Harlem 69: The Future of Soul (The Soul Trilogy) - Stuart Cosgrove - Pre-Order

He's prolific isn't he? I'm just getting to the end of Memphis '68 which I've thoroughly enjoyed.

There is a great podcast on mixcloud, dean Anderson'sTNT show with Stuart , well worth a listen !. he's a geezer and half.

I am a big fan of Stuart's work! 

I read "Detroit 67", "Memphis 68", "Young Soul Rebels" and will pre-order "Harlem 69".

Stuart is great story teller and adds some fascinating anecdotes.  I love the way that the story of soul unfolds month by month against the backdrop of the times: Vietnam, MLK, city riots and the civil rights movement.  

"Detroit 67" was a real insight into the workings of Motown and the movie is well worth watching. 

I never realized the extent of the professional / personal interrelationships between many of the great Motown soul acts of the day and Berry Gordy.  It was also a surprise to know how bad things got for the Supremes and how the happy faces in the "public eye" hid a deep hatred within the group.

"Memphis 68" starts with the handover of power from the City Mayor...the tension and heat of the deep South are palpable and rise from the pages with each chapter.  

It also becomes very apparent how short and tragic many of the lives of our favorites stars were back in the day.

Can't wait for the final part...

Also available to pre-order now at A Nickel And A Nail.

Article in Stuart's local rag....

https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/lifestyle/entertainment/books/732431/soul-man-why-stuart-cosgroves-latest-book-harlem-69-is-more-than-simply-a-history-of-soul-music/

Boatload of copies just arrived from the publishers at A Nickel And A Nail. Order link below

https://a-nickel-and-a-nail.myshopify.com/collections/books/products/harlem-69-the-future-of-soul-stuart-cosgrove

No doubt Stuart's new book will be another good read ... got his earlier books but haven't gotten round to reading 67 or 68 yet ...

... ...  ... a quick question ... a major change in the world of soul occurred between 67 & 70; the demise of the big chitlin circuit theatres (the Royal, the Howard, etc) ... only the Apollo seemed to hang on. With the end of these smaller venues (500 or so), the 7 night engagements for acts ended and they moved to a single night concert in front of an audience of 3000 to 5000 (in venues such as Madison Sq Gardens or Baltimore Civic Centre). The big groups still made decent money as the headliners at these massive venues but the number of shows available for smaller acts just starting out was reduced massively. This led to a big reduction in the opportunities for new acts to break through in many cities. Lots of the acts also started playing more white venues (supper clubs & Atlantic City / Vegas casinos) where (in general) they were treated better (dressing rooms, food, set-up assistance, general conditions).

Does Stuart touch on this aspect of the soul scene at all in any of these 3 books ??    

Just finished the Memphis 68 book. Compared to the superb Detroit volume, it had a few errors in it and was a less continuous narrative than the previous book (more a series of related essays) but overall still well worth reading.

Email from Amazon this morning to say the book is to be delivered today - and at the new price of £13.88 instead of the pre-order price at £16.99, what's not to like?!

It arrived late afternoon. I've quickly read the foreword and am looking forward to getting stuck into it. Really like the fact that it's hardback like the Memphis one; it's a trilogy that I'm sure most of us will dip back into well into the future.

Birlinn / Polygon do the hardbacks initially, then usually switch to paperback at 4-6 months.

Shameless plug - Stuart is doing a launch night in Glasgow, reading from the book followed by a club night at The Admiral Bar on Waterloo Street - tickets can be purchased from

https://tickets-scotland.com/artists.html?event_method=viewartist&event_artist=Harlem%2069%20-%20launch%20party%20with%20Stuart%20Cosgrove

2 hours ago, Ahoy Sailor said:

Shameless plug - Stuart is doing a launch night in Glasgow, reading from the book followed by a club night at The Admiral Bar on Waterloo Street - tickets can be purchased from

https://tickets-scotland.com/artists.html?event_method=viewartist&event_artist=Harlem%2069%20-%20launch%20party%20with%20Stuart%20Cosgrove

can't see it here?

https://www.soul-source.co.uk/calendar/week/2018-10-17/

21 hours ago, mike said:

can't see it here?

https://www.soul-source.co.uk/calendar/week/2018-10-17/

Don't think Stuart has put it up, will add it today

@mike just added event on SS page