Chris L

I asked Chris Bartley this question, he said is was Tony Talent & Van McCoys brother on that LP, when we played it he didn't recognise the tunes. Chris said that all the stuff he'd recorded with McCoy was either released in the 60T's or was now available on CDs. Chris L

On a pure personal, eog tripping, selfish, the big I AM, having filmed and recorded some of the artists it really was a knock to get to meet them, during the Tempos filming we were all in tears, these guys had no idea that their songs had been released even in the US. Their 60T's stories enraptured us, one helter skelter lifestyle, a miracle they were still alive, of course many are no not, I'm so glad the're on film, for as bad as Bobby Sheen was (and trust me he was bad, mad & frecked up) at the end of the night when we were sitting around talking and he pulled out his Capitol records recording schedule and he got to tell about a typical day his his life during the 60T's it was a moment to cherish.

Of course you can never beat the orignal studio recordings, these you have to see as an oppertunity to get a peek at the artists themselves, something like a live performance but from the comfort of your own living room

This is pretty nifty too, an old Mecca tune.........................

Try Mike Ritson's "The In Crowd" CD probably all you needd to know about Starter Northern Soul.

Thanks Rachel appreciate your comments, if only I could understand them

I make that four but of course us oldies are prone to make mistakes in our old age

Don't worry too much about it, about 90% of the people on this site were still in their nappies in 1974 (or not even born) members on this site fall into about 4 catagories, those who only read the stuff written they are called "Lurkers" they make up about 75% an contribute nothing, then there are "Humourists" mostly very funny but for purposes to be ignored, then there's the "Chinstroking Purists aka The Soul Police" who will snipe at anything they feel isn't 10000% pure Northern Soul (in their narrow tunnel like vison/view) they should be ignored even more so then there's the real soul fans, they'll be the ones encouraging, giving positive advice, pointing out the pitfalls, etc. I have to say if I was making a movie about NS I would steer 100 miles clear of this forum, the ability of a minority to slaughter their conceived enemies is legendary !! Good luck. ps how's the Vaseline thing going ???

The Olympics - Same old thing (very topical) Triumphs - Coming to your rescue Little Carl Carlton - Competition ain't nothing Mamie Galore - It ain't necessary

Very, very massive circa '72, must have been the lyrics that done it can't imagine anyone playing it now (though I suspect someone will post up it was played last week at BIDDS or sumfink!)

Whats the street name ?

One of the most famous was "Jon Slater" he'd write his name on all the labels, his collection (or a large part of it) got sold about 4 - 5 years ago, he even got a mention on the Richard Searling show, surely the pinnacle of fame !! Chris L

You're right, you'll need the maximum amount of bodies there, a few hundred will look well dodgy. Speaking as a Logistician of some 20+ years, looks like you are still working out the logistics of the movie, I seem to remember some musical film from the 70Ts (I think it was American Grafitti - I could be wrong) they went to dance shools and got volunteers then topped it up with ordinary shool teenagers. They cost from very little to nothing and give the place a right age feel, did you think about that ? What the heck do you do with "Vaseline" ??? No, on second thoughts I don't need to know !! This is what a 800 people look like : But I think you'd need an awful lot of Vaseline to make this lot look like teenagers Chris L

Not sure you can ever say "best ever" it's always a matter of personal taste, having said that how about Levi Stubbs & General Johnson, 2 of the best soul voices ever heard ?????

Well I guess with about 1100 at the Torch and about 10 were more than 20 that would make it 99% under 20

I once met a blonde girl from Cheltenham at the Torch, got her in the back of my car and nearly got knocked out by her hairdo, she'd used so much hairspray on it it was like a crash-helmet!!

No, no Pete, you stick to the Montclairs, leave good old (and dead) Bobby alone................

You need to understand that the Northern Soul scene (read Sub-Cult) has jealously guarded itself over the last 37 years, outsiders have always been treated with suspicion, in the main because when they have transmitted to the wider public they have gotten it wrong. Imagine a documentry about the D Day landings taking place in Spain, fighting Turkish soldiers, get the picture ? From a purely personal standpoint (but I know I speak for many who were there at the time) lets hope the film captures the true Northern Soul story and that is : 99.9% of people participating were white working class kids, that included the DJs. They were very young, almost nobody over the age of 20. The dancing was phenominal. It was run from the grass roots up, the music, the venues, the dancing, there was no "Mr Big" pulling any strings from behind the scenes. The majority of people in the scene were extraordinary characters, you didn't do this sort of thing if you were "Joe Average" check out the DJs, all larger than life for sure. There was a large amount of amphetamines used at all-nighters, drug busts closed both the Twisted Wheel and the Torch, leaving that fact out won't explain how come that kids could dance almost 10 hours non-stop and alcohol wasn't an issue. Going to all-nighters was never about "pulling a bird, then taking her around the back of the venue" it was all about the music, having said that hats off to the girls for being able to get away from their parents all night long for months on end. It was in the main non-violent, this was no Mods & Rockers scene. It was (and still is) a scene with enormous passion, if you were in a dead-end job and a Northern Soul fan it's about all you lived for, the choice of buying a record with your dinner money was a "no contest" decision. I guess we all wish you luck with project but please understand about the fear of not "getting it right" if we can argue amongst ourselves about 2 digits on a record label that gives you some idea about the obsesive and passionate nature of the Northern Soul fan and after all the film is just about that !! Good luck Chris Lalor (old Torch, Mecca, Junction & Cats soulie)

Probably nothing, Ian gets tarred and feathered regulary. Chris L

I've lost 12 stone since the original film was made (I really have - Pete S will confirm that !!) I demand to be re-filmed Chris L

You should check out the Vel-vets, quite stunning compared to the orignal from SWONS. This is more than SWONS in a new box but from what I've seen they've mastered it this using the latest digital technology and produced a great chunk of NS history. Since the orignal footage was shot too many of the artists have passed away, Bobby Sheen, Bobby Sanders, Erma Franklin, Bob Relf, et al. This is a wonderful way to get access to them they way they were 10 years ago but with a more professional presentation. No easy task as many of the locations used were pretty dingy to say the least. Some of the artists are on Ian Levines YouTube page, they're well worth a look. I was lucky enough to have filmed some of the artists, some of which sadly have died, I was more than happy to put time in to assist after all no-one else has attempted anything near to this project and probably never will. You just have to say hats off to the guy for persisting and this surely is a labour of love. Chris L

Couldn't acutually find this stuff on the site a case of the dummy blues I suspect ! Chris L

Are there any photos of her/them ? Chris L

Yeah me............I live in Belgium, try and pop out to soul venue Are you like me, tall handsome and owner of you own teeth ?

That's easy "Montclairs - Hung up on your love" followed closey by "Troy Dodds - Try my love" don't get much worse these these 2 specimens of crap...............