Sean Hampsey

I thought that went without saying Roger. Sean

Great tune Mark. Took a copy to Wigan in 74 / 75 and tried to get Richard and Co to play it. They thought I was having a laugh... 'far too funky' To be fair, it was probably way ahead of it's time. But it's 'so right for now!' Sean

Good thread! Always felt that a lot of the stuff around in the early 'Modern' scene and the late 80's / early 90's would resurface and perhaps even cross over onto the 'Northern' scene. In some cases they have... i.e. Al Mason "Good Lovin"... but by and large, apart from the 'evergreens' the majority of modern sides were always destined to fall by the wayside for the reasons you cited, mainly that 'Modern' DJ's generally have a quest to be first with the 'next' big tune. I'd love to see the reaction at a Northern night to some of the following, underplayed Modern 'monsters' from a bygone age. Niteflyte "All About love" Leon Ware "What's Your Name" Leroy Hutson "Love Oh Love" Randy Brown "Love Be With You" Loleatta Holloway "Dreamin'" Anthony White "Hey Baby" Whispers "Gonna Love You More" Philip Mitchell "In Her Own Way" Ronnie Dyson "I Want To Be Where You Are" Little Anthony "Love Was Born For Me" Little Reuben "In The Name Of Loneliness" Brothers Gilmore "I Feel A Song" All Soulful uptempo thumpers. Equally, it would be interesting to see how these more midtempo things might be received:- Cheryl Hunter "Make Good Love To Me" Denise Lasalle "Here I Am Again" Mary Love "Sandbox" 100 Proof "Don't You Wake Me" Goldie Alexander "Go Back" In recent years we've seen Modern 'Standards' such as Ace Spectrum, Jan Jones, Corey Blake, Carl Hall, Innersection, Channel 3, Bettye Swann, Futures, Aretha "Integrity" etc becoming big 'Northern' tunes and most, if not all of the above (all but forgotten tunes) would give those particular titles a run for their money! It still amuses (yet depresses) me when those who rate James Fountain / Ann Sexton / Voices of East Harlem / Bobby Hutton / Anderson Bros etc 'because they are 'Northern' classics' pour scorn on 70's / Modern soul. I'm pretty sure that most 'Northern' fans would embrace more 'Modern' (as in non 60's) tracks if they were to able to hear the quality of some of the 'discarded treasures' above, played out. The challenge is that some 'Modern' DJ's don't really know the good stuff from the bad and can't discern a good 'Soul' record from a good 'dance' record. I've been to some 'Modern' nights and can easily see why some 'Northern SOUL' fans might be put off. As a Soul fan (first and foremost) I've never really cared when a record was made. In the 60's I bought 60's soul. In the 70's I bought 70's & 60's soul. In the 80's, I bought 80's, 70's and 60's Soul and so on to this day... where I still buy and play current and 'historic' soul music. Never done me any harm... but I've always given Modern 'Dance' records just as wide a birth as I did the 60's 'pop' stompers of 30 (ish) years ago. Sorry. I ramble. If the cream truly rises to the top, then the best of the bunch will/should eventually find their way back onto playlists, sometime along the way. Sean

Yes it was The Phoenix. We were forced to move (by demand) to a venue with a later license (from midnight - 1.00am). Left PITCHES behind and moved, 2 miles closer to the M1, to the Phoenix. The capacity there was huge and though we continued breaking tunes and breaking down the barriers the electric atmosphere was hard to recreate in such a large venue. We did our last gig there Dec 1998 and turned the lights off as we left the room. Never forget the look on everyone's faces that night. A bit like this... only worse. Sean

Yes he did! Forgot his name but he's a pal of Rich Rosen, in Vegas (and sells stuff for RR on ebay). Dealt with him a good few times over the years.. damned if i can remember his name. The owner of Grand Prix passed away and he bought the lot at the deceased owners, wifes, yard sale. Stack of Joe Kings and Royal Esquires, amongst others, in the lot, by all accounts. sean

Quite true. Incidentally, I always felt that Track 5 had real potential... but don't ever recall hearing it played out, other than at Thorne. Sean

That seems more like it! Luvverly tune... but it was always a Low - Mid price item! Great lyrics, I always thought... and so true! Sean

Steady on Kirsty, when I was younger I always looked older.... but now I'm really old I reckon I look half my age! Cleethorpes '97 would figure right Kirsty. Was trying to give up smoking, to please the Missus, around that time. Failed miserably though. Still a 30 a day man... and I gave up the Missus instead! Sean x

I think that's right Gareth 2,3. 5 unissued previously. All others on 45. I do have track 3 on a 45 though, by Keisa Brown on Little Star, which I think credits H B Barnum as writer, though he is not credited on the LP (if my memory serves me right). Sean

Old Clifton Hall spin for Pat Brady (who always played crackin' stuff at the time). Luvverly tune! Sean

Thanks to those nice people at Hyde Park in Chicago... I now have this record! Arrived this morning. Many thanks Andrew! Will call you back soon. Sean

Which bit? The bit that Tim Brown found it? Well I never. Didn't realise it was around in 1980. Sean

Yeh... when that Bully Boy gets something in his head, it's hard to restrain him! I was there when Bully first heard The Gouch play this record. All he could talk about on the way home was "Henry Jackson" on Truth.... and I swear at one point he started speaking in tongues! It truly was a Religious experience! Hallelujah! Sean

I was at that all dayer in Yarmouth. From memory, I think it was held at "Tiffs". Must have been around 74, an Inter City Soul Club event. It even had a "Deep Soul" room where I spent several blissful hours. The Bald guy was John "Kojak" Harvey. Boy, I bought some cracking tunes off him that day! Music policy was awesome... Thanks for the memory! Sean

Just 3 nights, infact, Karen. We were going to go to Dublin for a few days but the Hotel I wanted to stay in (The Shelbourne) is undergoing a refurb, so I opted for my other fave Hotel, in Lanza. Spent the night at Weetwood Hall in Leeds on Wedenesday, my Birthday night, (Luvverly). Four Poster Bed and everythang! Flew from Leeds / Bradford on Thursday morning leaving the Gale force winds and rain behind us. Weather was mighty fine over there for the time of year. I work for myself so am more inclined to snatch regular quick breaks and long weekends rather than book a fortnight off at a time. Back to the grindstone now though! Sean

Hey Chalky, Been looking out for somewhere "just down the road from you" for a while. Wonder where that might be? BTW... Certainly, PITCHES was the first venue to use the phrase "Across The Board" in its publicity. ...Not the last though eh? Sean

Was in Lanzarote Malc. Got a bit of colour in me 'cheeks' and just got back into Leeds / Bradford at 8.00 tonight. Had a Ball! Cold here innit? Sean

Yes you did Derek. I'll dig 'em out and put up the playlists some time this week! Sean

Ditto Eddie. Hope you had a cracker! Sean

Yes, it was THE No 1 place during its time... But, does lightning ever strike twice Bull? We've talked about it a time or two. But timing is everything! Who knows what the future holds. Sean

Yes you did Gavin, at our "Yarmouth Comes To Yorkshire" events! Wicked sets too... as per.... Can't wait for Yorkshire to hit Yarmouth again tho' C U then mate! Sean

Thanks Trev And Mrs Norman Maine. It was a special venue, no doubt, and myself and the other guys, Tats Taylor, Kev Briscoe and John Benson always aimed to deliver a truly "across the board" playlist. Derek Pearson often featured PITCHES in his mag (as did Spike in Echoes), with all the playlists at the time. It would be good if he could post 'em up just to see how many 'PITCHES' sounds are either still around or went on to become 'big' beyond the venue itself. I'd dig 'em out and do it myself but I'm off, now, to celebrate me birfday... in the Sun! TTFN Sean

Nice one Paul, You should have known to pm Paul in the first place Tone! Sean

Good stuff! Oh and Happy (joint) Birthday Martin! Sean

Cheers Mate, And Happy Birthday to your daughter! I must admit........... I stayed up until midnight to open my cards too! Sean