Moutton Noir

All of the above posts sound really good. It's one of life's great mysteries- what makes a hit a hit? Talent of course should be the most important element- unfortunately we know that is often not the case. Often times the record just taps into the zeitgeist- right place right time. Truth is DJs/playlists, record companies/pluggers, PR departments are the magic formula. I thought I knew most soul/disco/R&B artists- that is until the arrival of the internet- youtube & amazon in particular- not forgetting several other sites including e-bay. My 40+ years of musical education became supercharged from the early 2000's. It really hit me hard how much we the record buying public and soul fanatics had been at the mercy of that handful of people who held all the power- those hellish Smashy & Nicey DJs spinning the latest sounds that made it to the whiter than white playlists- remember back in the day even major soul superstars like Marvin, Stevie, Aretha, Diana & Michael often struggled to have their music heard on Radio 1. Jeez what chance did anyone else have? The record companies who decided whether to release great American records in the UK. The buyers who ordered the product for the big record stores. The game was stacked against the little guys- Even trying to find out about what was happening was a challenge- it was down to Blues & Soul, Black Echoes, James Hamilton's column in Record Mirror (available again on-line) and our own personal underground networks. Traveling to America was financially out of reach for the vast majority. We often never knew what the artist looked like and were shocked to discover years later that is some cases THAT voice belonged to a white guy! In my opinion there has never been a better time as far as accessing, discovering and collecting music is concerned. Time and fading memories can edit out the worst bits and create that longing nostalgia for a golden period that really does only ever exist in our minds- but it's great to cherish them- however accurate they might be. Listening to the music (and of course dancing to it) brings so much joy and pleasure and for just a few minutes we are all 18 again and the arthritis is gone!

Thanks I almost missed this on the schedules!

Amy Winehouse was nothing more than a Motown tribute act. Although I enjoyed her RECORDINGS (her awful live performances were another thing!) I never understood the hype and praise heaped upon her. She was not original by any stretch of imagination. Her image was a Ronettes.Shagri-Las drag act mash up. Most of her music was a straight rip off of well known Motown hits- almost like the Supremes greatest hits and Ashford & Simpson songbook. Why was she adored by the mainstream music journo's? Because of their ignorance of soul music and the legacy of the various soul labels and iconic performers. Their narrow white rock/alternative music knowledge exposed that ignorance. Amy exploited that for all it was worth. I continually pointed out the source of her work to the amazement of friends and colleagues who knew little about soul and r&b music- you know these guys- the ones who think music started with the Beatles "the most influential band in history". They were astounded to hear the blatant rip offs when confronted with the truth! Listen to ANY modern pop singer and you can hear the dominant influence on the singing style of 99% of them is unmistakably soul/r&b. The racism that skews the history of popular music desperately needs to be addressed

C'mon guys you're sounding like a load of grumpy old gits! If a couple of young kids watching Strictly get to hear some northern sounds for the first time and are excited by it and get hooked then it can only be a good thing. It saddens me to see so much negativity elitism and inverted snobbery. There are many ways for people to discover exiting "new" music and find a tribe they identify with and want to belong to. How else does "new blood" join the "scene"? By invitation only? Like The Masons? Someone born in 2001 can hardly be classed as a "johnny come lately" do they have to apologize for being "born too late"? Are you happy for the scene to die out with your generation denying so many kids the chance to feel as we do? So what if it's the result of hearing it on a TV ad, in a movie or on a cheesy (very well produced) TV show.? Can I remind folks that it's no longer 1973 when guys had a bath once a week whether they needed it or not and reality check- 1973 was a pretty crap year for most folks- miners on strike families struggling 3 day week and those power cuts! Thank god it's 2017 we have central heating and the wonder that is the internet. I've been able to discover so much more fantastic music and to connect with like minded people. The rose coloured glasses worn by so many and longing nostalgia for a wonderful time back in 19blahblah really only exists in the heavily edited and very faulty memories of our rapidly ageing bodies along with arthritis and prostate trouble!