Russ Vickers

Messy Mondays....still lovin em :-) Russ

Nothings changed.......

Good price on Inell Young...would have this if it wasn't already here....

F*ck me, the voice of common sense at last.....anyway who buys records on the scene as an investment, once I own a record, it has no monetary value to me, as its about the quality of the record, not the price of it.... Russ

Yes but, John Tefteller is known world wide as an expert on records from 1920-1970. He is a contributor to many re-issues of original Blues songs and known everywhere as THE man to go to for evaluation of rare Blues 78's and advertising material from the 1920's to the 1950's. So there.... Russ

Ermmmmm but at what cost ????

Its a very slightly different take as well & it is a legitimate release, not a bootleg for those that care about such things. Russ

Without being rude & this may not neccessarily be true of you or your group, but a lot on the oldies scene, wouldnt know a real Crossoer Record if it jumped up & kicked em in the bollox....BTW I feel the same way about many oldies & so do most of my friends, not only would we ave taken similar action to you n yours, but TBH we wouldnt have even been there in the first place.....such a shame that people have such closed minds over unfamiliar records...that wouldnt have happened at the Wheel, Torch, Mecca, Cats, Casino, Sams, Cleethorpes, Stafford, 100 Club & scores of other legendary clubs.....what happened that closed some peoples minds that they only want to listen to the cliche traditional four to the floor NS sounds...????.....never mind, its probably thier loss...

Now thats a bit of a sweeping statement lol....thing is I've heard the same statement from people for years one way or another only to see them ripping up the dancefloor to a 'Modern Oldie' during the same night...things is whether people like it or not, like many other genres, 'Modern' has been an integral part of the NS scene for decades....

I would say that Ady Croasdell, Mick Smith, Arthur Fenn, Terry Jones (Modern Terry not Motown Terry) Cliff Camfield, Gospel Bob, Dave Thorley, Mick H, Carl Fortnum, Irish Greg, Flynny, Ian Wright & many, many others get this right everytime, bar unavoidable circumstances outside DJ ability.... My personal opinions on the playlists have changed in recent years too, I am right on for the newies, I am also up for sets of mixed Soul Music, right across the decades & if the DJ is proffessional enough, it can be done....however, I truly believe the days of filling medium to large venues & dance floors with sets of upfront Soul Music are gone, its only the side rooms & intimate venues that can get away with this kinda policy these days & get enough people in & dancing to create an atmosphere....in the main, I think that venues have got to be playing at leat 80% oldies, hopefully interesting not thrashed to death oldies, but oldies all the same...with the other 20% being newies & a mixture of other genres other than NS, R&B, Latin, Modern, Crossover, Modern, Gospel etc. Other than the fact that DJ's who are proffessional, will bring a dancefloor back, one way or another, there is a point that IMHO so far, everyone has missed....that is that when the dancers, know, respect & most importantly, trust a DJ, as long as said DJ is programmed on at the right time in the right place, within reason said DJ can play the slip mat & people will dance....I will give you a recent example, John Vincent was playing quite a large venue with a mostly oldies crowd with a handful of more open minded folk, he played a mix set of oldies & more recent discoveries & obscurities, crafted them all beautifully into a great set with a pretty much full dance floor & to my knowledge everyone had a big fat smiley face.....I would add that one of the other masters of acheiving this is of course the Butchmeister.... Food for thought........ when JV first played 'Go on & laugh' at Morecome Pier in the early 8ts it flopped BIG TIME, so much so, that it was one of the things that allegedly prompted John to drop out of DJing for some time, it did of course eventually end up in Butch's Box & with constant plays, has for decades been one of his top sounds, ramming dance floors up & down the country & Europe, it just goes to show, that great records, regardless of dance floor reaction, will eventually rise to the top....one of many examples BTW..... Just my thoughts for what they are.....trust in the DJ from the dancefloor is the winning ingredient....

What records were in the box Rob ??? Russ

Its about the documented history of a record on the scene, to make a comparison, if in history, you are not aware of the Battle of Hastings, it doesnt mean that it didnt happen. Its about the records history on the scene & not the persons. Just because the nostalgia crowd, on the whole, missed years of massive All Nighters plays for some records, it doeant mean that a record that was made popular during that period isnt an oldie. The trick with oldies IMO is, that the dancers/punters should be saying 'F8ck me, I had forgotten all about this & its brilliant' not 'OMG not this again'. Taking 'oldies' as a scene, forget the nostalgia crowd on the whole, they only really want to listen to the same thrashed records over & over again, week after week....however, any All Nighter in this day & age, has got to play a large percentage of oldies to even exist, hopefully along with a few newies, some under played & some top rareities, its the ability, of the DJ to select the best oldies from a back catalogue of 40 odd years & in essence, make them almost like 'newies' again.....the master of this art, as ever, is that man Butch....altho there are others who can & do, do it.... See, as clear as mud.....remember, its not the history of the person, its the history of the disc... Russ

Possibly something to do with the promoter ?....

Number 19 in the Mixcloud Soul - Funk - Jazz chart, my latest effort....hope you enjoy.... https://www.mixcloud.com/russ-vickers/russ-vickers-soul-funky-further-adventures-in-dirty-soul/

Pink....

Unless it was a soul specalist running the club.... Russ

It doesnt even have a proper grading...I would want to hear a soundfile personally... Best Russ

In principle I quite like the idea of this, particularly with new releases....being a lazy f*cker lol Best Russ

It depends again on your interpretation of a ballad....there have been many beat ballads & mid tempo soul records played on the scene, going back to day one....I just wouldnt expect to hear an entire set of them at 4am, although some slipped in can create a huge atmosphere & be quite anthemic...creating that 'Loved Up to Fcku' kinda vibe....which when it works for the DJ, is an amazing feeling in a venue...altho probably works better in a more intimate venue or one that is totally rammed...

The 'Rare' bit has very little to do with the actual price of a record played within this context, its more about that rare thing found within the grooves & the obscurity of most of the records played.....before the term Northern Soul, it was always known as Rare Soul, the term has been used again since the 8ts, mostly to differentiate between them & us. Its only relatively recently that the term has began to be used by the militant nostalgia whores as an insult....its a badge that I wear with pride !!!, anything that seperates the 'real' scene from that pantomime is fine by me, funny thing, is you very raely ever get any of those folk posting on forums like this, mostly because on the whole they are clueless by comparison......please someone from the nostalgia scene come & try & defend it, at least it would show some passion......& we could have a reasonable debate & possibly try & understand each other. I would also add the oldies scene of today, with a few exceptions, is a totally different beast to the oldies scene from '76 - until say a decade ago. I personally dont have a problem with an oldies scene per se, as any decent All Nighter will have to have a large percentage of oldies these days, along with some lesser knowns & hopefully some new ish discoveries, its more the type of oldies & the attitude of the majority of people attending said events. Best Russ

ME....absolutely without a doubt, very rarely drink at Nighters....whats the point ?...

There is no such think as a Mini Nighter, its a bloody Soul Night, what is wrong with you people, that you have to pretend all the time...this isnt a dig at the quality of your night or the reasoning for an early finish, just the terminology, how can peoples expectations be compromised when you put the times on the flyer ???....its a Soul Night if it finishes before 6am, advertise it as such...

That was my interpretation Chalky..... Russ

I am not an expert on these things at all, so excuse me if I have got this completely wrong, but doesnt the venue or Radio Station pay a set fee regardless ?....just interested really, now that the point has come up, I for one would certainly do what you suggest Pete, if that is the case, both as an occasional DJ & promoter. Russ

I thought that it was the responsibility of the music venue or Radio Station to pay PRS fees & not an individual DJ ???.... Best Russ