Earlier this week my YouTube channel of four years, and which went under the name of HarveySoulFinger, was deleted.

 

I had something like 79 vids of classic and semi-obscure Northern Soul, R&B and some gospel. There was also about a dozen or more unreleased tracks of various types. The channel had over 300,000 views and had accumulated over 400 subscribers, and I know a number of people here had subscribed to it.

 

I'm now trying to rebuild the channel under a new name - Loma Russ - and am re-uploading the video tracks one by one. It's a slow job because as well as uploading them there's also descriptions and tags to be done. Reckon I'm about halfway now.

 

What's really sad about the deletion of the account is that over the four years it was active, a number of artists, friends of artists, and relatives of deceased artists, had kindly commented on posts. As examples, there were comments from relatives of Joan Baker (Everybody's talking), Beverly Shaffer and James "Lucky" Carmichael. A member of Dry Well had made a number of comments about the origin of the group and how they came to sing "Gypsy" (and refuting the long-held belief that Ellen and the Shan-dels was the first release). A music colleague of legendary song writer Jimmy Webb had provided much insight about his friend and the lyrics to one of his compositions that was recorded by Thelma Houston, and which had never been released as a 45 (I have a 45 acetate of it).

 

All those comment are now gone, and that's a real shame. 

 

For anyone who might be interested, my new channel is here:

 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOmXkufN7J1zgy116jwvXww

 

Please do subscribe if it's at all of interest.

 

I'll continue to upload the now deleted tracks and get round to doing some new ones. I've a couple of great unreleased soul gems to add. No idea how long it'll take to get back to the previous numbers of views and subscribers. I think it's going to be a long haul!

 

Thanks for reading.

 

Edited March 27, 201411 yr by Russell Gilbert

Why it was deleted? Any explanation?

Russell, I know this is bad - but spare a thought for me - I had my channel of over 300 clips deleted due to one complaint from people apparently representing Motown.

Russell,  last week I thought mine had been deleted. When I went on the tube it just kept saying I had no videos or content, something like that. So I created a new channel thinking all my stuff had gone. It was only then that I noticed my old channel was still available.

 

Saying this as I'm wondering if it's the same with you.

 

Click on logo thing in the top right corner (to the right of the bell)

 

Look for the links "My channel" "Video Manager" etc etc and click on  "All my channels"

 

Your old one and new one should be there.

 

Just select your old channel.

 

Hoping its the same for you as it was me

 

Edited March 27, 201411 yr by Dave Turner

Unfortunately the person to ultimately blame for deleting the account - and thus all the videos is me. When Google took over YouTube they made all registered users have a Google account and then linked that to the YouTube account (one account to rule them all).

 

Thing is, I already had separate YouTube and Google accounts. This confused Google/YouTube no end and meant that every time I logged into YouTube, they asked which account it was that I wanted to use. The original YouTube account enabled me to manage my channel. The Google account logged me into YouTube, but without the channel being associated with it. Or so I thought.

 

Over the weekend I couldn't get into YouTube with the proper account, only the 'inactive' one. I cleared browser cookies/cache, etc, and eventually managed to log in with the right one.

 

This conflict of accounts has been going on for ages and so I decided to delete the 'inactive' one because, as I said, my HarveySoulFinger channel wasn't associated with it.

 

Wrong! Somehow, and I've no idea why, this account was linked, even though it told me that no channel was connected to it. So, when I deleted it, I also deleted the channel.

 

Initially I thought this wouldn't be a problem - I could just log back into YouTube with the proper account. Wrong again! All I got was a message saying the channel had been deleted.

 

I quickly tried to see if there was a way to reinstate the account, but the methods prescribed on the Google/YouTube help pages didn't work.

 

So, in most respects I was my own nemesis. Except that I hold Google/YouTube responsible for creating the account conflict in the first place and for making things so complex to understand. This is what makes the whole thing even more frustrating.

 

Worse is that starting again means that the tunes that were up there for periods of years will drop right down in the YouTube and Google rankings. Videos I re-add will appear to be duplicates of stuff that's already on YouTube, although most of the stuff I added wasn't on YouTube to start with, which was why I added them.

 

@ Dave -  I'll give your suggestion a try right away...

Russell, I know this is bad - but spare a thought for me - I had my channel of over 300 clips deleted due to one complaint from people apparently representing Motown.

 

That must have been one hell of a blow, Pete. I appreciate that 300 clips  is an awful lot of work. Were you uploading mainly Motown tracks then?

That must have been one hell of a blow, Pete. I appreciate that 300 clips  is an awful lot of work. Were you uploading mainly Motown tracks then?

 

No, just a couple off Ready Steady Go I think.  Bear in mind this was years ago, I uploaded all of The Beat before it was reissued, loads of Shindigs etc.  Much of what eventually came out as Legends Of Northern Soul.  But fortunately, you can get most of this stuff now anyway, but it was a bit scary getting that legal letter.

No, just a couple off Ready Steady Go I think.  Bear in mind this was years ago, I uploaded all of The Beat before it was reissued, loads of Shindigs etc.  Much of what eventually came out as Legends Of Northern Soul.  But fortunately, you can get most of this stuff now anyway, but it was a bit scary getting that legal letter.

 

And you can get most of it on YouTube! Their attitude has changed over the years, but it still seems inconsistent. I'd previous uploaded a couple of Loma tracks without problem, but when I tried the same thing with Ike & Tina Turner's 'Somebody needs you' I got a message it was blocked at the behest of Warner Bros!

Earlier this week my YouTube channel of four years, and which went under the name of HarveySoulFinger, was deleted.

 

I had something like 79 vids of classic and semi-obscure Northern Soul, R&B and some gospel. There was also about a dozen or more unreleased tracks of various types. The channel had over 300,000 views and had accumulated over 400 subscribers, and I know a number of people here had subscribed to it.

 

I'm now trying to rebuild the channel under a new name - Loma Russ - and am re-uploading the video tracks one by one. It's a slow job because as well as uploading them there's also descriptions and tags to be done. Reckon I'm about halfway now.

 

What's really sad about the deletion of the account is that over the four years it was active, a number of artists, friends of artists, and relatives of deceased artists, had kindly commented on posts. As examples, there were comments from relatives of Joan Baker (Everybody's talking), Beverly Shaffer and James "Lucky" Carmichael. A member of Dry Well had made a number of comments about the origin of the group and how they came to sing "Gypsy" (and refuting the long-held belief that Ellen and the Shan-dels was the first release). A music colleague of legendary song writer Jimmy Webb had provided much insight about his friend and the lyrics to one of his compositions that was recorded by Thelma Houston, and which had never been released as a 45 (I have a 45 acetate of it).

 

All those comment are now gone, and that's a real shame. 

 

For anyone who might be interested, my new channel is here:

 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOmXkufN7J1zgy116jwvXww

 

Please do subscribe if it's at all of interest.

 

I'll continue to upload the now deleted tracks and get round to doing some new ones. I've a couple of great unreleased soul gems to add. No idea how long it'll take to get back to the previous numbers of views and subscribers. I think it's going to be a long haul!

 

Thanks for reading.

Thanks for the heads up and very sorry to hear what happened.  The whole thing is a mess now with youtube linked to google+.  If I wish to keep my existing user name, which I've had for 6 or 7 years, I can no longer answer or leave comments on youtube.  Any way just subscribed to your new channel and wish you the best of luck with it.

Much appreciated. Seems this Google/YouTube account problem is more widespread than I'd realised.

 

interestingly, and at the same time annoyingly, when I set up the new account, I was obliged to give Google/YouTube not only an email address, but also my date of birth, sex, and telephone number. It's not about making users happy. It's entirely about gathering data.

SHAME ABOUT URE SITE RUSS...GOT 1050 ON MY TUBE PAGE,,,,WUD HATE IT IF MINE WENT,,,,ATB MARK

SHAME ABOUT URE SITE RUSS...GOT 1050 ON MY TUBE PAGE,,,,WUD HATE IT IF MINE WENT,,,,ATB MARK

 

Thanks, Mark. That's a lot of clips!! Post up the link to your channel and I'll subscribe. 

I've just had a look and subscribed. Loads of tunes I've never heard, interesting R&B, etc. Thanks for taking the time and trouble to upload. Hope you don't get any  hassle.

I've just had a look and subscribed. Loads of tunes I've never heard, interesting R&B, etc. Thanks for taking the time and trouble to upload. Hope you don't get any  hassle.

 

Very much appreciated, Geoff. I'm well over half way in posting everything back up. The next batch are mainly from acetates and include a mix of unknown R&B and soul cuts, a brilliant Mod-Jazz version of James Brown's Choo-Choo, a couple of Popcorn tracks and two very crackly song demos sung by Ila Vann. 

 

Might do some more reposting now, in fact...

Russ, unless I have dreamt it, that 'Eyes Of Love' came out and I've either had it or got it in itunes still.  I'll investigate.

Russ, unless I have dreamt it, that 'Eyes Of Love' came out and I've either had it or got it in itunes still.  I'll investigate.

 

Appreciated, Pete.

 

I did post it on here when I first got it, which must be at least a year ago, and asked if anyone could ID it. No one did. 

 

Also, someone downloaded the soundclip and made a dreadful mash-up of it with Willie Mitchell's The Champion. Dreadful! Thankfully that musical monstrosity didn't stay on YouTube for long though. 

Appreciated, Pete.

 

I did post it on here when I first got it, which must be at least a year ago, and asked if anyone could ID it. No one did. 

 

Also, someone downloaded the soundclip and made a dreadful mash-up of it with Willie Mitchell's The Champion. Dreadful! Thankfully that musical monstrosity didn't stay on YouTube for long though. 

 

Ah maybe I heard it here then!

Just Subscribed Russ , some lovely stuff on there matey ,. Shame about the previous one , I dont understand why these companies have to make things so fooking awkward 

 

Good luck matey !

 

 

Swifty

Hi Russ

 

Sorry to hear about your troubles.

 

Just had a quick look at your new channel - is it all storming northern and RnB. Is there any 70's or crossover on there. I know I'm being a bit lazy.

 

Peter

 

Hi Russ

 

Sorry to hear about your troubles.

 

Just had a quick look at your new channel - is it all storming northern and RnB. Is there any 70's or crossover on there. I know I'm being a bit lazy.

 

Peter

 

 

Lazy? There's only about 50 clips to listen to! 

 

The first half of my original uploads (and I'm uploading them in the orginal order, cos I'm anal like that and can't help myself) were mainly uptempo stuff. The 2nd half, which I'm still doing, is mainly more sort of oddities & obscurities that I've found on acetates and which just won't ever get heard otherwise. It's not 'strictly Northern' if you know what I mean.

 

The only track that might be considered as crossover - by my own definition - is this one called Mixed Up Girl. There's no name on the label of the acetate and no one I asked could ID it. Then someone eventually said that it was also done by Dusty Springfield, and that eventually led to it being ID'd as being a Jimmy Webb composition sung by Thelma Houston on an album of hers called (I think) Sunflower.

 

I was so excited when the upload attracted the comments of a professional colleague of Jimmy Webb's. We ended up having a chat via the comments section of the clip. It was fantastic what he had to share. Of course, all those comments have now been wiped out, and that's the worst part of it all. 

 

Anyway, after all that build-up, here's the track!

 

Edited March 28, 201411 yr by Russell Gilbert

Russell Gilbert, on 28 Mar 2014 - 11:06 PM, said:

Lazy? There's only about 50 clips to listen to! 

 

The first half of my original uploads (and I'm uploading them in the orginal order, cos I'm anal like that and can't help myself) were mainly uptempo stuff. The 2nd half, which I'm still doing, is mainly more sort of oddities & obscurities that I've found on acetates and which just won't ever get heard otherwise. It's not 'strictly Northern' if you know what I mean.

 

The only track that might be considered as crossover - by my own definition - is this one called Mixed Up Girl. There's no name on the label of the acetate and no one I asked could ID it. Then someone eventually said that it was also done by Dusty Springfield, and that eventually led to it being ID'd as being a Jimmy Webb composition sung by Thelma Houston on an album of hers called (I think) Sunflower.

 

I was so excited when the upload attracted the comments of a professional colleague of Jimmy Webb's. We ended up having a chat via the comments section of the clip. It was fantastic what he had to share. Of course, all those comments have now been wiped out, and that's the worst part of it all. 

 

Anyway, after all that build-up, here's the track!

 

See what a great reply you can get to a lazy post! 

 

Nice record - and yes I can hear Thelma Houston in that - although I wouldn't have known what it was.

 

Peter

 

See what a great reply you can get to a lazy post! 

 

Nice record - and yes I can hear Thelma Houston in that - although I wouldn't have known what it was.

 

Peter

 

 

 

It took a good while to find out that it was actually Thelma Houston. I spent ages on a false lead that someone put my way which eventually led to a song of the same name that couldn't have been classified as 'soul' no matter how broadly you wanted to make it. 

 

Listening to Dusty Springfield's version - done in '71, I think - I also learned that Aretha Franklin had also done a version. She though, was interpreting Dusty's (in my view) quite weird arrangement, which is a bit like a precursor to drum n bass! 

All music clips now back on YouTube. 

 

Thanks for all the comments and interest expressed here. It's appreciated.