I can remember sitting in the back of a Bedford van along with half a dozen other 15 and 16 year olds coming back from the Wheel. Sounds that had been played that night were among others 'Grooving with Mr Bloe' and 'Hey Girl Don't Bother Me '. I can't recall whether or not this was before the Tams had made their Top of the Pops appearance, but Mr Bloe was already in the charts and this was the cause of indignation in the van. It had charted,so it was no longer rare, so time to drop it, the argument went.

In my opinion one of the weaknesses of Northern Soul is this rarity factor. As a kid loved the exclusivity buzz, but is it not beyond contention that the search for the unknown has resulted in so much garbage being played?

Edited November 4, 200420 yr by Billy Freemantle

In my opinion one of the weaknesses of Northern Soul is this rarity factor. As a kid loved the exclusivity buzz, but is it not beyond contention that the search  for the unknown has resulted in so much garbage being played?

link

True.

After a break from the scene of over 20 years, my perspective has been spouted often enough on this board. If the Mello Souls is the greatest discovery of the last few years, then I'm afraid you're right.

The peak was '73.

The flip side of that coin is that we were spoiled; awesome records like Spyder Turner couldn't get a spin simply because it was on market stalls at a quid. At least these days all oldies are somewhat equal.