Soulfinger

Thanks for posting those. They brought back some great and some not so great memories. Maybe I'm biased but a bit harsh on Edwin at the Ritz.

I'm still running as much as my crocked knee permits and volunteering at Parkrun. The 65-70 age category is seriously competitive. I go to the gym and swim every morning Mon - Fri. Plenty of walking and cycling too. Walking football sadly folded. The funding was aimed at getting unfit people to start exercising but it mostly got people who were already pretty active so they pulled it. I keep meaning to find another one to go to...

Does She Have a Friend? or I Can Take Care of Myself - hard to separate those two for me.

RIP Duke. That's a really defined an end of an era for me. The Tops were the first act I saw live. Manchester Odeon early 70's. The memory of it is as fresh today as if it were yesterday. I also memorably saw them when they toured with an empty stool on the stage after Lawrence had died. Levi's voice up front and the Tops harmonies were peerless. Bless them all!

Looks an excellent introduction to HDH post Motown work. I have the fabulous 14 CD box set: Holland-Dozier-Holland Complete 45s Collection so it's not aimed at me.

Come See About Me and He's All I Got should be there. Supremes & Four Tops - A Taste of Honey is probably out of scope, but it's a personal favourite.

Thanks for flagging this. I remember listening when it was first broadcast. It probably wasn't aimed at people who've lived and breathed soul music all their lives, but I think it was an excellent introduction for people looking for more in depth knowledge. CP talked to lots of the right people. Nice to hear the reference to the talents of Carol Anderson. To be fair, overall, not much has really changed. CP Lee was a great bloke who used to live near us in the late 70's. He'd been a regular at the Wheel and was a big pal of Roger Eagle. He had a terrific record collection, pretty much entirely albums with lots of soul stuff. We saw him perform live lots as lead singer of Alberto y lost trios Paranoias and The Charlie Parkas. He took his role as a chronicler of the Manchester music scene very seriously and ended up as a professor at Salford Uni.

On Facebook, Pete Smith has used AI to create a northern soul style tune called One Ball Wonder - about a man with one testicle. Not much to choose between them...

I seem to recollect people in the States line dancing to Don Covay's It's Better To Have. I remember thinking at the time "that'll never catch on here".

Cheers. I'll track it down.

I buy pretty much every Kent release, but this is a strange one. I don't have The Band, The Fall, Vanilla Fudge or Laura Nyro and don't have any particular desire to hear them. I've made a playlist of the rest of the tracks and it's pretty decent.

That's a brilliant piece Jordan. Really interesting stuff. Mrs D says you should translate it into French.

That's very good news. Thanks for sharing.

I wouldn't read the article (Murdoch papers are not for me) but more power to the elbow of the Bristol lot if it's introducing people to great music and encouraging them to dance. Personally, I think I prefer the more forward looking approach of the likes of Room at the Top than something that's mostly a retrospective type thing.

It would have to be Curtis Mayfield for me. I bought a soul pack in 1970 which had Sometimes I Wonder in it. I loved it and didn't know it was meant to be a b side. I picked up a couple more Impressions singles on Shude Hill market for pennies. A bit later Move On Up came out and I bought it as a new release. Soon after I found a copy of Big Sixteen and that was me utterly hooked. He was responsible for so much wonderful music through his writing and work on productions for Okeh, then all the glorious stuff on Curtom. His influence on Soul music was immense. My absolute soul hero. In the 70's and 80's Curtis played live in Manchester very regularly and I saw him many times. He was brilliant every time. Honourable mentions for Gil Scott Heron and Bobby Womack. If I were allowed a shout for a female artist as well, it'd be a tough, tough choice between Aretha, Gladys or Brenda Holloway. So I'm not choosing.