Agentsmith

anyone see the review/feature this morning and who presented article about it? are we any closer to know when the film will be finished/released?,....tried to ff the itv player but those bloody adverts are a pain in the arse...what time was it on?

pete, i cant put up a pic....1. i dont know how to do it anyway & 2. i havent got a picture of the record concerned, but on friday i did witness something bizarre that leapt out of glen brierley's sales box and promptly disappeared into another "think i might keep this one for a rainy day" box....a u.k. copy of the mvps - "turning my heartbeat up " bearing.....a buddha label....that was GREEN & WHITE with black lettering....obviuosly the priting press was running low on ink!!

sorry to "butt" in here folks, but isnt this thread supposed to be about ian levine and opinions of him and the aforementioned interview...usually it degenrates into a slagfest......but from what im reading here...its more like a "shagfest" and ner a levine in sight. imo, regardless of interviews and their relevance, its all about basics and the fact is..love him or loathe him, he's a part of the fabric with which this scene is woven together. forget the silver spoons scenario, he could have spent a fortune on pop in the early days if he had wanted to but he chose a kind of music that to the many today, still seems irrational and these generations STILL dont get it, in very much the same way that folks back then didnt. he immersed himself in compiling a vast collection of vinyl that amounted to the lost hopes and dreams of black america that failed to emulate gordy |& motown and instead bought them to the attention of a vigourously appreciative and hungry crowd of people, starting in the northwest, then stoke, then wigan and everywhere else. its not sentiment to say ian should be held in the highest regard...ITS FACT and im taking nothing away from koppel, anderson or soussan, who've been mentioned many times before and to whom we also owe a debt of gratitude, but ian ACTUALLY came back and plied these records like a tradesman. picking holes in the man's credibility is a staple diet for a lot of people, im well aware, but no-one can knock him for taking the scene to a higher level and for being the driving force behind so many critically acclaimed records. WOW!....guess ive put the longest oratory up again....UNCLE TED WILL BE WAGGING HIS FINGER!!

pete, your opinion is always valued mate, looked like a potential chrissmus prezzie but think thats on the back burner...

dave, am i correct in thinking that wilson was a printing error, and that infact, his name is walter johnson?

it must have been out, even for a short time as play.com have it listed at £49.99...so who's selling it for the aforementioned price?

new cd release or rehash?..., sure pete smith will answer this. just seen article/write-up in mail on sunday, its a 5-cd box set featuring i imagine, everything from 1968 - 1974. 123 tracks including all the familiar luminaries and their not so successful counterparts plus, 12 tracks on a free download. i guess our generation grew up with this in our formative years and have a fondness at heart for what represents a popular and alternative form of music that is just as easy to dance to. its priced at £34.99 but obviously, the chances are we may be able to get it discounted on line. dosnt state in their review as to wether it carries a compendium but with a legendary label like this, it ought to be the size of a hardback novel!

tell you what pete....that very first record ( harvey frolic ) nailed it for me!....got to have one of those....spare for sale anyone??....pretty please??...oh, and another thing, and its something ive already said before...policy in this room is SPOT ON!...shrewd move by kev and congrats to the dynamic derby duo, J&J keeping the dj line-ups free and easy and the continuity of the music, refreshing and vibrant....THE WINDSOR SUITE WAS BLOWIN' HOT

im genuinly humbled by this tidal wave of emotion,....what a wonderful humanitarian kind we are, that our icons are held in such high esteem...dobie gray touched all our lives, his music will never die...in our hearts, souls and most importantly.....in our feet....when his music is played........THERE ISNT A FLOOR WE WONT BE OUT ON....

out on the floor drove dancers insane....the incrowd was a mod classic well before as was see you at the gogo and to this the mid 70's added honey you can take it back...all great tunes, easily recognisable, establishing dobie gray as an asset, not just to every djs playbox, but the northern scene in general. he never forgot his roots though and his love of that country style of soul still shone through and kept him in the spotlight for many years after...its comforting that his tunes are still played on radio today proving their endurance and longevity, and distinct appeal to people in all walks of life. r.i.p. dobie gray, a voice silenced only in death but whose memory will prevail.

expect you would like to see what was featured, and im sure plenty of the team will get round to it...when they've recovered!!...in the meantime, here's a few: ballroom 11/11/2011 5-6pm royal esquires - aint gonna run trends - gonna have to show you trips - give it back wally & rosemary - switcharound homer banks - a lot of love saxie russell - psychedelic soul robert thomas - salvation four tempo's - this is the way i feel posse - evil velvets - im gonna find me somebody cheryl ann - i cant let him vicky baines - country girl micky champion - what good am i mamie lee - i can feel him slipping away betty lavette - im holdin on connie stevens - tick-tock isley brothers - sure is a lot of woman funk brothers - nowhere to run kim weston - you hit me present - many's the slip danny wagner - i lost a true love ike & tina turner - strange cressa watson - sweet temptation prescisions - such misery prince & princess - stick together supremes - dont let true love die r.dean taylor - lets go somewhere ( alt. version ) willie t - please dont go walkway: 11 & 12/ 2011 bobby bloom - where are we going dramatics - a thousand shades of blue detroit spinners - i gotta make it on my own o.c. smith - colour him father herbie hancock - wiggle waggle ila - no good jim soulettes - let me be the one shirley karol - just to make you happy little willie john - early in the morning righteous brothers - i dont believe im losing aretha franklin - so soon glen miller - where is the love terry callier - ordinary joe skullsnaps - didnt i do it for you identities - when love slips away margie joseph - ill always love you candace love - wonderful night righteous brothers - its up to you doris allen - candy to a baby new sounds - tell me your name pamela stanley - thatll be the day willie t - im having so much fun darrell banks - im the one who loves you edwin starr - runnin back and forth marvin gaye - its not unusual valli boys - night hawk oscar perry - i got what you need king curtis - footpattin four tempos - i had a strange dream allsorts in there, hope the bretheren enjoyed every set that was played...in 6 years this was THE MOST SPECTACULAR TOWER YET....RAMMED, RAMMED, RAMMED!!!

well done for stepping forward there, young arthur....i would have said richard but you've put the record straight and, nice to hear you spin it in the windsor suite at stoke....im puzzled at how it can be classed as a"played-out rare oldie",...there have never been enough copies around to bear out this theory, let alone in the hands of the dj's and dealers....even the price alone bears that out. BBBBRRRRRRR!!!....shivers down the spine when i hear that tambourine and thunderous piano intro!!.....different strokes for different folks yes?

the scene may be purist in respect of multiple rooms where lesser known but equally appreciated tunes are played...that variety is what keeps the scene fresh and ticking over,...but on the whole i would say that a good 60/70% of punters will trip from one room to the other and still at say, an all-nighter, and still get the vibe...maybe a while back a reluctance to accept progress would result in alternative rooms being snubbed but with so many different age groups now and from all walks of life digging "real music", a cosmopolitan playlist in any room is of great appeal. you cant knock the young generations coming up fast behind us for wanting to hear what we've been hearing and, probably got tired of dancing to ( although i generally dont myself ) for decades...lets face it,...some of the forgotten oldies that haven't recieved an airing for many years sound quite fresh because they've been given a rest/retired...but to the new faces, they are the wonderments that we first visited all those years ago. i dont think any one venue can become purist because every dj has his/her idea of what to play and what sounds good and a host of the new tribe will include some oldies in their sets...its a total improbability that anyone would want to rush straight to the cutting edge without putting down the roots and understanding where this music all came from and why it became popular in the first place.

fair comment joan, it dont suit everybody's taste, thats understandable....i love it!!, its sparse instrumentation carries it along and william's bland voice projects the simple lyrics so innocently.....and watching the reaction to it at RAREST OF THE RARE at THE RITZ, MAY-DAY BANK HOLIDAY ALL-NIGHTER....WITH ITS BOUNCING DANCEFLOOR...ABSOLUTELY RAMMED! tim sold his to the little bloke at the top of mankinholes for 4.5k...the only time ive heard it played in two different rooms by two different djs?...kings hall, stoke.

i know of two...residing with arthur fenn & ginger taylor...other than those, not sure how many other djs have it and as for private collectors, its anybody's guess but there definitel aren't many.

appologies big bloke, something about the grey cells? good call dave, incidentally how different ones are there on that title?

appologies big bloke, something about the grey cells?

excluding bootlegs.....how many times has a northern soul records appeared legitimately? example: tommy neal - going to a happening pameline - green, pink, yellow palmer - red&white vocalion - u.k. black issue & red demo stimulate your grey cells people.....any takers?

linda jones , for many, is the epitome of class...not one average tune, all 5 star loma or not and under the guidance of ace songwriter/producer, george kerr.....as i said a while back on here, can you imagine if she had recorded "you hit me ( right where it hurt me )"? dont get me wrong alice clark & kim weston's are wonderful readings of a truly impassioned song....but LINDA JONES?.....WOW!!, now that would be legendary!!. bearing in mind dave godin,s association with the british release of the best of the loma catalogue, im sure that shrewd connoiseur of soul would have sniffed it out of the archives, had it existed.

damn right about the records rich, before anybody forgets, ian was there FIRST, exactly the same as he was with productions. yes his family were comparitively well off thus the frequent exodus to the states to bring back the records that fuelled the fledgling scene. IAN was the catalyst for others making the pilgrimage to the vinyl goldmine over the pond. HE, unlike john anderson, martin coppell and simon soussan ( who have been discussed here before at length ) bougtht these wonderous discoveries back to play them, as a statement to gain attention for just how good they were, broadening the choice of tunes to dance to beyond the wildest of imaginations and quite knowingly promoted the fact that to hear them first before anyone else in the u.k. YOU HAD TO GO TO THE MECCA......thats almost religious...isnt it?. not to put too finer point on it, the mecca was a shrine for everything new and continued to be so, even with the advent of the casino and,....ians reputation was enhanced even more as a lot of his discoveries crossed over to even bigger approval at station road. ian even had a routine for deciding what was in or out regarding the quality of the playlist at the mecca, much like berry gordy and his "quality control friday sessions.....lest anyone has short memories, ian would always have a behind the scenes preview of what he had bought back with colin, tony jebb and johnny beggs and yes, he did tend to rely a lot on colin's input...but when all is said and done, it was ian wh owas pulling the rabbits from the bottomless ( and it seemed like it was in the 70's ) hat. there will always be plenty who judge thats his studio ventures pale into insignificance, but he had the bottle to do it AND he, during the course of this gained access to many previously unseen artists as well as quite famous ones but probably shared the same puzzlement as to what our scene was all about and why we were so interested in their music and their backgrounds, but through ian, were given a fresh lease of life, however brief and a chance to be in the spotlight....many of whom have made it to these shores and been blown away by US!!. IAN'S contribution is extraordinarily unique......would the myriad of tunes we have grown up with, turned up EVENTUALLY, via someone else?......probably, via the dealers who were going out there...the question is, would they have just disappeared into private record collections?, afterall, the dealers weren't djs and richard and kev had still to build their reputations at the casino and until that happened, the large influx of potential monsters were not in their hands,...ian however, was IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME and because of him the foundations for the northern soul scene were built. the mecca was ian's template for the future for what we have now, THE GREATEST MUSICAL PHENOMENON THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN!

mike, the best thing to put on "slugs" is salt :lol:

gotta be "LING TING TONG".......was somebody having a laugh, or is it something to do with matt lucas in little britain? :lol:

the fact the soul scene exists and is true to its word, it binds us all together and welcomes newcomers with family arms,its escapism from the reality of an outside world that is false, hypocritical and unforgiving. its about real music written, directed, arranged and sung by real musicians, unsung hero's not "15 minutes of fame" instantly forgettable boring wasters. the satisfaction is that in a hundred years time no other trend will be able to touch the excitement & vibrancy of northern soul....the same as it is today. no other music creates a driving urge to get on the dancefloor, that sends tingles down your spine when its a tune that you particularly love...that makes you travel unimaginable distances to get your kicks and baffles ordinary people, as to why you do it....that is the very reason why we're here talking about it now...its the most brilliant time consuming drug that you just cant get enough of and even if you move to live in far flung places its magnetism is never far away as almost every civlised country on the face of this island earth has heard of it and worse....has been infected by it!! once its in your system its a habit you cant break...if we all had one dream, could it be to have been born and at that very moment we were indoctrinated by the music,..as it is, we will all live and die with it in our brains, our veins and in our bodies and souls. whats not to like about our scene and our music?

tony, i dont disagree. the lovemasters is amongst a myriad of tunes, trawling round the vinyl universe and it gets plucked out of semi-known acceptability to be given "an opportunity". i recall that dee dee sharp - deep dark secret was just a tupenny-hapenny record that could be purchased for £2 or less but in an effort to give the undervalued some meaning and in the face of the continual arguement about "the same 500 records", some dj's intuitively decided it was the right time...and they certainly didnt hedge their bets as it took off big style and,....infuriatingly, so did its value. of course its since bottomed out but it is still worth considerably more than its original pauper status. anyway, the dell larks will always be supremely rare as will don varner and that is the overriding fact and they ARE great tunes, no doubt, but regardless of the limited value that is placed on spyder turners tunes, you could still play them alongside the aforementioned and get the same response and turner has a great voice to boot, and he was significantly better known via his recordings at terra shirma for the mgm logo and later warner bros. finally, as i said we can all buy his product legitimately whereas, BECAUSE OF THEIR RAREITY the two mega money tunes got booted to satisfy the ordinary punters demands, unfortunately somebody got really clever in the counterfeit process and duped a minority, unwittingly into buying what they believed were a clutch of genuine originals that had mysteriously turned up...surely after 3 decades, and not a sniff of a dell larks on the breeze, the alarm bells should surely have started to ring....a bit too late. all of these cheapo's will have their day because there will always be somebody who will buy them and show some faith, im most certainly not the first person to say this,...you only have to read the liner notes for record sales online ( "will have its day - will be big" ) its like a fairground attraction where you hook the duck...these tunes are just waiting their turn...there's nothing wrong with that is there?, certainly not in the name of playing "something different and there are enough copies for people to buy, whereas only the same handful of people will EVER own a dell larks or don varner.

favourite tunes then or should i say preferred, in the wake of the double dialogue: barbara pennington - i can't eraze the thought of you evelyn thomas - weakspot exciters - reaching for the best james wells - baby im still the same man lj johnson - your magic put a spell on me doris jones - he's so irreplaceable barbara pennington - 24 hours a day frances nero - footsteps chuck jackson - all over the world ronnie mcnier - lucky number and of course...supremes & originals - back by popular demand like many of you out there, ive heard and danced to all of these at one time or another and even bought some of them but the outstanding fact is that they span four decades and ,many of them still have relevance in todays market wether or not they have the resonance of genuine 60's records.