Amsterdam Russ

I gave away 20-30 'duffers' at the last Amsterdam Soul Club. Hans and Harry from fingerpoppinsoul were there and took a good few away with them. The 45s had been lying neglected indoors for some years, so have gone to a better home that the one they were in.

A solid attempt at capturing the atmosphere of those early days and the subsequent development of 'Black' music in the UK. A good editor is always useful in helping a writer to polish an article to a professional standard. With that help this one could sing even louder and clearer than it does.

I'm sorry, but I couldn't help reaching for the calculator! At an average of 4 minutes each that would be 394,470 songs. Or 525,960 if they were 3 minute tracks. Or 631,152 songs at two and a half minutes each. And I'll bet I'm not alone in wanting to work that out

Excellent article - well put together and a very good read. Billboard is an essential archive for anyone looking to do a bit of info digging on artists, labels and the music industry as a whole. It's been a great source of information for me about Loma Records. I have to admit to missing the item on the Billy Storm sales, but that just goes to show what a real treasure trove it is. Keep looking and you're sure to find out something else you didn't know. Through the Google Books archive of Billboard, I came across a number of Loma trade ads, which I've subsequently been able to track down physical copies of. Without a doubt, it's one of the greatest musical resources on the web.

Is playing a boot ever acceptable? As long as the boot has some sole, who cares?

A guaranteed chin stroker if ever there was one.

The Hesitations - Love is everywhere Got a Brazilian release of this with picture sleeve last week and like the song a lot. Quite getting into Born Free as well...

I've often secretly wondered whether Larry Laster was not in fact Chuck Jackson. The vocal style and range of both are very similar...

Northern Soul came to life as a youth cult: a 'scene' made up of like-minded people with shared musical tastes. Now it is a 'mature scene' of occasionally like-mined people who still have a love for aspects of the same music. Many have become cantankerous with age and set in their ways. For these people the 'scene' is no longer alive. Instead it is a thing of nostalgic beauty, full of warmth and happy memories that allow them to revisit their youth over and over again. For others, the 'scene' has never stopped being alive. For them it is a scene that, even 40 years later, continues to develop. Northern Soul is and always has been a cultural phenomenon, not a musical one. This is because Northern Soul does not exist as a musical form and never has done. No artist or group ever set out in the 60s to record a 'Northern Soul' song. Apart from a handful of spurious tailor-made recordings the same is true for the 70s. The question of "what is Northern Soul music' thus cannot be answered. Instead, the question should be "what sort of music is played and listened to by people on the Northern Soul Scene?" That would give you a much more sensible answer. It would also reduce the possibilities for the type of fractious opinions that this type of discussion always creates.

Have to say, I took it for granted that it was a girl singing.

And not forgetting Herb & Doris, of course.

The Marvellos - Something's burnin'? I'd say issues are more common than promos.

Ah, I see the problem. It's a glitch in the formatting. There should be a space and line break between the F and Love. F represents the category = Funk. Love represents the first word of the following song title on the line underneath, which should read: Love (Your pain goes deep).

Well, it's a shame that the tracks couldn't be identified. They aren't the first to remain anonymous on here and they certainly won't be the last. Maybe someone will eventually recognise one or both of the recordings and be able to put a name, face, title or label to them, especially as they're freely accessible through YouTube. I'd much rather they were 'claimed' than sit anonymously and unacknowledged in a dusty record box...

Here you go. It's a rather plodding tune. I've always imagined it to have an association with Eeyore or perhaps Don Quixote's donkey... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sonSotqI-I

Happy to - I'll add an image to the file and whack it up to YouTube...

Once upon a time it wasn't uncommon at the 100 Club to hear the 'live' version of Ike & Tina's 'Somebody needs you'.

Any information would be very much appreciated. There is an instrumental on the flip as well, which is a bit sparser than this one you hear here.

Can anyone help in identifying this instrumental track? Possibly it's the backing track to something, but if so, what? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2eK66HtxZw

How about this for obscure? A Warner Bros release of Loma 2058 by Barry 'Barefoot' Beefus - from Turkey!

My copy arrived in the Netherlands today. I have to say it looks jaw-droppingly good.

Bob, it sounds like you need a primer on the Berne Convention. Happy reading..

Brenton Wood - EP - Brazil

Excellent. Looking forward to receiving it.

Overseas copies on their way?