Soul16

I still have that video tape too, I have a (pretty lo-fi) recording of Chuck Jackson and others live at a weekender in 1991, if I remember correctly. I also have some rare footage from the Old Vic in Wolverhampton, that has a good few minutes at the end with the lights on that shows a lot of faces quite clearly - I fully intended to upload it to YouTube, along with some other stuff I have uploaded in the past, but I am concerned that it may upset or cause offence because I am fully aware that certain people featured in it have since passed on.

I think you've been very unlucky to have had two records lost in the post. Waiting for expensive records from overseas can be a worrying business, I always breath a big sigh of relief when they eventually arrive! In my experience, 45s from the USA to the UK arrive between seven and ten days after posting. 'Lost' items have to end up somewhere - I posted a reggae 45 to a guy in Germany last year, he contacted me a fortnight after I'd posted it to tell me that he hadn't received it, so I gave him a full refund. Several months later it came back through my letterbox, it had been opened at some point and the package had numerous postmarks from all over Europe on it. It must have travelled thousands of miles in all that time. Don''t give up hope, your records may still turn up.

For me, it was probably the best documentary about Northern Soul that I've seen. It was well put together, done with real affection and made no attempt to poke fun at us Nice to see that 'Frank Wilson - Do I love You' was not used on the soundtrack, or the story of how much the original 45 has changed hands for, because that has been done to death. Elaine Constantine brilliantly described the excitement of being on the dance floor in a big crowd. Her forthcoming film looks promising too.

I sold all my Northern Soul Story LPs on Ebay a few years ago too, interest in them was low, each going for less than £7 and like yourself, one buyer bought most of them. I bought the first CD too, in order to get Epitome of Sound in 'glorious CD quality', but the sound quality across the CD was terrible, so bad in fact, that I felt ripped off and returned it to the shop for a refund. In my opinion, sound quality on the LPs was patchy to say the least. Kent LPs were in a totally different league, pure class.

SS102 is 'For Collectors Only' and like SS104, has some excellent tracks on it.

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.