The debate on the Javells post regarding black NORTHERN soul v white NORTHERN soul really got me thinking, and relating the differing views to my 27 years on the scene. I like to think that NORTHERN soul music is as diverse as the people who listen to it and buy the music .

I thought that the previous thread of mine would have run its course, but it seems quite a few of us are happy to keep the chat on this subject going, so here I am again - complete with amendments.

Here's my list of blue-eyed NORTHERN soul faves - obviously it will always be far from complete, as there is so much out there, but these for me are the more outstanding ones:

THE MARTELLS: Where Can My Baby Be

THE DEADBEATS: No Second Chance

THE MODS: Dry My Eyes

BOBBY PARIS: I Walked Away

GARY SOL'E: Holdin' On

TONY COLTON: I Stand Accused

MARK LOYD: When I'm Gonna Find Her

LYNNE RANDELL: Stranger In My Arms

B J THOMAS & THE TRIUMPHS: Keep It Up

THE BUCK ROGERS MOVEMENT: Take It From Me Girl

JOANNIE SOMMERS: Don't Pity Me

ROCK CANDY / CONTEMPLATIONS: Alone With No Love (I'm assuming it's white)

NICKY JAMES: So Glad We Made It

STEVE ALDO: YOu're Absolutely Right

THE SEVEN SOULS: I Still Love You (bearing in mind the 50-50 mix of black and white in the group)

THE TEMPESTS: Just about anything they've committed to vinyl (and yes, I know Hazell Martin is a black singer!)

Be interested to get a cross-section of views on the above, and also to hear what your fave blue-eyed NORTHERN soul tunes are. Would also be nice to hear some interesting stories behind the records, if anyone has them.

PS: Anyone posting on here with the sole intention of being obstructive, DO ONE NOW. YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE.

I've seen threads on other sites where similar discussions have taken place. My perception is that she identified herself as a back artist (and a black servicewoman come to that) and that's been good enough for me. I'm out of this part of the thread before it gets into an area I'm not comfortable with.

She got whiter

And whiter ...... LOL

But with hind sight I probably should not have added her into a list of blue eyed soul

she looks hipspanic / latin to me .

great singer !

Edited July 16, 201113 yr by dancecrasher

OK shall we move on a bit now...one of the most astonishing blue eyed soul records ever made

Edited July 16, 201113 yr by Pete S

Sorry about the scans of black labels, my camera doesn't like them.

What a fantastic pic sleeve on that Sandy Sarjeant! Groovy.

That John Bull Breed 45 may be a cover of soul tune but it's not Blue Eyed Soul - more Freakbeat if you had to hang a label on it, I guess.

Bloody great record though - wish I still had mine!

That John Bull Breed 45 may be a cover of soul tune but it's not Blue Eyed Soul - more Freakbeat if you had to hang a label on it, I guess.

Bloody great record though - wish I still had mine!

Agree, great record, fortunately available to us lesser mortals on a Polydor demo lookalike. Got it on my jukebox.

Bill Black's Combo - Little Queenie, backing band for Elvis- supposedly.

Shelly

Takin' a chance

Bill Black's Combo - Little Queenie, backing band for Elvis- supposedly.

Shelly

Well Bill Black certainly was Elvis's bass guitarist (well slap-bass) for the Sun sessions and beyond.

Nino and April

can't believe that nobody has mentioned an absolute guaranteed floor filler .........

Johnny Caswell. - you don't love me anymore

Old school northern stomper

few for me,least i think they are all 'blue eyed'

singing swinging counts - along the way

sue lynn - dont pity me

paul anka - i cant help loving you

gary haines - keep on going

jan foreman - your last chance

warner brothers- im going your way

sandpipers - lonely too long

Im shure i read somewhere that Jan Foreman was black artist , i know she sounds white, can anyone confirm this?

Wot about that old casino stomper-take me back-the flock!!!!!!

or in the same vein-run baby-dalton,james and sutton!

wahey!

just remembered-bobby goldsboro-too many people(great dancer)

IMHO the finest example of blue eyed soul is Those Lonely nights by the Soul Communicaters on Fee Bee, with Chuck Corby as lead singer.....Stunning record, and oh so Soulful

IMHO the finest example of blue eyed soul is Those Lonely nights by the Soul Communicaters on Fee Bee, with Chuck Corby as lead singer.....Stunning record, and oh so Soulful

And how about the flip "please don't go". So soulful it hurts. Though in terms of 'danceability' "those lonely nights" is the side to play.

Friday Brown was not "blue eyed"...... or ..............am I mixing her up with Carol Friday?

AWSOME Carolinas,so much gr8 stuff,mostly overlooked/forgotten,check this dead monster : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-CC6fIwfKM

Rob

Friday Brown was not "blue eyed"...... or ..............am I mixing her up with Carol Friday?

If you can find me anyone MORE blue eyed than Friday Brown I'd love to see her! Carol Friday was also of a similar shade.

chris clarke-somethings wrong best of the bunch so far mentioned for me.how about gil bernal "can you love a poor boy"!? when was this last ever played????

how about paul newmann and the excaliburs-"aint you got the heart to tell me" are they white? they sound it.how about "god knows"-mike mcdonald!!.nightwatch-"from your lips to your heart" all played at wigan( i again i think this group is also white?)

If you can find me anyone MORE blue eyed than Friday Brown I'd love to see her! Carol Friday was also of a similar shade.

hmmmmmmmmm..........there is a dark tinge

This should appeal to Ns fans, C&W fans and rnb fans alike...

https://www.youtube.c...feature=related

and on a more serious note.....

Edited July 30, 201113 yr by KevH

sorry steve will concede this one as well......................but most of this stuff?...........you'll never hear todays proper dj,s playing any of it............garbage!!!!......and then some......see ya tezza

What's the difference between a proper dj and a non proper djthen ???

Edited August 3, 201113 yr by spike1

August and Deneen both have blue eyes...

Not seen this one mentioned

Classics iv - Stormy

Current fave of mine !!!! Great little dancer!!!!

Possibly the most outrageous and funniest blue eyed dancer of all !!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYkQ2qlANhc

few of my favs!

inmates - this is the day

ellusions - you didnt have to leave

rufus lumly - stronger than me

sammy ambrose - welcome to dreamsville (not sure if he is white?)

the chants - baby i dont need your love

jerry naylor - city lights

chapter 5 - you cant mean it

so many of em!

https://youtu.be/P00YR9GqQ1s

few of my favs!

the chants - baby i dont need your love

so many of em!

Not quite that many!

well i never!,i assumed cos there from liverpool they were white,i hope that is politically correct!

Taken from https://www.alwynwturner.com

You don't get a more credible start to your career than Eddie Amoo; his band, The Chants, made their debut appearance at The Cavern in Liverpool, playing three songs in the middle of a Beatles gig. That was 1962. Fourteen years later Eddie finally had his first hit, as a member of The Real Thing, Britain's first disco band.

Like everyone else in Liverpool, The Chants got a record deal during the Merseybeat explosion of 1963/64, in their case with Pye, but - as Eddie points out - 'they had no idea what to do with a black doo-wop group, they just had no idea.' Over the next decade they released a string of singles, some of them - 'Man Without A Face' and 'Trying Trying' - very good indeed, but all of them unsuccessful.

By the early 70s The Chants were wedded firmly to the cabaret circuit, and Eddie was looking outside the group to satisfy his creativity. He began writing songs with his younger brother, Chris Amoo, and these songs became the basis of the material performed by Chris' group The Real Thing.

The Real Thing appeared on Opportunity Knocks and Top of the Pops, were managed by British showbiz legend Tony Hall, and were critical favourites on both sides of the Atlantic - even so they went through a succession of record companies and flop singles before they finally made it. When they did, it was because of a variety of factors. Firstly, David Essex used them as backing vocalists on his 1975 album All The Fun of the Fair, and on his subsequent tour, for which they were also the support act in their own right. Then the rise of disco made the idea of black British bands more acceptable to the broadcast media and the record industry. And finally they were given a perfect pop song by writer Ken Gold: 'You To Me Are Everything'.

The combination took The Real Thing to #1 in Britain in 1976 and Eddie Amoo - who had finally wound up The Chants and joined his brother's band at the end of the previous year - got his first decent break. The fact that 'You To Me' and some of the subsequent releases were more pop than soul may have typecast the group somewhat unfairly, but there were some heavier records as well; Eddie would particularly like to draw your attention to Four From Eight, their 1977 album that comes close to the socio-soul of their hero Curtis Mayfield. (The 'Eight' in the title refers to Liverpool Eight, the district where the band lived.) It also contains their greatest recorded moment, 'Children of the Ghetto'.

The Real Thing are still working on the live circuit and still feature Chris and Eddie Amoo. Go see them, partly because you need to pay respect to Britain's disco pioneers, and partly because they're damn good.

Sammy Ambrose was black

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3ren5AftsA

Village Sounds

Third from the right, looks like the Seeds front man Sky Saxon ??

Oxford Knights

Edited August 15, 201113 yr by Awake 502

haha..2 out of my list im very wrong,sammy ambrose and the chants,i thought they were white...they sound white!

Ray Merrell - Tears of Joy - Jayboy

Wayne Boling - Girl I Like to Dance With You - Campo