Davenpete

Fair enough - was evidently misinformed by the boss - anyway googling Soupy Sales I see he managed to bag outings on ABC Paramount, Reprise and Capitol - a respectable label line up for a proper soul artist. Dx

Soupy Sales is the Originals' Green Grow The Lilacs LP isn't it? Dx

Not particularly 'respected' but I bought a copy of a full-on heavy rock track by 'Scarab' on a British Inferno demo (ie Neil Rushden's label) from a junk shop when I was at college in Hull. Motown CW (for those that don't know 'CW' DOES stand for what it shouldn't) throws up some stinkers - there's also a Motown album of a ventiloquist and his dummy - Chester? (not sure how that works), I've also seen one of the British guitar blues rockers (Jimmy Page? - I forget) on Excello - which I believe did good business doing what were effectively vanity recordings of wannabe 'serious' white bluesmen in the mid-late 60s. Dx

Doug Banks - I Just Kept On Dancing - absolute dirge - as is Ain't That Just Like A Woman (though isn't that a different DB?) - and Romance effing Watson. Dx PS Oh and I forgot sodding JD Bryant - sometimes records are rare because they deserve to be!

Sounding brilliant - is it me or does the first track sound like Light My Fire combined with Spring Rain? Dx

Yes of course - Dx

JJ gave him one as a wedding present last year - he has both the Dutch and rarer UK (there are only 6) copies - as well as all the stupid rare things like Bolivian test pressings of No More Heroes - the UK green sleeve of NMH is well over a tonne anyway (he had the worlds largest collection of Stranglers records at one point - 28 different copies of No More Heroes etc)... Owen is quite literally the world's biggest Stranglers fan, has seen them 350 times, runs their website, stays with them regularly etc etc Dx

Remember going in there with my little brother when he bought the rare sleeve release of No More Heroes by the Stranglers (withdrawn because it looked too much like a Sex Pistols sleeve) - or it might have been Girl From the Snow Country by JJ Burnell - the basist (either way it was one or the other very expensive piece of punkiness/frogery) - not my cup of tea. Dx

Amazing price for Tootsie Rollers - remember buying and selling this for under £20 on Me-O. Dx

Or better still Clarence Carter's ultimate version on 'Live At Sun City'. Dx

Some fabulous stuff in there - a lot of my own favourites - but Uphill Climb to the Bottom (and a number of its ilk) - the top spot? Fantastic record but absolutely no way it should be up there in an all-time top Northern Soul list. Dx

I think the version being discussed is an early one - later copies included Cecil Washington (which I scanned from Kev's own copy - so the rarity comment is wrong). It was one of the 'oh shit how did we forget that' tracks. Dx

Surely this is the definition of a dead scene - playing stuff people don't/hardly know (PROVIDED IT IS AN APPROPRIATE VEIN AND DANCEABLE) but will appreciate alongside stuff they do know and like is what it's all about - would we ever have heard anything new had DJs followed the above? Dx

I have one of the blank labels at home that DG gave us (sure other people have them too) - red and brown with the 444 design and 20s looking graphics around the top. According to the story DG told us, the reason it didn't happen was that he and David Nathan had more or less agreed funding with an American businessman in New York. They were having a final sit down when DN popped out of the room, the guy turned to Dave and said 'you don't want to be involved with that Yid do you?' at which DG stood up, gave him a mouthful and walked out - end of funding, end of label. Dx

Though I was pretty heavily involved in the first couple of editions (as designer and contributing writer, with Pete providing a most of the old memberships etc), I always had issue with the definition of 'top 500' - to go purely on popularity across the WHOLE scene simply reintroduces the lowest common denominator factor of the pop charts. Where do you draw the line of 'northern soul scene'? If you include EVERY soul night in the country then you could justifiably start to expect to see something like The Four Tops' 'I'll Be There' because it would get heavily played at a low brow Motown do, though most wouldn't consider it 'Northern'. Next comes the consideration of time frame - something like Astral Trip could justifiably claim a place for having been extremely big during the early-mid 80s - but someone who joined the scene post about 1988 wouldn't have a clue what it was and would be amazed it was popular. Like many I think there is a whole slew of tracks that should've made it in, though at the time the book was groundbreaking (and is still probably by far the biggest selling book on the subject), being the first by a proper 'insider' to the scene and Kev deserves plaudits for taking on the task. Dx

Brilliant record - always remember Morecambe Third Anniversary - requested it - the place went off like an atom bomb. Dx

Gladys Knight - The Stranger PS Re-Mag Men: - plus of course keep on climbing

The brilliant Darlene Love 'Lord if you're a woman' used to be massive for Pat Brady at Bradford, spun in amongst a lot of really rare stuff. Dx

Spellbound - Tamiko Jones Witchcraft in the Air - Betty Lavett

Seems there's a stack of obvious stuff been left off this list (whilst loads of commercial cack has been included). What about Brainstorm 'Loving Is Really My Game', GQ 'Disco Nights' and 'Make My Dreams A Reality', Vickie Sue Robinson 'Turn The Beat Around', The Originals 'Down To Love Town', Fantastic Four 'Got To Have Your Love' ( ), Phreek 'Weekend' ( ), Crown Heights Affair 'Galaxy of Love', 'Dancing' and 'Dreaming a Dream', Ripple 'The Beat Goes On', Loleatta Holloway 'Dreamin' and 'Run Away', Musique 'In The Bush', The Jones Girls 'Nights Over Egypt', Idris Muhamed 'Could Heaven Ever Be Like This', Charles Earland 'Let The Music Play' ( ), Arthur Adams 'You Got The Floor', Linda Clifford 'Runaway Love', Gary Byrd 'The Crown', Aquarian Dream 'Phoenix', Patrice Rushen 'Haven't You Heard', Norman Connors 'Take It To The Limit', Webster Lewis 'Let Me Be The One', Khemistry 'Can You Feel My Love' and 'I Can't Lose The Stuff I Use'... Etc etc etc etc etc. Dx

It was defo Brian that first played it. Dx

I think 'Rare Soul' has too many issues in terms of the fact that much of what I'd consider 'Rare Soul' actually isn't rare. Of course 'Northern Soul' also has its limitations and preconceptions about what it should sound like amongst many. Dx

70% but i disagree that MG was a 'member' of the Funk Brothers Also as noted above it was Bobby Taylor who found the J5 Finally - simply because they covered some jazz standards doesn't make the 4 Tops a jazz group Dx

Young Mr L did a cracking job on these. Nice looking labels too - wonder who did them? Dx