Russ Vickers

Q. Hi I know possibly a litttle unproffesional with a bid placed on the reocrd but have been trying to get hold of a copy of this a while. Would you possibly have a buy it now price you may consider ?? Kind Regards A. No. Nice try though lol...& probably reading this now :-)

Any tips for diggin vinyl in Miami ?, not so much record stores, but any other tips/suggestions welcome. Best Russ

Surely someone wants to cash in....immediate payment, as soon as we nail a price, Im dead easy to deal with, prompt payer, honest, in fact I am your dream buyer, so c'mon, someone must have this hanging around gathering dust.... Best Russ

At least 6am minumum.....BTW 12.00 - 8.00....LETS F*CKIN DO IT....there will be a venue some where happy to do it & yes, I've heard all the reasons why venues would rather open early etc, but there will DEFFO be a venue some where that will carry on after the 'normals' have left, its was done in the past loads of times, for the venue they get the best of both worlds, normal club night/disco, then us nutters say 2am (or whatever) onwards....TBH I dont want the folk who just wanna go early, get pissed & leave early, I want the hard core nighter folk, who wanna get in avenue & BOOM !!!.....full on all night until sun uppers... I also think that the journey there & the waiting around or stopping of at a Soul Night on the way is part of the fun.... On the practical side for me personally, if its a later start, I can spend the evening with my family before setting off for our shenanigans... Best Russ

I saw this reported on FB ages ago & have popped in to Top Man on a number of occasions since to check out what they have got & to have a sn*****....never seen anything in there at all ???. Russ

Powerhouse is a bargain & both sides are brilliant... Russ

Yes, but Pete, knowing you, you would sell t'others on at a reasonable price, not 3/4 of the value of the original entire box set, which was my point... Russ

I noticed recently that the Chess & Capitol Box sets are being bought, & sold as individual 45's, same as some did with the Numero & other box sets. You can do what you want with em once you've bought em, but to sell them on at £40 a pop for one 45 is a blatant rip off & some unsuspecting people will fall for this...the box sets are only £52 ish, depending where ya get em FFS....so people, do not encourage these thieves, buy the whole box ya self, it'll only be another £12 or summat.... Best Russ

Joe Johnson & the Supporting Cast - Sounds Forever - Gran Mil John LP Pse message me price & condition - thank you.

Hi there Once again it looks like I will be in Baghdad when the 100 Club Anniversary happens this year. I was hoping that some kind soul, if they have a spare, could let me buy it pse. I have a full run & would like to keep it that way, most I have colloected in person on the night, but in more recent years I have been working abroad, so rely on the goodwill of others who are lucky enough to attend. PM me if you will have a spare, happy to pay any reasonable price. Many thanks Russ

You know what, its stuff like this, that has recently made me think very seriously about ending my asscotiation with the so called 'scene'. I could never stop enjoying Soul Music, but I have always debated rigourously with anyone who will listen, that the 'scene' is a very important part of enjoying the music, particularly as we are talking about dance music here predominantly & IMHO opinion, its best enjoyed with like minded people in dark, sweaty clubs, with full dance floors & preferably off ya t*ts, talking bollox.... The fluffy, namby pamby, KTF returnees, wannabes, hand baggers & those that dont give a f*ck, so long as theyre making a few quid, have absolutely raped the real scene of any credibility & made it a laughing stock, something to be poked fun at & leaves those of us that do care about the REAL scene, if there is such a thing left now, cringing with embarrassment, has no one got any integrity left what so ever ???....you've virtually destroyed everything I loved about this scene & we're left with a pastiche of what was a great & respected music culture.....ironically you dont even realise what you have or are doing & will justify & defend your crass actions until you are blue in the face, re writing history to suit your own ends & disrespecting anyone who tries to make a stand. You've made phrases like Rare Soul an insult, people who defend the original ethos are slagged off & ridiculed, calling them amongst other derogatory terms the 'Soul Police'. I'm almost ashamed to be part of what you call Northern Soul, something I was once proud to be an advocate of. I thought that eventually, you would all crawl back under the stones that you emerged from, after your 20 - 30 year breaks, with your pathetic excuses of why you abandoned this once beautiful thing, but it seems to be getting worst.... There are still some pockets of real Rare Soul left, but its getting harder to justify seeking them out & travelling the distances that are involved.....35 years plus of pure unadulterated passion, supporting Soul Music venues, dancing, collecting, promoting, DJiing. I have given up a lot of my life to this music one way or another, I have spent thousands of pounds, probably tens of thousands of pounds travelling, collecting, promoting venues etc, etc, just to see it plummet to the depths of lowest common denominator sh*te & to be laughed at by so called Soulies & the divs that will never actually get it.... I have had broken relationships, family rifts, been arrested,attacked & spent time in cells for numerous minor offences whilst travelling to & doing what we do, I've made & lost fortunes on record deals, travelled thousands & thousands of miles to venues up & down the country & internationally & you know what, I loved every bloody minute of it, it was all worth it, cos that is what we do....now because of what you have done & are continuing to do, I feel dirty to be asscotiated with it.... I'm not sure what I will do now, I need to reflect properly on everything, I was thinking about selling up & f*cking the lot of you off, let you get on with destroying everything that was once special, but maybe I will just take a sabatical until I feel a bit better about things, never thought it would come to this, you aint won, you will never win, because you are not what this scene is about, you are fake, the great pretenders, you know who you are & you should be ashamed of your selves.... Keep the Faith....what a joke, KOKO suckers lol...if there's owt left when you've finished, I may be back, until then I will be hiding in me rekkid room, you were right Dave, its still 1976....

Another f*ckin circus, it cant be justified in any way shape or form, just another wannabe trying to make a living off the back of NS...end of....we know the real deal & avoid places like this like the plague, full of divs n wannabes trying to make thier fortune & get on the tele...launch party ha...launch the f*cker in to space...Hopefully it will fail miserably. Best Russ

Looking forward to getting my copy when I get home next - I have always said, that most/many 100 Club oldies have never even been heard by most of the Oxford Street basement uninitiated....the Nancy Wilcox has been a MONSTER down them stairs for years....there are probably enough old 100 Club plays, to keep the scene going with 'newies' for another 10 years...absolutely shocking really, that one of the only proper real Soul Allnighters left in the UK, is either ignored or unknown to many north of Watford gap....& its some the tunes included on this CD that make it such.... Cant wait to hear it properly & well done Ady & Ace/Kent Best Russ

We're in the dark ages Mark when it comes to promotions...for a start we should be using good quality venues, with good quality equipment, promoting the events properly (this doesnt mean a page on FB) & paying proper wages (yes, its actually work) for the best DJ's. As a case in point I was charging £10 admission to an Allnighter 15 years ago, promoters should take a look at how much it costs to get into even a regular night club, let alone a specialist club night, with specialist DJ's, add to that its quite often all night....as a bare minimum we should be charging at least £15 admission to an Allnighter & at least £10 for a Soul Night ish.... Best Russ

Ey up Phil...I dont post photos of my Breakfast on FB, but i do post up odd phots of my house (after I had some work done), my record room, once it was finished (cos it took me 27 years to get one), & videos with sound of odd records in my very modest collection. The reason I do this, is not because I have loads of dosh, but because I work my self into the f*cking ground, every single working day of my life, I work in a sh*t hole, I work 7 days a week & a bare minimum of 12 - 14 hours a day, quite often 14 - 16 hours a day. I only see my family for 1 - 2 weeks every 6 - 8 weeks...what I am saying is, every thing & every single record I own, I have worked bloody hard for, if I get what I think is a great record, usually one that might not be that well known to some, I will post a live video of it (i do a live video, so that the sound is not good enough to cut owt from or what ever)...2 reasons, one to make more folk aware of the records, so on the odd occasion I get to DJ folk may become more familiar with the record & dance, secondly because Im an elitist soul snob & I want to show you lot what a great digger I am & what great taste I have....yep, Im waving my huge willy wanger about.....(with regards to the records anyway)....because guess what, the real Northern Soul scene is an elitist scene, trying to find one you dont know or have. Phil, I hope you realise this is partially tongue in cheek & not written to be a nasty b*stard...just saying some people might have a little bit of spare dosh now n again for records or whatever, but speaking purely for myself anyway, we've worked extremely hard for it & now n again I treat myself, occasionally I wanna share n show off a bit... Hope your well mate

THE only problem with legally released re issues, CD's of previously issued material & MP3's of previously issued material, is that it allows any fool to try & be a DJ with the minimum amount of effort. There are too many DJ's as it is playing OVO, without the other circus acts jumping on the gravy train. Why does everyone want to be a DJ...???. I have no problem what so ever with all the above formats being used for personal pleasure, at home or in the car or where ever, I have no problem with CD's & MP3's of previously unissued material being played at venues - my rule of thumb is, that it should be played from the original format of release, even if that is a CD for example. The only real problem here, is, as I stated previously, everyone these days wants to be a DJ, this goes hand in glove with there being too many venues, as said clueless newbie DJ needs a venue to play in, no one else will entertain them worth thier salt, so they start their own promotion. Surely this will all end, as it did previously, & very soon I hope, please GOD make it soon...it really is becoming more embarrassing to have an asscotiation with this scene by the day, just when you think things cant get any worst, then summat else happens. How can these idiots destroy something they claim to love so dearly, to the extent where they will do or say anything for a brief moment of what THEY see as personal glory.... Best Russ

I am just totally bored with this sh*t, why are we even discussing it again, just ignore it completely & treat it with the contempt it deserves...by discussing it your giving it some credibility, Soul Source should just remove every single new thread that could go down this route, f*ck it off...end of !. The youngster who wrote about vinyl being cheaper in the 7ts is deluded, it was all relevant & in demand original records cost a huge amount of money, compared to the average weekly wage, they always have & always will...if you cant afford em dont buy em...its easy, collect records that you can afford instead. So sick of this sh*te...just ban all future posts that could end up in an OVO pot mess.... Best Russ

Unclassified Soul (altho Guy H beat me to it, kinda ). Russ

I bloody love the clapping...& when you have been around as long as some of us have, its almost an involuntary thing & you subliminarly even know when to clap in records that you have never heard before, you just know...I really hate it though when dancers clap in the wrong places or even just randomly, its like the fools that do thier floor work in the wrong breaks or randomly, its just wrong & makes me cringe...Yate had a way of clapping all of its own, sometimes on the backbeat, sometimes as an echo or answer to the clap on the beat, you could always tell when the Southerners were in the house as you would always here this....anyone else concur or are my Yate meanderings totally off the beat lol ?

May I make a suggestion...if like you suggest Phil the sound isnt right, Im sure that the promoter would be very open if you were to politely contact him & make an offer to help & or advise...you obviously know the accoustics of the room etc, you could then go along & enjoy your self as well, Im sure everryone would love to see you out & about again, I know I would... Best Russ

Right On For the Darkness........

Lonnie Lester & the 13th Generation - Power Structure - Nu Tone: Clean copy needed. Please PM with price & condition. Best Russ

RIP Joe, another proper soul character crosses the bar...so, so sad...condolences to all of his family & friends... Shocked... Russ

Me too mate, a crackin proper NS record that has had very little exposure comparitively speaking & quite rare too in my experience. Best Russ

The Chance & Tony on your sight Darren was Shifty's cover up at the 100 Club & not Gingers, Shifty sold it to Ginger when he sold up, a minor a point, but an important one. Best Russ