Kenb

Before any ideas of holidays abroad for 18yr old lads, like Ibiza or Kavos, (timeline context: Slade were still a skinhead band)-you went somewhere in the UK. Three of us set off, one way train tickets, no accommodation, just a holdall of clothes. Except for a mate. He had most of his grip full of Brut. We ended up in Wales. And most of it in Butlins, Pwllheli. We went in on a day pass and stayed for a about a week…I think. During the day (we had to keep our heads down a little bit) we would visit what I can only describe as a canteen. One of the dining halls for ‘pucker residents’. Anyone that has ever worked in a large factory with a big canteen will get the idea. At Pwllheli the canteen was a cavernous place with Formica tables and chairs. Empty during non-meal times. So it was at those times we’d visit. In the bottom corner of the canteen, a sort of ‘coffee area’ – a Juke Box! First play ‘heaven must have sent you’ The Elgins (side note here: we always pronounced the ‘G’ in Elgins as G for Gary – not G for Gin. I’ve since been put right many times). I distinctly remember hearing ‘just walk in my shoes’, ‘be young be foolish’, ‘breakout’…And many more, of which I neither had or have a clue what they were-but feel sure a few would now probably be an NS goldmine. It seemed we had stumbled on a Motown/Northern [we still weren’t using that term then] Juke Box! There’s only 4 possible explanations; h1. The Juke Box came pre-racked from the USA It2. It was a random thing and we got lucky 33. There was a Butlin’s Red Coat/Staffer way ahead of their time stacking it 44. Berry Gordy had loaned his Juke Box to Butlins So, every day, we fed money (10p from memory got us a play) into that Juke Box for a couple of hours each day. What’s the N.S. 7” you have heard on a Juke Box that came as a surprise - and where?

didn't 'Show Girl' also come out on The Vows...or was that a c/w b side? -or also in the vaults?

Hi both, I thought....( at least this is what i have written down from somewhere), Tell Me? was meant for the Versatiles, later to become better known – after leaving Motown – as the 5th Dimension), but their version remains in the vaults. Marc Gordon co-writer of Tell Me was the manager of the 5th Dimension. Hope i've not sent you down a rat-hole!

Hi Ronnie, thanks. I have a couple of others already done. 'A slice of Hitsviille connection', but it's very simple. And a 'another' already done, plus a new one in edit. I'll let them out via Mike at one a month. Like you say, it's quite tricky making the connection ( the hitsville one is a little trite!) AND making the subject interesting enough for folks to then go and look deeper for themselves. It's probably also worth noting that someone will catch me out (fact-wize) at some point, but i'm sort of expecting that. ATB Ken

HNY, peace and love, to all KenB

Member @Kenb has just passed up the first in a series of soul music themed infographic 'connections', #1 Northern Connections... Tap to view this Soul Source News/Article in full

I admit I might not have caught up with all the threads here yet, but this is a sincere question and an observation personal to me…I’m not trying to fuel a fire. I listen to Northern Soul (DJ’ed) shows on the BBC, SoundCloud, etc, (plenty listed here on SS in the Soul Radio events listings) and wonder – do they play from OVO or library content? If so, Do I care if it’s radio, stream, etc from library…No. Do I care if it wasn’t OVO at a venue…Yes. Do I play (at home) re-issues & boots (unwittingly /naïve)…Yes.

Hi Paul Could it be UNSATISFIED. A Lou Johnson B-side. just youtube it to have a listen atb ken

Like most on here, I listen to great records – and like most on here I read the mass of considered opinion why some artists never got the recognition (I suppose we have to read ‘commercial’ here) we believe they deserved. Even if they get the adoration from us all. Then I think of the great work that folks do (again, many contributors on here) to bring those artists back into our lives. Either by the likes of appearances in the UK, new material, books, stuff from the archives & vaults, and so on. For me, just one ( of many) to kick the thread off. Debbie Taylor. Who’s yours?

yes v.sad. Nice piece here with Harry Balk talking to John Rhys. https://bluepower.com/blog/2009/03/09/harry-balka-producers-producer?pp=15

If you had £150 to spend on records (I haven’t right now) AND you were about to make your first purchase (I’m not) – WHAT would you spend it on? Would you ‘blow’ it all on one record or buy several. Box sets excluded. It might help Ianc1971-see Don’t know whether…

Like Jaco. not a nighter...Magic Night, If You And I Had Never Met

not just that...but when can you say you have 'a collection'? and what criteria do you use? (amount [how many], rarity [value], likeability, label, etc).

Well…the ‘why’ is likely to be linked to the ‘when’, and the why is instinctively understood (if not documented) and can probably be summed up as easy access to knowledgeable information. Information that was once obscured in culture and tribal know-how (rarities’, values, memories, anecdotes, places, people, DJ’s, c/u’s, etc). Essentially, underground. By the way, that knowledge is not, and has never been elitist, but you had to seek it out. In the same way that you would seek out your ancestry by visiting the local authority records office, the library, registrar, parish records, etc. Genealogists were once considered underground, but now we can all be genealogists with internet platforms allowing access to data and knowledge. So…when did NS surface from being underground. I think, once access to that knowledge was unleashed on the internet to the masses. Clues are everywhere: Discogs launched in 2000. The first YouTube video was April 23rd 2005.The first article I can find on [here] Soul Source is an article dated Sept 1st 1997 (maybe there is an earlier one in an archive). And so, as web sites and social media has grown, so has access to the vast amount of knowledge. Albeit access is done by some people that only have a self-serving purpose. On the other hand, good new soulies will have access to it also, and that can’t be a bad thing – because they’ll realize what’s been invested emotionally in the legacy for many years by so many people (and to be clear I’m not speaking of myself here, but those that did 100’s of all-nighters, brought back records from the USA, DJ’ed and promoted NS throughout their life, write about artists, labels, records. Many of whom are members here). As for me, access has been very positive. There’s no way as a returnee I could have ‘picked up the threads’ without it. I’ve heard great records that weren’t played when I left. [It’s been like a blind man having his sight restored]. I can surf venue lists, buy records, bid at auctions, get tickets, discover scarcity & value, belong to community and seek opinion, plus the rest. I cherish the legacy, but given my age, I don’t think I’d be ‘back’ if it was all still ‘underground’.

Ooh sorry, Apollo...for those not used to ABC Manc

Flamingemaralds...., On the topic of memorabilia. just one of my collection. A.B.C. Manchester.

After 3 years out and about, I ‘found’ my dance moves in 1972. I was 19 yrs old. Once a dancer- always a dancer. But no talc here. I still dance the same today, and go out about twice a month… albeit these days I’m a little less energetic and take more breaks between records. I can manage about 1 in 3 records so I’m more selective about what I get onto the floor for. And yes, and even now, some records just pull me onto the floor no matter how knackered I am. As a re-tread, who ‘came back’ in 2011, I still think I can guess some of the venues that influenced the dance styles of the folks I see on the floor. All-in-all, I love to see folks out on the floor, no matter what.

So (Let me make you happy) there's 6 days to go on JM, and it's at £5,457.00. Did McCoy/Cobb write it for Billy? What's known about Billy?

Anything known ( Say, Hey There, on Josie) about the artist or J.Mc Glockling-G.Toomer writers.

Is anything known about Ann?, other than 'that's the way he is'.