soulfulsaint

John gave me this EMI disc cut from Popcorn's 'Down in the Dumps' master tapes. Its got the old Soul Bowl logo and the address is from Portland Street before he moved to the farm. Must be from around '75-'76 ended up on the Grapevine LP but prefer the Soul Bowl EMI just for the memories.

Such sad news. I owe John a lot. He was not just a great dealer but a man with limitless knowledge of independent soul. Spent many memorable times at Soul Bowl and remember wild drunken nights too. John and his wife missed Scotland dearly and I always arrived armed with Tunnocks tea-cakes and Irn Bru. When I was heading off to USA as a student he often gave me places to go and some people to contact. He loved the 'northern soul' scene but loved winding it up too. I remember asking for his Top Ten to publish in 'Echoes' and wilfully he gave me ten James Brown 'B' sides, all deep ballads, even although he was sitting on the best collection of rare soul ever. Any information on funeral plans greatly appreciated.

I recently had a conversation with Guy Hennigan and we discussed at length the youth clubs that once fed the rare soul scene, they were often highly local, mid-week and ignited peoples' passion long before they were old enough to travel to the big all-nighters. Some youth clubs are periodically mentioned in other threads but I'm trying to gauge how many there were, and how important they were to the evolution of the scene. So - what was the youth club that you attended before all-nighters and what is the record you most associate with those times. For me it was Letham Community Centre in Perth in Scotland and the track I still love is Jackie Wilson's 'Since You Showed Me How to Be happy' (Brunswick). Many of the records will not be hugely rare but that's partly the point. So place, era and record please?

So sad to hear of your passing Dean. We lost touch as our lives went in different directions but I shared your passion and you always had an opinion, which is the true candle of life. Stay in touch all my love and respect. Cos

Should have been clearer that Junior worked in an aluminum manufacturing plant

I had always believed it was cancer and although I have no evidence to connect the two - his work place was pretty dire and he was regularly exposed to aluminum dust and coal-tar byproducts. The American union movement have pursued some firms for cancer related deaths especially and lung and bladder cancers and respiratory diseases too. But linking his workplace and his death are entirely my assumptions with limited proof. Not been able to track family either. Stuart Cosgrove

I appreciate your kind words and support Dave. Coming from the scene that matters a lot to me.

James Wells 'Baby I'm Still the Same Man'

Listening now Pete. Like you say I had forgotten how many tracks had been released. Some of these are new to me and as the wee cat said to the bowl of milk - lapping it up.

Read in a Billboard that in 1972 her album was on heavy rotation on only one radio station in USA - WHUR Washington DC. Back then it was the student radio station of Howard University, where Donald Byrd was professor of jazz studies. But for only one station to play her across the whole of the USA is a scandal.

My only minor addition is that JM's site is a save haven and less risky than eBay so it sells as a premium to the market, but you get what you bid on (if you win).

Hi Phil, Just came back to this thread and saw your comment. I was at Black Echoes in the electro era. A package came in from North Carolina with a 12" vocoder dance record - by the Garrett Crew, they had packed the 12" with 3 copies of Glenda McLeod. I rang the company who had already gone bust and were setting up an Amusement Arcade. So for a few weeks I had all three copies, gave one to Ian Clark (100 Club) and another to Dave Thorley (Stafford) and kept the other which I still have. Not claiming there are only three first issues as I simply don't know but not many around. Ironically, the vocoder 12" which I hated is supposedly big on the German electro scene. Great thread Simon.

Big achievement lasted longer than most clubs, fanzines, record labels et al. Cheers Mike - Stuart

Starting to show up in shops already - a month early. Kindle is already avaliable as is iBooks https://www.amazon.co.uk/Detroit-67-Year-That-Changed-ebook/dp/B00TTBKCNQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1425046744&sr=1-1&keywords=detroit+67 Anyone who has any problems sourcing via any mechanism please pm me as it helps me to sort.

snakepit - spoke to waterstones and working with their distributors to include in their inventory but Waterstones already have the book online as a pre-release, either deliverd or avaliable as click and collect at shops. https://www.waterstones.com/book/detroit-67/cosgrove-stuart/9780993107511

The Amazon blurb says: "It’s January 1967–and one of the worst snowstorms in decades is blanketing Detroit, Michigan. Berry Gordy, owner of Motown Records, is trapped in his home, unable to do anything about the internal war ravaging his most successful group, The Supremes. Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, and Florence Ballard are imploding as Ballard battles alcoholism and the aftermath of rape. But soon, even more chaos will descend on Detroit. As the year heats up, melting the snow, Gordy and his city face one of the most challenging periods of its existence. Experience twelve turbulent months, in twelve chapters, as rising crime, the Vietnam War, underground rock counterculture, and race riots alter the face of Detroit and force soul music studios to shutter their windows. The death toll escalates as Detroit brings its dead home from the jungles of Vietnam–many of them young men from the Motown generation. Live the year of crisis that follows the deterioration of its main characters and twists them into a full-scale legal dispute, potentially unraveling the city’s very heart and soul. Every city has its scars, and every scar has its story. Detroit 67 is the passionate history of Detroit’s darkest periods in the modern era

Sunnysoul. Fair point. Yes you are right but the book focuses on the legal implosions of 1967 which in the November of that year led to a dramatic legal dispute with Holland-Dozier Holland, Florence Ballard and subsequently Gladys Knight and others....You are very generous to the LA experience. But you are right I should have written "personal and legal disputes that negatively impacted on Motown." Dramatic licence. A bit like 'My Baby Must be a Magician' by The Marvelettes I don't think they were dating Penn and Teller

No but we have a searing drama set against the backdrop of 1970s Wigan in which old men look back on records they wished they'd bought - its called 'Come Whine With Me'.

...for the avoidance of doubt no such show is currently being planned by Channel 4 and since it would appeal largely to old down-market males it would be a commercial mistake.

Sadly Gil's father passed away about six months ago. He was living in Michigan and still obsessed with Scottish football. According to Gil's brother he was banned from Michigan School's Soccer Games for swearing from the side of the pitch, a habit he picked up in Glasgow. He married a Scots woman he met in Glasgow, who became Gil's step-mother. Gil's dad Giles played for a Chicago team called the Chicago Maroons who Celtic played in a pre-season tour of USA and Canada in around 1948. Gil played for Celtic with the legendary clown prince of football Charlie Tully. I agree 'Almost Lost Detroit' brilliant. First heard 'The Bottle' at Blue Rooms Sale - courtesy of Curtis and Levine. Epic

My copy of Ronnie McNeir 'Sitting in My Class' (Deto DS 2878) has a slight click in the first 45 secs. It drives me mad. But the B side 'Isn't She a Pretty Girl is flawless and mint, so when I get depressed by the A side I reassure myself that the B side is better. So I do own it but if I had to replace it for mint-copy then I'm not sure I would (or easily could).

Here is an extract from a feature I wrote in today's Times in Scotland (Ecosse). Its a new twist on Frank Wilson saga, and came about after the editor had attended a soul night at the Woodside in Glasgow, when Adny Dyson and Chalky were at the decks. She asked me to make sense of the fuss about Frank Wilson with a specifically Scottish angle. So here it it. (Chalky I owe you an agent's fee) Art and Soul ....."Both are driven by collectors who are fixated by rarity, authenticity and the provenance of their collections. So far both have also resisted the pressure of recession and the value of collections has either increased or held strong. Words such as "rare", "original" and "limited edition" exist in both communities. Respected dealers exist in both worlds and auctions are a familiar mode of transaction. Art and soul share a culture where fakes, bootlegs and shady attempts to replicate the look of original works are not uncommon. Here is the full article. Those that think it sometimes tips towards pretension should remember that I went to the Mecca a lot. https://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/c...icle5732973.ece Cheers Stuart Cosgrove

It isn't by any stretch a great record although it is a rare won. Lester and Leslie Tipton were Detroit's best dancers and appeared on local TV on the Swingin Time Show. They reached their height mid-60s when they won two pontaics on a national TV dance contest and returned to Detorit as local celebs. I think La Beat recorded Lester Tipton almost as a novelty act. In my personal opinion, its a pretty messy record for the time, and for the city. It wouldn't be in my Top 100 Detroit. But hey its still a dobber. I am a trusting soul and believe Brad's 'reported versions'. I have bought several records of him, one that had come from a clear out of a 70s Detroit singer, and the other which was a 12" from Stanley Mitchell, which is a good modern sound but I bought for a mxture of nostalgia and curioisity. My only regret before his shop was burnt is that I couldn't spend three days just searching through old Motown.

I happily signed it ridiculous desicion - great Dj and king rarities at the time too. Casanova was never his best but as Ian D will confirm quite common for new obscurities to get played then, and for them to get pressed in quantity and even chart.

Your right I've been told its by Sir Wales Walsall.