Russ Vickers

Can someone post a sound file pse. Russ

I find this topic absolutely fascinating & before I go any further I want to make it quite clear that I am not preaching or being disrespectful to anybody. In fact some of the people who have posted comments that I personally disagree with on this subject I have the upmost respect for generally. So here we go....................I have been on the NS scene for many years, I'm a punter foremost, but collect, DJ & promote on occasion, so I feel I have more than enough experience & knowledge to be able to comment on this subject. Northern Soul is not a 'type' of music, it is a record or recording, that gains exceptance on the Northern Soul scene. It is made up of all kinds of genres of soul music including Jazz, RnB, Blues etc, also within the broad church of NS we also embrace records that have nothing to do with soul music, for example pop, country, rock, reggae etc the only thing that these records that gain exceptance on the scene have in common is that they have become popular on the scene, therefore 'we' class these records as NS. As the scene has developed & expanded from the 6ts to present day, obviously recording techniques etc have changed, also many other genres have evolved within music since the 6ts & NS has borrowed records from some of these, thats why we have 7ts & 8ts played in the main room, also why we have more RnB being played than ever before & more funkier records are beginning to get the odd play too, this is all outside of the Modern rooms. None of us enjoy every single record from every single decade from every single genre, but we pick & choose our venues & DJ & we dance to what we enjoy. I will absolutely guarantee without a shadow of doubt that some soulful house will get played on the NS scene, in fact some venues did & do still play some, Abshott & Newbury Nighters did, Bretby did, Lea Manor did & there were & are others, this was enjoyed by the majority of people most of the time. Nobody is advocating that we have a full scale Soulful House set in the main NS room, but what I am saying is, that we will do what the scene has always done & will continue to do & that is cherry pick the records that fit our scene, we may not all like it, but it will happen & IMO it will be good for the scene generally. NS will always be predominantly 6ts, that is what the scene is about, but we have always had music from other genres & decades too & it will continue. I personally love most of the real Soulful House, but not all of it is right for the NS scene, the point Im making is whether we like it or not, sooner or later some will be played as it fits the criteria. BTW altho she is too modest to admit it Lin Taylor has some of the best taste in Soul music I have ever known, her & Taits contribution to the scene & soul music in general has been fantastic & their son is a fine DJ too, thru promotions & DJING THESE WONDERFULLY SOULFUL PEOPLE CONTINUE TO BREAK SOULFUL GROUND & INSPIRE PEOPLE. Please show a little respect, these are genuinely nice people who love soul music. OK thats my ten bobs worth...................let the slagging begin . Russ

Bang on Mike.........................great to see ya in Joisey, speak soon re: 45. Russ

Shoot me now . Russ

I have the dubious accolade of putting Shifty on to this after hearing Maxine Woon play it at one of the Uptown Down South do's, was picking copies up for about a tenner back then. Other sIde is great BTW. With the prices its supply & demand, even records that are fairly common to diggers, once demand goes up for these discs, you cant find enough copies quick enough, so the price goes up. Once demand wains slightly, because the records wernt particularly rare in the first place they turn up, but IMO The price should go down too. My nomination for future biggie, James Crawford - I f You Dont Work, You Cant Eat - Mercury, thumping Northern, when this gets play's again......whoooooooooooosh !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. Dont say I never told ya. Also what about Jackie Verdell - Are You Ready For This - Decca, Mike from Cali beat me to a copy last year in FL, he played it at the nighter & it went down a storm, got me a copy now too & love it, theres another version by the Blue Eyed Soul, much rarer, but the Jackie Verdell stands up well & sounds slightly rawer, which is funny cos the BES is a little Virginia label & obviously Decca would have had better production facilties. Its a good un tho' & cheap as the proverbial chips right now, get one quick. Russ

Thank you every one for all the info. Managed to pick up the album recently & its a stunner. 'Remember the love' has completely knocked me out & cant wait to play it out in a DJ set. Can any one put up a soundfile of the earlier Jupar version, just to compare the mixes ???. Sean - 'Aint nothing missing' cant remember this from Bradford, but listened to it a lot recently & IMO sounds a bit dated now, I think RTL is more in keeping with today's Xover sound. Hope your well buddy. BTW do you have any info on the CD please. Thank you everyone. Russ

Any one have any information on the artist Wee Gee. He recorded for Cottilion in the late seventies. Wondered if there are any nice cuts by him. Grateful for any info. Thanks in advance Russ

Thank you to all for the replies.................Molly see ya soon buddy & how long was I raving about Esscence to you for . Russ

I would rather stick pins in my eyes, whilst hopefully hypothetical, this has got to be the worst idea in the history of the entire scene, with maybe the exception of the 'Mod' themed Allnighters at Wigan & people wonder why others take the piss out of NS. This is the image that we have been trying to get away from for god knows how many years. There are odd instrumentals that are relevant to the scene & I'm sure there will be an odd one played in the future, but the vast majority are appalling & I for one feel embarrassed to be associated with some. As for instrumentals having soul, your having a giraffe arnt ya mate, I'm not saying that instrumentals arnt good dance records in some cases, but the vocal is what adds the real soul & I doubt any sane person could argue with that. I remember with some embarrassment when my wife first started getting onto the scene properly & whilst attending a local soul night which played a large proportion of Wigan instrumentals during the night, her face was a picture, a look of disbeleive, embarrassment & mild amusement, certainly if that was the true/real 'scene' she would never have turned into the soul slut she is now. Nononononooonononononononononononononononononononononno Maybe one or then, but not all night. Russ

No, thats a different thread. Russ

No slating from me Lin, sounds pretty cool. Thank you for posting it up. Hope you & the old man are well, see ya when we get back to blighty next year. Thanks Gareth, Mulf for replies. Russ

Seem to remember there are 'reissues' of The Q about too. The original press was withdrawn & the reissues/2nd press had slightly different credits & a slightly different shade label colour. Think it was Danny Huff bought these back from the US late 8ts early 9ts. Any one confirm ????. Russ

As I'm across the pond interested to know what are the big 'new' toons right now in the UK Allnighters, top 5's would be good. Not your tunes, just favourites from the Nighters. Thank you in advance Russ

What are the big Modern/Crossover, 70's & newly released sounds of the moment, I mean in the clubs & not ya bedroom. Being across the pond, cant alway's keep my finger on the pulse, so any insight into current dancefloor faves would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance Russ

Agreed . Russ

I think the walkman bit is a good idea mate, whats the quality like thru them ???. BTW I feel i've lost my way a little here. If I'm honest this is all coming across like I regularly cut new released soul to acetate, I have never done this, I have cut the odd unissued Northern track to acetate, but usually the venues that I would play the Modern stuff at would have a CD player so has never been an issue for me, I was speaking generally & I stress its merely an opinion. And yes, I think you should own the CD, but I take your point with the borrowing bit, never really thought about that to be honest, as its not something I would do personally.. Russ

I think that when people cut from comps ie unissued tracks usually, they are doing this because they want to play the particular track at venues that might not have a CD player. To be honest I always have a CD player at my promotions, I would frown upon it being used for reissued material, but want it to be available for new material that might not be available on vinyl. I'm saying that 'I' feel it is acceptable if only one copy is cut & not several 100 for resale. Whilst I appreciate that any unauthorized copying of material is illegal, its justifiied because the said track gets broader exposure & therefore sells more copies of the CD. I'm not saying this is a perfect solution, just that if peoples motives are genuine, it serves to promote said CD to a broader buying audience. Russ

I alaway's have a few records to one side that I consider my safety tunes................if a record bombs, then these are the sure fire tunes that will hopefully regain the floor. DJ's should entertain, but it is also your responsibility to hopefully educate too, without clearing the floor completely if this is done in a sensible fashion. Russ

Quite a reasonable set of questions & I expect a few opinions too...here's mine. If the track is CD only & you cut a 'one off' from the CD with the intention of giving the track more exposure, I cant see a problem. I also know that some of the guys that do CD comps dont mind this, as it promotes the CD to a certain extent. Where I think there would be a problem was if say you pressed 300 copies & sold them. Bootlegs are illegal. Having said that I have no problems with localised soul nights playing boots, reissues etc. The bigger soul nights & the All nighters should play from the original format. In the case that the venue has no CD player, see above. IMO the first press of a track are the finished promos. Only my opinion of course & I could be wrong. Hope this helps answer your questions. Russ

BDR was £15 a pop at soul bowl, I had to borrow my wifes credit card to buy 5 copies which I sold for £40 each.....thought I was the bollocks record dealer.............doh . Russ Any chance of a small sound file Chalks . Russ

Yes.

Wash your mouth out with soap & water young man...................! Russ

Charles Mintz IMHO kicks the living s**t out of the Delegates of Soul.....................never get bored of hearing this & if your into the price thing, far rarer than the Delegates too. That wah wah geetar does it for me every time...........chunky, funky, but solid proper Northern all the way.........what a tune. Russ

Just a little rant mate..............tongue firmly in cheek, cant wait to see ya soon. Russ