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Latest Updates

New 12 Vinyl - Fatback Band - Spring Revisited - Acid Jazz

News of a current limited (500) release from Acid Jazz, it's the next step in their ongoing 'Spring Revisited' series
Fatback Band: ‘Night Fever (Kenny Dope Mix)’ / ‘(Hey) I Feel Real Good (DJ Spinna Refreak)
Release Notes
Continuing the sensational Spring Revisited series in collaboration with Ace Records, Acid Jazz presents a new 12” release – Fatback Band: ‘Night Fever (Kenny Dope Mix)’ / ‘(Hey) I Feel Real Good (DJ Spinna Refreak).
Spring Revisited is an exciting and unique mix project that explores the musical legacy of legendary New York label Spring Records, with a series of new mixes from top mix artists, using the original masters.
Fatback Band are a disco/funk group that were at the peak of their success in the ’70s, and they were one of Spring Records’ most iconic artists. This is the second release in the series featuring the band’s classic work.
‘Night Fever’ is an electro-disco track released in 1976. Keeping the soulful vocal and strings from the original, house legend Kenny Dope beefs up a looped section of the percussion that forms the backbone of his version. He lifts the tempo and creates a DJ friendly version, while keeping the improvised feel of the original. This rough and ready remix has the kind of bumping groove that’s infectious on a dance floor. On the flip, DJ Spinna gives a new take on the Fatback’s ‘(Hey) I Feel Real Good’.
Presented in the signature Spring Revisited house-bag, looking as if it were hand delivered to you from a 1970s record pool. Limited to 500 copies.
Released September 5, 2025

By Mike in New Releases ·

BBC iPlayer - We Want The Funk - US PBS Documentary

First shown on PBS in the Usa back in April this year, this 81 minute documentary was recently shown on BBC2, and so is now available for a year plus on BBC iPlayer, the link follows the release notes below..
Release Notes
WE WANT THE FUNK! is a syncopated voyage through the history of funk music, spanning from African, soul, and early jazz roots, to its rise into the public consciousness. Featuring James Brown's dynamism, the extraterrestrial funk of George Clinton's Parliament Funkadelic, transformed girl group Labelle, and Fela Kuti's Afrobeat, the story also traces funk's influences on both new wave and hip-hop.
Link
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002hqjm/we-want-the-funk
By Mike in New Releases ·

The Secret History Of Chicago Music - Billy Hinton

A recent edition of 'The Secret History Of Chicago Music' took a look at Billy Hinton...
Billy Hinton mastered soul and karate
He’s better known as a seventh-degree black belt and sensei, but he also released a string of obscure but highly sought-after records in the 70s and 80s.
by Steve Krakow
https://chicagoreader.com/music/the-secret-history-of-chicago-music/billy-hinton-beige-loretta-karate-william-soul-funk/
Chicago’s alternative nonprofit newsroom
Since 2005 Plastic Crimewave (aka Steve Krakow) has used the Secret History of Chicago Music to shine a light on worthy artists with Chicago ties who’ve been forgotten, underrated, or never noticed in the first place.
By Mike in Soul Music News ·

New 45 - Jalen Ngonda - All About Me - Daptone Records

Latest release from Daptone
Release notes follow
Jalen Ngonda - All About Me - Daptone Records

OUT NOW. Only 200 color vinyl 45s available only at the Daptone Shop.
Soul singer supreme, Jalen Ngonda and producer/veteran keyboardist, Victor Axelrod join forces to deliver the collaboration we all needed–the impossibly soulful, reggae banger "All About Me." Having worked together on the sessions for Come Around and Love Me, Axelrod recalls being inspired by the similarities between Jalen's voice and a young Bitty Mcclean. He had the beds to a track already recorded, but needed the right singer. With Jalen on board, the two wrote the lyrics and recorded the vocals in one night. Written from the perspective of an arrogant lover, the track's party-forward swing and stellar vocal performance make for a pop-forward gem. 

Options
https://daptone.ffm.to/allaboutme.OYD


By Mike in New Releases ·

New Soul4Real LP: Just To Keep You Satisfied

10 unreleased Motown tracks from the late ’60s and ’70s, available on vinyl for the first time.
𝗩𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗢𝗨𝗦 𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗦 - 𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝗧𝗢 𝗞𝗘𝗘𝗣 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗦𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗦𝗙𝗜𝗘𝗗 (S4RLP07)
PRE ORDER NOW for 15th September:
https://soul4real.es/shop/

Satisfaction comes in many forms. When the magical word Motown is uttered, most people are hard-wired to The Four Tops, the Temptations and The Supremes. But to reduce Motown to the effervescent sixties is only part of the label’s remarkable legacy.
By the 1970s, a different sound was gathering. America was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The Vietnam War had been a disaster, urban street crime was epidemic and the nation’s college campuses were alive with political resistance. The joyful hope that had inspired “Baby Love” now felt anachronistic and out of time.
The music industry was changing too. The vinyl pop single on 45rpm which had been the staple of Motown’s success was being challenged by concept albums.   This was the era of Edwin Starr’s anti-war album War and Peace (1970), The Temptations mind-bending Psychedelic Shack (1970) and Marvin Gaye’s state-of-the-nation classic What’s Going On (1971).
By the early 1970s Motown had a stable of male vocalists that was arguably the best in the world, among them former lead singers from The Temptations – David Ruffin, Dennis Edwards and Eddie Kendricks. Alongside them singer-producers like Leon Ware and Frank Wilson were asserting their presence.
David Ruffin’s “Crime in the Street” captured the epidemic of violence in Detroit allowing his exquisite voice to quietly rage against gun crime. Recorded a few years before his underground classic “Rode by the Place”, both sound more modern today than when they were recorded.
If there is a common thread here, it’s the mid-tempo shifting soul soon to be christened as “quiet storm” including groups on the margins of Motown such as The Originals and The Fantastic Four led by the impassioned “Sweet” James Epps.
Just to keep you satisfied, immerse yourself in the overlooked creativity of Detroit’s male voices in the early 1970s.
STUART COSGROVE





By Alexsubinas in New Releases ·

The Soul Of The Forum - An Internet Story - AI Video

The other day was messing around with Googles AI NotebookLM and saw a video option, I pressed it and a few minutes later the tool delivered this AI video titled 'The Soul Of The Forum - An Internet Story'
As the owner/founder of Soul Source, I of course found it a bit interesting, some things are not right, a fair bit of tech stuff, all a bit too American and a bit OTT etc etc but it kept me interested for a few minutes and so thought may be worth a share on here, a few members get a mention and it does imo sort of demo AI advances in this sort of use...
I could have gone back and tweaked things, improved stuff and so on, but thought nah no fun!
The_Soul_of_the_Forum__An_Internet_Story.mp4
By Mike in Soul Music Features ·

Exit - The Tale Of The Texas Monster, Well A Little... ?

The Tale Of The Texas Monster, Well A Little Green One?
 Press Release:   Exit   “The Little Green Monster/One More Hour”   SJ562
 Release Date:   Monday  September 15th  2025

Before we begin, I’d like to point out that our Texas Monster is nothing as grandiose as the mythical creature fabled to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands, but is in fact, the title of a very desirable and now hard to come by 45 single recorded by a group known as Exit.
Exit were a five-piece ensemble of journeymen musicians from the lone star state of Texas who came together in the early 1980’s to record a handful of popular local 45’s including two Football-mania songs. The groups line-up consisted of lead guitarist and vocalist Clennis High, rhythm guitarist Lonnie Jones, his brother Johnny K. Jones the groups keyboardist, bassist Frank Houston Jr and George Oliver on Drums.

 
Clennis High, a promising Football player with a flair for playing the guitar began his early musical career while attending Wheatley High school.  In 1965 aged 17, Clennis entered Crazy Cajun, Huey P Meaux’s recording studio for his first ever session to play on what would be his first penned and published song “Strange Love” recorded by local Houston artist Eugene Gamble and released on Earl Feronberg’s highly collectable Feron label (Clennis and the older Eugene would remain lifelong friends).

Further Crazy Cajon sessions for Barbara Lynn followed, before Clennis travelled to Sylvan Beach near Galveston Texas to play on sessions for Roy Head of hit recording “Treat Her Right” fame. An invitation by a neighborhood friend Willie James Parnell to play alongside a group of fellow students in a band called ‘The Drells’ soon followed. ‘The Drells’ had been founded by Archie Bell in 1966 pulling together his neighborhood friends James Wise, base singer Cornelius Fuller (who upon his High School graduation left the group prior to any recordings) Billy Butler, and the aforementioned Willie Parnell. Archie’s brother Lee Bell worked initially as the group’s road manager before after a few months on the road joining as a full-time singer, Lee was affectionally known as Bird Man. Later becoming ‘Archie Bell & The Drells’ the group signed for Skipper Lee Frazier’s Ovide label recording several sessions with occasional musical accompaniment by the ‘Texas Southern University Toronadoes’. The Drells scored a regional hit with “She’s My Woman”. A follow up release, which Skipper Lee had initially promoted for the “Dog Eat Dog” side before being persuaded to push the flipside entitled “Tighten Up” took off. “Tighten Up” a quirky dance instruction became a local hit in Houston prompting Atlantic Records to pick it up for national distribution in April of 1968. “Tighten Up” topped both the Billboard R&B and Pop Charts by the summer of the same year, leading to The Drells recording three solo studio albums “Tighten Up”, “I Can’t Stop Dancing” and “There’s Gonna Be A Showdown” under Gamble and Huff for Atlantic Records.  Clennis being part of ‘The Drells’ new found fame brought his own academic studies to a temporary halt to enable him to travel the world with the group for the next two years or so, before quitting in 1971 to return home to Houston to complete the degree he had earlier started. It was around this time that Lucious Larkin whom the Drells had first met while performing on the same bill as The Impressions in Florida joined the group. It’s also worth mentioning that Clennis was also member of an off-shoot group that accompanied the Drells called the Cold Four who recorded “Love And Care” for the Drells label. Clennis was the co-writer on the 45’s instrumental flipside “Low Riden”.  

Once back in college he still needed to earn some money so Clennis began gigging with another High school friend Wilbert Freeman’s brothers band, Sonny Freeman & The Unusuals (who had been at one time part of ‘BB Kings Band), which led to them eventually working with Joe Tex as he promoted his 1976 hit “Ain’t Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)” before Sonny Freeman had to return home to Detroit causing the band to break up.
Unemployed again, Clennis began jobbing with several bands alongside another friend, a bad ass saxophone player, Jerald Grey. Clennis and Jerald worked for a while with Grady Gaines band the ‘Texas Upsetters’ who had previously been Little Richard’s touring band ‘The Upsetters’. After a while Jerald decided to put a small band of his own together. Jerald came up with a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter by the name of George Montgomery Oliver who acted predominately as the group’s drummer with Clennis being responsible for recruiting a bass player Frank Houston Jr (from another previous band that he had worked with). Frank was a very infrequent shaver and was thus nicknamed “Wolfman”. This newly formed ensemble performed as ‘The Reality Band’ (so called as Jerald had a thing about keeping things real). Occasionally ‘The Reality Band’ played with other groups with one group in particular (which Jerald Grey previously knew) being an outfit from Conroe, Texas (circa 40 miles north of Houston) called the ‘58 Engineers’, ‘The Engineers’ as they called themselves was founded by brothers Johnny and Lonnie Jones whose interest in music grew through singing in their Fathers church choir. Initially the brothers who both worked for the Union Pacific Railroad during the day formed a performing trio with a fellow musician Lonnie Pitts but over a period of time the band grew in size and Pitts moved on. The group was named ‘The 58 Engineers’ after the Army Unit that co-founder Johnny Jones served with during his time in the service. By 1973 the group had grown to 8 members with a line up consisting of Johnny Jones (Keyboards), Lonnie Jones (Rhythm Guitar), Johnny Lee (Lead Guitar), Ray Carter (Bass Guitar), Sylvester Washington (Drums), Napoleon Fisher (2nd Keyboards), Chester Taylor (Conga Drums) and Jocelyn Brown (Tambourine and lead vocals). All the group members contributed to the harmony parts with the sometime addition of band roadie Londell Carter. All the members were local to the Houston area. During the same year the group entered the studio to record the highly collectable and popular funk outing “The Funky Fly (Part1 & 2)” on their own Bryant Records label (Bryant being the Jones brother’s mother’s maiden name).

 
As members of the ‘58 Engineers’ moved on, the Jones brothers found themselves working with the aforementioned Jerald Grey’s ‘Reality Band’ when Jerald Grey too later moved on the remaining ‘Reality Band’ members Clennis, George and Wolfman (who by then having grown fond of the two “Country Brothers from Conroe” as they affectionally called the Jones brothers) made the decision to continue working with them, which led to the foundation of the group, Exit.
On another note, Clennis’s meeting with the Jones brothers was to have an even greater effect on his later personal life. The Jones brothers had a sister Mary who Clennis through shared values and interests enjoyed talking to with no romantic involvement at the time as both of them were married. Over time both Clennis and Mary divorced from their respective partners. Clennis would often meet Mary while visiting Johnny’s house on band business and eventually their romance blossomed. Clennis eventually asked Mary to marry him by performing a song he had written for her entitled “Do You Think You Can Do This” with his old friend Archie Bell also present at the performance acting as Clennis’s back singer!

 
During 1980 the recently formed Exit recorded the first of their two Football -mania songs entitled “The Houston Oilers Mania Song” (Part 1 & 2) which appeared firstly on their Byrant label credited as ‘The Engineers’. At this point Johnny and Lonnie decide on a rebranding of the group with a change of artist and label name that they hoped would resonate with Texans which led to “The Houston Oilers Mania Song” being released for a second time credited under the new performing artist name of ‘Exit’ on their new Dal-Tex label (both the Bryant and Dal-Tex releases share the same catalogue number, LS-451).  Exit’s second Dal-Tex (105) release came in 1981 with the disco influenced song “Success” backed with the excellent ballad “One More Hour” both sides were penned by the Jones brothers and Clennis. “One More Hour” received considerable local radio play which led to Exit playing many dates in and around Texas and farther afield in Los Angeles.

Exit returned to the recording studio again in 1983 from which sessions came their third 45 single “You Got To Put Your Head Down” (Dal-Tex 106) once again a disco influenced dance song backed with yet another excellent ballad “The Little Green Monster”. The spoken intro on “The Little Green Monster” side is very reminiscent of the 58 Engineers earlier release “The Funky Fly” before the song leads into the subject matter of a grandmother’s warning of the perils of being all consumed by jealousy. The group’s fourth and final Dal-Tex release was a second attempt at a Football-mania song this time in support of The Dallas Cowboys, “Honeybee/Dallas Cowboys Mania Song” (Dal-Tex 106) which they reverted back to the recording artist name of the ‘Engineers’ on. Although credited on one side as “Honeybee” the 45 features the “Dallas Cowboys Mania Song as a part 1 & 2 with Honeybee being the name of the studio where the recording session was held, miscommunication between the studio engineer and pressing plant are thought to be to blame on that one?
Clennis sang lead on all of ‘Exit’s’ recordings with ‘Wolfman’ (who had similar vocal tones) joining him on the harmony parts.
Following the demise of Exit, Lonnie and Johnny Jones alongside their sister Mary and now brother- in-law Clennis moved away from secular music to become the ‘Gospel Engineers’ with the addition of Eddie Floyd Pierson who became their lead singer. Lonnie Jones later entered the ministry to become a Reverend (like his father before him), sadly Lonnie passed away in 2007. George Oliver continued with his day job of some 20 years as a courier for the Sunlife Corporation before he too in 1985 turned his back on secular music to become a licensed Bishop, founding 3 Churches and numerous religious committees and community projects in and around Houston before he too sadly passed away in 2003. The other group members lost contact with Frank “Wolfman” Houston Jr during the ensuing years and he too is believed to have passed, leaving Johnny and Clennis as the only surviving members of Exit. The 2025 variant of the ‘Gospel Engineers is now even more of a family affair, (the un-family related) Eddie Pierson remains alongside Clennis, Mary, Johnny and Johnny’s son Anthony.
  
One can only wonder if Superbowl success had been achieved by either team featured on ‘Exit’s Football-mania songs how things may have turned out differently, sadly these 45’s are now consigned to objects of their respective supporter’s memorabilia collections. Exit may now be gone but they are most certainly not forgotten, with their disco influenced sides “Success” and “You’ve Got To Put Your Head Down” finding favour with record collectors in Europe and their respective ballad sides “One More Hour” and more so “The Little Green Monster” now becoming a highly regarded and sort after three figure 45 by sweet soul/lowrider connoisseurs alike. Both of these songs have been put back-to-back to feature on Soul Junction’s forthcoming September 45 release.
 
Words by: David Welding
With acknowledgements to: Clennis High and Johnny K. Jones Sr
Photographs courtesy of: Clennis High and Johnny K. Jones Sr

 
 
 
 
 
By Chalky in Artists ·

New 45 - Dylan Chambers - LRK Records

Upcoming 45 from LRK Records, release notes below
LRK Records is thrilled to announce the limited edition 7" vinyl release of Dylan Chambers' latest soulful tracks.

A-Side: Love Like This – a smooth, heartfelt tune that captivates from the first note which not out yet.
B-Side: Mercy (That's What I Need) – already out and streaming, this track delivers raw emotion and timeless melody fans have been craving.

Release Date: September 30, 2025
Preorder Available: 28th Sept 2025
Format: 7" Vinyl, Limited Edition (only 300 copies pressed)

Don’t miss your chance to grab this exclusive release and spin Dylan Chambers’ soulful vibes on vinyl.
By Mike in New Releases ·

Playlists Database - A Community Project

I have had some time on my hands recently and to keep the devil away, i have built a Desktop application (win and Mac work, not tested on linux at this point) that will list verified playlists from current clubs with details of DJ, Track played, club name and location (town and country). I am well into the project and want to start adding in actual data so i thought i would throw this out there to see if any DJ’s want to take part?
So what’s it about, Joxer66? Basically the app lists the data in format – Artist*, Title*, Label*, DJ Name*, Club Name*, Venue, Town*, Country*, When played*
(* denotes required data)
e.g. The Puffs,I Only Cry One A Day Now,Dore,Joe Moran,Soundglasses,The Big Romance,Dublin,Ireland,2025/05/22
The app is fully searchable across all those data points so you can find all the tracks that Joe Moran played, or tracks played on 22nd May 2025, or all the Dore occurrences etc. that are in the database and combine with any other data point to further drill down to what you want.
Each entry can then be searched for on Youtube, Spotify and Discogs (by launching browser window)
you can curate your own text lists of tracks you don’t know and these are exportable to .csv handy to have when out digging
There also some Statistics built into the app that lists Overview, Top Lists and Detailed Breakdown for the data nerds to chin-stroke over.
Use Cases:
Promoters can use it for checking out Deejays they want to book
Soulies can use it to check what clubs fit with their taste
DJs can look back on what they have played previously and put together a list to prep for next gig
And i guess its just a way for folk to check out tracks they don’t know via the external platforms (which is why i developed it initially!!)

What am i looking for? Whilst i am heavily biased towards Northern i recognize that in a lot of events there are fuzzy lines between genres but are enjoyed nonetheless by a wide selection of soulies so playlists in the above format played at Northern, Rare Soul, Mod etc. events.

What am i not looking for? Radio Shows or online Mixcloud type events.

A few things i want to stress about this project:
The app is non-commercial and data will not be used for advertising
Data supplied will remain in the ownership of the DJ
The only PII used will be DJ name – no email, phone number or anything else sought or required
Data will only be used with express consent of DJ and will be removed if that consent is withdrawn
All of the data will reside on your local machine and there are no external links (other than searches to specified platforms that you initiate) hidden in the code
The app is written in python over a MySql database so totally transparent to anyone with a txt editor
App launches via an .exe file and whole package will contain user guide FAQ and all that good stuff.
As more playlists come in i will be issuing Data updates and similarly if i introduce new functionality, that too will go out as upgrades with full install directions
And again, This is not commercial in any shape, manner or form
I have intentions to make the app available on Android and iOS but that's way down the line and subject to me reining in folk who can develop to those formats
So if you want to get involved in the project you can hit me up via DM here @Joxer66 or Email seosaimhm@gmail.com,




By Joxer66 in Soul Music News ·

New 45s - 3 Via Kent - Inc The Exits, Darrow Fletcher, Barbara Long,The Cautions - Out Now

Ace/Kent Records have 3 brand new 45s out this weekend. Details, audio and such follows below




Darrow Fletcher - The Pain Gets A Little Deeper / My Judgement Day - Kent Repro 26
‘The Pain Gets A Little Deeper’ was soul music’s equivalent of Frankie Lymon’s ‘Why Do Fools Fall In Love’ – young, vulnerable, heart-felt vocals that belied the singer’s years. It entered the charts in January 1966 and catapulted the 14 year-old Darrow Fletcher to fame in the R&B world, particularly in his home city of Chicago. Elton John has cited the recording as one of the best soul records he has ever heard.
The ‘My Judgement Day’ flip demonstrated that there was depth to Darrow’s talent and a fruitful career followed.
01-Darrow-Fletcher-Gets-A-Little-Deeper.mp3
02-Darrow-Fletcher-My-Judgement-Day.mp3


The Exits - Another Sundown In Watts / I Don’t Want To Hear It - Kent Repro 27
The sparsely-recorded Exits must be considered one of the greatest Los Angeles 60s soul vocal groups. Jimmy Conwell was their driving force, but all four singers contributed. Jimmy and fellow Exit Godoy Colbert, along with label owner Hank Graham co-writing both of these songs. Graham licensed ‘Another Sundown In Watts’ to Kapp records but with the issue being incredibly scarce compared to the demo, it may not have had a proper release. The song is hugely popular among both discerning northern soul fans and harmony lovers and now fetches over £1,000.
Coming up fast on the rails is the catchy dancer ‘I Don’t Want To Hear It’, issued on Cleveland’s Gemini label two years previously. It’s another mid-tempo harmony jam, ideal for today’s ageing dancers.
01-The-Exits-Another-Sundown-In-Watts.mp3
02-The-Exits-I-Dont-Want-To-Hear-It.mp3


Barbara Long / The Cautions - Take It From Me / Poor Loser - Soul Harmony SH 04
Barbara Long’s exquisite vocals on ‘Take It From Me’ are backed by a heavenly backing group that was no doubt arranged and maybe featured Raynoma “Miss Ray” Gordy, Berry’s second wife and co-founder of Motown. This song was written by Eddie Singleton, Ray’s new partner who set up Shrine Records with her in Washington DC. The record came out on their sister label Jet Set, but sold poorly and is very sought after now.
Singleton wrote another beautiful harmony ballad, ‘Poor Loser’ for his main group the Cautions - issued on Shrine in 1966. It was their second single and got lost in the company’s implosion with most copies incinerated in record distributor Waxie Maxie’s fire. Its Northern soul flip makes it a £2,000 record on original.
01-Barbara-Long-Take-It-From-Me.mp3
02-The-Cautions-Poor-Loser.mp3

Availability
All three of these brand new 45s are now available via Ace Records website (tap here), and various record stores including our very own revamped Source Store (tap here to visit)


By Mike in New Releases ·

New 45 - Womack Sisters - Daptone

A 45 that has sparked a bit of discussion on here over the last month or so, released last week...
Release news from Daptone
The Womack Sisters - If You Want Me b/w I Just Don't Want You (To Say Goodbye) -DAP114

The debut single from Soul Music nobility, The Womack Sisters, is a one-two punch of soulful excellence. On "I Just Don't Want You" sisters Kucha and Zeimani's plaintive background vocals and BG's powerful lead come together like a harmonic bouquet in full bloom. A deeply soulful ballad at its core it tells a tale of someone coming to terms with the pain of being in love with Mr. Wrong when you know you deserve Mr. Right. Out now!
Availability
Black and coloured vinyl version still avail at Uk £6.00 per 45 via
https://daptone.bigcartel.com/product/the-womack-sisters-if-you-want-me-bw-i-just-dont-want-you-to-say-goodbye
Available at other onlines stores as well
Worldwide and streaming via

https://daptone.ffm.to/dap1114.GTQ

By Mike in New Releases ·

Usa Tariffs - Vinyl Trading - Friday 29th August 2025

Usa tariffs kick in tomorrow Friday 29th August 2025
Discogs has pushed out an informative article which may be of interest to anyone who sells vinyl to the Usa
You can read the article via
https://www.discogs.com/about/news/united-states-tariff-impact-music-media-2025/
It does make two important points, quotes below


Myself am not planning any changes just yet to the way I do sell to the Usa, but am in a wait and see what happens mode
Members, how are you reacting to these changes?
By Mike in Soul Music News ·

New 45 - Pat Lewis - Geni - Hayley Records - The Mystery Solved

Pat Lewis - Geni / When I’m in your arms - HR 038
A new 45 release from Hayley Records, out now, release notes follow below
PAT LEWIS MYSTERY FINALLY SOLVED.
For many years it was believed that the Goldmine vinyl release of ‘Geni’, labelled as PAT LEWIS, was accurate, even though this version bore an uncanny resemblance to the TERRI BRYANT version released on Verve Records in 1967. The rumour that Pat had actually recorded her own version persisted through the decades but could not be substantiated with aural evidence – until now!
It transpires that a labelling error on tape boxes at United Sound Systems , where the original recordings had been made, had mistakenly identified Terri Bryant’s version as being made by Pat and that she had actually recorded it, as well as her own scratch vocal of ‘When I’m in your arms’ , but that these tapes were in the possession of songwriter and producer George McGregor.
Hayley Records was fortunate enough to obtain much of the George McGregor archive material before his tragic death in 2015, which included the original recordings of ‘Geni’ and ‘When I’m in your arms’ by PAT LEWIS, which are both now available for the first time on vinyl.
Release date: 22nd August 2025.
HR 038 PAT LEWIS ‘Geni’ b/w ‘When I’m in your arms’
Video

Availability
45 is available via @Rob Moss and Hayley Records (tap) , plus various record stores inc our own Source Record Store (tap)
By Mike in New Releases ·

A New Major Soul Weekender - Summer 2026

One for the planners and such out there, a shout about a forthcoming new Summer Soul Weekender (with on site accommodation) has been made in our event guide weekender section
Fuller details still to follow, so far the Event Guide entry says...

Major Northern Soul Weekender
Fri 21 Aug 2026 Sun 23 Aug 2026
60 DJs, Excellent facilities.
Pricing and fuller details available soon.
https://www.soul-source.co.uk/events/event/87610-major-northern-soul-weekender/


By Mike in Soul Music News ·

New 45: Barons Of Soul - Previously Unissued​ Time or Tide - I Loved And I Lost - Pre-Order Now

Epsilon Record Co.
Proudly Presents its latest release
Pre-Order Now
(Release date 10th of Sept 2025)
BARONS OF SOUL
1969 San Jose / California
Live Recording, Previously Unissued
A SIDE : Time or Tide
B SIDE I Loved And I Lost
£18 inc UK Shipping / £22 Worldwide
https://www.epsilonrecord.com


Occasionally, one experiences serendipitous events in life.
On the 13th of July this year, I received a message from Tim Trapnell, who had discovered an unknown 60’s track on YouTube and expressed his admiration for its exceptional quality.
Intrigued by the message, I clicked on the link and was immediately captivated by the musical composition.
Within minutes, I embarked on a quest to uncover more information about the band and the particular track.
On the 16th of July, only three days after, I’ve received a message from Jim Bojorquez (aka JC), the lead vocalist of the Baron of Soul,
“Hello Yann,
I was delighted to hear that you have discovered and enjoyed my original composition, ‘Time or vs Tide.’ It was written by myself and Clark Baldwin. that the recording was performed live and this song was never released in any format back in the day.
I have reached out to Jim Bojorquez the next day and we spent a considerable amount of time conversing via video chat about his illustrious 60-year music career as an artist in San Jose, California.
I proposed to Jim that I could release two songs from The Barons of Soul through Epsilon Record Co.
I re-mastered both songs and made a deal with Jimmie that same day.
So today, I am so pleased to present these two previously unissued tracks.
"Time or Tide" is a powerful uptempo piece featuring an exceptional brass section and a Hammond B3. The vocals are exceptionally punchy and catchy, ensuring an unforgettable listening experience.
"I Loved and I Lost” is a remarkable take of the Impressions classic written by Curtis Mayfield’s
If you are an enthusiast of 60s uptempo music like Tim and myself, then this new and exceptional 45 is an absolute must-listen and must have!

BARONS OF SOUL
Jim Medina - sax, vocals
Tim Smith - sax, vocals
Fred Sanchez - trombone, vocals
Charles Harris - trumpet, vocals
Eric Benson - Hammond organ
Ray McNatt - guitar
Chip Benson - bass
Tommy Sosa - drums)
By Yann V in New Releases ·

TMG 555 - A 45 that refused to go away

I sometimes wonder if Berry Gordy really believed in H-D-H's song "This Old Heart Of Mine" as it didn't seem to get any special treatment when penned. That seems strange as the song turned out to be one of the trio's most recorded songs. The backing track for the song was first cut (in September 65) and was intended for Kim Weston's use. But Kim & Mickey Stevenson were exploring their options away from Motown at that time, so she never got to cut a version (Tammi Terrell cut a solo female version but this languished in the vaults for a while). After the Isley's were signed to Motown in Nov 65, the song was assigned to them & they almost immediately added their vocals to the existing track (on 1st Dec 65) and it was soon released on a 45 (Tamla 54128 on 28th Jan 66). But it didn't seem to get much of a push from Motown. The company hardly took any promo photos of the group, so they can't really have planned big things for them. Anyway, promo copies of the 45 must have been sent out in mid January 66 & it was soon getting plays on Windsor & Michigan radio stations. It started to enter local radio stn charts in late Jan / early Feb 66 and then spread out across the US. But it seemed to break slowly in many US areas and was getting almost as many pop stn plays as R&B stn plays (probably due to the Isley's past hits).
It progressed from radio plays / charts to sales chart status but not that rapidly. By early April it was in the US R&B national chart top 10's and was also climbing the Hot 100 where it had just made the top 20. After 9 weeks on that chart it reached #15 (mid April) but it was dropping down their R&B chart that same week (from #6 to #8). As it had been a bit of a slow starter in the US, it didn't gain a UK release till the end of March but it then became a legendary release (TMG 555). Initially it just scrapped into the UK Top 50 pop chart (for 1 week; 30th April) but then continued to sell week after week. It was selling to soul / Motown fans who mainly bought from specialist shops, these not usually being chart return shops. But the sales people at such specialist shops stated that (after an initial flurry of sales in May) they would sell around 10 copies of the 45 every week. This situation went on for week after week and I guess resulted in EMI organising a 2nd press of the single late in 1966. The single kept selling copies, so unlike most other soul 45's, EMI never deleted it from their sales listings. Throughout 1967 it still kept selling. By now it was a firm disco favourite and as Motown track plays spread from mod / soul clubs to more mainstream venues (the Locarnos, Top Rank & Mecca ballrooms), none soul fans started to buy copies.
This situation continued into 1968 and after a full 72 weeks of continuing sales, EMI decided to re-promote the 45 and issued a new promo copy in Oct 68. This got the single new reviews in the British music press and led to plays on BBC Radio 1. In no time at all, it went to the top of the UK R&B chart and was soon back on the pop charts. It peaked on the pop chart in mid November 68. By 18th January 69 it had dropped to #27 but this was it's 12th week on the charts. 3 weeks later it had only dropped another 5 places to stand at #32. On that same chart, their follow up 45 (“I Guess I'll Always Love You”) stood just outside the top 10, and the success the other single was enjoying finally took the focus off TMG555. But it was still selling lots of copies over 30 months after it's first UK release. I don't believe EMI ever admitted how many copies it had sold during that two & a half year period (but I could be wrong). Other versions of the song were released here & sold well too (the Supremes, Donnie Elbert, Rod Stewart x 2, Bettye Swann, Delroy Wilson, Donny Beaumont, Wild Cherry, Vonda Shepard, Jackie Moore, Gee Morris, etc.) The Isley's version was put out further times too (1975 + 1976 & again by RCA in the 80's). By July 2019 it had attained UK Silver Disc status (250,000 sales) & it went Gold (1 million sales) in Nov 2022 (no doubt as a result of many downloads by younger fans).
But back in vinyl 45's heydays, I'd love to know just how many copes of this Tamla Motown 45 sold. The only people to really know would be the guys at EMI as so many copies of TMG555 would had been purchased in non chart return shops. Back then (1966 to 1968) UK charts were compiled from sales figures from between 30 and 100 record shops (when the Isley's 45 was mainly selling in quantity). Big record companies such as EMI got record shops to stock their 45's on a 'sale or return' basis. Unsold copies could be returned to EMI when the single was deleted and the shop would receive their money back. As TMG555 was never deleted (until the early 70's I guess), no copies of this single would have been eligible for this scheme. At the start of the 1960's, Record Retailer mag was just sampling sales in around 30 stores; NME and Melody Maker had a bigger sample size, more like 100 shops. In mid February 1969, Record Retailer with the BBC commissioned the BMRB to record sales of singles in what then officially became the UK Singles Chart.
The BMRB compiled their chart data from approximately 250 to 300 record stores. The 300 shops used each week being randomly chosen from a pool of approximately 6,000 shops. But the majority of the 300 shops who were asked to send in their weekly sales figures (some returns were delayed in the post, thus the 250 to 300 figure for data utilised each week)were large mainstream, High Street type shops. They weren't the specialist retail shops where soul fans would usually go to buy their vinyl fix (most big pop orientated record shops not automatically carring stock of obscure soul & Motown singles released here). These mainstream record shops were also mainly located in big cities, the highest number of them being in the London area (a fact that worked against NS reissues in the 70's as sales of such 45's were quite low in the London area compared to the rest of the country).
Singles in the UK were selling in unheard of volumes in the 1960's (thanks to the impetus the Beatles helped give to the record biz). Average sales figures for a 45 that reached #1 on the British pop chart were 750,000 copies. By the 70's, that had dropped to around 150,000 copies. By the mid 80's, a single could top the charts yet still only sell 50,000 copies. By 2006, a single could reach #1 by selling less than 18,000 copies. A single that only managed to attain a top 10 placing would have sold substantially less copies than the 45 that stood at #1 during those same weeks. Of course, some records caught the public's imagination and sold way more copies than was the norm for their period (the likes of Spice Girls, Oasis & New Order releases being examples of this). Oasis's “Wonderwall” single got a gold disc even though it never actually topped the charts. In the mid 70's, Queens “Bohemian Rhapsody” sold way above all other releases that year & it returned to the charts in 1991 when included in the film 'Waynes World'. In all, it's reckoned that this 45 sold in excess of 2.6 million copies in the UK.
In 1963/64 a new Beatles 45 would have advance sales that justified a 1st pressing run of 250,000 copies. “Their “She Loves You” 45 was released in late August 1963 but had managed over 1.3 million copies sold by the year end (a 4 month period). EMI's big wigs were just about all classical music guys and tended to look down on the companies pop material. This situation continued even after the Beatles records were accounting for over 20% of everything EMI were selling in the UK during the mid 1960's years. How out of touch EMI managers were before the Beatles came along is shown by the fact that Elvis Presley's initial 10 UK released singles were put out by EMI on their HMV label but they weren't promoted properly, so none of them sold in the same quantities that they had in the US (4 of them made the UK top 10 though). The type of record buyer who's purchases were most reflected by high chart placings were your older M-O-R buyer. This fact is illustrated well by the top selling UK 45 most years during the 1960's. The Beatles had the top selling single in 1963 but the top seller each year after that came from Jim Reeves (64), Ken Dodd (65), Jim Reeves (66), Englebert Humpything (67), Louis Armstrong (68), the Archies (69) and Elvis Presley (70).
In addition to UK 45 sales, by 1969, British soul fans had started to buy lots of imported US 45's – from outlets such as the B&S shop and F L Moores. With sales of “This Old Heart Of Mine” being almost zero across the US by 1968 / early 1969, US Motown copies were turning up at discounted prices and these were also being bought in decent quantities over here. With only 100 of the 6000 UK record shops providing data on what were the best selling singles each week, it's easy to see that sales volumes of 45's such as “This Old Heart Of Mine” could easily be underestimated. In addition to this, most record company reps knew which the sales return shops were and so would send out teams to buy certain of their own releases in these shops to 'hype' them onto the charts. Once on the chart, much more radio exposure was guaranteed and therefore sales would then be boosted due to the additional prominence the record would then be receiving. So (IMO) most weeks, TMG 555's chart position would have been lower than the actual sales volume it had managed to achieve.
Even though UK Tamla Motown 45's were selling in greater quantities towards the end of the 1960's and into the 70's, very few (at the time) achieved sales volumes of 250,000 (silver disc qualitying numbers). T/Motown 45's that were big sellers here back in the day were a bit thin on the ground before the late 1960's. The only ones we know that achieved 250,000 sales back then being;
THE SUPREMES “Baby Love” ... end of 1964 / early 65;
FOUR TOPS “Reach Out I'll Be There” ... 1967;
MARVIN GAYE “Heard It Through The Grapevine” ... 1969;
STEVIE WONDER “Yester Me, Yester You, Yesterday” ... end of 69 / early 70.
Of course, the 45 at number 1 on the charts each week would have sold substantially more copies that the single standing at say #5. A #1 record would probably have sold as many copies in a week as the one that had peaked at #5 had managed to sell in a month. But of course, all the charts were actually doing was collating & illuminating the records that had been selling in less than 100 chart return shops (the larger sample of shops used by the BRMB chart not commencing till around the time the Isley's biggie had dropped off the chart).
In the very near future, original US released copies of this single will be 60 years old. It is still a much loved track with Motown fans all these years later, even though it will never be classed as anything close to being a rare record. In fact, I'd guess it must qualify as one of the most plentiful records to ever have escaped on the iconic British Tamla Motown label. It seems to be the only T/M 45 to appear as a promo copy in both red & white plus green & white versions. After 2006, downloads largely replaced actual vinyl copies of new singles. Even though there has now been a resurgence in vinyl sales, we will never return to the massive sale volumes of times past. It would be great however to finally find out just how many copies of the Isley's “This Old Heart Of Mine” single were pressed up in the UK down the years. My guess would be that it had reached the 250,000 singles sold landmark by the mid 1970's, but with a lot of these sales having been via small specialist shops, those sale volumes were never documented.










By Roburt in Soul Music Features ·

Events - The Next 100 Soul Nighters - August 2025 Onwards

Events - The Next 100 Soul Nighters as at August 2025
A heads up Event Guide Nighter shout for all you nighter types
Taken directly from our Source Event Guide, a dynamic grab of the next upcoming 100 Soul Nighter Events

Event Guide Links
Event Guide Main Page (tap)
Event Guide Allnighter Section (tap)


By Mike in Soul Music News ·

New 45 - Kevin Fingier Collective - Comin’ Home Baby - Acid Jazz

Kevin Fingier Collective - Comin’ Home Baby - Acid Jazz
A new release from Acid Jazz, out now, the release notes follow below
Release Notes
Kevin Fingier returns with a brand new 7” single on his own Acid Jazz imprint Fingier Records. Known for his explosive Latin sound and classic-style production, Kevin has released a string of sell-out soul 45s, a world music vinyl series, and an album and LP respectively.
Here Kevin returns to his Jamaican-influenced roots. He formerly led Acid Jazz-signed reggae band Los Aggrotones and has produced tracks for reggae legends Derick Harriott, Pat Kelly and The Cimarons. Now for the first time this distinct flavour hits wax on the Fingier label.
This release presents a unique, driving Ska-tinged take on Mod/R&B classic ‘Comin’ Home Baby’, paired with a Fingier original, the deeply authentic Trojan-styled ‘Leaving Samsara’ on a limited edition 7” vinyl single.
Presented in the Fingier Records graphic housebag, the perfect addition to the summer DJ box.Just released
Availability
45 is available via Acid Jazz website (tap), and various record stores including our very own Source Store - (tap)
By Mike in New Releases ·

Record Fair - Wigan - Sunday 10th August 2025

Word in all about a new Record Fair being held in Wigan next Sunday, 10th August
Jordan aka @Northernjordan12 is involved and he has passed on that most of the dealers attending are soul-focused, including
Richard Free (Liverpool)
Connor White (Manchester)
Gene Merideth (Bridgwater, Somerset)
Andrew “Mace” Mason (Stoke-on-Trent)
Ozz Osborne (Stoke-on-Trent)
Mark Speakman (North Wales)
Calum Andrews (Wigan)
Address is
Beer Hanger
Arch 6 Queen St, Wigan WN3 4HX
See the flyer below for the full details

By Mike in Soul Music News ·

Ace Records - 50th Anniversary Week

Ace Records are marking their 50th anniversary this week
A quick monday social grab of info below...
Here's all the information you need on our 50th Anniversary festivities in Camden Town, celebrating 50 years of Ace Records (and even longer since Ted Carroll opened that now legendary record shop Rock On in the early 70s).
As well as live bands, we have upwards of 30 (!!) brilliant guest-DJ's* spread out over the week - including Ted and co-founder Roger Armstrong playing ultra-rare gems from their collections. Also don't miss the Ace & Modfather Clothing official After Party on Friday August 8th (strictly limited capacity). Hope to see you in Camden!
More info via https://www.acerecords.co.uk/news/2025/ace-50-live





By Mike in Soul Music News ·

The Secret History Of Chicago Music - Byron Gregory - July 2025

The Secret History Of Chicago Music has a great new informative addition, well worth the walk over to the Chicago Readers website, info and link follows below
Guitarist Byron Gregory played his tasty licks just outside the spotlight
As a session and support musician, he backed giants of soul, jazz, funk, gospel, and more—including Ramsey Lewis, Ruby Andrews, and Tyrone Davis.
https://chicagoreader.com/music/the-secret-history-of-chicago-music/byron-gregory-clarence-ramsey-lewis-chess-guitar-tyrone-gospel/
Chicago’s alternative nonprofit newsroom

By Mike in Soul Music News ·

2 x New Kent 45s - The Afterglows & Charlie Rich - Out Now

Two cracking new Kent 45s out just in time for the weekend. 4 great sides, featuring The Afterglows and Charlie Rich, one on City and one on Town (complete with a new design), the full details follow below...



The Afterglows - I’m A Good Woman / Open The Door To Love - Kent City 108
West Coast producer Bill Silva had a whole LP of soul/rock from the little-known outfit the Afterglows in his vaults. Among the tracks was a killer cover of Barbara Lynn’s ‘I’m A Good Woman’. Any version of this song is popular, but the female lead on this number takes it to another level. This will crossover to many soul scenes.
The flip, ‘Open The Door To Love’, is a northern soul-oriented dancer that is both catchy and atmospheric and will be greeted as a great “new” release by collectors of this esoteric genre.

The Afterglows - I’m A Good Woman
The-Afterglows-Im-A-Good-Woman-source.mp3
The Afterglows - Open The Door To Love
The-Afterglows-Open-The-Door-To-Love.mp3



Charlie Rich - Don’t Tear Me Down / Hotels, Motels - Kent Town 177

Country singer Charlie Rich has previous on the rare-soul dance scene with ‘Love Is After Me’, the Hayes/Porter track recorded in Memphis for Hi Records, being popular in mod-frequented soul discotheques of the 60s. ‘Don’t Tear Me Down’ was recorded around the same time, but was unissued until a 1988 LP collection of Rich’s Hi-recorded tracks. Astute DJ Dean Anderson picked up on the powerful beat ballad and played it in the 90s, making it very popular - leading to a Kent 45 release in 2007.
That pressing is long-gone and the record continues to be spun at northern soul venues, thereby causing this second issue of the superlative soul song. We have coupled it with ‘Hotels, Motels’, another great soul dance track from the same sessions; it debuts on 45 here.

Charlie Rich - Don’t Tear Me Down
Charlie-Rich-Dont-Tea- Me-Down-source.mp3
Charlie Rich - Hotels, Motels
Charlie-Rich-Hotels-Motels-source.mp3

Availability
Both of these brand new 45s are now available via Ace Records website (tap here), and various record stores including our very own revamped Source Store (tap here to visit)
By Mike in New Releases ·

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