Russ Vickers

Bought it for t'other side too................two brill sides & should be thrashed . Russ

This was my last ever 'Wigan'. That last year my trips had become less frequent, for all the reasons that have been discussed many times on here. I was attending other venues & enjoying them more. I had become worried that my memories were becoming jaded, so had decided this would be my last one. I travelled from Rosyth in Scotland as the ship I was based on was up there, as usual I travelled alone as most matelots were divs & the hassle with the DS made it less complicated for a service person. It was a very emotional night for me............the end of my own Wigan era...........needless to say, that this night bucked the recent trend & was rammed & took me back to the hey day. Im not ashamed to say I cried, along with many others. We all know how they squeezed every last penny out of the place, but my memories as I hoped were not ruined by the last few months at Station Rd.....................this was the night Wigan Casino ended for me & that clip never fails to send me back with a wry smile & a tear in the old eye. I still clap when I dance...............but I think that it is worth adding that without stating the obvious.................there are only certain places in records were you do clap, even records that you have never heard before you instinctively know were to clap. You see too many punters at Nighters who have no idea were the claps come in & just relentlessly clap away like fools & I think this is why to some extent others have kinda stopped doing the claps so they dont get tarred with the same brush. Russ

This week: About 30 assorted 45's from a Richmond store, nothing to write home about, but just nice cheapies with alot of soul, most a dollar each. Rare Gems LP. Latest John Legend CD William Bell CD from earlier this year...........brilliant too. Hamilton Joe Frank & Dennison............Playboy LP. Admiral Ice - Carolina Girl Agents on P&L In hot pursuit of others but not yet snagged em yet !!!!!. Been a quiet week . Russ

Thankks for this Dave. Russ

Hey mate 'Down & Out' unissued acetate (guessing it might be from a Morning Glory session Dave ???). Any hoo, close to my heart as Dave played it out for the first time I beleive, at one of my south coast promotions, felt very priveledged at the time & have always had a soft spot for it & thought it might become popular with spins. Maybe Dave has more info. Russ

Great show, great music & brilliant anecdotes from Dave, the story about the 'Crackhouse' is priceless & joking apart, just goes to show how far dedicated people go for those great record(s). Thank you for playing the Carol Annderson Dave, brightened up my Sunday no end. Russ

Top man, please pass on my best wishes. Russ

Some friends used to drop their teenage kids off at a Raves on thier way to Allnighters, the kids would refer to the Allnighters as geriatric raves . Russ

Seperate bank accounts Mark..............really, you should have this sussed by now . Say, hi to Jackie for me mate. Russ

Arrived today.............the Duke Browner produced track is fantastic & worth the cost of the CD alone..............envious that I wont be listening to or dancing to this at some great British venue with like minded people................you lucky lucky people. Buy it now. Russ

Gotta disagree mate, saw Keb in South Carolina last year & when he dropped this mutha the roof went off, love it, love it, love it......................how ya doin any mate, hope your well. Russ

Fantastic idea & long over due. Only wish I could be there...............hope somebody will do a comprehensive report & we get some play lists. If the DJ's bring some European fans over too the average age of the punters will plummet, altho the 100 Club has alway's had a slightly younger clientelle anyway. The 100 Club leads the way agian. Russ

Russ

Beleive that there were two different releases on Bryan with different B sides, cant remember the details..............anyone ??. Russ

Ditto . Russ

Thank you mate.................remember you shaking the foundations with this at one of the Uptown Down South venues & feeling very honoured that you had entrusted to us one of the first airings of this disc...................looking forward to the show. Russ

Also the Arthur Prysock one off from Bretby, would truly love to hear this out again Dave.................any chance of a sound file, even a partial sound file would be good if you dodnt want to post up the whole thing. Fingers crossed Russ

Looking forward to to this mate............what about the Carol Anderson acetate getting a hearing ????. Russ

Northern/Rare Soul was a scene that played unknown records by unknown artists by DJ's who would ONLY play such records anyway to an up for it crowd.....................what happened to this ethos, surely we should all be striving to play or hear the next unknown potential monster/classic if we are keeping true to the original origins of the NS scene ??? . Russ

IMHO its a f***ing good job we have the hard core NS nutters otherwise we wouldnt have a NS scene, I suspect that this comment was slightly tongue in cheek Simon , but really to be honest I get frustrated that the original values of the NS scene are now used to ridicule those of us that have never changed our attitude from the original ethos, ie discovering, playing & dancing to Rare Soul music. Good luck to all promoters, DJ's blah, blah, blah, I really dont give a monkey's, certainly not enough to be critical of any one, but I will attend the venues that I see as being true to the cause, yep, fully paid up member of the Soul Flying Squad & proud of it. You will also see me at selected oldies nights a few times a year, when Im in the UK cos I like them too under the right conditions. Live & let live, but never forget that that the true NS scene was about discovering, playing & dancing to 'new' Rare Soul records, people can argue until they are blue in the face but that is a fact. Russ

Think this is different for sure, thanks for info Marc. Russ

Totally agee Simom . Russ

Marc, please can you clarify about the different versions of the 'Sheepherders' as I am quite interested, living in the area where they from etc. Russ

Hey Chalks I know the guy that compiles these CD's personally & he is a top bloke. The CD's are not aimed at the Northern Scene. This guy is just trying to highlite black music from the state of Virginia, which I feel he should be highly commended for, particularly as he puts an amazing amount of time, money & effort into them. They are all completely legal & the liner notes are very accurate & have taken a very long time to compile. It just happens that within the 2 CD's there is an odd tune that the NS & Funk scenes have either played in the past or have picked up on from the CD's, so please listen to them in the context that they were compiled & not as a Northern Soul compilation. BTW the Sheepherders is the absolute bollocks & was recorded in the city of Norfolk VA. It took me awhile to get my copy, but I will always cherish it as it will remind me of VA Beach USA were the Sheepherders did a lot of live gigs on the front here. Russ

Marc,....three versions???? tell me more buddy. Russ