The legendary Funkmasters, The Skull Snaps are a part of the Unsung Heroes Of

R&B And Soul Tour that will began early next year, along with Northern Soul greats

Tony Drake and The Diplomats.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkjpgkhS9pA

what are the dates please?

BTW i thought the diplomats became the skull snaps or am i thinking of another group, and is it the original line up, apart from george bragg of course?.........phil

what are the dates please?

BTW i thought the diplomats became the skull snaps or am i thinking of another group, and is it the original line up, apart from george bragg of course?.........phil

You're right.....Diplomats became the Skull Snaps. with a brief interlude as the Four Puzzles, and then changed their name after their time with GSF to the Fantastic Puzzles....

They backed Tony Drake on Let's Play House, but weren't credited on the label......so I guess that's the tour connection...

Hardly call them unsung heroes in the UK though, or did I imagine the live show they did at Cleethorpes a couple of years ago ?

You're right.....Diplomats became the Skull Snaps. with a brief interlude as the Four Puzzles, and then changed their name after their time with GSF to the Fantastic Puzzles....

They backed Tony Drake on Let's Play House, but weren't credited on the label......so I guess that's the tour connection...

I don't think they ever became the four puzzles / puzzles, I think there is some weird story behind that where they were producing the records and then some of them ended up singing on the record somehow. There is some details in an interview somewhere.

No they weren't the Puzzles just wrote and produced their records, it's all in Fatback's Soul Shop CD. They weren't the Fantastic Puzzles either.

Am i dreaming but did they not show up at These Old Shoes one evening?

Am i dreaming but did they not show up at These Old Shoes one evening?

They certainly did, we had a good time pre-Clee.

They certainly did, we had a good time pre-Clee.

What did they think of TOS?....... a bunch of brothers from USA finding a few white middle aged drunken blokes (and the odd woman) trying to dance on a sloping dance floor the whole place not much larger than a box of Swan Vesta and smelling like an open sewer? Were they Diplomatic?

They loved it but one of the younger lads was keener to get to a lap dancing club!

What did they think of TOS?....... a bunch of brothers from USA finding a few white middle aged drunken blokes (and the odd woman) trying to dance on a sloping dance floor the whole place not much larger than a box of Swan Vesta and smelling like an open sewer? Were they Diplomatic?

'Odd woman'....oi, I resemble that remark I nearly had kittens when the Diplomats walked down the hallowed TOS stairs....and then I saw Ady's head pop round the door at the top of the stairs What a lovely lovely lovely bunch of guys and so patient answering everyone's questions. I know the lead singer had a Louis Vuitton beanie hat on and uttered those immortal lines to me 'I'm your pimp'....happy?? I was like a pig in the brown stuff....one weird thing - nobody had a copy of 'Cards on The Table' in their box which was odd as every month, someone had played it and a bit more would fall off the label (do all copies have a flaky label?). But who cares, a priceless night

Edited September 24, 200915 yr by vinylvixen

They loved it but one of the younger lads was keener to get to a lap dancing club!

If only you'd asked BTW....which one was the youngest....they must've all been in their 6Ts??

'Odd woman'....oi, I resemble that remark I nearly had kittens when the Diplomats walked down the hallowed TOS stairs....and then I saw Ady's head pop round the door at the top of the stairs What a lovely lovely lovely bunch of guys and so patient answering everyone's questions. I know the lead singer had a Louis Vuitton beanie hat on and uttered those immortal lines to me 'I'm your pimp'....happy?? I was like a pig in the brown stuff....one weird thing - nobody had a copy of 'Cards on The Table' in their box which was odd as every month, someone had played it and a bit more would fall off the label (do all copies have a flaky label?). But who cares, a priceless night

Sorry Jo, I didn't mean you when I said "the odd woman"...if i had i would have used the word "strange"..... .

If only you'd asked BTW....which one was the youngest....they must've all been in their 6Ts??

No two were recruited for the performance as only two of the originals Irv and Sam were up to the trip. I think one of them was a relation.

what are the dates please?

BTW i thought the diplomats became the skull snaps or am i thinking of another group, and is it the original line up, apart from george bragg of course?.........phil

Tony Drake, The Diplomats/ Skull Snaps legendary concert promoter Clyde Wasson

and myself had a meeting at the Sheraton Hotel in Sept discussing the details

of the Unsung Heroes of R&B and Soul tour, in which we'll post very soon.

Two members of the Diplomats (Samm Culley & Erv Waters) became the Skull Snaps

in 1972 and signed with Lloyd Price's GSF label and recorded the legendary

Skull Snaps LP in 1973. Thomas Price left the Diplomats in 1970, got married

and raised a family. The Four Puzzles were formed in 1967 and recorded the

cut 'Right Or Wrong' b/w ' Especially For My Baby' then became the Puzzles

in 1968 and released 'My Sweet Baby'.

An interview with Thomas Price on WBAI in New York

https://archive.wbai.org/

Scroll down to "Soul Central Station" Sunday October 4, 2009 interview starts around 40 minutes.

I'm not sure how long they leave these archives up for, so don't procrastinate

...and signed with Lloyd Price's GSF label...

Hello,

Just pointing out that Lloyd Price didn't own GSF Records. He was involved as an artist and producer/A&R exec.

It isn't often mentioned that Sam Culley was also involved with some Creative Funk sessions, playing bass and doing arrangements. And of course he wrote "I Need You" for Diane Jenkins.

Talented man.