Anyone think this scene can never be like it was?

There are three good reasons:

1. No-one will ever again discover an unheard record with the quality of "This Heart Of Mine".

2. We are not young post-mods anymore.

3. Worst of all, neither are the chicks.

Good

1) Motorways across Britain and cars that go over 60mph.

2) T'internet, chatting to like minds from all over

3) Artists getting the recognition and earning some money from their records at last.

Bad

1) Trains not starting til midday on a Sunday, STILL!!

2) T'internet = price of records thru the roof.

3) CDs even though I own a couple. (I realise this could be a good thing to some people)

I'm only into it for the moaning!

I'm only into it for the moaning!

I only moan about walking for an hour and a half to Valatone when said walk should take 20 minutes :-))

Good...

Music quality is better..You can now choose between jukebox oldies nights and rare soul events.. A good deal of deeper midtempo soul for the dancefloor..

More events than ever..We can now choose to go to the event of choice because there are nights every week...

Internet...Its great to talk to like minded people from all over the world...

Rebirth..A lot of people have come back onto the scene after years away and not all them want to hear the same old stuff..

100 club... I still get the same old feeling when i walk through that door..

Bad..

Youth.. The lack of young faces coming through, it seems most of the young crowd who come through are from the mod scene only.Younger crowd for London soul nights only.. I take it upon myself to contact the younger crowd and bring them to soul events..

Politics..It seems that as some people get older they get more bitter and twisted..

Some people out there think they own the scene now and work against each other..I came into this scene to be part of a collective of like minded people but we know money can always get in the way of the heart for some...

Speed dating..The media think its only just been invented...

Records..Lots of people have come back onto the scene with large amounts of disposable income and will pay anything it seems to get the tune, prices through the roof..How can the younger crowd get really into collecting..

Djs..Too many living on past reputations and no forward thinking at all...thats not what i and my freinds got into the scene for..

Long live the rare soul scene and all who sail with it...

The more things change the more they remain the same...

I might be sticking my neck out, but I think the scene today is just about as good as it can possibly be. Yes, it's not a youth scene any more, but with modern youth the way they are today, that can only be a good thing. (Anyone see that documentary last night about alcohol-fuelled hi-jinx in Plymouth, Hartlepool and Swansea... frightening.)

The young people who gravitate towards the rare soul scene today do so because they are transfixed by the music, dancing and atmosphere at the clubs, not because it's fashionable or because of peer pressure. How many of the thousands who regularly attended venues in the 70s have lasted the course? Answer: only those who really cared about it, the others were obviously just into it because that's what their mates were doing. I shared a caravan at Cleethorpes with a couple barely out of their teens who had been to just a couple of nighters prior to the weekender. They loved it and remarked how civillised yet exciting it all was compared to the normal night club scene.

Brilliant records are still being unearthed. I genuinely believe this. Not anything like to the extent they once were, admittedly, but still in enough quantity to keep it more than interesting. The dedication of deejays like Butch, Arthur Fenn, Keith Money, Andy Dyson, Soul Sam and others means that at least at the clubs where they play you're gonna hear something pretty amazing.

Dayo, you must acknowledge that at places like The Torch, Mecca and Wigan people were literally falling over the new discoveries of the day. The scene made its own rules as to what to play. Finding records then was like shooting fish in a barrell.

To find records today of the quality of The Masqueraders cover-up, Jerry Washington, Martha Jean Love cover-up, Daniel Madison, The Tiaras on Op Art, Benny Harper, Joseph Webster, Soul Bros. Inc "Teardrops" etc. is amazing and a testament to those record hunters who believe in the true spirit of the scene. All those records named above are in the same league if not far better than "This Heart of Mine".

I'll assume the reference to women was tongue in cheek, but on a wider note, socially the scene is just as vibrant today as it can be, bearing in mind the average age of the punters. I've made friends with people from literally the four corners of the earth because they love soul music, from 19 to nearly 70. As Carl Hooper would say, "That's Amazing".

Yes, people of my age (i'm 37) will never experience the pure adrenalin rush of something like a packed Casino, full to the rafters with young people dancing to amazing new records. I really do envy you that, but the scene has matured, and, all things considered, ain't such a bad place to be.

Edited August 24, 200916 yr by garethx

I only moan about walking for an hour and a half to Valatone when said walk should take 20 minutes :-))

Bloody hell Karen I'd be moaning after the first ten minutes of walking after that I'd be sweatin, gasping and trying to whistle for a cab!!

Speed dating..The media think its only just been invented...

That is the funniest thing I have read on here.

Also, great post Gareth. I think you have it just about right. But I partly got into going to soul nights because where I came from, my contempories were acting just like those idiots you described, and I enjoyed going to places where I wasnt going to get hit with a glass. So I dont think too much has changed there.

Nice post Gareth..Is this the Gareth i know and respect from London????And yes teardrops..one of the greatest things to come to my ears...oooooooooh tear drops,falling from my eyes...

If a thousand young ones come and have a look at the scene and 3 go on to make it part of their life then its a winner..

Respect...

Yes Steve, 'tis me.

Sir, I am honoured by your respect.

Backatcha.

Hi Gareth

Left you a love letter in the private mail box(email)..Don't tell the mrs..

Gareth - nice post, thankyou, and much respect.

The whole thing was a bit tongue in cheek, with just a hint of longing for the days when we were 21... bluey's were 7 for a quid, and The Salvadors was just another dusty record waiting in a Chicago warehouse.

The scene was then about being young and part of something so cool, so elite, man...you just ruled.

The whole thing was a bit tongue in cheek, with just a hint of longing for the days when we were 21... bluey's were 7 for a quid, and The Salvadors was just another dusty record waiting in a Chicago warehouse.

The scene was then about being young and part of something so cool, so elite, man...you just ruled.

Beautifully put. Respect to you.

Anyone think this scene can never be like it was?

There are three good reasons:

1.  No-one will ever again discover an unheard record with the quality of "This Heart Of Mine".

2.  We are not young post-mods anymore.

3.  Worst of all, neither are the chicks.

Whilst very difficult to re-create anything that once was, any scene etc, just listen to Butch for a start, he's got a set full of quality soul, most traditional style too, Jerri Taylor, JJ Jackson, Jerry Williams, Diane Lewis, Masqueraders, Rita & Tiaras, Belita Woods - all cover ups also stuff like Mello Souls, Stormy Wynters, Jean Carter all great soul. He's also got some of the best 70's/crossover/modern that any dj can offer too.

Plnty of other DJ's out there finding good stuff, Andy Dyson, Mick H, Kitch etc. Get to the next Lifeline on August 21st and hear the best the scene has to offer.