Thinksmart

Oh blimey, Henry Farnborough too. The Spinners are pivotal from 60s right up to decades later. RIP

One of the very best. RIP

Yes some interesting choices there. This release is of interest too of course: https://acerecords.co.uk/hit-run-more-motown-guys

One of the top class Soul singers across decades. Such a powerful, emotive and expressive voice but never too showy. I think of Tommy as a Classy Soul music artist from that marvellous Big City Soul era. I'll put a load of his music on during the next few days! RIP Tommy.

Great, thanks for uploading. This is an important source, as a springboard for the 6Ts, 100 Club and high quality Northern Soul finds that followed from that. I recently got the CD box set of his Mod 100, which I already had all the songs on, but it just felt right to get it curated that way. Of course, most Mods ignored it back then for the popular sounds of the time, including a very young me in the early 80s - but I found my way back to those truly Soulful sounds via Northern Soul plays, the Kent Records LPs then CDs which I treasure now as amongst the pinnacle of our music. Ady, please reissue the Club Soul complilation on an expanded CD/digital as you have with a couple. I have the nusic but will buy it again to keep. The compilation continued the foundation that Randy laid out with the 100 Sounds, it was such an important Kent release at the time. That and the Shoes compilation were instructive and wonderful (and Gems too and.... oh reissue the lot). Anyone interested in the 100 sounds CD set of Randy's choices, it is available from all good stockists: https://www.demonmusicgroup.co.uk/catalogue/releases/eddie-piller-presents-the-mod-top-100-4cd-deluxe-packaging/ Regardless of the Mod labelling, it's an comprehensive set of brilliant music from the very earliest days of the Soul scene.

Nottingham has always been my home and a wonderful place to appreciate Soul from. It's a thriving scene here, the Blackheart nighters, Festival Inn, Cotgrave Miner's Welfare, constant little things around the city, the Palais nights in early 1990s were incredible (and now back) with lots of the new Motown discoveries being played by Chris King right at the start of their being played out, less prominant local nighters at such as Trent Uni and Notts County ground, R&B nights at Bunker's Hill. Rock City as said a few decades ago now (time flies!). I have had and have great fun. The Boat club and Brit are ten minutes walk from me. Rob Smith's shop and Jonathan at Arcade Records (now long gone), Soulville Steakhouse. The old Hearty Good Fellow and Hand & Heart small events. Long Eaton Fridays for a long time, Ilkeston Co-op events. It's been great. For about a decade Sunday night here used to be buzzing with Soul in many of the pubs (it may still be). Then getting out across the county there are always things in each local town going on. Not far also out to wider Midlands and coastal events. Plus, Nottinghamshire people here in my orbit are passionate about Soul Music, it's wonderful. I will pop into this bar when in the city socially, but I don't get there much now. On Nottingham venues, it's lost to history now but apparently before Dungeon etc, the go-to venue in Nottingham was the Nottingham Polytechnic Social on a Friday, the Newton Building. It was where the Mods and Soul fans used to go at that time (my older friend used to go with his friend, the designer Paul Smith).

I mentioned classic Oldies in my first reply before and that's a good route in to the original sounds. Generally if the event mentions 'as played at' Twisted Wheel, The Golden Torch, Wigan Casino/Mr Ms, Va Vas, The Catacombs - you're going to find plenty to enjoy there. Blackpool Mecca went from 60s sounds into Modern then Disco and Jazz-Funk, so depends on context. The important Cleethorpes venues mixed up Northern Soul styles, so like Blackpool Mecca - events themed around them will balance styles you enjoy with some less so, but it is good to try more over time. At this early stage if an event says 'Top 500 sounds' that will be relevant for you, over the years these can become over familiar but you have the wonderful opportunity to appreciate them for the first time. Your choices are from the early days of the scene. I think you'd enjoy the 100 Club sounds too. Also look out for events that say 'Motown and Northern Soul' - they'll often be at the more popular-song end of the sounds you enjoy. There are lots of compilations about too, both on CD/vinyl or streaming. Dependent on how you listen to your music, type those songs you mention into the platform of your choice - and you'll find compilatons/playlists with those and similar era songs. Discogs can help with this, send meca direct message if I can help on it. It's worth saying, none of us like everything - it's a huge area of music you're exploring, so don't feel the need to like everything you hear. It's a wonderful adventure that can continue through your whole life and lead you to music you never knew you would like. In Nottingham you will enjoy the newly revived nights at the Palais. Local shop owner and DJ Rob Smith plays a lot of sounds you will enjoy, so look out for him on local events. The events at Festival Inn in Trowell will work well. Keep checking the Events section here. Work your way through Richard Searling's shows at Mixcloud - they will really help you find more music you like. When you see 'Across the Board' that event will have multiple substyles of Northern Soul. You may enjoy one DJ and not another, but that is part of the experience. Then over time your own taste may evolve too.

You want classic oldie events from your list, stay away from upfront, R&B, Crossover, Funk or Modern Soul events for now. Also 'nighter sounds' or 'Rare Soul' events can sometimes mean less obviously melodic, deeper cuts. Definitely avoid Jazz Funk events given your choices.

Indeed, I was thinking the same. It's not for the artist to say a song is 'Northern Soul' as it isn't a genre, it's a discovery or selection by its participants based on some features we all share (but even then there are outliers all the time). The media don't know what they are on about when writing about it and the artist while meaning well, is actually detracting from their chances of adoption by describing it as Northern Soul. Press it up on an old looking label for only a few copies and distirbute them to DJs and see how it goes is more likely than promoting yourself obviously that way. Adoption by 'the scene' can happen of course with more subtlety, remembering Diane Shaw for example. Of course no such issue exists in relation to such as Modern Soul as a related/parallel 'scene' but it does for some others such as Popcorn, you cannot just decide 'I'm Popcorn'...at least I don't think you can.

Headphones are to stop the noise in situations where it is not allowed. It can be either all listen to one DJ or a choice of channels. I have not seen one with everyone in their own individual choices.

There are events outside Manchester locally, so people don't travel into the city so much for Soul now which combine with the bigger national events Dobber mentions. Some of my work is around Chorley, Leyland, Clitheroe etc area and there's a healthy range of local events around there. Manchester has the next Ritz Revival at Easter: https://soulvation.company.site/MANCHESTER-RITZ-50th-ANNIVERSARY-April-20th-2025-ticket-£20-£1-booking-fee-p511094547

I have been to work events with everyone on headphones connected to DJ playing the same music, not of their own choice. Without headphones it is a quiet room of shuffling people. It looks and sounds very odd that way. I am not a fan anyway, I like the music coming from the speakers. There is no shared aspect to it. I just went outside.

I was going off Discogs for Cavaliers which shows it as 66, which must be wrong then. My recollection on Hesitations was in relation to the album release rather than b-side which was a year out. I don't have my Dave Rimmer or Keith Rylatt Detroit books anymore to check there. However, the link is the Pied Piper team and Joe Hunter specifically I hope I was right in saying. Presumably he took his arrangement written for Hesitations and adapted it for Cavaliers session then? Others here may know the detail.

Cavaliers came first in 66, Hesitations a year later. Joe Hunter is the connection, arranged the Cavaliers and co-wrote the Hesitations. I don't have the sleeve notes to hand from Kent Pied Piper CD releases, but they likely explain in more detail. As that production and writing team span both releases. https://acerecords.co.uk/various-artists-pied-piper

Yes I went to early days of Venus there as an underground House club. From about 85-86 outside the Mod scene I left, I was running out of places to hear Soul locally and many had tiny attendances by much older people. I was still too young to get entry to Rock City or Palais nights which were much more age enforced then. House music clubs were easier to get in for a while. By about 87-88 there was little NS, only slick 80s Soul I did not enjoy at the time or House music, which had a similar tempo and underground feel. For a long time I assumed The Dungeon was where Monastery and The Bomb were underground on Bridlesmith Gate. That really did feel like a dungeon. An invite-only tiny Soul night under The Salutation down the many steps in the caves was my most literal Dungeon style event.