Soul16

This is the Kelly Garrett Smash Boot/2nd Issue. I bought it 'new' around 25 years ago via a classified ad in (Black) Echoes. It came out at the same time as another two 45s - Jock Mitchell and Howard Guyton. I think they were £5 each or £10 for the three. They all look similar physically, in that they are all vinyl, have a deep slope around the centre and a raised outer edge (if that makes sense.) The sound quality on all three is also pretty good. I bought all three in fact, but have since replaced Howard Guyton with an original.

I would love Mid Tempo to make a return, I did hear this great example played out recently: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rSa3-cLGLo&feature=player_detailpage

Blimey, the description on that listing certainly pushes home the idea that it's an original. 'HAVEN'T SEEN AN ORIGINAL U.S. COPY OF THIS IN DEMAND 45 LISTED ON E-BAY THIS YEAR SO PLEASE BID ACCORDINGLY.' That final sentence should have been extended with these words: 'ON THIS BOOT UNTIL AN ORIGINAL DOES TURN UP.'

I love the Spencers flyers! I confess to once owning two pairs of 40" bags: Airforce blue gabardine and Navy blue corduroys. My girlfriend at the time also had a Spencers full-circle skirt. Thankfully, by 1980 I realised that I'd made a fashion faux-pas and invested in a pair of the 20 pleat 'Zoots' in a lovely shade of Aubergene.

I agree, British releases usually have a longer run-in groove too, this gives an impression of manufacturing quality in my opinion. Lots of American 45s have really short run-ins and just 'grab' the stylus and drag it in with no finesse whatsoever. No big deal I know, but it's something that has always been apparent to me.

I have the spoken intro version on a red and white Calla Demo. On my particular copy, 'Promotion copy Not for sale' only appears on the (What shall I do) B side - The A side looks like a standard issue - Well, it would do apart from the big red cross that the Plugger/Radio Station daubed on the label.

£31 for the first issue of Northern Noise - I remember taking out a subscription for twelve issues, I only ever received three in total, although I understand that it did stretch to four issues. I must dig them out sometime...

Three immediately spring to mind: Great Disco Demands on Pye - This LP was probably my introduction to Northern Soul. A Thunderbirds/Captain Scarlet LP on Hallmark (?) Bobby and Betty go to the moon - an LP with a narrated story on one side and some strangely hypnotic dance music on the other.

If I remember correctly I think that they were under a fiver each, good value I reckon.

Cheers, that would be nice.

Thanks for your reply, it seems that they were all worth owning.

Nice - I can't understand why I didn't buy it when it was released.

I guess that most of you will be aware of the Joe Boy CD EPs that were issued in 1997/1998 - they were label-specific and came with a small black and white photo of a featured artist along with a 'juke box style' title strip. They were quite tidy items with good tracks and excellent sound quality. I have four of them: JB-1 (Vee Jay) JB-3 (Constellation) JB-5 (Vee Jay) JB-7 (Musicor) I've done a general search on the internet, but I can't find any info about them. Does anyone know what the featured labels/tracks were on JB-2, JB-4, JB-6 and JB-8 (if the last one exists)? Thanks in advance, Andrew

Even though it's a relatively small Poll, the age-related statistics are exactly what we would expect I guess, with the vast majority of us being over 50. I'm 49 years old, with two sons, who, no matter how much I try to brainwash/educate them, have little or no interest in Northern Soul. It makes you wonder what will happen to the NS scene and our valuable record collections in thirty or forty years time, because we can't take them with us... I can't see myself selling them anytime soon either.

Yep - I bought an original about six months ago for $120 and then sold my boot on Ebay for £38 - but then I did clearly state that it was not an original.

My Top Ten Epitome of Sound - You don't love me Timi Yuro - It'll never be over for me Sam Williams - Love slipped through my fingers Mel Britt - She'll come running back Michael and Raymond - Man without a woman Mamie Lee - I can feel him slipping away Sam Fletcher - I'd think it over Ray Pollard - The Drifter Barbara McNair - It happens every time Wilson Pickett - Let me be your boy The top three are always the same. I wanted to put Marion Stewart on the list, but I couldn't decide which one of the others had to go.

Sam Williams - Love Slipped Through My Fingers. Hardly a dirty secret though.

Well, maybe that is what the scene has always been about 'for me' - attending venues all over the country, in order to hear a specific DJ play a specific set of rare records that I was unlikely to hear anywhere else. I've always felt that some DJs (rightly or wrongly) achieve a God-like status due to the 45's that they play. My statement was not an attempt to 'brainwash' others - it was an opinion, nothing more sinister than that.

Ah, yes, Kidderminster has been a major source of bootleg 45s since the 1970s - fair enough (?) in those days maybe. The current crop of counterfeit records must be very cheap to press, because I would imagine that demand for bootleg 45s is quite limited in the 21st century - We have (legal) CDs to listen to and copy to our ipods for use in the car and on the move. Yes, in the distant past, I've knowingly bought counterfeit records, but other than an 'out of my league' original, it was the only option. Why buy worthless illegal 45s today and line somebody else's pockets? - Take the wife and kids for a day out instead, they'll thank you for it. We all know that feeling of excitement, waiting for that elusive piece of original vinyl to drop through the letterbox - It feels like money well-spent, a good investment, you get an emotional attachment to it, you're buying something 'real' that has a history. You don't get any of that from a bootleg. In my humble opinion, at a wedding reception, birthday party or any family social event, legal CD's or mp3 files would be perfectly acceptable - How often do you see a wedding DJ with turntables or CD players these days? - they all appear to be using laptops. At a 'proper' Northern event though, a DJ should only play original vinyl only, that is what 'the scene' has always been about, surely?

It really hurts me seeing valuable records being played on 'toy turntables' - it should be illegal.

The first time I danced to Northern Soul was in the summer of 1976, at my mate Melvyn's house in Kidderminster. During the school summer holidays (whilst his parents were at work) we would empty the living-room of all the furniture and practice our dance moves, boy, could he out-dance me! - Queen of fools, Girl don't make me wait, I got the fever, Astral trip and Footsie were the top tunes at that venue... The first time in public would have been at the local Community Hall - It was just a local mobile DJ, but Northern always featured heavily.

It was a great LP indeed, but I think that Walk With A Winner was on an LP called 'Sold On Soul' on United Artists, that track stood out from the rest, mostly due to the fact that it was very much a slow-build beat ballad, whilst the rest of the album was generally more uptempo.

Thanks for the replies and advice - Boba - Unfortunately, I think I may fall into the 'audiophile type' category... The seller has agreed to take my 45 back and send me a flat replacement - Luckily for me he had around 10 copies available.

I received a record from the USA this week, it was described by the ebay seller as 'Mint Minus' unplayed 'warehouse find' (I guess you've all seen the stuff I'm talking about) The one issue I have though is that it is very clearly dished and also has a pronounced warp - it plays OK though - but it doesn't sit very well on the turntable. Four questions: Would you expect dishing to be mentioned by a seller, assuming that they've noticed it? Would it bother you if you received a 45 in this condition? Can it affect playback quality, given that the groove will be at a slight angle to the stylus tip? What causes dishing? I'm not calling into question the honesty of the seller here - I just wondered if any of you had any thoughts on the subject.

To be fair, it's not bad for £5 - All killer, no filler, by the look of it. You can probably get it from Tesco - just drop it into your trolley next to your groceries. Clubcard points too!