Frankie Crocker

Big thanks to Chalky for the track list. Other cover-ups are Royal Esquires - Ain’t Gonna Run, The Q - That’s The Way and Sam Williams - Love Slipped Through My Fingers. Little Ann was an acetate, now issued on Kent. What an awesome set from Richard - surely a knighthood awaits him?

It’s those Wigan clips Chalky. A few camera-hungry kids turned up on the night that most of us skipped deliberately. The continual focus of the media on spinning and backdropping does no justice to the scene as we’d like to remember it.

Northern Soul Dance can’t be taught - you’ve got to watch then pick it up. The so-called ’dance teachers’ should go to a few soul do’s to see how it’s done - then they can go away and practise as they are generally pretty rubbish...

Really just a short and sweet segment built onto a prom rehearsal. The emphasis was on young people and their accessing the music. Russ has more than earned the right to be included in any Northern Soul TV feature. I’ve gone off the One Show lately but this was an okeh tit-bit to throw to the common people - the Coutts/Nat West censors should be reasonably content therefore the Spanish Inquisition need not be called upon on this occasion.

Well said Russ. This thread was simply about a BBC Prom concert a week ago. The thread was ultimately about the music, musicianship, performers and in the context of Northern Soul. To read more into it than that is not necessary. It was a couple of hours entertainment hugely enjoyed by those attended - it may have enlightened some of the uninitiated. I certainly had my money’s worth attending and want to commend the BBC for the innovation.

For the record, the tracks by Darrell Banks and Nolan Chance were not performed. That of course leaves an old-school playlist compiled by two people commissioned to derive a populist selection of catchy tunes - that the die-hard soul fans present, regular prom goers, tourists and assorted others seemed to engage with the music confirms Maconie did exceedingly well.

I didn’t notice what the stipulated bid increment was but it was evidently marginally lower than 5K - it would have made more sense for the underbidder to actually bid 5K or a tactical amount above 5K say £5,005-55. Perhaps the top two bidders both bid 5K and the earliest bidder won? However you look at it, it’s odd that a nice round figure beat another nice round figure by precisely the minimum incremental bid.

A great tune and one that sadly will sadly elude me. 5K is ridiculously high though, even though the disc was in immaculate condition. 5K is an odd figure too when you think about it, not a penny more, not a penny less, and unusual given the final figure is determined by what the underbidder actually bid? I wonder which millionaire acquired this particular record?

Wow, the Nomads went for a whopping sum. Very little of note otherwise but plenty of set-sale prices achieved at the low three-figure end.

There were no sound issues apparent to these well trained ears. From the first note of the MVP’s, the sound was loud and clear, fully authentic and recognisable in the first two bars. Same with Dobie Gray. I’ve got short-snatch video clips of all 31 songs but I can’t load them on Soul-Source and Facebook would not accept the 2min 37secs for Tobi Legend. The remainder of the review was OK but the author was incorrect to state there were sound issues.

No idea who the author is or his credentials, but as with all sorts of reviews, best to take what you want from them. His piece is now a matter of record for others to reflect on - he used the word ‘clunky’ but that was not appropriate as the orchestra handled several tricky tunes with panache. For the orchestra to achieve what they did, they must have listened to the original music in some format; to accommodate the vocalists, the rehearsals must have been endless. I thought the performance was brilliant - I own most of the tunes on original vinyl and all of them in some format or other; I have listened to some of the tunes hundreds of times over the last 50 years. I doubt Stephen Dalton can match that but he still felt he had to be sufficiently nit-picking to please his sub-editor.

Just informing our readers... The Times is a decent newspaper therefore worth flagging up. Always interesting to see what appears in the press just in case the writers become more objective.

Review in Times 2 of yesterday’s Times (17/07/23). Just glad to be one of those of pensionable age but the younger brigade might consider the last sentence a bit cheeky.

Jimmy Beaumont hit the crossbar methinks. Hardest song to recognise on the playlist! Other side of the record is a winner, top left corner, sent the keeper the wrong way...

Agreed - The Mike Post Orchestra would not have been out of place. Other instrumentals come to mind such as Double Cookin’ and Supertime but the predominance of vocals made for a much better show than the run of the mill classical concert.

The Prom gets a glowing five-star write up by Andrew Perry in the Features section of the Daily Telegraph today (17/07/23).

He justified the re-ordering so the concert could end with Tobi Legend BUT they’s really planned it to end with Gloria Jones and Frankie Boy Da Dee Da Doo. Before the concert, I re-read chapter 6, Out On The Floor of ‘Cider With Roadies’ to remind myself of Maconie’s credentials; yes, he hails from west Wigan and was touched by NS subculture. Actually he’s a good-egg all round plus a fervent advocate of Northern Soul at the Beeb. That said, Maconie’s playlist is very limited and largely restricted to the 70’s hay-day eg Dobie Gray, Tony Clarke, Judy Street, MVP’s (shades of This England programme here) etc. Maybe there’ll be another NS Prom and Soul-Source contributors will be invited to expand on the 300 tunes considered...

A few photos...sadly the video clips are too long...

Tonight’s programme.

Absolutely awesome. Thirty one tracks of pretty-near perfection. Kicking off with the MVP’s, a tough number, the BBC Orchestra smashed it. The Trammps went down well with the audience as did the Just Bros, one of two instrumentals played. Frankie Valli and ‘TheNight’ received the most audience participation and by then a lot were dancing in the stalls and boxes. The Albert Hall was virtually full to capacity with a lot of knowledgeable soulies in the house, many spot-on with the syncopated hand-claps and a good few dancing on the main floor. Stuart Maconie did an excellent job introducing each section and was visibly moved by the success of the event. The evening finished on a high note with the Three Before Eight and an encore of Gloria Jones then Frank Wilson, all cleverly done. The singers did a great job overall with every tune recognisable for what it was. All in all, a brilliant experience and congratulations to the BBC for getting it right.

About 20 years ago, I was staying in Berlin for a few days, drinking in the hotel bar night after night as you do, and a really catchy tune kept featuring on the radio. Off we went to a shopping mall to buy a CD featuring Frank Popp’s ‘Hip Teens’. Years later it turns out the 45 goes for good money and has been spun at some venues. The Pepper Pots, a Spanish outfit have some really soulful tunes in their repertoire well worth seeking out. The Ladykillers, a New Zealand quartet, do an excellent take on Paul Mauriat’s ‘Black Is Black’ - a live performance on YouTube is worth a listen if you can get past the chat. There’s possibly more catchy tunes out there, ideal for the house rather than a public venue. They may not be Northern Soul as such but they tick a few boxes being similar in some ways eg tempo, melody, harmony etc Forgive me for not posting any links but I’ve got to go and dress up for the Albert Hall...

Best to check on one of the websites first. These are common enough records that come up for sale regularly. Much depends on whether you are buying or selling as the prices are not necessarily identical. Check on Discogs, Collectors Frenzy or even SoulSource sales section which is sure to feature both titles. Oh, I forgot to mention Popsike, probably the best auction database although it’s far from complete.

I thought Gerri Hall would go for more - this is a rare and brilliant sound. I do wonder if records should be auctioned if they only realise two or three hundred pounds.

I booked up for the Albert Hall months ago. I’ll be going with an open mind and shall report back later. Normally, I ignore classical music and boycott the Proms but I thought it sensible to support the event. Someone has evidently attempted to diversify affairs and tap into the rich vein of Northern Soul - it’ll be interesting to see if the orchestra can match the quality of the original recordings...we’ll see...

Cecil Washington tanked a bit - well below previous earnings. Has a quantity turned up in Detroit?