Sean Hampsey

And I would say that you are very much misinformed. Sean

Aha! Was gonna mention "Modernism" Martin, but felt it wasn't quite what Steve was looking for. So, will the new place have more of an 'Orwellian' Policy? i.e. 'Crossover' & 70's? RSVP Sean

First = Sam Cooke "Another Saturday Night" RCA Last = Charnessa & The Charmettes "Personal Woman" ATCO Sean Hampsey

Sod it, no other takers... so I couldn't resist it! Best gig I've been to in a long while that fits into this category is the "Crown Inn" in Spondon, Nr Derby. Colin Brown, Brian Goucher and Fish are the regular DJ's with guests, recently including "Tats" Taylor, Mark Houghton and Steve Guanori amongst others. Music Policy is Top Drawer. Heard down there such soulful diversity (oooh! great name for a Soul Night - hands off...will contact my patent lawyer right away) "Satisfaction Unlimited" "Henry Jackson" "M J Wade" "William Bell - Relax" "O'Jays - Hold On" and various recent release SOUL records. I've waxed lyrical about this gig before on here. Tight Back Room, Proper Stage, Nice Dancefloor, Adequate seating... just not enough bodies in the place. You'd get the impression that the Soul Scene in the UK consists of no more than 50 people... yet this is a 'World Class' lineup playing the very best in recently discovered Rare Soul alongside unplayed, underplayed and forgotten oldies. The "Red Lion" in Todwick, Nr Sheffield is another worth a mention. Great location (adj Junc 31 M1) Superb quality venue, enthusiastic regular DJ's with Guests recently including Adam, Cliff Steele, Tats Taylor, John Benson, Kev Briscoe, Roger Williams, Fish, Dean, Mark Randle and Yours Truly twice this year! It's held on the second Friday every month and in truth it's more of a 'Modern' event but they mix it with an alternate 70's only night which also packs them in and keeps the crowd happy. The "Without Boundaries" event, Coors Museum, Burton on Trent, I guess fits into this category - depending on who's guesting. The next one has a mouthwatering lineup, as I'm sure you're aware, with Soul Sam, Colin Curtis, Arthur Fenn, Steve Guanori, Fish, Mark Randle, Paul Phillips, Adam, Colin Brown and Brian the Gouch! I DJ'd there a couple of months ago along with Bob Cosby and co and got away with a totally 'across the board - mixed bag' set whereas Bob played an exclusively Crossover set (as you might imagine) to critical acclaim. So the Midlands has it all going on Steve. Don't know about the rest of Blighty though. Oh, and apparently Soul has returned to Wigan in recent times, or so they tell me. Good old Russ! The Poser Man

Don't get me going Steve. Where were you when I needed you on the "thirst for more" thread? "Connoisseurs Northern" indeed. The Poser Man

Simon, you are a Gentleman. I'll even give you a lift down there if you're up for it. An absolute pleasure mate. Sean

Best he tells you himself I think mate. He'll be along soon on this page, I'm sure! Cheers Sean

Fair comment Simon. I didn't realise we'd been talking about "hardcore 6t's NS" only on this thread. Does that still have much of a following? I joke . Interesting perception on Soul Essence though, seeing as many popular records of the past 10 years were first made big at Yarmouth and apart from the top drawer DJ lineup (inc Soul Sam, Arthur Fenn, Steve Plumb, Gavin Page etc) other 'never miss' visitors include Butch, Andy Dyson, Chalky, John Manship, Ian Clark and other 'Northern Soul' scene regulars. Ask Soul Sam what's his biggest and best gig in the calendar. You want full on and sweaty. Trust me. There's NO atmosphere like that Yarmouth dancefloor... and I've been going to NS gigs since 1972. You want full on and sweaty. Stand next to Tats Taylor on the Soul Essence dancefloor when Cozzer drops Vivian Reed. The 'fervour' will knock you off your feet. As for the horse analogy... I always found that you can make them drink...if you first put salt in their oats! Sean https://www.soul-essence.co.uk/ Added the link. See for yourself from the comfort of your own home or office. Great this new technology stuff!

Welcome to the club then Roccia. (I've got a basement FULL and still want more!). By the way, didn't our mutual friend Mr Burton warn you about Martha Reeves? You'll have even less money if she does for you what she did for Malc... some 25 years ago! He's still not fully recovered. Sean

OK Roccia, I'm glad your do's are going well. I don't know the above people mentioned personally (except for my 'very' old and dear friend Malc Burton) but I don't feel compelled to take a survey in any case. What's more, I'm sure you can have a really good night on original vinyl only, after all, the UK scene did it for decades... ... but I believe you'll miss out on a whole bunch of great music along the way if you bind yourselves to the one, very restrictive, format. Suggest that you (or anyone else) might visit Soul Essence (Yarmouth) and see how well the Mixed and Multi Media playlist works there (if you haven't already). Gloves off! Truly Across The Board SOUL....... 60's, 70's 80's 90's, Y2K, Acetates, Vinyl, Rarities, Exclusives, Cheapies, CD's, LP's, 12".... the whole SOULFUL nine yards. The best night on the planet (IMO)... and what's more... ... Its the Future. And I've Tasted it! Sean PS: Malc tells me that he had a real good time in Italy. I do hope you that had him in bed by 8.00pm and that his snoring didn't keep all you young people awake.

Aha! So it's not that you want to play / hear the tunes 'not on CD'. And its not that you want to play / hear the tunes 'on vinyl'. It's that you only want to play / hear the tunes only on 'ORIGINAL ' vinyl. Fine policy... if you want to setback your relatively embryonic Soul Scene in Italy... by just a few decades. Borders on the tragic! Sean

So would I, because I collect vinyl, but as a DJ what do I do if I become aware of a great track on CD only, that needs promoting / plugging? Leave it? No way. I don't believe CD's are any more 'corporate' than vinyl. It's just another effective media for 'carrying' and broadcasting music. That said, there's a definite swing back to vinyl throughout the industry. The Record Corps have recognised that if they can re-educate the Music Buying public to "own" music rather than just download or stream it then sales should increase and piracy reduce (well that's the theory!). Be interesting to know though how many people on here have bought the incredible series of 7"s from Gary Capes / John anderson's Grapevine 2000 etc. where real, high quality rarities are made legally available and pressed up on vinyl. Furthermore how many DJ's would play 'em! So come on you 'vinyl only' stalwarts.....how many have you got? Sean

If you don't mind the abuse you'll probably get (if you spend less than a grand) Rich Rosen has a few thousand rare (and expensive) 45's & LP's. But, just further along the road from him at the crossroads there's a superb shop (forget the name) full of cheap LP's. Sean

Far too many Great Tunes issued as CD only to leave 'em out! I can still hardly believe that there are Soul venues out there that don't have CD decks (never mind going as far as having a 'Vinyl Only' policy!). I turned up at a venue less than a year ago and the promoter specifically booked me cos he new what I did and 'wanted some newer stuff' When I got there, no CD decks! What year is it? Unbelievable. CD's have been commercialy available for 15+ years, but it seems to me that many on the scene still haven't grasped it yet. Just bloody Unbelievable. Fortunately I'd got 2 boxes of that old shit on vinyl with me. Sean

Thanks for the tip Dave. Onto it! Sean

Yes it was... and played, pitched up a few notches, on Acetate. As was.....Epitome of Sound "You Don't Love Me" a.k.a. Moses Smith As Was.... Ann Perry "Circulate" from 33rpm to 45 rpm!!! As Was... about half of everything played at half of the venues I've been to in the past god knows how many years! You want to buy / collect original vinyl, file it, admire it, love it, play it in it's original untouched format... then fine, do it in the complete privacy of your own home (I do). But I also know DJ's who've got the skill, can drop it on a Wav File, Up the tempo, Add the Bass, Reduce the Pitch, cut the CD (or Platter), tweak it, mix it and actually improve the sound of something that otherwise we might not get to hear! Even as a vinyl junkie and a Soul Music collector of 37 or so years I really don't get too uptight about speeds, formats and media. I just want to hear music, whether pure or adjusted, jacked up or down on any format... vinyl, CD, mp3 or Sky Digital. Hey, after all said and done... to each his own. It's only Rock N' Roll! Sean

Our friend Mr Levine was doing that 30+ years ago. Magnificent Montague, Jimmy Bishop, Sly Stone, Fat Daddy, John Richbourg etc. all made a better fist of it though! Sean

Thanks Dave, And a Flipside too! Not heard it. Is it good? Girth had recently at a tenner! Do I Buy? Sean

I've got the cream one Dave. Never seen the yellow one! Sean

Been covered a couple of times on here Stevie, and consensus tends to be that many (punter / collectors) don't really approve, but I happen to feel that there are DJ's out there who actually use Pitch control to good effect. Steve Plumb has used it on certain tuneage in the past... and so have I. On the other hand it can be used in the extreme. Every time I've followed Sam (many times over the years) I've noticed that he has both decks pitched at +3 or +2 throughout his entire spot. The crowd though don't notice. They just get breathless (which normally results in a satisfying set and a round of applause). I wouldn't touch most of my playlist but if you've got a good flow going on the floor, you want a good blend or transition and you really want to drop a particular tune before the end of your spot it can be a very useful tool. That's why I think it's there. But in the wrong hands I recognise it can be quite dangerous. Like most things... it's good in moderation! Sean

Yes, I take your point... the occasion did get to both of us.... and I even managed to squeeze in "Build Me Up Buttercup" on the night for all the Mums & Aunty Doris's... but the biggest Tit on the night was the lovable Dean... who managed to play the same record (Nina Simone - My Baby Just Cares For Me) twice inside 10 minutes! Priceless. Sean

If that's the case, Rod, you'll love my Double Decking Partner "Tats" Taylor. A fine pair! Sean

You are sooooo right Blake! And yer not too bad yerself Darlin' Sean

Good Taste - An ear for a tune! Ability to put a set together - Presentation Skills & Diversity in the Playlist Personality - No Deadbeats! And at the end of the day, there's no substitute for experience! Collectors who 'just play records' and call that entertainment leave me cold.... and the dancefloor empty. IMO Sean

Still waiting on me Chris! They've been sat on my desk for about 10 days, but I deliberately soft peddled on sending them out because they were coming so thick and fast. Should have got them out earlier though, cos since I did mine 4-5 of the tracks on there have appeared on some of the other CD's from the other guys... (even though I put my list up on here three weeks ago :angry: ). Never mind eh! They'll be out before the weekend. Agree on the quality though. Quite a few things I'd not got or heard before and a bit overwhelming when they all come at once! A nice problem to have, for a change, I guess. Sean