Russ Vickers

No it doesnt..........it has to be played from its original format, thats the only criteria for me. Best Russ

'Soul in the Sun' is truly awful IMHO. Russ

I would love to know how to do all that Rich, merely from an interest point of view, not to do anything for commercial consumption.....it would be brilliant just to mess with doncha think ?. Bestv Russ

You dont even personaly need the pro tools to do this, just get some young wipper snapper to remix it for ya.....in thier bedroom. Russ

Bit of a can or worms this - the example you describe above, no problems at all, with the caveat that its legal & any royalties etc are paid. This has been done with some releases of unissued material already & goes back some years on the NS Scene. Something I do have a slight frustration with, is when someone takes a perfectly good - shall we say 7ts Rare Soul anthem, tweaks it a bit & then puts it out as a remix. You could argue that so long as its all legal, then at least the artists are getting some revenue back I spose, but to me it smacks of just one more way to make money out of the scene, from folk who want the kudos of playing the tune out, but either cant afford or cant be arsed to track one down - some of the people putting these out are very aware of this regardless of what might be said to the contrary. Another way of doing this & making a bit of dosh, is to re edit recent popular Modern spins, that only exist on 12 or LP & do a 7 inch re edit, again, spose if its legal then at least the artists get something. There are genuine people who have done the above for all the right reasons, to enhance the original in a sympathetic way & to draw attention to & promote the tracks/artists, others just see it as a money spinner. Best Russ

It is very annoying when your trawling through ebay tho innit........!!! Russ

Its an interesting point mate & I would be interested to know too........I'm sure Ady would have done the right thing tho'. Best Russ

Do you know what the is the most ridiculous thing about this whole thread ?......that we even have to discuss it !!!. Russ

Also there are many cases were the artists didnt get properly paid from the original legit releases - so its kinda difficult to judge whether a record should be played or not using JUST this criteria. Russ

What ever is the case you can guarantee Ady will have ensured 100% that any Kent/Horaces release is kosher I would put next months salary against that.... Russ

It was probably me mate .......usually that smashed - I wouldnt take anything I say when I'm out too seriously.........I dont . Anyway, I answered your radio show question & you said no one had replied. Best Russ

Wonder what was underneath that paper label ?.......no doubt a classic now !!!. Russ

Yes, it was, cant remember if it was Guy or Ady spinning ?. Best Russ

No, its a SS thing....its only relatively recently that its been an issue anyway, prior to that it was just summat that you assumed really. Russ

Lol ...... Russ

I would prefer to play the 6ts Anniversary 45 of it personally, but hey. Best Russ

I think that is a very honest reply & shows what its all about, thanks for that. Besst Russ

I have been giving this thread a lot of thought since Julies post regarding honesty about bootlegs. A couple of things happened to me in a short space of time, albeit many years ago. I had been going to Nighters for well over 10 years before I started to put a very modest collection of records together, my collection at the time consisted of the odd bootleg & reissue I had bought at Wigan & the originals I had started to buy. I had no aspirations what so ever to DJ, DJ's at the big Allnighters were like god to me, to even consider DJing in the same arena as those beings was pretty much unthinkable to most people, I was just vey happy to be collecting. I didnt really have any opinions about bootlegs that I can rememeber, but one thing sticks in my mind from back then, I had been to the 100 Club or Stafford on the Saturday & after hanging out with friends all day Sunday went to a local soul night were the DJ played 'Lover' The Delites, I remember rushing to the decks to look at the 45 & being really disappointed when I realised it was being played from the Grapevine LP. Now, I didnt/dont know why I was disappointed but I was & that has always stuck in my mind. Around about the same time, I was attending another local soul night, when the guest DJ failed to show - the promoter who I knew, said to me 'you've got a few records why dont you go home & get em & spin a few tonite'.....I had never done this before in my life & didnt have a clue, he then talked me into going home for my records. When I did my 'spot' we stood behind the decks together & he put my records on the decks which I chose. He did a well recieved set with my choices of records, as I didnt know how to use the equipment & was too scared to try 'live', so to speak, but by the end of the night & after several people coming up to check out what was playing on the decks, I had been asked to DJ at several other promotions locally !!!. Now that night I could have chosen my bootlegs of some huge NS tunes, but I chose instead to play my originals of lesser tunes, but still hopefully good in thier own right, I dont know why, certainly the promoter & most of the punters wouldnt have cared less, I personally had no greater opinion, just that I wanted 'my' records to be heard. The feeling that night gave me was amazing, people wanted to dance & were interested in records that 'I' owned, it was an unbeleivable feeling. I forfilled my local spots after a crash course in using the equipment & to be honest I have never looked back. I still dont consider myself a DJ. I am a collector who occasionally gets to spin a few of his records, for which I am always very grateful for the opportunity to be able to share them with others. I have been very lucky to have been asked to play my records at some of the big venues over the years, but I still hold many of the top DJ's in awe & still get a thrill from DJing.........but I have never forgot how dissapointed I was when the Delites was not the original & the response I got in the beginning from playing my modest collection of originals. best Russ

Kev - the answer to this whole thread, if there is one, could lie within the reason you decided to stop playing bootlegs in preference for originals.....as you can speak truthfully from both sides of the coin & state why you thought it neccessary to stop playing bootlegs. Now there is a golden opportunity here to be 100% truthful & NOT sit on the fence.......Kev the floor is yours Russ

Simon - It was more about the personal morale dilema, yes people danced & I dont think anyone realised anyway, but it was like getting caught pinching sweets when you were a kid, when you still had loads of pocket money left, thwe difference between right & wrong really..... Best Russ

I played a bootleg at the Blue Lagoon in Portsmouth about 15 years ago, I knew it wasnt right & felt a bit embarrassed afterwards, as I had plenty of other things I could have played instead...it was 'Giving All My Love To You', know one really knew, but i felt I had let my self down as it was unneccessary really - Roger Banks had recently reactivated it & I knew it would pack the floor & If I'm honest, at the time I felt it would give me a bit of kudos for being on the ball with what was being played at Nighters..... There you go Jules, learnt a valuable personal lesson with regards to my personal ethics & felt it unneccessary since..... Best Russ

Good, cos I'm sure almost to a person, in real life we would debate this & be laughing together. One of my best friends on the scene has some differing views to my own, which we debate regularly without a cross word & plenty of laughs..electronic debate doesnt always emphasise the tone of the post.Best Russ

Regardless of what anyone says publicly, privately everyone knows what the deal is with bootlegs..... the rest is just hot air & trying to justify themselves or friends for doin it....which ever way you look at it, the answer is still a resounding NO, NO, NO........ Russ

That inflamatory, pasive aggressive thing.....chill out, its only NS its not life & death ya know. I dont think you realise Win, as I'm sure, like most people on here your really a nice bloke, but you do come across as very aggressive & defensive with any post you make, not just this one in my experience...........I think 'Chin Strokers' are the opposite to the 'Cock Strokers' who are militant oldies orientated (now that would be inflamatory if it wasnt a JOKE :-))

You just did it again Winnie....... Russ