Dennis Barton kindly shared this top 10 of Keb"s from September 1984. We know all of them bar one, can you name then all?

the only one's i recognise are the cairo's and august moon...shows exactly how much i know about stafford!

the only one's i recognise are the cairo's and august moon...shows exactly how much i know about stafford!

Which one is August Moon, 10? Thats the only one we aren't totally sure about as it was a Brady spin earlier.

well im just presuming im correct, dont know any other record with that title by a group...but what a tune! and one im currently playing...great double header as well with "wasted years" on the other side.

is the terrible tom actually help, truth & the portraits?

is the terrible tom actually help, truth & the portraits?

yes it is

1 THE CAIROS ( SHRINE )

2 JERRY AND HIS UNIQUES ( LENNAN )

3 SHEILA FERGUSON ( LANDA )

4 HOPE , TRUTH , & PORTRAITS ( TRUE LOVE )

5 THE CAIROS ( SHRINE )

6 LITTLE JOHN ( GO GATE )

7 BRAD LUNDY ( LUNDY )

9 NATURAL FACTS ( LUCKY LOU )

10 AUGUST MOON ( O - GEE )

8 I'll SLEEP ON IT

Edited January 6, 201312 yr by pumpkinseed

Jimmy rea, think I have a sound file of that but cant find it. Awsome tune if its that one.

Bit confused that revelons turns out to be the little john?.

Edited January 6, 201312 yr by Prophonics 2029

found an old keb playlist he lists the ladyg c/up as Sheri Allen on x-tra although the title doesn't seem to match ??

found an old keb playlist he lists the ladyg c/up as Sheri Allen on x-tra although the title doesn't seem to match ??

8 is as far as I know Sherli Allen.

1 THE CAIROS ( SHRINE )

2 JERRY AND HIS UNIQUES ( LENNAN )

3 SHEILA FERGUSON ( LANDA )

4 HOPE , TRUTH , & PORTRAITS ( TRUE LOVE )

5 THE CAIROS ( SHRINE )

6 LITTLE JOHN ( GO GATE )

7 BRAD LUNDY ( LUNDY )

9 NATURAL FACTS ( LUCKY LOU )

10 AUGUST MOON ( O - GEE )

8 I'll SLEEP ON IT

At the risk of sounding stupid, naive, a killjoy or d) all of the above but... I understand the point of cover ups, but was the intention to deliberately mislead or just have a bit of fun? If Keb got asked to do a chart, he's not going to say "i've got ten records but i'm not telling you what they are..." but if you saw this chart, how many people would know they were made up? And were they genuine mysteries at the time, or were people pretty quick to guess?

And finally, phew, if you let the cat out of the bag, was it all taken in good humour? Or would you be met with a karate chop from Keb?!

August Moon was certainly known well before 1984...played at Wigan and i got mine about 1978.

At the risk of sounding stupid, naive, a killjoy or d) all of the above but... I understand the point of cover ups, but was the intention to deliberately mislead or just have a bit of fun? If Keb got asked to do a chart, he's not going to say "i've got ten records but i'm not telling you what they are..." but if you saw this chart, how many people would know they were made up? And were they genuine mysteries at the time, or were people pretty quick to guess?

And finally, phew, if you let the cat out of the bag, was it all taken in good humour? Or would you be met with a karate chop from Keb?!

thats rich coming from Urrrrr Cover-up?

thats rich coming from Urrrrr Cover-up?

thats cos he is always walking around nighters but naked great list of tunes i think i would of liked Stafford

4 HOPE , TRUTH , & PORTRAITS ( TRUE LOVE )

Actually "Help Truth & The Portraits".

Great post which also brings back London memories of Sensible Soul, The Moonlight Club (West Hampstead), and the 'nites' at Grays Inn Buildings, London (I was always invited to the Grays Inn Buildings nites, but never went! Still kicking myself over not going!).

Edited January 8, 201312 yr by Gene-R

Actually "Help Truth & The Portraits".

Great post which also brings back London memories of Sensible Soul, The Moonlight Club (West Hampstead), and the 'nites' at Grays Inn Buildings, London (I was always invited to the Grays Inn Buildings nites, but never went! Still kicking myself over not going!).

Ok you never went Gene but do you know if it was it a bit of a squat / warehouse inside? Remember going to a place around Grays Inn, concrete floor with a couple of sheets of wood on floor, cans of red stripe out of a box of water, Keb DJing possibly Ion & a bloke "Eric" possibly from Leeds playing modern ?

Hope you're keeping well Gene?

thats rich coming from Urrrrr Cover-up?

Ha! Touché... I'm not exactly part of the scene, and got into northern in the mid-90s, so I'm genuinely interested in how things worked back then. It seems now, with the internet, ALL the information is out there - so for people to do cover-ups now must take some balls. It either has to be REALLY rare (in which case, why cover it?) or really unknown. And how do you find out if it's unknown? You can't exactly show it to someone and ask? Or play it and be faced with the "oh, that got played twice at Wigan before being tossed aside..." etc etc

So, just curious how it worked "back in the day". To know Keb's charts was all cover-ups would take a certain amount of knowledge to begin with...

Ok you never went Gene but do you know if it was it a bit of a squat / warehouse inside? Remember going to a place around Grays Inn, concrete floor with a couple of sheets of wood on floor, cans of red stripe out of a box of water, Keb DJing possibly Ion & a bloke "Eric" possibly from Leeds playing modern ?

Hope you're keeping well Gene?

Hi Dave,

Good to hear from you! Yep - all is well thanks! How's things at your end?

That's right - I remember that Grays Inn Buildings was a squat (probably the reason I never went!), so I'm hoping that will jog a few memories and prompt people to post some. Yours are a good starter, so thanks for those! Must try to get to see you at SHS sometime soon.

Apparently, it remained a squat until the early 2000s - it's now been completely refurbished and rented out as social housing by One Housing Group. When Mike Leigh tried to use it as a filming location for "Vera Drake", he was met with resistance and hounded out by the some of the last people there!

Here's how it looks now.

Edited January 8, 201312 yr by Gene-R

Ha! Touché... I'm not exactly part of the scene, and got into northern in the mid-90s, so I'm genuinely interested in how things worked back then. It seems now, with the internet, ALL the information is out there - so for people to do cover-ups now must take some balls. It either has to be REALLY rare (in which case, why cover it?) or really unknown. And how do you find out if it's unknown? You can't exactly show it to someone and ask? Or play it and be faced with the "oh, that got played twice at Wigan before being tossed aside..." etc etc

So, just curious how it worked "back in the day". To know Keb's charts was all cover-ups would take a certain amount of knowledge to begin with...

Very true. And, as is now and as has always been, there was those in the know and the rest of us scum and plebs . The primary aim was to throw the majority off the scent and preserve DJ exclusivity for as long as possible thus maintaining status as a top DJ with the exclusives and unknowns. There was a very high turnover of records back in the Stafford days. The scene had gone right underground following the closure of Wigan. Conversely though, it was attracting a fresh influx of young folk, with a lot coming off the Mod and scooter scenes - that brought with it people with new ears and little or no baggage allowing DJs like Keb to go back to basics and trawl the boxes for sounds which didn't fit the traditonal 'Wigan'/Northern Soul mould which had built up over the preceding decade and more (stand back and wait for the slings and arrows to come my way). The growth in popularity of R&B type sounds and beat ballads testifies to that.

Actually "Help Truth & The Portraits".

Great post which also brings back London memories of Sensible Soul, The Moonlight Club (West Hampstead), and the 'nites' at Grays Inn Buildings, London (I was always invited to the Grays Inn Buildings nites, but never went! Still kicking myself over not going!).

think I bought yours gene, great track..

m

think I bought yours gene, great track..

m

You sure did Mal - and an excellent choice, on a lesser-seen white demo!

found an old keb playlist he lists the ladyg c/up as Sheri Allen on x-tra although the title doesn't seem to match ??

theres a line in the SHERLI allen track where she sings the words"dont leave me this way" thats where the cover up title mustve come from,brill tune(she sings the line right at the end i think)

hope the link works

jason

Edited January 8, 201312 yr by arnie j

Ha! Touché... I'm not exactly part of the scene, and got into northern in the mid-90s, so I'm genuinely interested in how things worked back then. It seems now, with the internet, ALL the information is out there - so for people to do cover-ups now must take some balls. It either has to be REALLY rare (in which case, why cover it?) or really unknown. And how do you find out if it's unknown? You can't exactly show it to someone and ask? Or play it and be faced with the "oh, that got played twice at Wigan before being tossed aside..." etc etc

So, just curious how it worked "back in the day". To know Keb's charts was all cover-ups would take a certain amount of knowledge to begin with...

It was to mislead or rather to keep the 45 exclusive to the DJ covering it up, also a bit of fun involved. There was a rivalry, albeit friendly between the likes of Keb and Guy, the two biggest cuplrits mid 80's, to find the next big unknown. There was usually a clue in the cover up details as to what it actually was. But essentially all the DJ's covered up their unknowns since the early days of the scene. Whether anyone reading a chart knew or not if it was a cover up was irrelevant, it was up to them to find out.

Hopefully it would be a month or two before anyone discovered what a cover up actually was and a DJ got some exclusive use of the record, once uncovered often it was dropped and onto the next record, unless a real rarity or popular and it was stuck with for longer.

Yep there was a high turnover at this time too. I got Guy to write a column in Blackbeat to cover the 60's newies scene (since I didn't think Keb would get round to giving me a written article on a regular basis) since we already had Soul Sam and others covering the modern scene. "Guys Goodies" was born where he'd review a handful of sides each issue (every 2 months). The one proviso I said to Guy was no cover ups (this rule also applied to the modern guys), and so it meant that Guy got to uncover at least some of the sounds on a fairly regular basis. That I think helped keep the interest going for the more casual observer - but that may have been wishful thinking on my part.

Have you still got those reviews Steve, wouldn't mind using a few?

Yes all of them Chalky, will be getting them together soon, since quite a few people asking to see them.

Ok you never went Gene but do you know if it was it a bit of a squat / warehouse inside? Remember going to a place around Grays Inn, concrete floor with a couple of sheets of wood on floor, cans of red stripe out of a box of water, Keb DJing possibly Ion & a bloke "Eric" possibly from Leeds playing modern ?

Hope you're keeping well Gene?

Hi Dave, this sounds like the warehouse party that Demob shop used to do on Rosebery ave circa 1983 ??, (simply called the warehouse), the concrete floor certainly springs to mind, remember going with my mate Des and were shocked to hear them playing Northern...in London !! Remember Craig Brick spinning (Chris's Brother)records.

Live in a squat on Bourne Estate opposite Grays Inn Buildings, never went to any rubbish crusty parties there, scottish soul lads Kelso, Big Jim, peter, Nick and others had a squat on our estate too - top guys !!

Hope all is well

Best

Rob

Yes everything good thanks Rob,happy new year mate. Think you're spot on with the location & approx date but Demob shop doesn't ring a bell. Only went the once I think & fairly sure I went on my own. Guess somebody recommended it but I didn't return, was probably disgusted with the concrete floor...............as if that made any difference to the way I danced lol

(off topic sorry, Rob try & get to Solid Hit Feb 15th we've got Ronnie Walker live, he's absolutely brilliant plus uses the original 60s studio backing)

Edited January 9, 201312 yr by SHSDave

Just seen this. Jimmy Seals was covered up as "The Moving Parts"

Des

Just seen this. Jimmy Seals was covered up as "The Moving Parts"

Des

Pretty sure this was August Moon though Des.

Can you or anyone else think of any obscure Stafford spins of Kebs. I've enough for two more podcasts and I've just about covered Keb then apart from the totally forgotten stuff.

Pretty sure this was August Moon though Des.

Can you or anyone else think of any obscure Stafford spins of Kebs. I've enough for two more podcasts and I've just about covered Keb then apart from the totally forgotten stuff.

Moving Parts / Jimmy Seals was a bit later on prob year later?

Pretty sure this was August Moon though Des.

Can you or anyone else think of any obscure Stafford spins of Kebs. I've enough for two more podcasts and I've just about covered Keb then apart from the totally forgotten stuff.

Here's some from memory of spots and tapes. Hope these are obscure enough, and not the more common of his sounds (cover-up titles, where known, are in brackets):

Royal 5 - My Baby Cares For Me (Cobra) ("Open Your Eyes I'll Be There - The Fenways)

Roy Wright - Hook, Line & Sinker (Mica) (Billy Lee & The Crash Sound)

James Bowens - Baby I Want You (Roosevelt Lee) (George Jefferson)

The Revlons - (Oh, Oh, Oh) What A Love This Is (Toy)

William Cummings - Make My Love A Hurting Thing (Bang Bang)

Blue Steam - I Want A Girl (Catamount) ("I Need A Girl" - George Hobson)

The Naturals - Don't Just Stand There (Path)

King George - So Long Johnny / Uh-Oh (RCA) (one side, not sure which, covered as "Wartime Breakdown" - Syng McGowan)

Andy Fisher - A Wee Bit Longer / My Heart's Beatin' Stronger (Fat Fish) (both sides covered as Earl Jackson)

Freda Payne - On Easy Street (MGM LP track)

Dynamic Three - You Said Yeah (Del Val) ("She Said Yeah" - The Agents)

Honey & The Bees - Be Yourself (Academy) (The Sharpettes)

Kenny Rossi - Don't Lose This Love (Arctic)

Buddy Smith - When You Lose The One You Love (Brute)

The Strands - The Breeze From The Trees (Tarx)

The Persianettes - Run Run (Unissued Swan acetate) ("You Better Get Away" - Azie Mortimer)

The Turbines - We Got To Start Over (Cenco)

Edited January 9, 201312 yr by Gene-R

Here's some from memory of spots and tapes. Hope these are obscure enough, and not the more common of his sounds (cover-up titles, where known, are in brackets):

King George - So Long Johnny / Uh-Oh (RCA) (one side, not sure which, covered as "Wartime Breakdown" - Syng McGowan)

"So Long Johnny" was "Wartime Breakdown", other side was "Gonna Put You Down"

Yes everything good thanks Rob,happy new year mate. Think you're spot on with the location & approx date but Demob shop doesn't ring a bell. Only went the once I think & fairly sure I went on my own. Guess somebody recommended it but I didn't return, was probably disgusted with the concrete floor...............as if that made any difference to the way I danced lol

(off topic sorry, Rob try & get to Solid Hit Feb 15th we've got Ronnie Walker live, he's absolutely brilliant plus uses the original 60s studio backing)

I remember the concrete floor in a warehouse around that time (and the Red Stripe in cans for sale LOL), memory is vague though and also only went the once - was it on more than once? Demob connection would be right too, Keb (and maybe Simon Cento) involved. Wish i could remember more but to be honest yesterday is fading already!

"So Long Johnny" was "Wartime Breakdown", other side was "Gonna Put You Down"

My copy of So Long Johnny has Ah Huh on the flip. My copy of I"m Gonna Be Somebody Someday has Drive On James on the flip.

I have all those you mention Gene, quite a few weren't Keb's. According to Ady in his sleeve notes the unissued Persianettes was played by John Vincent at Wigan first off an acetate, Keb got it cut later on at Stafford.

My copy of So Long Johnny has Ah Huh on the flip. My copy of I"m Gonna Be Somebody Someday has Drive On James on the flip.

I have all those you mention Gene, quite a few weren't Keb's. According to Ady in his sleeve notes the unissued Persianettes was played by John Vincent at Wigan first off an acetate, Keb got it cut later on at Stafford.

"Ah Huh" was played c//u as Syng McGowan "Gonna Put You Down" it's in the lyric.

"Ah Huh" was played c//u as Syng McGowan "Gonna Put You Down" it's in the lyric.

misunderstood what you was saying mate, been a long week

misunderstood what you was saying mate, been a long week

Know what you mean mate!