Sean Hampsey

Anyone who knows Sean will know that this is the BEST post ever on Soul Source     

Nice one Kev!

 

 

Hahaaaaaa! Yes it probably is Steve, I'll give you that... :D

 

The facts are, Tony Rounce, Dean Rudland and Alec Paolo turned up this beauty in Muscle Shoals along with several (actually many) other previously unheard Goldwax gems.

 

Mr Plumb was sent an advance of this initially and made a huge fuss about it, like you would not believe... and very rightly so!

 

It's one of the best things discovered in the past 20 years (IMO).

 

And Steve had the honour!

 

I was the one riding shotgun on this magnificent discovery and was sent a copy to play up at Just Soul etc. where it was very well received.

 

This followed the tracks I was sent initially; Willie Walker 'Runaround', William Bollinger 'I Won't Have To Cry No More' and the magnificent 'One More Hurt' from Candi Staton.

 

The 'Two Willies' 45 came as a result of the heavy, heavy, promotional activity around that time, up at Just Soul and then, some months later, from the eventual release of the CD album 'Steppin' Stone' - a truly wonderful compilation of unreleased goodies.

 

See the review and grab one while you still can!

 

https://www.soul-source.co.uk/articles/soul-news/look-whats-just-out-a-stunning-compilati-r2052

 

Yes, it's over 3 years since these were first broken 'oopt north' and seems like only yesterday.

 

Very exciting times.

 

Totally wonderful music.

 

More please

 

 

Sean

Think I've got a spare. Will check this weekend.

Sean

Mike, it was made for you.

Sean

For a guy who didn't have the greatest voice, he sure made some great records.

Fond memories of 1971 first hearing "Here I Go Again" and blowing my mind to pieces!

Sean

Big pitches tune in 1995. Still have the UK 12 but the solo cd is great period

 

Spot on Dave. Massive PITCHES record!

 

We always played off the CD at the time but I picked up the 12" a few years later via Blake.

 

 

Sean

If you're referring to the Goldsoul book, it was revised and a new edition published in the last 12 months.

 

 

Sean

 

https://www.goldsoul.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=68

 

 

.

You're probably talking about what would have been the last Soul City release had it come out. SC 120 "Since There's No Doubt". It has the same backing track as Total Eclipes on Right On. Jackson was apparentley a bit of a loose cannon. Ended up in a punch up in Soul City record shop and him storming off with unfinished business. It is alleged that he spent his last few nights in London living it up in a Heathrow Hotel before departing back to the US. He told reception staff to charge it all to his 'employer' Soul City records.

Also recorded by Cresa Watson on Charay.

 

 

Sean

 

Carolyn Sullivan on Philips.

 

 

Sean

 

Philately will get you nowhere 

The true collectors come out of the woodwork.

 

If Soul Sam didn't twiddle about with the knobs I'd want my money back...

 

Spent a big part of my DJ career following him... and resetting em (...along with the Pitch control).

 

Gotta love the man.

 

 

Sean

Cheer up Kev.

 

Soon be Saturday

 

 

Sean

Contrary to what some might have thought, it was 'Rare Soul' quite a while before Dave termed the music 'Northern Soul' (from which the term the 'Northern Soul Scene' sprang).

 

See pic of Dave and Alf (with Mr Levine and others) at their first visit to the Mecca 'Rare Soul 71'.

 

I know as a young lad growing up and first getting into the music I was just into SOUL - it was later I became aware of RARE SOUL (certainly the older guys I used to buy lots of records from called it 'Rare Soul'... just so they could charge me more, lol), followed by NORTHERN SOUL a year or two later.

 

Eg; Sam & Dave 'Soul Sister Brown Sugar was Soul, Chubby Checker 'At The Discotheque' was Rare Soul.

 

Junior Walker 'Road Runner' was Soul, Jackie Lee 'Darkest Days' was Rare Soul.

 

At least that's how it was around these parts.

 

 

Sean

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SOUL SERIES        

 

Sapphires Baby You've Got Me Showstoppers Ain't Nothing But A Houseparty SS101    

     

Spencer Wiggins Let's Talk It Over Percy Wiggins Call On Me SS102          

 

Del Larks Job Opening Eddie Parker I'm Gone SS103          

 

Hesitations That's What Love Is Hesitations I'm Not Built That Way SS104        

 

Major Lance Don't Fight It Major Lance Nothing Can Stop Me SS105

 

There you go.

 

 

Sean

Another I've been playing for a good number of years;

 

 

Messiahs Of Glory - Thank You

 

 

Sean

Played this lots over the last few years;

 

 

Universal Jubileers - Childhood Days

 

 

Sean

I sold one a year or so ago for £120

From recollection, this was the first £1,000 Soul record.

 

A truly iconic piece.

 

 

Sean

I included it on a Soul Source CD Swap some years ago.

 

Maybe it came from there into your iTunes Mal C?

 

Agreed, great tune, and a real grower.

 

A Smokey song also done by Mary Wells and the Temptations amongst others.

 

 

Sean

The amount of people that tell me that they love Northern Soul yet can't give me a single title seems to have multiplied in the last few weeks though.....

 

Ian D 

 

Yep - and that's just some folk you meet on the scene Ian

 

But I think you make a good point. It was less in the spotlight in the 80's and 90's than in the 70's and its certainly getting a lot of media attention currently, so it probably is cyclical.

 

I also wonder how much of its 'popularity' is still a North / South thing?

 

In my part of the world, pretty much every second or third person you meet went somewhere at sometime on the scene. I can't imagine that's the case in the more cosmopolitan south.

 

 

Sean

The REAL original Mods consider that their underground scene died when Ready Steady Go started in late 1963 and all the "fighting on the beaches" stuff kicked off at Easter 1964.

 

So this underground v mainstream dilemma ain't nothing new.

 

MB

 

Absolutely right. It was all over the press and even became 'mainstream' to ask people 'Are you a Mod or a Rocker?' - And I was only about nine at the time!

 

Amuses me to think that the next and subsequent generations think that they are somehow part of some elite, clandestine, movement that the man in the street is completely unaware of.

 

They're not.

 

They haven't been for donkeys years.

 

But where the music is concerned, its still the greatest. And no one is going to know everything, so there are will always be a few secrets yet to be unearthed and discovered!

 

Which is what keeps it plenty 'special' enough for me.

 

 

Sean

Hi Ali

 

See you at Just Soul, October 26th, Horse and Groom 20th, or Wilton, November 9th 

 

x

Hope to see you both there.

Might be a very long time before we have another.

Cheers,

Sean

Irish copy here!

 

Green EMI

 

 

Sean

 

 

PS: Great double sider Steve. Played it many a time at Essence over the years.

On 14/09/2013 at 02:07, simon t said:

What records did you put in the box Sean?

 

Good question Simon.

 

Have thought for a while I really ought to do a list...

 

Will add them as I remember, but these are the first that spring to mind, as late as it is :0)

 

 

Dramatics - I Can't Stand It - Capitol (I'd always bought the Dramatics records. And though this was a departure from the stuff they were known for it became the epitome of the Clifton / Cleggy 'modern' stomper).

 

Bobby Patterson - I'm In Love With You - Action (Thought if Poke's 'Lester Thomkins' good gain acceptance this could too!)

 

Brothers Guiding Light - Getting Together - Mercury (Had played it since early 70's, long before the N. Soul scene was ready - but when Larry Houston 'Let's Spend Some Time Together' went big it reminded me of this. It had never really left my playbox so I dug it out and thankfully they loved it)

 

High Fashion - Hold On - Capitol (supplied by the ever reliable Mick Godfrey as was the next 45...)

 

Skip Mahoney - Running From My Love - Abet (Mick sold it, I played it, instant smash)

 

Rhonda Davis - Can You Remember - Duke  (I covered as 'Ann Sexton' for quite a while)

 

Darrell Banks - I'm The One Who Loves You - Stax (Before the end of Wigan, no allnighter would have touched this with a barge pole. It was the Darrell Banks record that collectors 'didn't want' but I flipped it over, loved it and found that Clifton / Cleggy was the perfect environment). Now seen as a 'crossover' classic

 

Stairsteps - I'm The One Who Loves You - UK Buddah LP (Not the Darrell Banks song above but the Curtis Mayfield / Impressions song superbly performed in this album only version I used to play from the UK album). Steve Mannion always appreciated me playing this. A man of great taste!

 

Ronnie Dyson - Lady In Red - Columbia (cost me 35p off Lincoln Market - Talked Crofty into letting me put it into the box and it became a Monster!)

 

Donnie Gerard - He's Always Somewhere Around - Greedy (I covered as Milt Matthews cos it reminded me of his vocal style on 'All These Changes')

 

Detroit Spinners - I'll Be Around - Atlantic (Mr Searling had Doug Parkinson, so I thought I'd dig out the 'Pop - Hit' version). Took some stick at the time but its now an evergreen!

 

LTD - You Must Have Known I Needed Love - A&M

 

LTD - You Come First at Last - A&M (Heard Pat Brady play James Galyn one night at Clifton so was chuffed I had this version on LP - although neither version did much)

 

Joe Simon - Love Look At Us Now - Posse (was never afraid of playing LP tracks at the time. Made good use of that format)

 

Eddie Kendricks - You Can't Stop My Love - Atlantic (reminded me of Gary Glenn so thought it worth a shot... but it really didn't do much. Shame as I thought it had real potential. Had it been on an obscure label... who knows!)

 

Coke Escovedo - I Wouldn't Change A Thing' - Mercury (naivety had me cover this as Johnny Bristol, because he'd written it, but I didnt realise at the time, he'd also recorded it. Another that went big for me at the time and, pleased to say, has endured)

 

Lew Kirton - Heaven In The Afternoon - Alston (Picked this up at a Record Fair for pennies. Took a lot to get it going. Then one night at Clifton Steve G. told me he'd heard 'my Lew Kirton' played elsewhere the week before... and I knew I had a monster on my hands!!) Still took another few months in all honesty and these days I can hardly listen to it, but it is certainly an acknowledged classic of the time.

 

Whispers - Gonna Love You More - Solar  (I covered this as 'Leon (Sylvers) & The Whispers... just for the craic! - thankfully it was superbly received! -  But the irony, I played a ten bob LP track covered up for several months and, years later, it transpires the track is actually an incredibly scarce 45)

 

Stargard - I'll Always Love You - MCA (Great track. Hammered it, but it never really took off. Shame. Very soulful record).

 

Shirley Brown - Crowding on My Mind - Stax (Perfect pace for Cleggy and fabulous vocals)

 

Gene Page - Love Starts After Dark - Arista (Brought to me to craft into an 'After Dark' anthem by the lovely Richard Broughton)

 

Cut Glass - Alive With Love - 20th Century (Flipped over the DISCO tune 'Without Your Love' and found a surefire winner for Cleggy!)

 

Detroit Spinners - Cant Shake This Feeling - Atlantic (Theres a story here...) Actually, quite a scarce record it would seem...

 

Spencer Wiggins - Take Time To Love Your Woman - Sounds Of Memphis (Thought if Wilson Pickett 'How Will I Ever Know' could make it, this southern midtempo growler could do likewise - how wrong I was... Took me a good while to get off the ground, but very pleased I made the effort)

 

Ujima - I'm Not Ready - Epic (Had been a brief Mecca spin, but Nighters ignored it in '75 - At Clifton & Cleggy I felt its time had come... and I was right!)

 

Silk - Call Me - RCA (Never did much...)

 

Norman Connors - Take It To The Limit - Arista (I bought from Alex Denham and broke at Clifton Hall. Went huge - and then everyone (including Richard) started playing it. Became a Clifton Anthem)

 

Eddie Billups - Shake Off That Dream - 77 (another brief Mecca spin that hadn't seen 'Nighter' action until Clifton / Cleggy)

 

Bill Harris - Am I Cold Am I Hot - RCA (Bought and played this as another new release. Had been another Mecca tune that hadn't made the N. Soul Nighter scene. Was surprised to find that fellow Cleggy DJ Chris Dalton also had it in his playbox one night so the two of us commited to make it a monster, (which it surely wasn't until then) and by hook and by crook we did!

 

Stanley Clarke - Straight To The Top - Epic - Straight off the release sheets a brand new release that the crowd took to immediately.

 

Grey & Hanks - Love's In Command - RCA

 

Inner Life - Caught Up In A One Night Love Affair - Prelude

 

Walter Jenkins - Back In My Life - Fader Kat (Fingersnapper that worked really well for me at Rotherham Windmill but was a floor clearer at the nighter!)

 

Debbie Taylor - Just Don't Pay - Arista (I'd bought some years earlier for the flipside, but thought this side had that 'Independent Woman' feel so I played 'em back to back. Another that took an age to get of the ground, but persistance pays with records of this quality)

 

Alvarez - Sooner Or Later - Polydor

 

Purple Mundi - Stop Hurting Me Baby - Cat (folk said this was too slow for Cleggy, but it did gain quite a following)

 

Jerry Jackson - It's Rough Out There (a 'collectors' record I bought from my old friend Matchie for a quid in 1975. A UK Cameo Parkway record that nobody was interested in, because of the tempo. I played the pants off it and cleared dancefloors for many years until it eventually broke through for me at the Windmill and Clifton Hall in Rotherham.

 

Family Circle - I Hope You Really Love Me - Sky Disc

 

Ruby Wilson - The Feelings Still There - Malaco

 

Lorraine Johnson - The More I Get The More I Want - Prelude

 

Terry Callier - Ordinary Joe - Elektra LP

 

Al Johnson - School Of The Groove - Columbia

 

Whispers - I Got A Feeling - Soul Train

 

GQ - Make My Dreams A Reality - Arista

 

Bill Williams - Things Will Be Better Tomorrow - WCM

 

Samona Cooke - Subway - Epic

 

Jerri Richard - Goin' Away - Royal Shield

 

Don Gardner - We're Gonna Make It Big - Master Five

 

Tommy Rodgers - I'll Tell It To The Wind - AJP

 

Jackie Moore - Do Ya Got What it Takes - CBS

 

Creative Source - You're Too Good To Be True - Sussex (Bobby Miller C/U)

 

Jack Montgomery - Dear Beloved - Scepter

 

Minnie Jones - Shadow Of A Memory - Sugar

 

Mel & Tim - I May Not Be What You Want - Stax

 

Quotations - I Don't Have To Worry - DiVenus

 

Dynamics - You'll Never Find A Man Like Me - Black Gold (LP track)

 

Three Degrees - Lonely Town - Roulette (later to be 'discovered' by Tammi Terrell)

 

Chosen Few - Birth Of A Playboy - Canyon (Rex Garvin C/U)

 

Larry Davis - The Magic Is Gone - Decca (Sunny & The Sunliners C/U)

 

Jimmy Ellis - Puttin It On Your Mind - Salem (Roscoe Shelron C/U)

 

Masqueraders - I Aint Gonna Stop - AGP (Mel Britt C/U)

 

Derek Martin - If You Go - Sue (George Blackwell C/U)

 

Otis Clay - Show Place - One-Der-Ful (Jimmy Burns C/U)

 

Cole Bros - Make Yourself Ready - Jamie (Cecil Washington C/U)

 

Brainstorm - We're On Our way Home - Tabu (What I always thought was a very fitting ender)

 

They're the first few that come top of brain.

 

 

Plus I always shared with Steve loads of the stuff we all (Clifton & Cleggy DJ's) seemed to be playing and had a hand in promoting at the time; Most he would never have bought himself, the tight old begger, lol

 

Quick list comes to mind:

 

Luckey Davis - Its Not Where You Start - Highland

 

Jay W McGee - Over & Over - Scorpio LP

 

Niteflyte - All About Love - Ariola

 

Charles Johnson - Never Had A Love So Good - Alston

 

Otis Clay - The Only Way Is Up - Echo

 

Charles Sherrel - Things That You Do For Love - Muscle

 

Jan Jones - Independent Woman - Daywood

 

Johnny Scott - Let Me Be A Winner - Portra

 

Greg Perry - It Takes Heart - Alfa

 

Johnny Bristol - Love No Longer Has A Hold On Me - Handshake

 

Keni Burke - Let Somebody Love You - RCA

 

Tony Fox - Love Let Loved - Blaster

 

Pretenders - Just Be Yourself - Carnival

 

Willie Darrington - Never Should Have Walked Away - Rav

 

Sharon Henderson - Inside Of Me - Melody World

 

Mighty Fire - Sweet Fire - A&M (sooooo rare on 45)

 

Bobby King - If You Don't Want My Love - WB

 

Patches - I'm Gonna Make This World a Better Place - Phax

 

Reuben Howell - Can't Stop A Man In Love - Motown

 

OT Sykes - Stone Crush - Fun City

 

High Frequency - Summertime - NIA

 

Cheryl Berdell - Giving It All To You - EMT

 

Charles Mann - Sho Nuff - LA

 

Revelation - Feel It - Handshake

 

ZZ & CO - Getting Ready For The Get Down - Columbus

 

Larry Brown - Breaking Training - Fireworks

 

Dee Edwards - Once You Give It Up - Morning Glory

 

Bileo - You Can Win - MTU Watts City

 

Rideout - Someone Special

 

Dustin Wilson - Have Some Sympathy - Judas

 

Atlantic Starr - Circles - A&M

 

Bobby Womack - So Many Sides Of You - Motown

 

Sunfire - Step In The Light - Capitol

 

Phillip Mitchell - I'm So Happy - Atlantic

 

Jewel - Paradise - Jewel Productions

 

Billy Nichols - Diamond Ring - West End

 

George Jackson - A Little Extra Stroke - Happy Hooker

 

Charles Mann - Sho Nuff No Funny Stuff Love - LA

 

Dells - Your Song - 20th Century etc.

 

Most of those were huge, with a number of DJ's playing 'em.

 

 

For Steves part he came up with these to share:

 

Cognac - How High

 

Finished Touch - The Down Sound - Motown

 

Billy Preston & Syreeta  - Go For It - Motown

 

Mandrill - My Kind Of Girl - Arista

 

Rufus - Any Love - MCA

 

Annis - Don't Play Your Games - GTO

 

Gil Scott Heron - Lady Day & John Coltrane - Flying Dutchman

 

Moment Of Truth - Loving You Is Killing Me - Salsoul

 

Kelly Garrett - Love Is The Only Answer - Smash

 

...amongst others...... that I will add as they come to mind.

 

Interesting times with a fairly rapid turnover of tunes. The whole period, post-Wigan / pre-Stafford seems so poorly represented and largely undocumented 30 + years on. I think that Steve Croft and Alan Senior (and the DJ's that worked for them, lol) kept it all together during those years, creating the environment for other 'open minded' venues (Morecambe etc) to come along in the wake.

 

Hope a few more tracks will come to me in the night... The old Grey Matter aint what it was, but I need some sleep :0)

 

Wonder if Steve has a copy of the few reviews I did at the time in his wonderful Blackbeat mag? Might fill in a few gaps.

 

 

Sean