ever getting plays all around the NW in the late 60s. Ain't Love Good and The Entertainer were played everywhere but I can't see Ian Levine playing a record that would have been well known before he got it. Slow Fizz was a Torch biggie but I don't remember which DJ played it first . I thought the Milestones was a Simon Soussan discovery for Russ, it's a bit manic so would go down well at Wigan. As Kegsy says a lot of records from the early 70s were sold or lent to DJs from guys in London. I remember two or three lads from London coming up to the Pendulum with a couple of boxes of fantastic records that no one else had. They wouldn't sell any to us plebs , perhaps already having done deals with the top DJs. Rick

https://www.soul-source.co.uk/forums/topic/27908-total-eclipses-you-took-our-heart/?tab=comments#comment-1678468 John Your memory isn't playing tricks.This topic from 2006 has the B&S article in it but no help with Ady's question. Rick

Probably like others I was influenced by older siblings when I was starting to pick up on music. My sister was into Blues, so aged twelve I heard Howlin' Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson and other Chess artists. My brother was in a group around 66 and 67. They mainly did cover versions of soul records or covers of cover versions, such as Just One Look which I thought was a Hollies song but later heard the Doris Troy original. He took me along to the 67 Stax show in Manchester which was phenomenal. In 68 and 69 the local youth club would still be playing Motown, Stax, Atlantic as well as new releases like The Foundations, Bandwagon etc. Moving on from youth clubs I experienced the horrors of prog rock and psychedelia as a lot of clubs had dumped soul music. Finding Blues and Soul in the local newsagent I discovered Dave Godin's writing and reviews of the first wave of reissues . Spotting a tiny ad in the Manchester Evening News for the first night of the Pendulum Soul night I went along and never looked back. Rick

Luther Ingram not on US release , so this is official UK issue. Also on a Kent CD. https://acerecords.co.uk/stand-up-straight-and-tall-oh-baby-dont-you-weep Rick

Chalky Chess Records changed ownership just as the Carstairs stock copies were about to be sent out to distribution centres and in the ensuing turmoil Red Coach was left without a distributor. By the time a new deal with Pickwick was in place they must have not thought it worthwhile issuing the Carstairs as the demo copies sent to radio stations had not resulted in much interest, apart from Ian Levine. I can't be certain but I'm fairly sure pink Chess distributed copies would have been pressed but junked, just like London issues of Darrell Banks. The pink reissues were done when I ordered 1000 copies from the new distributor of Red Coach for Global Records in Manchester. It took about five weeks for the records to arrive so I assume Red Coach pressed these and were aware they were going to the UK.These sold within a week so we ordered a few thousand more. Other importers also sold the pink copies. I don't agree with your last sentence. When I was working for Global records I never heard, or read, of any record only being pressed if there is demand. I've said this before but it is complete madness to sign an artist, record a session and then only press promo copies when the cost of pressing is so small compared to the money already spent. Any A&R manager who told his CEO that a new record was only going to be tested would have been sacked on the spot. Every record ,according to the A&R, man is a sure fire hit. If a record got plays on radio stations the public wants the record next day not in a few weeks. I also worked in record shops for many years and know how the record buyers will want a record one week and by next week there is a newer record they want. Some people would order a new release but most would buy what the shop had that day. The abundance of US promos for most non hits is because distributors didn't have to send them back unlike the issue copies. There maybe some examples of records only being pressed on demos but not many and definitely not most. Those that were could be due to legal problems, artists getting called up or other problems. This theory seems to have been spread by record collectors without any evidence. Some US artists have grumbled that their record was not in the shops but that does not mean that they were not pressed. Rick