Barry

I understand if you don't take to tracks, I must say that I find it hard to see why given the examples,, but at what point do certain tracks utilised in a promtional manner seem to get the old 'chinese burn'. Top-Tip: simply write all the tracks that you think are sh*t, therefore saving yourself a wanky post somewhere down the line whence they are given a little national promotion. (Your view doesn't make you look battle-hardened to me, you know, your 'I've heard it all before shit', just someone who needs to prioritise their views....or possibly talk about summat else.)

Means more to me than a lot of other, more 'relevant', tracks.

It was a business, end of - lose the personal comments.

Deffo!

I was reading one of the Sunday supplements just prior to the Motown Anniversary and this particular article gave '50 Things You Never Knew About Motown!. I thought, 'Here We Go'. But I was taken aback by two of these profferences: One being the basis of 'Diana Ross and The Supremes' palms-up choreography to 'Stop! In The Name Of Love.' According to the blurb; when Ms Ross was given the initial run-through of the song by Berry Gordy, she was that excited by it that she ran toward the Gents toilets in Hitsville, where she had seconds earlier seen Smokey Robinson wander into for a slash, as to express her excitement to old Smokey. At this moment it seems one of the male 'Motown toilet attendants' (???) [this being in the 60's and ladies entering Gentlemens Lavatories not being the done thing] raised his hand and said "Stop!". Hence the iconic hand raising as The Supremes sang "STOP!". The other one was the lovely fact that The Supremes had their own bread.

I hope that this doesn't come across as a negative post, that's a weak opening if I'm honest, but Kenny seems to be of the Shane Richie mould, he'd sing at the opening of an envelope - does that sound harsh? He does tend to over-sing a song if that makes sense!? I've mulled the KB question over and over. The question being: Kenny earns his money through song, like so many of our heroes over the years but how many songs have been sung for anything other than keeping himself up there and in work? Now I understand that this quandry could be applied to Mary Wells, Martha Reeves, Luther Ingram, Wilson Pickett et al, just about any singer (dj, promoter) really. But I do feel that Kenny's falsetto delivery, although quaintly soulful and relevant, has become in my mind slightly diminished simply by the amount of product that he has released. Don't get me wrong here, Kenny Bobien will forever have done more for black music than I could ever dream of doing - but - it does make me question what is true soul music, soul music that is sung from the heart and what is being sung simply to earn money. I would like to profer an explanation that kind of center's around anyone's early input (be that on any level, promoting, dj-ing, singing, whatever), that early input seems to be more from the heart and less job-like than their (anyones) later input. That later input, when you are more savvy to the industry (recognised say) must be surely aimed at keeping your head above water moreso than proving your worth as you once had to. Which asks the question: "Does recognition remove you from the things that initially made you want to prove your worth to your peers?"

Newton Cricket Club memory for me Imber. Good shout! That period, 84-86 was possibly the last bastion of our music as such I feel.

Not as possible for me these days for me to do but my feet have put the time in on that dancefloor over the years. I miss the fact that todays life is so far removed from my earlier carefree years when anything, nighter-wise, was do-able. My question comes from that simple yearning to place myself on that dancefloor once again, picturing a current playlist. Hence the question. I still care.

You can't knock people for taking a little pride and time when they are designing their flyers surely? I once produced an 'anti-flyer' for one of our events and it had the correct effect when handing them out to the masses in a heaving and messy 'Powerhouse' crowd at Southport Weekender. If you stick a 'normal' flyer into peoples hands, they tend to stick 'em in their arse pocket without further ado. 'Anti-flyers' (so named due to the fact that the imagery upon such is that daft that no one would expect anyone to pay for 10,000 flyers with such an odd image thereupon) have a greater effect. Here is the image we used on the front of that particular 'anti-flyer' - some of you may recognise Deano (on the right) from the Northern scene over the years:

I put a lad from Chicago on at one of our do's, Rahaan, and that track hurt him. As did the plethora of other indies that I devilishly subjected his ass to. When I first heard it at Wigan I spent ages trying to track down a track called 'Aloowicky'.

Anyone?

A Searling play at Wigan for me. Just to add that to play it from the album will do your dancefloor no favours, beautiful track yet awful response.

From the drumstick click opening to the rolling piano drop and funk geetar lick, a stone cold, stay still to this, killer. 'Listen to my heartbeat, just listen to my heartbeat - BUMBUMBUMBUMBUM -BUMBUMBUM - BUMBUM!' Livin' it right now.

666. Bazza. From one Saint to another, why didn't you inform me that Pimbletts went bust man? The thought of never holding a Pimmies meat and prater twixt my digits have kept me awake at night. F*ck the motor industry, Barratts and Lloyds Bank but don't take away my Pimbletts. It was them new fangled sliding doors that did it, I tell you.

It is difficult for one such as I, not overly active on the current Nighter scene these days, to have a take on todays scene as is. I'd have thought what with this Interent malarky and all the opinions that I am allowed to view because of it that I should find it easy to see the overall view, but I have found that my understanding just gets muddied somewhat by this. Anyway. Are there people, and nighters, out there that accept a wide span of music, era's and styles in the way that Wigan, it's dj's and its punters did. Or, has the internet become a bit of a wart on the finger of Northern by giving a forum to secular groups that, quite rightly - freedom of speech an' all that - feel the need to shout from the mountain tops that if 'this' and 'that' don't get played, then it's just not Northern. Soul terrorism, a truth?

Again, what then is Northern Soul? If it is to be judged, as it should be, by what is played - and danced to - within the sphere of a designated All Nighter, then the term NS should be allocated to an ever moving take on the music taken on board by the dancefloor, as deemed by the lads (DJ's) that follow the ever changing sound that the dancers have required. The punter has always deemed what has been played. The lads that take the mantle of DJ, simply refelect the present state by their playlists of what is required by the punter. Certain sounds and styles will always take prescedent - on the flip certsin styles will always take a back-seat. Music, like fashion, is cyclical. The majority will eventually look for a progression. 'Progression' is a dodgy word to use, as it may read in a manner that could be read as 'newer sounds', which I don't mean it to - we all have a hankering to learn, to be played different sounds - to progress. I'm tying myself up here, so I'll stop before I sound any more ridiculous. The bottom line is, the lads that have carried the mantle of 'DJ' over the years have done little more than accomodate the majority of the dancefloor - putting your neck on the line week in, week out is bound to bring negative responses. They simply kept their eye on the scene's ball for the dancefloors sake, for your sake, for Northern's sake if you will. Name me a bloke that has djed on this scene that has done more harm than good? There isn't one.

It's a course of action that I was waiting for them to take. We all know the bravado that comfort brings within a scene, they spend a few years on it, get to know a few people, enjoy their time. But, it is a great moment when youth breaks out of it's cocoon and goes in search for itself. These people did. And that proved a lot to me. There are many that just sit and enjoy their little moment on a scene without seeking answers, nowt wrong with that in reality - but what a joy when something inside makes people follow something, without knowing what it really is they are following.

All this Soul shit aside, I was most upset when the series was cut. Tenafly was the boy. Just prior to S&H I think.

Nice one Monster.

I'm sure I've posted this before but seeing as it has just popped into my head and can't remember if it's tru or not, I'll stick it down again. When I was a kid there was a US cop/detective series that I loved called 'Tenafly', played by James McEachin. I'm sure I read in a Blackbeat or Echoes or the like somewhere that James McEachin's recording pseudonym was James Mack of 'My World Is On Fire' fame. Anyone?

The Kings Arms, yes mate. I'm getting a tad misty eyed here but the Pier nighter was musically positioned (mid eighties, which coincided with large attendances at Soul and Funk venues) for so much more, at the time anyhow, current (modern) stuff to get played and be accepted more readily than previous nighters. Alexander O Neal - 'What's Missing', Luther's - 'I'll Let You Slide', The Dells - 'Don't Want Nobody' etc etc - but on the flip you'd still have a full floor to Roscoe & Friends - 'Broadway Sissy' Or a Vibrations track. Morecambe had a sassy, clued up crowd that were out to enjoy their soul music. I may have my rose tinted specs on but there seemd to be very little, in comparison, politics at that time.

It was busy I believe and the girls enjoyed their night Bazza - I set them a task to seek you out...but apparently you were always on the stage. Looking at the state of 'em when they got in, I think it was a good move on your part.

Picking up on the comment that certain tracks may have got maybe only a couple of airings and didn't 'stick'. All that says to me was the lads where so aware of the huge amount of relevant and playable releases at the time that were at their disposal, that their excitement at having such a plethora of quality releases to play each week deemed that policy necessary. Put yourself in their place, it must have been a fecking blast having what they did each week in their armoury.

Understood Dave, and you're quite right. It is difficult for me sometimes and I do have to scrape the barrel question-wise, as I think on me feet when I'm on here. I guess I'm just lonely.

Malc where are you? Once again I've spent three hours on here attempting to prise a reply from someone, unsuccesfully. So, seeing as I've just drained me last drop of Shiraz (Oops did I say that out loud?), I'm off to bed, once again defeated by this deafening wall of silence. Night.