Paul-s

https://www.lookatyoursoul.org Just an update to say the response has been fantastic and we have some incredible sets coming up from collectors around the world: We add a new one each Saturday. We welcome sets from anyone who wants to look at the brief and contribute. Please look and share if you can/want Best to all Paul-s

Dear Supporters, Colleagues, Friends, and Advocates, Against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic, systematic white supremacy continues to promote and enact violence against black people in America. The deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd (among many others) are the continuation of a long-standing history of oppression against black people in this country. Their names must be said and repeated. We grieve with and support our black colleagues and black communities across the nation. We stand with you in the fight to end systematic violence against black people in this country. If it is within your power, please join us in donating to some or all of the organizations listed below. Additionally, we have linked below some resources for education, action, advocacy, and self-care. In solidarity, IDC Professionals Places to Donate: Black Lives Matter: This organization works to eradicate white supremacy globally, and works locally to act and intervene when violence is committed to black people. The Minnesota Freedom Fund: This organization distributes donations to pay bail for incarcerated people, including arrested Minneapolis protesters, and bonds for immigrants. Communities United Against Police Brutality: This organization operates a crisis hotline where people can report abuse; offers legal, medical, and psychological resource referrals; and engages in political action against police brutality. The ACLU: This organization provides legal services and support for a broad range of people with civil rights complaints. Black Visions Collective: This collective, led by Black, trans, and queer activists in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, aims to build "a political home for Black people across Minnesota" through a transformative justice model. Books to Read: Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown White Fragility by Robin DiAngello The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander How to be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi Mental Health Resources: Crisis Text Line: They provide access to crisis counselors for the promotion of mental wellness and crisis care. The Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation: Their mission is to eradicate the stigma surrounding mental health care, specifically focusing on supporting members of the black community. Sista Afya Community Mental Wellness: This organization supports the mental wellness of Black women “through building community, sharing information, and connecting Black women to quality mental wellness services.” They focus on providing affordable and accessible mental wellness options Self-Care Tips for Black People Who Are Struggling With This Very Painful Week: This article outlines some useful tools to establish boundaries and sustainable mental health practices. Mental Health First Aid: This organization provides training for first responders to mental health crisis. Hashtags to Follow: #blacklivesmatter #justiceforahmaud #justiceforgeorgefloyd #justiceforbreonnataylor #nojusticenopeace #irunwithmaud #istandwithbreonna #defendblacklife #defundthepolice

Yes, hard to find the time I'm sure. It's a great project and an important one too.......it will get there!

Thanks. Great article. You should really think of putting a book together to document all this important, and often overlooked history.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_-9xF3DXbY/ Remember, place the weight, never straighten legs, and and and and......... You can also learn burlesque, salsa, boogaloo, in fact anything you can think of! It's all covered...

WTF?! Its not the Blitz.....sounds like regurgitating the Daily Mail or Star.....

1. Emmitt Long - Call Me 2. John Harris and the Soul Sayers - Hangin' In 3. Five Chances - I'm Gonna Miss You 4. Domestic Five - It's An Empty World 5. Delon Washington - Getting Mighty Close 6. Ray & The Belaires - The Blame Is On You 7. Apaches - Trying to Make Ends Meet 8. Sons of Nature - Disillusion City-Town 9. Eugene Gaspard - Holding On 10. Gamith - Darkness In Reserve Dorondo Pulliam - How I Got Over

So much information and mis-information and now that Trump is attempting to weaponise the antidote by securing it 'exclusively' for the USA things are getting strange. Best to read widely and see what's happening on all fronts I reckon. We certainly aren't going to crap ourselves to death so god knows why people are bulk buying bog roll.... https://slate.com/technology/2020/03/coronavirus-mortality-rate-lower-than-we-think.html https://time.com/5798168/coronavirus-mortality-rate/ https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/15/trump-offers-large-sums-for-exclusive-access-to-coronavirus-vaccine https://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/event201/scenario.html https://tbsnews.net/opinion/coronavirus-and-event-201-eerily-similar-41469

Thanks for posting, really enjoyed reading it.

Got my copy and very enjoyable. It is another personal account and it is good that it doesn't paint the usual confused and reimagined 'rose tinted' experience and scene. In terms of DIMS comment: It will have broad appeal. But, it would have been good to see Stephen (who is an academic, Dr) unpick some of the accounts that have gone before and which he deems as not telling the truth in more detail (which takes time and patience). It's very easy to criticise something, say something is inaccurate or not the truth, but to take it into the level of an educational tool it's not enough just to just do that and you must critique it. You then need to show and reveal why those previous accounts are biased or inaccurate in at least some detail. Thats why it remains as a personal account and readers are left to compare it themselves to the other books that provide solely personal accounts, or to their own experiences. It would have been good to see a bibliography to confirm which books/accounts Stephen has read and was referring to. The discography, as any discography, provides a personal account and is useful. I am not a fan of Wikipedia references as they are not a source of accuracy and open to anyone applying their opinion or edit, be it true or false. Saying that, I enjoyed Stephens book and it resonated with many aspects of my own experience and it does indeed provide an alternative view to the bulk of, often lazily written and inaccurate, accounts that pop up seemingly every other week: often partisan and rambling. The word 'Truth' in the title and declarations in the book is obviously a dubious one as 'truth' is a very slippery, subjective and problematic word to apply to any account of events, so I take it with a pinch of salt, as it should be taken. A recommended read for sure.

This book sounds interesting and researched so I'm looking forward to reading it. I think (like Dim) it is ok to critique some of the plethora of self published memoirs on Northern Soul that are claiming the history of the scene merely through their own, sometimes venue limited, views. This one (below) for instance actually puts me off just by its historically flimsy claims in the promotional blurb.

My first venue too...great memories!

Thanks Paul. I sold it years ago for a couple of grand. I remember going to Australia to trade it with Callum Flack who was, apart from Jason P, the only person I knew had it at the time. Traded for Bernetia Miller.

It was me....

Great! I reckon 'McSoulies' might be the new term for this band of merry revellers..'Boffins of Ballyhoo', made me chuckle

thanks! Great to see all these documents being posted and shared..

I think the whole topic of who is/was the best Northern Soul dancer is tenuous and packed full of totally subjective views based on multiple aspects of (non)involvement in the scene: venues, time scale, age, corporeal preferences, music preferences etc. Basically, it's a ridiculously repeated topic that ends up with lots of videos that have already been mediated because they are videos, and many are videos being re-mediated (via here) because they were initially TV programmes. People end up pushing and posting their own 'champs' with words like 'proper' or 'right' or 'best' to enamour a general consensus among the various factions that exist. It's as absurd as the 'World Northern Soul Dance Championship' which is a totally ridiculous event geared towards making a promoters venue seem more important than it is (you never see many internationally invited competitors, or it being held in other countries on rotational invite). It's as absurd as people advertising 'Northern Soul Dance Classes" when all they can genuinely claim is 'How I dance to Northern Soul Classes'. My point is, it's in the eye and soul of the beholder. One of the best dancers I ever saw was a guy called 'George' in Seattle; when I was with DDA DJing there. He got up in a 300 capacity venue, went to the centre of the floor (no one was dancing) closed his eyes, stood with his feet fixed and gave it his soulful all, long hair waving about, swaying and bending, totally lost in the music and totally expressing the soul of it... no blueprint for him and he didn't need or want one...he was just honest and in it. Pontificating on peoples dancing is a personal choice, but boy do these threads repeat the same old same old and often measure all dancing against a totally random and imagined template of what is 'proper'.

Just received news that 'The Northern Soul Scene' book has been nominated for the 2020 Association for Recorded Sounds Collection Awards for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research. The winners will be announced in September.

Ah ok. Well, I know Tim and Nicola and Ady of course. I didn't know David, but he was a well respected Professor of popular music I think, and he has a really interesting bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Sanjek Sadly he died unexpectedly of a heart attack. No idea who Lucy is.

Hey, I've fished all my life, but not at a soul events. But I do remember checking if anything had been caught at the back of one venue where there was gravel pits, maybe it was the Fleet, I can't quite remember ?

Bloody hell.....its as if I can imagine something, mention it, and it's already out there chugging along. 'Captain of My Ship' comes to mind. You can probably do a bit of fishing or crabbing as well I imagine.

Indeed. There is market for everything. Has there ever been a Northern Soul Cruise? If not, it will be coming soon I reckon...