Sean Hampsey

Released on 7" 45 and 12" on UK Blue Label Motown circa 1986. Both with Pic Covers. Sean

No - even Dave didn't know about the origins of those. He always said it was a straight rip off! I have most (if not all) of the Canadian ones as well. Pretty much the same design / layout and colour scheme. Sean

Certainly was a regular issue, Ian. I have all the UK Right On releases bought as new issues over the counter (also a full set of UK Demo's). Another great Dave Godin label (as I'm sure you know). Sean

£85 Sean

Beautifully put. I've bought hundreds of records that probably had that exact same sequence of events. An obscure piece of vinyl, the only release on some exotic sounding label... by an unknown artist... ...unmentioned in any of the 'guide books'... unrecognised by those 'in the know'. Curiousity gets the better of you and the money changes hands. Finally... at the journey's end... and when that rare 45 eventually drops through the letterbox and hits my record deck... it becomes very clear... that most of them should have stayed in the second hand shop! Sean

Superb Interview and what a great guy Mr Bell is. I also had the pleasure of interviewing him (over 10 years ago) for the tremendous Soul magazine, Voices From The Shadows. Unfortunately it was around the time of the mags demise and the issue never appeared (we're all still waiting ). I guess the copy (if its not in the bin) is now propping up a desk somewhere near Hull . At the time he revealed quite a bit about his Peachtree setup. Even said he'd bumped into James Fountain to say 'Hi' to on the street only a day or two earlier! Certainly one of my favourite artists. Such an incredible repertoire and yet, I've always found, so very underrated for his huge body of work, over here in the UK. Either way, thanks for the link and for a really excellent piece on a true Soul legend. Sean

Seems to me Beeks you've already been to the Mountain Top. It's pretty much all downhill from Womack, Mayfield & Green IMO... but you'll have a lot of fun (and still come across some blinding records) finding that out for yourself! CD is on its way. Sean

That was my point, exactly, Bob. It's 'kind of' an answer record to CICMM and yet the writers are not credited... Very poor (IMO).... Not the record... the similarity without the credit! Sean

Check the amazing similarity "Make Up My Mind" has with Tyrone Davis' immortal "Can I Change My Mind"... yet the writing credits are different! Mmmmmmm! And by the way - the flipside is "I'm Just Sitting Here Thinking"... on both label releases. Sean

Also on ATCO, Bob Sean

Dee Dee Warwick "Where Is That Rainbow" Mercury. LP & 45 are different versions. Bettye Swann "I Think I'm Falling In Love" (Slow & Fast versions) Also, Lou Pride recently updated his classic "I'm Comin Home In The Morning" to really good effect! Sean

Live and let live is the best motto. FFS it's only an appreciation of Music. We're not saving the world here! The Music is (often) great. It's (a minority of) individuals and their paper thin 'rules', pettiness, one-upmanship, egos and cynicism that screws it all up... sometimes! The 'rights of passage' and 'earning your stripes' crap belongs to some weird cult (or public school environment :-) ). Shouldn't have anything to do with the right to hear and enjoy the music! Got to say, I'm very much on board with some of the things that Baz said (above). I find lots of things, on the scene that I love. I love Soul Music. But a lot of what masquerades as Soul Music on it appalls me... and the 'game playing' I've ofen found totally infantile! I've never made a secret of that. But so what! Opinions are like arseholes - everybody's got one! Live and let live. See the bigger picture and wise up. Hopefully the music will live on and be appreciated when we're all dead and gone (probably in the next 20 years or so for many of us). Life's too short - and it's only Rock N' Roll when all said and done! Sean

Agree. Except when I open me playbox! Sean

Mmmmmmmm that's nice! I've got it somewhere I reckon. Think its on the flip of "Lucky Old Sun" if I'm not mistaken. Don't ever remember playing that side though! Thanks for the tip. Sean

Great stuff Carol. If you get choked up on "Come My Dear" just wait until you hear "Tired Of Falling In And Out Of Love" and "That's How It Is"... both MAGNIFICENT! Good Luck Sean

Have heard it said that the Black one with Silver type is the rarest issue. Sean

There you go! Sean

(missing from list) Tudor 665 Live While You Can / Sometimes You Get It (This has a Black label) Sound Of New Orleans 10241 Bad Luck / You Mean Everything To Me (This has a yellow label) Sean

CD only - released early 2000 in US - CD title is "Testify" on Fuel label - a previously unreleased One-Der-Ful track. Seem to recall it came out in Japan early 90's - certainly I've had it for 10+ years. Oh... and it's Trfiffic! Sean

I'll need to check, Baz. Great record, either way! Cheers Sean

Soldier Coming Home is Cool School 2002 Keep On Holding On is Cool School 2003 Sean

In what way does it differ, Baz? I've had (or still got) both copies. Always thought they were the same. Aren't they? Sean

Like it Dave, overall. Nice, clean, uncluttered feel. Only minor problem, as I see it, is that the artist 'search' is only applicable to the format area that you're in at the one time - as opposed to being 'relational' across all formats. EG: A search on 'Sam Dees' reveals 9 titles in 45's but only 1 title in LP's. A relational database would reveal all 10 titles, so that those looking for everything by a particular artist would see all stock by that one artist in one search. Take a look at how Moerer & Manships work - e.g. try the same search (Sam Dees) from the home page on raresoulman.co.uk and it reveals two pages of material from the one artist across all formats (45's / CD's / LP's etc.). Not a showstopper... but with a bit of tweaking where the search is across the whole site rather than in one section at a time would improve visibility (and therefore, sales) significantly (IMO). Sean

Also came out as "Keep On Holding On" Baz. Same song - Same label. Sean

I've just included it on my "Records I Would Never Sell" Soul Source CD, Dylan. So its kind of... one of the greatest records of all time (IMO). Sean