Russ Vickers

How much does the Exceptions go for ????. Thanks. Russ

Dolly, got the Paramounts today, thank you, great grading by the way . Russ

Unfortunately, yes, was very frustrating, RS to me is a legend, but this was very disapointing, killed many a good night stone dead, never to recover. Agree with JT on this subject. Russ

I need the MJ Medicine Bend on UK Stax..............if anyone has a spare. Thanks Russ

You obviously have his address, a visit might be in order . Russ

I have seen many more Alteen copies than Chess copies..........brill record IMO. Russ

What is Northern Soul ??????????????????????????????????????? The musical genre does not exist with regard to making music, its the scene & the dancers that decide what is a NS record, based on what the DJ is playing in the sets.........so if a Soulful House record that the DJ felt was right for the NS scene was played & became popular, it would be a NS record, the days of the four to the floor or it aint NS have been gone for decades. I am not saying we should have entire sets of Soulful House in NS rooms, what I am saying is, do not discount the genre, there are sounds that will be right for the NS scene, that is a fact, some may not like it, but it will happen & has to some extent. Paul, I also think that you might be basing your opinion of Soulful House on inferior examples, its like all music you have to dig deep to get past the lowest common denominator stuff, that has been produced for the masses & get to the real deal, I am deffo no expert on this, but I know there is some good stuff out there. This to me is also not about ramming stuff down peoples throats that they dislike..............we've always had this debate about the suitability of certain genres of music to the NS scene, but on the whole they all co-exist together quite nicely on the dancefloor so long as the DJ 's put the sets together sensibly. Russ

Its about queing in the tunes to the vocal & fading out after............the bits at the start & end are for those clever people to 'mix' with. Russ

Stop talking sense ...........mix it all up, if its got the x factor it'll work, so long as DJ's are sensible about how they put sets together. BTW from my personal perspective, this is not about abandoning the traditional rare soul sound, its more about using Soulful House as a genre to raid for the right type of tune to mix in with the rest of our wonderful music........like every other soul genre that we have drawn from, not all the records will be suitable for a Rare Soul scene, but they'll be some hidden gems that'll have it. A lot of this stuff is harder to find than the 6ts & 7ts stuff too, unless you get it on release then in a lot of cases it almost doesnt exist in the first place. Russ

Know what you mean mate ????? Hope your well, see ya soon. Russ

Thanks Baz, was hoping Paul would get in touch actually...........the deep side of things being more his thing I think. Thanks again buddy. Russ

I recently was lucky enough to track down a soul/gospel singer who I had been on the trail of for awhile. From what I can gather other people have been looking for this guy too. He has no NS 'hits' & was more of a deep soul singer really, with some gospel releases & at least one Modern dancer. The guy was telling me he owns 90% of his back catalogue & is also looking for live dates in the UK/Europe. He was asking for my help to get a deal for a compilation CD of his material & to sort out the live dates to back up the release of the CD. Now whilst I have dabbled in this area i do not feel qualified in anyway to advise this guy. I was hoping that I could hook him up with someone on here that at the least could offer sensible genuine advise. The guy has no records left BTW & nor do his friends, family or pet dog, so there is no chance of the vinyl, there are no acetates or tapes either, so anyone who thinks they may take a punt & try & blag a few records dont bother & I obviously am not going to give this guys details out willy nilly. So if you are able to offer this guy advise & potentially be in a position to do a CD reissue of his back catalogue (if you feel the material warrants it) pse PM me. Thank you. Russ

Thanks Dave. Hope the condition of the 45 was ok, let me know. Could you send me an mp3 of the Stevadors 45 to my email addy pse if its no trouble. Im on the case with this, but no joy so far Im afraid. When are you coming over mate ????. Russ

Dark, good dancefloor, good PA, good acoustics, lots of little niches, half decent rest rooms...........atmosphere, some venues have it, some dont.......................& promoters when choosing venues, find a venue relative to the amount of people you expect to attend............there is nothing worst than a hoofing sized venue half or less full, I would personally prefer a smaller venue, that is packed,therefore creating a better atmosphere. Russ

Need an Mp3 of this pse if anyone can help. Thank you. Russ

Right at the back mate (didnt want to hijack your thread either)..................thank you for bringing it to my attention tho', awesome choon. Good luck . Russ

Please may I have one of these aswell, if two of the better mixes turn up !!! Thank you Russ

.............out of pure interest Pete.........did you write these things down, Im always in complete awe of you guys that can nail it to the month almost. Apologies for being misleading..............brain fuddled. Russ

I like it ..............bit messy, but has the breaks for the dancers & I imagine thru a big system would be one of those 'Dancin to the beat of ya Heart' kinda records...................you know when the bass is vibrating thru ya & lifting you.............mmmmmmmmmmmmm maybe that is a weird Russ thing, anyway, potentially a winner, but not a classic IMVHO. Russ

Rain was a Cleethorpes record before it was played at Wigan. Russ

I really shouldnt get involved in these debates, cos they do tend to wind me up some. Always found Paddy to be a nice friendly guy when we have spoken occasionally on the phone, however I dont agree personally with Paddys view of the NS scene, not that it has ever been put into print or anything, more the over all tone of the B & S articles Paddy has written. My solution was not to read them. I have been aware of the site & the radio show for years, its not my kinda thing so I dont visit or listen. Everyone has a right to enjoy what ever part of the NS scene turns em on. What I take great exception to is the 'die hard' oldies fans who thru ignorance or just plain indifference to anything other than thier own slant on the scene make sweeping comments about what NS is or isnt. I really have no problem with people who want to visit oldies only venues, they can listen & dance to oldies until they are sick for all I care, but the original ethos of the NS was for newly discovered danceable soul records to be played. Now we all know that its pretty much impossible to play only newies these days, but DJ's & promoters who care about the natural progression of the NS scene, take trouble to employ & incorporate DJ's who play some newies & then use intelligence to put together a set of records that incorporate less obvious records that may not have been played for a long time or even completely forgotten. Anyhoo I am reasonably tolerent of the oldies scene, its part of the overall NS scene & has been for years & years......but a lot of the oldies fans are not tolerant of those of us that enjoy the path that incorporates the original ethos of the NS scene to the extent of denial & ridicule. The passion for new & different kinds of soul records saw the birth of NS, the best venues & DJ's stuck with this thru the golden era, thru the 8ts, its pretty much what kept the scene alive to some extent & these days, to me & many others, its what stops NS from becoming a total laughing stock & guess what IMHO its what will keep the NS scene alive after many of the oldies only fans have moved on again. True Faith Kept............Right On. Russ

Thats what the real scene is all about innit . Russ

I can honestly say I never once danced to MD. I would also add that there were some brilliant records being played aswell, from memory (?) The Agents, The Delites, Lester Tipton, The New Wanderers, Idle Few, Betty Boo, The Generation, amongst others, it wasnt all doom & gloom & as already mentioned Richard, who was already doin the bizz, was about to bust the roof off, with the new generation of Northern sounds, the pre cursor to the underground sound of the 8ts.............as a newbie in '77, I was still thoroughly enjoying Wigans playlist on the whole & when I didnt like the DJ in the main room I was furthering my education in M's, listening to all the records from day's gone by, that were all newies to me at the time. You guys must all remember some great sounds from this period aswell.........so come on you lot, lets see if you can be positive for once about the old place & post up some of the other great sounds, after all there was new stuff still being played week in & week out. Russ

. Russ

Sorry mate...........is it you ???? . Looking forward to seeing ya real soon buddy ha hargggggggggggg 1. Russ