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Do You Have Enough Money To Be A Top Northern Soul Dj?

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It's a question I'm curious about.

I think the general concensus on here, is that generally the most-rated DJ's on the Northern Soul scene are the guys that play authentic original copies of highly rare records, both known and unknown. This applies to both current rare and popular oldies DJ's - in other words, right across the spectrum of the whole scene.

So, accepting the philosophy that in order to become a top Northern Soul DJ these days in pretty much all areas of the scene, one needs to have a large box full of rare originals worth tens of thousands of pounds, then doesn't that suggest that the scene is pre-disposed to those with a huge amount of disposable income?

I'm long, long gone from the cutting edge of rare record collecting these days but I keep an eye on things and occasionally get lucky every so often, so obviously I keep an eye on current prices and generally end up weeping LOL.

If I were to re-create the same 200 count box that cost me less than £300 in 1975, it would cost me a minimum of £30K now and probably nearer £50K. If I , included my overall collection at the time into the equation, then we'd be talking circa £200K at todays prices (mainly 'cos I had all the 70's stuff that's now off the scale).

So obviously I've thought about this and figured out that there's a massive amount of difference between the passionate Northern Soul DJ's of the 1970's and the passionate Northern Soul DJ's of today.

Without a doubt, I personally 100% rode the route of enjoying and playing super-rare records that no one else had, and naturally, a certain amount of ego was involved. But records were relatively cheap back then and most aspiring DJ's were beavering away getting their own choices together well within most people's disposable income levels. So the path towards becoming a popular Northern Soul DJ back then somehow seemed a bit more organic in that virtually anyone could get within reach of the top guys providing they had the right taste and made smart buying choices. It didn't really start becoming a money-lead thing until '75/'76 in my view. In fact, when it started going that route, I got the hell out of dodge and started looking for records at the source. The economics made a bit more sense.

So I guess the question is: do you need a £50K collection of originals to even get into the top-strata these days?

And, as a result, has Northern Soul become a rich man's sport?

Ian D :thumbsup:

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Everyone thinks they're a f**king DJ on this scene and 90% of them havn't a clue how to do it..big records or not

I asked a similar question on here when I first joined..about how people can afford to buy expensive records..the answer I've found is..they can't..only a very small percentage pay top dollar for records..the latest hotbox monsters that someone else discovered..if you have a good ear and a good source you can pick up great records for peanuts..I'm not even going to tell you some of the profits I've made reselling some speculative sounds..a lot more than the money I've made DJing in this scene put it that way

Here's a tip..if you want to stand out as a DJ..

A) At least get a f**king set together

B) Try to be original and not chase the box of 20 records that every other soul DJ seems to own..find your own sound..you'll be a lot more satisfied and a lot less out of pocket

Personally if a record goes big that I have in my box I tend to play it less and less then just sell it

I get a lot more satisfaction from playing obscure records..but perhaps that's just my narcissism taking centre stage :hatsoff2:

LOL, tell it like it is Beeks.

Wanna share some tunes then?

Ian D :thumbsup:

Everyone thinks they're a f**king DJ on this scene and 90% of them havn't a clue how to do it..big records or not

I asked a similar question on here when I first joined..about how people can afford to buy expensive records..the answer I've found is..they can't..only a very small percentage pay top dollar for records..the latest hotbox monsters that someone else discovered..if you have a good ear and a good source you can pick up great records for peanuts..I'm not even going to tell you some of the profits I've made reselling some speculative sounds..a lot more than the money I've made DJing in this scene put it that way

Here's a tip..if you want to stand out as a DJ..

A) At least get a f**king set together

B) Try to be original and not chase the box of 20 records that every other soul DJ seems to own..find your own sound..you'll be a lot more satisfied and a lot less out of pocket

Personally if a record goes big that I have in my box I tend to play it less and less then just sell it

I get a lot more satisfaction from playing obscure records..but perhaps that's just my narcissism taking centre stage :hatsoff2:

I don't think it's just on this scene Beeks, the same goes on all dance music scenes and it has been that way for the last 20 years or so. At one time a DJs reputation depended on the tunes he had managed to get hold of and play.

As I mentioned in another thread, giving someone who isn't a DJ a load of top tunes and asking them to DJ, is the same as giving someone who has no idea about engineering a set of spanners and asking them to build a car.

Edited by steveLuigi

I totaly agree with Bearsy a good dj is agood dj and i also side with Dave that they must all be original how would you feel if you're up next to do your spot then bang the guy plays a bootleg copy of a record you have just paid £500 upwards for, i know i would be gutted. No your set dose not have to be all £1000 plus records but original YES.

Yes i can see your point.

But surely you payed 500 quid cause you WANTED the original. not cause you wanted to play the original if you see what i mean.

Stu.

Everyone thinks they're a f**king DJ on this scene and 90% of them havn't a clue how to do it..big records or not

I asked a similar question on here when I first joined..about how people can afford to buy expensive records..the answer I've found is..they can't..only a very small percentage pay top dollar for records..the latest hotbox monsters that someone else discovered..if you have a good ear and a good source you can pick up great records for peanuts..I'm not even going to tell you some of the profits I've made reselling some speculative sounds..a lot more than the money I've made DJing in this scene put it that way

Here's a tip..if you want to stand out as a DJ..

A) At least get a f**king set together

B) Try to be original and not chase the box of 20 records that every other soul DJ seems to own..find your own sound..you'll be a lot more satisfied and a lot less out of pocket

Personally if a record goes big that I have in my box I tend to play it less and less then just sell it

I get a lot more satisfaction from playing obscure records..but perhaps that's just my narcissism taking centre stage :hatsoff2:

Not everyone is a DJ Beeks.......

I love seeing records I have collected being picked up by DJs and being turned into in demand money things when it turned out they were quite rare.

Still looking for the great sounds that may be unknown to most but could turn out to be rare.

collecting is also about spending an absolute fortune on that favourite holy grail that you never thought you would ever own.

collecting is also about the tunes that are just fooking ace and not rare that you just have to have in your collection.

collecting is just so many things

collecting is personal

What records have you bought for peanuts that have ended up big ?

I have a few tales.

Edited by dancecrasher

  • Author

What records have you bought for peanuts that have ended up big ?

I have a few tales.

That's worth turning into a seperate thread Dancecrasher.

If you don't, then I will!

Ian D :hatsoff2:

Wow. Look at that! It's not often that someone acknowledges a mistake! :thumbsup:

Well done Soulman. You sir, are a gentleman. :hatsoff2:

Luckily you happened to choose one night that I'm hardly likely to forget which incorporated seeing seeing Pat Brady in the afternoon where I flogged him about £7K worth of stuff, followed by numerous bars, clubs, restaurants and then the Griffin, Gary Field buying a cracked Joe Mathews, more sales and bumping into folk I hadn't seen for years, followed by a rave until 8.00am, Cliff's until 9.00am and then a police cell for most of Sunday, a casino and then a 200 mile trip back to London in the early hours of Monday morning.

I king hell b*stard of a weekend that was and one I won't forget in a hurry. :D

And I still don't really know the Gracie Dumas record LOL......

By the way, where is Gary these days? Is he OK?

Ian D :D

after a weekend like that, i'm supprised you remember your name let alone gracie dumas... havn't seen gary for a couple of years now, if you've got a number for him could you pm it to me

Everyone thinks they're a f**king DJ on this scene and 90% of them havn't a clue how to do it..big records or not

I asked a similar question on here when I first joined..about how people can afford to buy expensive records..the answer I've found is..they can't..only a very small percentage pay top dollar for records..the latest hotbox monsters that someone else discovered..if you have a good ear and a good source you can pick up great records for peanuts..I'm not even going to tell you some of the profits I've made reselling some speculative sounds..a lot more than the money I've made DJing in this scene put it that way

Here's a tip..if you want to stand out as a DJ..

A) At least get a f**king set together

B) Try to be original and not chase the box of 20 records that every other soul DJ seems to own..find your own sound..you'll be a lot more satisfied and a lot less out of pocket

Personally if a record goes big that I have in my box I tend to play it less and less then just sell it

I get a lot more satisfaction from playing obscure records..but perhaps that's just my narcissism taking centre stage :hatsoff2:

A voice from the past!!!!....DJ ? - i prefer record monkey :thumbsup: .But do agree with A +B ...+ C if you'd marked it up Beeks.

That's worth turning into a seperate thread Dancecrasher.

If you don't, then I will!

Ian D :yes:

Oh that should have been C or D on my list Lads

NEVER post your wants, obscure gains or how much you paid for any given record on Soul Source..EVER wink.gif

Oh that should have been C or D on my list Lads

NEVER post your wants, obscure gains or how much you paid for any given record on Soul Source..EVER :thumbsup:

Why not ?

A lot of collectors have interesting tales.

The old collecting yarns are fascinating imo .

Edited by dancecrasher

Yeah, someone told me he was still in touch with Richard. He's the kind of guy who can disappear for years and then turn up with handful of ridiculously rare things. I still don't know how he kept turning up with killer records but he always did. I never got Robbie Lawson off him though!

Ian D :thumbsup:

Ian I'm with Gary now and he says if you want the Robbie Lawson he has the original acetate (intro 1234) a 'Bell sound' acetate so def' orig,

Gary says how are you Ian hope you're well.

Steve.

Edited by steveLuigi

you cant argue with that - !!!!!

Just want to say this has been a good discussion and what soul source is all about, passionate but curteous.

Carry on everybody. :thumbsup:

  • Author

Ian I'm with Gary now and he says if you want the Robbie Lawson he has the original acetate (intro 1234) a 'Bell sound' acetate so def' orig,

Gary says how are you Ian hope you're well.

Steve.

Well, I was OK until late yesterday afternoon, when for no apparent reason my left foot started swelling up to an unfeasably large size. So I'm writing this from a hospital A&E in a desperate bid to prevent to stop my left foot exploding LOL.

Please give my regards to Gary and tell him I'll be happy to take the Robbie Lawson acetate off his hands. Unfortunately since he dropped off the scene, there's been a precipitous drop in the value of acetates but 'cos he's an old mate I'll give him a tenner. Can you ask him if he'd like a cracked Duke Browner by the way?

Ian D :thumbsup:

Edited by Ian Dewhirst

IF YOU DONT BELIEVE IN YOUR OWN TASTE THEN MONEY IS THE ANSWER

IF YOU DO, WHATS MONEY GOT TO DO WITH IT

IF YOU DONT BELIEVE IN YOUR OWN TASTE THEN MONEY IS THE ANSWER

IF YOU DO, WHATS MONEY GOT TO DO WITH IT

I like that :lol:

I like that :lol:

me too :thumbsup:

James Troubles story would have been great for this thread . :lol:

James Troubles story would have been great for this thread . :lol:

Not heard that one.What's the story?

James Troubles story would have been great for this thread . :)

do tell Simon, would sum it up really :huh:

  • Author

James Troubles story would have been great for this thread . :huh:

Well James never did me any favours, as most people on here know, but I'm genuinely curious about what happened. Even though he effectively attempted to ruin any level of reputation I have for no reason whatsoever, I'd always actually been quite supportive of his angry young man stance and I'd always been very civil on the couple of occasions I met him. I'm not a fan of 'schadenfreude' (a word which doesn't exist in English but is a German word for someone who takes pleasure from the misfortunes of others), I'm curious about what actually happened to him and the reasons for the fire sale of his records.

Does he still DJ or even collect records anymore? What's the story Simon?

Ian D :)

  • Author

IF YOU DONT BELIEVE IN YOUR OWN TASTE THEN MONEY IS THE ANSWER

IF YOU DO, WHATS MONEY GOT TO DO WITH IT

Ah, but what about if your taste happens to really really want a one-off record that happens to be worth £5K and you don't have the necessary funds at your disposal?

Ian D :huh:

Well James never did me any favours, as most people on here know, but I'm genuinely curious about what happened. Even though he effectively attempted to ruin any level of reputation I have for no reason whatsoever, I'd always actually been quite supportive of his angry young man stance and I'd always been very civil on the couple of occasions I met him. I'm not a fan of 'schadenfreude' (a word which doesn't exist in English but is a German word for someone who takes pleasure from the misfortunes of others), I'm curious about what actually happened to him and the reasons for the fire sale of his records.

Does he still DJ or even collect records anymore? What's the story Simon?

Ian D :)

Would it not be better to hear it first hand from James himself, should he wish to talk about it?

Winnie :huh:

Would it not be better to hear it first hand from James himself, should he wish to talk about it?

Winnie :)

Yes I think thats best . I dont even know why he wanted to be a NS Dj to be honest :huh:

Yes I think thats best . I dont even know why he wanted to be a NS Dj to be honest :huh:

He was back on here the other day...you could ask him.

  • Author

Would it not be better to hear it first hand from James himself, should he wish to talk about it?

Winnie :huh:

Undoubtably.

Ian D :)

  • Author

Yes I think thats best . I dont even know why he wanted to be a NS Dj to be honest :huh:

An interesting comment in itself. Hiding to nothing?

Ian D :)

An interesting comment in itself. Hiding to nothing?

Ian D :huh:

To be fair , he got gigs that most young NS DJ's just dream about :)

  • Author

To be fair , he got gigs that most young NS DJ's just dream about :huh:

Yep, he was the 'enfante terrible' for sure although I'm not sure how many repeat bookings he got. He wasn't afraid to pay big money for rare records either which kinda brings us right back to the subject of the thread doesn't it..........?

Ian D :)

Yep, he was the 'enfante terrible' for sure although I'm not sure how many repeat bookings he got. He wasn't afraid to pay big money for rare records either which kinda brings us right back to the subject of the thread doesn't it..........?

Ian D :)

Ive always had the tiltle of the thread in mind Ian... Ive never acted like Uncle Albert ..."During the War " etc etc :huh:

Edited by Simon M

Yep, he was the 'enfante terrible' for sure although I'm not sure how many repeat bookings he got. He wasn't afraid to pay big money for rare records either which kinda brings us right back to the subject of the thread doesn't it..........?

Ian D :huh:

he seemed to come from nowhere to djn at all the top events and yep he had some very rare records too many for such a youngster lol

so would he of got them bookings without them big money rare records ????

back on thread :)

Ive always had the tiltle of the thread in mind Ian... Ive never acted like Uncle Albert ..."During the War " etc etc :huh:

no you always come out with " i got that from soul bowl for £1.50 in the early 80s" :)

no you always come out with " i got that from soul bowl for £1.50 in the early 80s" :huh:

:):lol:laugh.gif:lol:

he seemed to come from nowhere to djn at all the top events and yep he had some very rare records too many for such a youngster lol

so would he of got them bookings without them big money rare records ????

back on thread :)

Not really, the thread is a hypothetical, this would be about an individual. I have mailed James to see if he wants to comment :huh:

:huh::lol::):lol:

funny thing is actually did get them for £1.50 form soul bowl laugh.gif

Not really, the thread is a hypothetical, this would be about an individual. I have mailed James to see if he wants to comment thumbsup.gif

sorry Winnie didnt realise please correct again if i get it wrong again in the future :huh: and pass my regards on to James been a long time no see :)

funny thing is actually did get them for £1.50 form soul bowl :)

LOL , I was buying Modern , .. NS was £5 to £50 :huh:

Edited by Simon M

ok a hypothetical angle, someone comes into the scene and buys a lot of big money tunes and gets gigs at all the top venues and was very good dj too, would that person of got them bookings without the big money tunes ?

i replied to your post about keeping an eye on the dance floor and making sure your doing your job as a dj and make sure it dont empty, thats what should happen at an oldies night,

at a R&U night you souldnt have to worry about the dance floor should should play those rare and underplayed gems YOU beleive in that are good enough, how the fook you gonna know if they are good enough if all you are thinking about is filling a dance floor and by doing that you be in that rut of an oldies dj, bolox to that and fook the dance floor you play what you believe in and if you do then i have a feeling the dance floor will get action if not blame the promoter for hiring you to dj :huh:

The above comment may come across a bit Cruel Bearsy, playing what you believe in doesn't necessary add up to happy punters got to agree with both of you in a way that if you've got a decent box then try something different but playing to your own tastes all the time has got to be a recipe for disaster unless that's what the paying punters want?

i replied to your post about keeping an eye on the dance floor and making sure your doing your job as a dj and make sure it dont empty, thats what should happen at an oldies night,

at a R&U night you souldnt have to worry about the dance floor should should play those rare and underplayed gems YOU beleive in that are good enough, how the fook you gonna know if they are good enough if all you are thinking about is filling a dance floor and by doing that you be in that rut of an oldies dj, bolox to that and fook the dance floor you play what you believe in and if you do then i have a feeling the dance floor will get action if not blame the promoter for hiring you to dj :)

The above comment may come across a bit Cruel Bearsy, playing what you believe in doesn't necessary add up to happy punters got to agree with both of you in a way that if you've got a decent box then try something different but playing to your own tastes all the time has got to be a recipe for disaster unless that's what the paying punters want?

hi ya, i have never said to play whatever you want whenever you want cos you cant really do that at an oldies night and shouldnt but i honestly beleive at a rare and underplayed night you can and should, if you cant be bold and brave and play whatever you want at a r&u night in the music YOU beleive in then it really is time to hang up the dj box and just enjoy listening to everyone playing what everyone wants to hear all the time but then i get confused cos i thought a rare and underplayed night was to bring something different to the night, if you bomb then you simply wont get dj spots if your good and no one knew a tune where do you stand there then ??

i easily get confused but do know that an oldies night is not a place to educate but i also thought a rare and underplayed night was to be you and play your records cos thats why the promoter wanted you in the first place :huh:

tricky ol scene really in it biggrin.gif

what about if someone earnt £100k a year and spent 10k on tunes is that as bad as someone that earns £20k a year and spends 3k on tunes biggrin.gif disposible income is the key and not the value but yep im edging towards you need big money records to really get recognised but not neccaserily with all the scene, now im really confused about what i think :huh::)

  • Author

ok a hypothetical angle, someone comes into the scene and buys a lot of big money tunes and gets gigs at all the top venues and was very good dj too, would that person of got them bookings without the big money tunes ?

No. I can't think of a great technical DJ who ever made it on this scene without rare records. Can anyone?

This is one of those scenes where the DJ is only as good as the records he has in his box.

Ian D :huh:

No. I can't think of a great technical DJ who ever made it on this scene without rare records. Can anyone?

This is one of those scenes where the DJ is only as good as the records he has in his box.

Ian D biggrin.gif

stop it now Ian :huh: have you not read that you can be a good dj without rare records but it helps to be recognised at the top :D

im off to bed now the wine is going to me head and not sure if its that or this thread thats making it spin :)

*i easily get confused but do know that an oldies night is not a place to educate*

Y'see! this is why this thread is going round in circles.

It still is possible to educate at an oldies night, as mentioned what seems ages ago in this thread, there are loads and loads of oldies that don't get played anymore, that were massive back in the day. and there are a lot of folk out there that go to oldies events and hear the same old oldies, and for one reason or another might not have heard a lot of the oldies that don't get played these days.

An example might be either that certain venues back in the day had their own big tunes or style of tunes, and if someone frequented one of those venues and might not have ventured much further, they may not have heard some of the tunes that were big at other venues.

OR there is a lot of new blood on the scene so they will definitely not have heard ALL of the big oldies that were played at ALL the venues back in the day. So there's the educational part of an oldies scene.

This thread could go on for years LOL!

Edited by steveLuigi

  • Author

what about if someone earnt £100k a year and spent 10k on tunes is that as bad as someone that earns £20k a year and spends 3k on tunes :D disposible income is the key and not the value but yep im edging towards you need big money records to really get recognised but not neccaserily with all the scene, now im really confused about what i think :huh::)

LOL, I think it's pretty simple really.

The greatest DJ in the world with 3K worth of records probably wouldn't have the same appeal as the worst DJ in the world with 30K worth of records.

Does that make it any easier? laugh.gif

Ian D biggrin.gif

WTF is an 'R&U' night?

Rhythm & Underpants?

WTF is an 'R&U' night?

Rhythm & Underpants?

Might as well be judging by some of the rubbish I've heard played in the name of rare and underplayed. :huh:

LOL, I think it's pretty simple really.

The greatest DJ in the world with 3K worth of records probably wouldn't have the same appeal as the worst DJ in the world with 30K worth of records.

Does that make it any easier? :lol:

Ian D :D

The greatest Northern DJ probably spent 3k in the last 5 years and its now 50k . His name is Mark Dobson :):huh:

LOL, I think it's pretty simple really.

The greatest DJ in the world with 3K worth of records probably wouldn't have the same appeal as the worst DJ in the world with 30K worth of records.

Does that make it any easier? :lol:

Ian D :D

I had to read that three times :huh: but to me - No, the 'Greatest D.J in the World' with 3K worth of records would have more appeal. Unfortunaely the 'Worse D.J in The World' with 30K worth of records would have more appeal to a some folk... That's the unfortunate thing.

Can this thread end now please?...:)

Len.

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