Drewtg

As an old friend used to say "If that's Motown, my dick's a kipper!"

Big at The Wheel - I think he even appeared there.

Go on then, I'll bite. It wasn't a hit and musically it's erm................................

I don't think charting stopped too many sounds, Esther's What a difference was massive. My fave was Don covey - Better to have. I think it was played as an oldie but deserved a contemporary play. BTW Bo and Ruth - absolute class sound.

The day 21/02/2015 will go down in history as the day that Northern Soul "Jumped the shark". That a N. Soul version of a childrens book should be contemplated, let alone go into production - apparently with support from some local soul fans - shows to what depth our music has now sunk. Hard on the heels of a man dressed as a clown, in an advert promoting a breakfast cereal for a multi-national corporation, and many so called fans complaining about the only honest attempt so far at portraying our early "scene" to have hit the big screen. N. Soul is now an old whore to be used and abused by anybody looking for an angle to flog their wares - aided and abetted by a seemingly inexhaustible stream of talking heads and "dancers", keen to get their fifteen minutes in. We are being asked to fork out £80 for a collection of CD's, a "project" which could have easily been done for less than half that amount because - let's face it - we all have the tracks, it's the back story that is interesting. Any minute now I expect to see a character in Viz; Billy Baggies, He's a northern wiz 'e is. We are mainstream, we are commercial, we are not special anymore. We have been assimilated. It was nice while it lasted but all we have now is our memories. See you in ASDA - in the N. Soul section.

I'm going outside now. I may be sometime.

Great read, should be Hall of Fame surely? Here's one of my memories. So, it's Saturday morning, 1974 'ish, and the postman arrives with my "Soul Bowl" purchase. Risk running downstairs in my undies to grab it as soon as possible. Back up to the room, un-stick the mailer and behold the record. It was sssoooooo precious to me I just held it in my hands like a formula-one car steering wheel. Oooops! I snapped the record. It had cost me about £3, a lot of money for a fifteen year old schoolboy. Get dressed, run to the phone box, phone Soul Bowl. "The record you sent me is broken. Is there any chance you have another?" (little did I know that they had loads and were trickle feeding them). They said it was unusual for records to be broken in the post and I said I appreciate that but?.......they sent me a replacement. It was "Cool off"on orange Pameline and it was my pride and joy.

Maybe they could do a "James Brown" - fried, dyed and laid to the side

Yeeeeeeeeeee Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar, Wooooooooooop Wooooooooop. Well done to all.

Might be missing the point here, but you seem to be saying that because bootlegging is ilegal in the USA, then the pressing is being done elsewhere. I thought that your country had a long and noble tradition of breaking the law when it came to making money from ilegal practices. You even organised it into syndicates didn't you?

My sisters used to go to The Wheel, etc, and they used to argue about reggae v's soul music but most of the mod's sort of disappeared from round our way by the early seventies. I was still at school in '73 when I first went to Wigan and I was in a minority of two from a school of about six hundred. All the other folk were into Bowie or metal, with the girls following the chart drivel. On the bus from Rochdale there would be about ten or so of us, with possibly the same amount going by train or car. The bus picked up a few from Heywood and Bury and by the time the last bus left Bolton for Wigan it would be pretty full. When I left school in '75 I went to Bolton College on day-release with about a dozen other apprentices - not one of them was a soul fan - and mainly, they were into football, not music. I lived on a large council estate and again, there was only one other soulie. We used to meet round each others houses in Rochdale to play our sounds - not just the dance tunes but also a lot of B sides and album tracks. Few of us had phones so we tended to hang-out at the same places and just go with the flow. We were definately a curiosity. I think we were seen as a throw-back to the mod's (I had a scooter) but we definitely weren't - we were pretty cool though. The hippies liked us because we were into drugs, the metal kids understood that their white bands were nicking 'our' black music and we dressed pretty smart (no silly baggies!), so we were welcome in the pubs. After a while and "This England", the numbers did begin to swell. I won't dwell too much on the 'div' argument, but let's say that there were quite a few tourists. This actually worked out well because it meant that we could start hiring pubs and clubs and have our own local scene, which helped bring people together and raise interest among other locals. Also, if you wanted to fill a car to Sheffield or Alfreton, or St Ives it was a lot easier. I went to the last night at Wigan and was glad it closed, it had become a terrible place. Selling trousers and space in the record bar, I'm surprised they weren't selling sticks of Casino Rock. I still have friends who were on that first bus with me - and they are still on the scene. I think that is fucking awesome.

Anyone feeling competitive? https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10153339367858574&set=vb.282275573573&type=2&theater

I've sold quite a few from here in Malta (to UK) and my postage was sometimes less than some folk were charging within the UK. I detest skimmers and always p.m. seller, if I'm not happy with p+p cost = dealbreaker.

This is really interesting. One would assume that, as a capital purchase, the records would be a depreciating asset on your books. The longer you hold on to them the less they are worth. If you then sold them for let's say the same price you paid for them, would it be a capital gain against the value on your books? Any accountants out there?

Dave, you need an android box for the telly. €60, plug it into your interweb and Bob's your do dah, live TV from anywhere in the world. Works for me in Malta.

Classic. "You may have a shit job, but you iron your clothes and polish your shoes". You tell 'em Elaine. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/feb/05/elaine-constantine-interview-northern-soul

Maybe like a few of you, the tears come a bit easier as I get older, but here are a few throat chokers: Better - Ruby Winters Strange Fruit - Billie Holiday and, a bit left field - Stardust - Louis Armstrong (genius).

Hey Russell, stand back from this a moment. The reason some of us find this appaling is because we like 'soul music'. It is performed with some kind of meaning - it speaks to us. I didn't 'learn' to dance, I just wanted to dance because that is how the music made me feel. I was never - and am still not - a brilliant dancer (whatever that is). I would watch someone like Steve Caesar own the floor and just know that I could never dance like that. I still danced and put my heart and soul into what I was feeling, singing along to the music I loved. There was a guy - who's name I can never remember - who used to dance down by the stage. His dance was all jerky, jumping around as though he was trying to put out a fire, he looked ridiculous - but boy did he love to dance! That guy had the respect of the whole floor because he was a dancer, unconcerned with what others thought of him. Maybe in his own mind he was brilliant, I don't know but I do know the guy loved the music and did his thing - and that's what it's all about, not choreography. Hit the floor mate, do what you feel, it's not a competition!

The music is so infectious, so compelling, so spontaneous; it makes you wanna...................go and get some dance lessons! FFS

Etta had a great growl.

Was just reading this. Unbelievable that he should be homeless and living in a van. Let's hope that this money doesn't go the same way as his last fortune.

Oops! I meant "cast". All the worlds a stage, and all that...............

Interesting to get his take, and the connection with 'The Film'. Obviously he likes his own work, but this fifty-something has to disagree that the actors "look cool".

My missus is French and it is amazing the number of songs that she thinks are French but are actually covers of UK/USA hits. I love taking the piss when she claims a Frog song and I have to put her straight.

Yes, unfortunately Dave passed in 2006. Hell of a funny guy, also did stand-up comedy. RIP The Soul Fox.