Mick Howard

Like the guy says in the article, Faith Evans does bear "a striking resemblance" to Flo Ballard so she appears to be the obvious choice, however, his worries about singers acting might be a bit premature. Madonna has proved to be pretty awful certainly but I thought Beyonce acted reasonably well in Cadillac Records (the bio-pic of Chess) and Queen Latifah has had a couple of decent parts. Let's wait and see. Mick

Simon I think that you've kind of changed your thread a bit because now you are talking about the 'struggle' in which case the following consider the following article that I wrote for Soul Up North a couple of years ago - food for thought mate..... Mick July and August 1964, August 1965, July 1967 and July 1968…………. These dates won't mean much to most people but just as May 1959 and April 1981 are synonymous with the social history of black Britons; the former dates are burned deeply in the collective consciousness of Afro-America. Perhaps a further clue to their significance will be apparent if the following place names are added; Harlem and Rochester, Philadelphia, Detroit and Watts. The urban 'riots' that occurred in some of the most deprived areas of USA's major cities in the 1960's were, together with other events, a catalyst for sweeping changes to the very fabric of black and white society and of course this was reflected in popular music, which up to that point had mainly zeroed in on one particular subject – love (it is perhaps ironic that love may have been the one thing that could have prevented the death and destruction that occurred during those times!). If one looks at the Billboard top100 for the years leading up to and including 1967, the year of the last major disturbances, apart from the odd tune which was often either an instrumental or something comedic (A Walk In The Black Forest and I'm Henry the Eighth, I Am, numbers 46 and 47 respectively in the chart of 1965 are a case in point), love and the association with love was the predominant theme particularly in soul music as the following selections show: 1965 I Can't Help Myself by The Four Tops (No 2), My Girl by The Temptations (No 10), The Birds & The Bees by Jewel Akens (No 13), Stop In The Name Of Love by The Supremes (No 20) and Shotgun by Jr Walker & The All-Stars (No 25). 1966 Reach Out by The Four Tops (No 4), You Can't Hurry Love by The Supremes (No 8), When A Man Loves A Woman by Percy Sledge (No 20), What Becomes of the Broken Hearted by David Ruffin (No 22) and You Keep Me Hangin' On by The Supremes (No 30). 1967 I Was Made To Love Her by Stevie Wonder (No 14), Expressway To Your Heart by The Soul Survivors (No 18), Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie by Jay & The Techniques (No 21), Love Is Here and Now You're Gone by The Supremes (No 28) and Your Precious Love by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell (No 32). Although the subject matter of love still dominated the American hits of 1968, there was quite a marked change with topics of a social nature slowly starting to creep in. People Got To Be Free by the Rascals, The Beatles' Revolution, Love Child by The Supremes and James Browns Say It Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud are just a few examples. There is no doubt that protest songs, that is music influenced by social events, had been around for a long time. Woody Guthrie's 'dustbowl' folk songs of the 30's and Pete Seegers' output from the 40's onwards is testament to this but it was really only in the 60's that the voice of disapproval for 'the man' began to be heard on a national scale and only then towards the end of the decade simply because the major white performers of the era insisted upon it. Remember that perhaps other than James Brown, major black artists like Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder were forced to wait until the early 70's until they were able to take full artistic control and it is also worth bearing in mind that much of the lyrical content of 'Soul' was penned by white 'tin-pan alley' songwriters who perhaps rarely empathised with what was happening on the streets of black America. Of course, it wasn't only the conflict in local black communities in US cities that influenced a sea change; the 1960's were tumultuous times generally. The assassinations of both John F Kennedy and Martin Luther King five years apart (1963 & 1968 respectively), the Paris student riots, the US University sit-in's, the Viet Nam war and the subsequent rise of militant groups not least the Black Power movement all had a collective impact and shaped the future of music. But let us just consider the years 1964 to 1967 again for a moment. In the context of rare soul or music of black origin that did not get national exposure (i.e. not Billboard 100 hits); whilst songs with a ‘message’ were fairly thin on the ground (apart from many influenced by the Viet Nam war which affected just about everyone in the US), there were in fact a few very fine examples of the genre. Welfare Cheese by Emanuel Laskey and Black Power by James Coit to name just two. The point is that the urban disturbances and the other aforementioned events did not all occur at the same time and this is the very reason why soul music did not change overnight on the 31st December 1969. Slowly, throughout the 60's the establishment in all its guises was having less and less influence on what the black public could say and more importantly on what they were able to see and hear. To quote a certain Robert Zimmerman, the times [were indeed] a changing! Although twenty years on, consider Stevie Wonders' Hotter Than July album released in 1980 and the single Happy Birthday. This huge worldwide hit was in fact a vehicle for Stevies' campaign for Martin Luther Kings Birthday to be recognised as a national holiday which became a reality in 1986. Who said that music never changed anything?

Although the underlying reasons for closure may be similar I think that putting this in the same context as the 100 Club is a bit of leap. One has to remember that Beatin' Rhythm is a retail outlet pure and simple and not a music venue with a rich and varied historical past. Remember also that it has already moved once before following the IRA bomb so if it has to move again then so be it - those who visit it regularly shouldn't mind as Oldham Street is only round the corner from Tib Street! Mick

Simon This has been researched and cross-references to Africa are made in various publications not least Peter Guralnicks book Sweet Soul Music & the Southern Dream of Freedom, however, I think that as far as the music itself is concerned it's far too complex to attempt to 'pin-point' a specific "missing" link between African tribal rhythms and the Sound of 'Young' America. Personally I think that the music is an aside; I think the main link is the Afro-American him/herself who's DNA can always be traced a few generations directly back to Africa. Mick

Sad news indeed. Saw 'The Big Man' a few years ago as a special guest of Jools Holland & Orchestra and although it was many years since his 60's heyday he still had 'that' voice. Mick

First all nighter I went to. Was in the 'small' room with wooden dancefloor first & later in the main 'rink' complete with concrete floor. Used to come out of the latter absolutely black with dust. I've posted this before but in case some didn't see it, the photos were taken in the the 'rink' when Jr Walker & The All-Stars were on. MIck

There were some 'Norman Normals' at my 50th Birthday bash this year & they were all well aware what the music policy was going to be. Whilst those closer to me didn't offer any complaints, others weren't so diplomatic and were in fact, I thought, a little rude about music they knew eff all about. A wide range of tunes (stompers, Rn'B, beat ballads etc.) was played by me, Chalky, Craig Butler & Tony Mac but it definitely wasn't 'safe' Motown or 'known' Northern like Dobie Grey et al - maybe it should have been! As to if folk were actually interested then I agree with Richard - a good range of stomping, in-yer-face dancers.... Mick

Webby From The Who's Who In Soul Music "Born in Virginia, Rick moved to Washington DC at the age of 15. Here he sang backing vocals with The Dominoes, later fronting The Raw Band for five years, releasing 'Don't Keep Me Waiting' on the Universal Creations label (1988). In 1989 he released a solo single 'Sitting On Your Doorstep' and worked on an album with Al Johnson and Willie Lester for the Washington Hit Makers" Mick

Andy my old mate Scotlands input to the scene is definitely not forgotten by this 'tyke' now living near Glasgow. Some fantastic all nighters up here; getting picked up by Guys coach at the Tickled Trout just outside Preston and coming up to Glenrothes. Driving up to Allanton with the Brennans (picking up Kev & Claire 'cos their car had broke down) - great days and great people indeed! I even got a DJ spot at Allanton thanks to that very nice man Jim O'Hara. Shame there 'aint much going on these days - bout time something big happened up here. Try going to the Groovesville thing at the Mono cafe last Friday of the month like Ali & I did last week 'cos it would make you weep..... Mick

Post a scan later in the week of this /more/soul-library/28520-levon-and-the-hawks-he-dont-love-you/ Mick

Ali & I saw it yesterday afternoon at the Glasgow Film Theatre & I've given it 7. In general terms the plot it is the age-old 'boy wants unobtainable girl & can't see the one he eventually ends up with right under his nose' story but with the Soul scene as an aside. Fair enough. It was amusing in parts and the lead actor wasn't at all bad although the actor playing his mate wasn't great to be honest. Of course there were some inacuracies not least the dance-off which is what I call 'The Hollywood Moment' (there's usually one in every movie) but I thought that they did a pretty good job in recreating the external look of the Casino which Ali agrees with after having had a look at my photos. Yeah, not bad but looking forward to the one that's in production at the moment. Mick

Baz Definitely in the far east - txt'd him a couple of week ago. Japan maybe find some stuff. The US forces were massive in the Philippines weren't they - has that been looked over? Mick

My thoughts for what they're worth. My fanatacism of Soul music also kicked off in the fair city of Norwich in the mid 70's so I'm quite sure some of those DJ's you mention Frank will remember me (I certainly remember Kev Laws & Mobbsy to name but two) but come the mid 80's those very same folk who I'd knocked about with ten years previously had lost their "good ear for good soul music"! I could count the number of people on one hand from Norwich who actually regularly bothered to go to Stafford and later places like Market Harborough, Mexborough, Chesterfield & others post Wigan where "60's newies" featured heavily. It might be argued that it was because of the travelling but sorry no, somehow for some reason the majority of those guys shut their ears to newer discoveries and I distinctly recall one of those already mentioned saying that "it sounds like rock n' roll"! Sorry if that sounds a bit negative but that's exactly how it was. The initial couple of years after Wigan shut was very challenging to say the least and as has already been said many times, regular punters were extremely thin on the ground with only the die-hards still prepared to shake a leg, lend an ear or grab a piece of vinyl (which was cheap by that time) and for me, bearing in mind that I had experienced the Casino (which appeared a bit insular to me the first time I went BTW), St Ives, Peterborough and the 100 Club, the only reason to keep going was so that I could hear new stuff. Attending events that were/are billed as 'oldies' only has never, ever appealed to me. What many people seem to forget is that there was a time that tunes that are now considered 'oldies' from Sandi Sheldon through The Magnetics to Billy Arnell were all 'newies' at one time so instead of labelling lets just call it rare Soul and accept it for what it is - the most uplifting music ever to grace this Earth! Hallelujah! Mick

Rudy Clark wrote a few tunes during his time. Here's the extract from Wikipedia: Rudy Clark (born Rudolph Clark, 1935) is an American songwriter about whom little biographical information seems to be known. Supposedly a former mail carrier hailing from New York City, he was most active from the early 1960s through the early 1970s. He wrote songs for James Ray (and indeed may have discovered the singer), including Ray's moody 1962 R&B hit and regional pop hit "If You Gotta Make a Fool of Somebody", as well as the obscure "Got My Mind Set On You", which later became a surprise number one comeback hit for George Harrison in 1987. Clark was a close friend of Bobby Darin, who owned TM Music/Trio, the music company that employed Clark. Clark and Darin collaborated on several hits including "Do the Monkey." Clark then wrote the Top Ten soul classic "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)", recorded by Betty Everett in 1964, which would be frequently revisited by other artists (most notably in the version that became a worldwide hit for Cher in 1991) in subsequent years. Clark co-wrote "Good Lovin'", recorded by The Olympics in 1965 and then remade as a #1 hit by The Young Rascals the following year. Other Clark compositions include "Everybody's Got to Make a Fool Out of Somebody", recorded by Barbara Mason, and "Fool, Fool, Fool", recorded in 1964 by Little Joey & the Flips and then covered by Roosevelt Grier, the A-Cads, and Ray Brown & The Whispers, with the last two representations reaching #1 in South Africa and Australia respectively. Clark was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best R&B Song for his lead contribution in writing the 1972 Top Five hit "Everybody Plays the Fool" by The Main Ingredient. Beyond pop hits, Clark wrote several songs for the early 1970s Harlem Globetrotters cartoon series. Besides being heard on oldies radio, Clark's material has also found its way to the Broadway theatre, making reference to Andr DeShields' Haarlem Nocturne (1984) and Marion J. Caffey's Street Corner Symphony (1997). On top of that he also wrote I Found My Place by the Johnson Sisters which is a great slice of Rn'B. Mick

Sam Is that you with the eagle tattoo in the 3rd photo in my earlier post? Mick

I wonder if my very good old West Yorkshire mate Ady Harley will be there. Saw Ady when he came back for the first Stafford reunion in 2005... If you're on here Ady remember the car crash we were in in Siddal after the pub? Mick

I really don't have a story to match the ones here (the one in the bar was brilliant) but just to stick my tuppence worth in. Edwin was the first live Soul artist I saw back in the mid 70's (Peterborough or St Ives I think) and I then saw him a few more times over the years and I have to say that he most definitely was the most consistent of them all. I don't think his shows were ever 'bad' so the mans' professionalism and dedication to his craft cannot be questioned. I would have to say that because he lived in the UK and because he therefore was on more than the artists back in the States then yes of course we took him for granted but 'aint that the way of things? Here are some photos I took at Hinckley back in the early 80's - perhaps his outfit 'aint as good as the musical notes one in the documentary but hey...

What a fantastic trailer - the bit with Billy rehearsing is marvellous. A project well worth funding. Mick

Just sent an e-mail myself to this lot Mick

Derek The fact that they only released one record blows my theory about the white gloves out of the water - both The Unifics & The Manhattans wore them but they released loads. Bummer..... Mick

Not really Ady's shout is it? According to the article its down to two things: Westminster Council lowering its ratesThe Landlord lowering its rentWho, other than a billionaire with money to burn, would want it with that rent & those rates even with such a history?. I think its day is approaching Mick

More than mega - humungous...... My favourite Soul vocal group of all time just about a capella but with JJ strumming his bass - truly wonderful. Mick

Derek Me owld mate.. Rather than waiting for a clue can I ask if the gloves are significant? Mick

I do remember that Mike Vickers was played by Guy at Stafford as The Boogaloo Investigator but didn't know that it had been around that long. Mind you, there were records played throughout the years which perhaps didn't take off initially but did following re-activation some years later - maybe On The Brink was one those - almost perfect for the rise of 'new' 60's at Stafford even though it 'aint Soul.... Mick

No Motown specialist me but surely she must have played on 'that' song by 'that' producer considering the dates. There is a Motown book I read (can't remember the title but it's orange with the UK Tamla Motown logo on the front) & its implied that she played on most of the West coast productions during the mid 60's. Mick