Goldsoul

Can't deny that either, but the turnover of big records in the heyday of the scene was insane and many of them dived horribly in value after the pressing came out.  We could have, or perhaps should have, enjoyed those great records for much longer at the time when it really mattered.

True. A few mistakes from the man.......counter balanced by the discovery of Double Cookin, I'll Always Need You, You Didn't Say A Word, I'm Not Strong Enough, You Don't Love Me, Dance Dance Dance, Love Runs Out......... Fair trade off?

….and some got booted before they'd even taken off Nat T Jones Movin Forward springs to mind here. 

Very true Steve though it's hardly hurt the disc's credibility and certainly not the value.

I think it's very interesting he's around and I'd be glad to hear some genuine true stories but it's going to be incredibly hard to know if anything he says will be true. Unless he's had a major character transplant, it'll be smoke and mirrors and the gospel according to how he wants to portray it that week.

Totally agree Ady, which is why I said to Ian.....tread carefully. Simon is new to social media. The whole criticism thing might scare him to death lol

The scene is as big as it's ever been with all the returnee's & new faces & guess what?

One of the biggest bootleggers the scene has ever known resurfaces.

Who'd have thought that eh

Dear, dear, dear......still got all that anger!

Did he call you 'Baby Boy'...

Nah. Shame......it makes me feel much younger!

This may be a merger from the 'Will the real' thread.....but breaking news on Simon Soussan, the notorious, creative and often misunderstood character from the 70's.

He is alive and well. Ian Levine disclosed information to me a short while ago and it's pretty conclusive. I too have exchanged emails with the man.

Updates as we get them......

I don't know if anyone else wants to run with this thread with there own knowledge gaps. Might be fun...

Ok, here are three things that I ought to know but don't! Help please...

1. When the heck was Patti & the Emblems "Gonna love you etc" first played? It sounds like it ought to have been a Wheel fave and it seems to have been around forever, but I can't think when the heck I first heard it....

2. Was there ever really a record called "Let's shing-a-ling at the go go" by the Johnny Jackson Experience (?) or was it a Levine fictional cover-up?

3. Whatever happened to John E Abbey?

Many thanks!

1. Patti and the Emblems was a Golden Torch play from 1972.

2..Johnny Jackson is Midnight Brew by Melvin Carter

3. John Abbey alive and well and living in the U.S. Richard Searling and I interviewed him 2 years ago on our first 70's Soul show on Smooth.

Is he still interested in the UK Scene Kev ???

Hard to tell. He's fairly religious and its early days.

Are you allowed to divulge information on anybody in the witness protection programme?

I'll make sure he doesn't read the comment Steve. Ha!

Russ told me in a message over 4 million went, this was how he came up with the figure.. It also includes his response to the drugs issue

.Rubbish. We sorted ours out. Wow one arrest a week out of 9,500 yet no prosecutions. We averaged 1,500 each Monday, Wednesday and Friday early session and 5,000 on Saturdays and 5,000 monthly Friday Alnighters. That's a bit more than 4 Million !!!! We stamped out the Druggy idiots in 1974 as we got the All clear. This is fact.

He can certainly sell himself that's for sure. The reality, well that's very different.

I was one of the originals on Wednesday night too hosting the night with the late Mike Rollo. It ended after a while due to dwindling numbers. The venue didn't hold 5,000 so the Saturday statement and Friday All Nighters is pure fiction.

Wow, i didn't know Tim Brown was a member of B of M

I see the likeness, but as Tim was about 12 at the time, the BofMan one was Russ. Ha!

Is the lead singer far right?

I wish it was!

The main male with customary moustache handed me a weekly fee every Saturday lol

So that confirms he's 62 now, and would have been 20 in 1973.  I'll have first heard him play at the Casino when he was 25, which would have seemed old to me at the time, and I'm only 8 years younger than Russ.  The Wikipedia article also states that over 4 million people passed through the Casino, so it must be right.

Whenever he paid me at the Casino, I could swear it was the lead singer of Brotherhood of Man

8 years. 416 weeks at an average of 2,000 per week = 832,000.

And that's being generous!

You do the math!

orig is on thunderbird,local first label

No it isn't. Charger is the original. Thunderbird is a 70's U.S. Label who issued it due to its 1975 success on Black Magic in the UK.

I was in a warehouse in New York when it came out on Thunderbird and left 1,000 copies.

actually I'm with Byrney on this too - a lot of great things discovered post wigan

one thing that i have always wondered though is this - 

 

everyone always talks about "that came out of Levines collection when he sold up" - however, knowing some of the stuff that did come out of IL's collection, I'm wondering if IL knew what was there in his collection.

OR, did he have his collection that he played from AND THEN loads of records that he had never gone through and therefore didn't realise what was there (60's newies etc. is what i am referring to) with the potential to be big

just curious really

 

Ian had thousands of unknown 45's that were impossible to play due to the moment in time, hence the famous 'last hour' where he and Colin would be playing obscurities such as The Montclairs on Arch, Celeste Hardie, Delilah Moore, Connie Laverne on GSF, Keni Lewis-What's Her Name etc.

The reason they took years to be re-discovered/matured is due to the way the scene changed in the mid 70's(Wigan Pop heavy '75, Mecca more Disco and 70's friendly.). As he started to sell off his collection in 1979, the sheer volume of 60's 'newies' started to emerge.

Wow.....Obviously missed that one Mike. Feel free to lock the thread. And there's me trying to spread the good news 

You two weren't drinking it so you very kindly gave me yours 

A very different story today  

Ian Levine has found Sam Moore's Plenty Good Lovin'
Until now it appeared to be unreleased until Expansion issued it several years ago.
Unless else anyone has a copy, it looks as if a major rarity has been located.
A fantastic record too.

 

STOP PRESS- Looks as if it's around. Apols for my lack of awareness.

Was that the trip where in a million to one chance I ended up sitting next to you and polishing off all your and your lass of the time's wine? Ady

Ha......I think that was a bit later that year. Thanks for reminding me....I have the wine drank and sold me Black RCA's for nowt 

A black RCA haul of over 300 pcs which included most of the winners.

Average sale price was £10. A few even cheaper as Rod Shard reminded me earlier this week!

At least it got Wigan out of my hair and new found business status as dumb as I was. Ha!

i always thought ( maybe incorrectly) that your connection with Ian Levine irritated RW..my imagination?

It was during my rebellious period ha! With Soussan no longer supplying me with the good stuff plus The Javells, Gary Lewis starting to change the dynamic of Wigan, I leaned towards the Mecca and Ian in particular.

To provoke RW further I jumped all over Bobby Franklin, Snoopy Dean etc. There could be only one winner and following an ultimatum not to appear at the Queens Hall Leeds he took me off the weekly B&S ad! During a 'Kes' moment, up went the fingers and I hoofed it off to New York......with the infamous Black RCA haul. That's another story.

if i had it on Mp3 i would gladly send..as i say it goes back to early 74..Dave Raistrick and I listened to it over & over trying to dechiper songs..if you never played Footsee at Wigan i believe you..one day i'll transfer all my live tapes..

I do remember playing 'Daylight Saving Time' after a warning not to play I'm Shaft- RB Hudman again!

hmmn..interesting..i have a tape from one of my early visits to the casino..circa May or June 1974..where KR plays 'Footsee' i might add that he also plays 'Takin it away' The Free, and Ila Vann 'You made me this way'..as Spock would say...'fascinating'

Fascinating indeed and disputed. Send me a MP3 via email and I will be happy to review and confirm either way.

I never had Free- Taking It Away. Richard played it and he's holding it in one of the early Casino publicity shots.