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The rise of the 'NEW' soulie and the soul revolution.


Guest BabyBoyAndMyLass

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Guest BabyBoyAndMyLass

OK I've only been going since the 80s as you all know, first allniter Whitchurch civic hall. But did hundreds of niters mid 80s, right through til now, read my blurb, I was a face on 80s scene for all the wrong reasons. My lass, Wigan reg week in week out, coaches to Yate, first hubby big collector/face Wigan and beyond, sadly now departed. Recently being schooled big time on Northern soul, facebook mostly, seems a lot of disco DJs who now bought a few NS 45s ruling the scene, lot of 'New Northern soulies' coming in who think they know it all, because I don't do the whole Fred Perry/patches/Bags thing I've been asked a few times now 'How long you been into it?' in that patronising way, only to have others answer for me, 'Oh these are very knowledgeable and loadsa history on the scene' cause I look like a rocker, big laugh is when I was a big face on the scene I was that Goth that got asked if I were Andrew Eldritch, all you know me indirectly, I ran for the guy who supplied the entire scene in the eighties, you all know this of course, I was 'Babyboy' in the same way as 'White boy Rick' on the Detroit scene in the eighties. Wonder how many of the faces from the 'real' scene has been approached like this and what do we think of the new lot who are keeping the scene going these days. Hasten to add that we think it's all good fun and glad to have the thriving scene albeit with these folks coming in! Any anecdotes or amusing stories kicking about?...Spill! 

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No anecdotes for you (as yet) only just read your post , when you say the ‘new lot’ do you mean new blood or the returnees / born agains who stayed away for 25-30 years telling folks they’ve never been away , personally it’s put me off over the last few years, and I don’t bother going anywhere,and I’m sure I’m not the only one !  I’ve only just joined this site and I’m not too sure why ??? Lol 

Edited by Colnago
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Guest BabyBoyAndMyLass
21 minutes ago, Colnago said:

No anecdotes for you (as yet) only just read your post , when you say the ‘new lot’ do you mean new blood or the returnees / born agains who stayed away for 25-30 years telling folks they’ve never been away , personally it’s put me off over the last few years, and I don’t bother going anywhere,and I’m sure I’m not the only one !  I’ve only just joined this site and I’m not too sure why ??? Lol 

Stick with the site. The scene is still going, don't worry. We put up with the occasional bit of BS because the 'real' soulies are still here, they are just not as 'in yer face' as the new breed! It's easy to find out who's who. Not really talking about returnees, more those that went maybe once or twice or not at all that have reinvented themselves and try to school the old guard in what's what. This site and the scene is strong, a lot of the fb soul generation won't come here cause they know this is where a lot of the old faces hang out who really do know the score and the music. I don't really know what I'm saying with this post, just that we get schooled quite often in what we should be listening to and what is good and 'proper' soul, all on soshul meeja, we find it a bit laughable most of the time but it can get irksome too!

 

 

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19 minutes ago, Leicester boy said:

Plenty of young ones turn up now.short of a time machine they would have found it difficult to have been on the scene at the beginning. 🤔

Nothing against the young ones , it was likewise for me . Nothing against returnees either , just the bull shi#ters . 

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Guest BabyBoyAndMyLass
28 minutes ago, Leicester boy said:

Plenty of young ones turn up now.short of a time machine they would have found it difficult to have been on the scene at the beginning. 🤔

Mate of that lovely beauty our Lee Vowles? Get this, when I was 20 and started on the scene, I used to say I was 33 and went The Wheel and Wigan and everywhere, didn't bother the women, they knew I were lying! I didn't go to WC, I would've even as a young teen, just never got asked, at that time I was a gigging musician on the Punk scene playing the likes of The Vine in Hanley. I started with the ex WC lot, taking them to niters in the 80s when there were none on, as some would have you believe!

 

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Guest BabyBoyAndMyLass
8 minutes ago, Colnago said:

Nothing against the young ones , it was likewise for me . Nothing against returnees either , just the bull shi#ters . 

Same here, the young lot are fine! Here I am with great DJ Jordan Wilsons lovely gf Charlotte, having a laugh down 'ere in Newquay!

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Guest BabyBoyAndMyLass
Just now, Leicester boy said:

Yes at the funeral wen.

Very sad time for the scene, first encountered him at Leighton Buzzard in the 80s, got to know him down here, we live in West Cornwall now.

 

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Guest BabyBoyAndMyLass
Just now, Leicester boy said:

See you in July.

Oh? You will? Yes make sure you introduce yourself, we are still recognisable from our pic hopefully, if not ask around, you'll soon be pointed in our direction!

 

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Guest BabyBoyAndMyLass
52 minutes ago, Leicester boy said:

 Saw you last year should be a nice little crew of us 15_20

Ah, you know us but are here incognito! 😉 Cool! See you there!

 

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Guest Shufflin
3 hours ago, Colnago said:

No anecdotes for you (as yet) only just read your post , when you say the ‘new lot’ do you mean new blood or the returnees / born agains who stayed away for 25-30 years telling folks they’ve never been away , personally it’s put me off over the last few years, and I don’t bother going anywhere,and I’m sure I’m not the only one !  I’ve only just joined this site and I’m not too sure why ??? Lol 

the soul scene can be incredibly friendly and accepting and I'd say just turn up to events, I've got a really nice holiday abroad booked for the summer but I'm looking forward most to the Cleethorpes weekender, fishn'chips, British seaside, live event - fab

I've taken some wary individuals to events near me over last year or two and all had a good time, it's entertainment innit

 

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5 hours ago, shufflin said:

the soul scene can be incredibly friendly and accepting and I'd say just turn up to events, I've got a really nice holiday abroad booked for the summer but I'm looking forward most to the Cleethorpes weekender, fishn'chips, British seaside, live event - fab

I've taken some wary individuals to events near me over last year or two and all had a good time, it's entertainment innit

 

Erm been going since 77 , sorry but it’s not has good as it used to be despite the numbers going up , in the last decade, it’s like the old t shirt said “ eat sh#t , 50 million flies can’t be wrong “ lol 

Edited by Colnago
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8 hours ago, Colnago said:

Erm been going since 77 , sorry but it’s not has good as it used to be despite the numbers going up , in the last decade, it’s like the old t shirt said “ eat sh#t , 50 million flies can’t be wrong “ lol 

Chear up.plenty of choice for everyone and some great choices.oddfellows end of May Newquay and st Ives.its what you make of it always has been. 

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14 minutes ago, Leicester boy said:

Chear up.plenty of choice for everyone and some great choices.oddfellows end of May Newquay and st Ives.its what you make of it always has been. 

It’s not a problem, and I am cheerful, honest,😊 just merely responding to BabyBoys post which has some validity on the matter . Life is what you make of it . 

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Guest BabyBoyAndMyLass
3 hours ago, Winsford Soul said:

Been going niters since 75. Still go now. Nothing will ever come close to those halcyon days of station road in my opinion but the torch , wheel, Stafford, Keele, Rugby where ever you went first   people will say the same.

I've seen this scene evolve more than most from the 70.s through the 80, s and 90,s when you where lucky to get 1 niter a month plus soul nights up to today's full calendar.  If you want to evolve and take in everything this whole scene has to offer like I have than that's entirely up to you as a individual but whatever route you take just enjoy it for what it is and  dont take it to seriously .

Ste

Good post Ste. I've nothing against the new blood, the dressers up who I find are great fun and add a lot of colour, the main things is I dislike being schooled in what is and isn't Soul or what we should be listening to. There are a lot of records that were huge on the scene that certain newcomers are quick to jump on, an example might be Peggy March 'If you loved me' or Blanche Carter 'Halos are for Angels' true they are not ghetto soul, more like songs from Musical Theatre. That doesn't mean they are 'shite' and not 'Northern soul' as some people have suggested to us. For us they are classics from a scene that embraced many genres of music and combined them under the blanket of 'Northern Soul'. 'White' 'Pop' 'Country' 'Disco' a lot of them may be. We have a simple rule, my lass and I, if we don't particularly like a track, and there are many, especially nowadays when a lot of Funk/Disco/Modern (and by modern I mean stuff up to current, not the Mecca definition of the term) we just don't say anything at all, what we don't do is spout 'utter shite' and things like that we just graciously say nowt. A lot nowadays are very vocal about certain types of sound we regard as classic 'Northern'. I don't like being told that Peggy March is 'shite' and that remix of Dionne Warwick 'Walk on by' that is doing the rounds is ace. I accept there is subjective difference in tastes, I just don't want to hear about it, I don't tell people their choices are shit and I expect the same courtesy. Apart from that I do like the fact that the scene has new enthusiasm and venues are thriving. Not that we can make many mind, she does twenty hours in a Hospital alternate weekends and I work in Cabaret practically every Saturday night. We do go to events though when we can make a window. Mostly I'm talking about the rabble that congregates on farcebook of course, not the grown-up, genteel, gentlemanly discussions we have here on the cream of internet Soul forums! ;)

 

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Guest BabyBoyAndMyLass
31 minutes ago, geeselad said:

Re, people slagging newcomers tastes Its just passion really combined with frustration. I think for a lot of us that started on the scene in the 8ts, we came into the scene at a time when a lot of the, ahem, less soulful sounds had been dropped from playlists at nighters. So we were spared the like of peggy march, Holly st james ect. We saw that as progress. To have the often less than knowledgable returnees turn oldies nighters playlistss into something akin to wigan, circa, 77, was never going to go down well with me. 

Not sure what you're saying here, probably just me being thick, I'm mainly talking about newcomers slagging oldies, like PM and HST, what I'm saying really is about not slagging any sounds off, just being gracious and if somebody doesn't like a record whatever that may be, just keeping quiet about it and reserving comment for records that they do like, in a nutshell... 😉

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Little Peggy March and holly  st James are as much northern  soul as anything else. On alldayers or weekenders surely there's long enough to please everyone. Like the record dance or be happy don't like the record get a beer or have a fresh air break.simples.or organise a mob and burn any record you don't like. 😎

 

 

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Guest BabyBoyAndMyLass
Just now, Leicester boy said:

Little Peggy March and holly  st James are as much northern  soul as anything else. On alldayers or weekenders surely there's long enough to please everyone. Like the record dance or be happy don't like the record get a beer or have a fresh air break.simples.or organise a mob and burn any record you don't like. 😎

 

 

That's how I'm seeing it, have a dance or go get a beer, there will be another record on in two minutes that hopefully you do like, no need to slag off anyones' fave tunes. Hit the nail on the head there!

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Some, they may say, built this scene.

Some, they may say, maintained this scene.

Some, they may say, rescued this scene.

One mans shite is another mans golden memory.

One mans fancy dress is another mans pride and joy,

Live and let live, and dance like a God.

Apart from the above, I'm staying WELL out of this one, otherwise I'll end up annoying WAY too many people, most of whom haven't even commented yet! 😂😂😂

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1 hour ago, Leicester boy said:

Little Peggy March and holly  st James are as much northern  soul as anything else. On alldayers or weekenders surely there's long enough to please everyone. Like the record dance or be happy don't like the record get a beer or have a fresh air break.simples.or organise a mob and burn any record you don't like. 😎

 

 

That's it.  We've listened to Holly St James for the last time.......

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The arrogance of youth ... back in summer 67, the Mojo stopped it's nighters in an attempt to be granted a night club licence (just being introduced) ... to keep the crowd happy (& also to afford the same calibre of live act), Pete Stringfellow introduced all-dayers.

Only trouble with dayers was ... it meant 14 / 15 year olds could turn up & try to get in. Some made it and for us 'old-timers (I was just about 18 at the time) it spoiled the atmosphere of the sessions. We could be heard going around moaning about the influx of young-uns and saying these 'mini-mods' were ruining the club. 

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Guest BabyBoyAndMyLass
36 minutes ago, Roburt said:

The arrogance of youth ... back in summer 67, the Mojo stopped it's nighters in an attempt to be granted a night club licence (just being introduced) ... to keep the crowd happy (& also to afford the same calibre of live act), Pete Stringfellow introduced all-dayers.

Only trouble with dayers was ... it meant 14 / 15 year olds could turn up & try to get in. Some made it and for us 'old-timers (I was just about 18 at the time) it spoiled the atmosphere of the sessions. We could be heard going around moaning about the influx of young-uns and saying these 'mini-mods' were ruining the club. 

The crowd at Wigan said exactly the same about my lass and all those that started going as teenagers in the mid 70s! The idea of moaning about a crowd of pretty girls joining in I find a bit baffling!

43 minutes ago, Roburt said:

If you have to, you can say Peggy March is NORTHERN but please don't add SOUL to that statement .... soul music is something she could never make ...

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Now Roburt, that is exactly what I'm talking about, are you suggesting that 'Northern Soul' is a type of ethnic ghetto music only found in places like inner-city Detroit and Philadelphia and other similar ghettoes populated by certain ethnic minority groups? Whereas I'm suggesting that it is a much broader canon of which that particular brand plays a huge part alongside the likes of sounds such as PM that are just as valid? Next you'll be using words like 'utter shite' and hammering my original point home with a sledgehammer, nah can't see you doing that, far too much of an educated gracious sophisticate surely! 😉

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Guest Spain pete

Surely soul music is something that satisfies one's soul in whatever guise that comes in .? 🎶🎶✌

3 hours ago, Roburt said:

If you have to, you can say Peggy March is NORTHERN but please don't add SOUL to that statement .... soul music is something she could never make ...

PeggyMarchPic3.jpg

 

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9 hours ago, Roburt said:

If you have to, you can say Peggy March is NORTHERN but please don't add SOUL to that statement .... soul music is something she could never make ...

PeggyMarchPic3.jpg

Of course she's not a soul artist.but do you have to be to produce a good northern soul record. It depends if you see northern soul as an idea or a reality. Soul is what you want soul to be.for me a record that I enjoy and maybe want to dance to.

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Northern soul is a dance based soul loving culture. With many great records not really soul.remove pm remove Judy street Frankie valli Dean Parrish and many others to numerous to mention and your heading towards a different thing all together .but respect your opinion just try to respect other people's tastes I respect yours my friend. 

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14 hours ago, Leicester boy said:

I think I saw them outside the Blackpool tower the other year when a non north West boy won the world northern soul dance competiion. 

They'll be chanting "Northern's coming home, it's coming, northern's coming home!" this weekend.

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I don't know about 'the new soulie' and all that, but I was thinking about what kind of soul music and how we will enjoy soul music in the future. I can for see a smaller 'scene' or amount of lovers of the music, of what we know as Rare soul, or northern soul, that's happening as we speak I think as the generations get older and sell up.  I think the balance of the type of music will change, If you take all the new productions that are coming out, stuff like the brilliant Benjamin & The Right Direction et al, it may well grow in terms of live acts in the flavor of their sixties forerunners, listening digitally will be the main way to 'get' the music, and the collecting scene will be smaller I think... I don’t think newcomers to soul music whether its old or new in the main are going to pay the prices that are being charged these days, that model if you like isn’t something that’s going to make it accessible, it’s always been a niche thing anyway....

We cant say with certinaly what will be happening in 2030, but it wont resemble whats gone before... and that's right, stuff evolves...

what do you all think?

Mal

Edited by Mal C
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Guest BabyBoyAndMyLass
1 hour ago, Mal C said:

I don't know about 'the new soulie' and all that, but I was thinking about what kind of soul music and how we will enjoy soul music in the future. I can for see a smaller 'scene' or amount of lovers of the music, of what we know as Rare soul, or northern soul, that's happening as we speak I think as the generations get older and sell up.  I think the balance of the type of music will change, If you take all the new productions that are coming out, stuff like the brilliant Benjamin & The Right Direction et al, it may well grow in terms of live acts in the flavor of their sixties forerunners, listening digitally will be the main way to 'get' the music, and the collecting scene will be smaller I think... I don’t think newcomers to soul music whether its old or new in the main are going to pay the prices that are being charged these days, that model if you like isn’t something that’s going to make it accessible, it’s always been a niche thing anyway....

We cant say with certinaly what will be happening in 2030, but it wont resemble whats gone before... and that's right, stuff evolves...

what do you all think?

Mal

Most of what you describe already hapnin!

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Guest Soulatthedale
6 hours ago, Roburt said:

As I already said, you can call Peggy March NORTHERN if you want to (for me it's pure pop pap) but it can never be soul music.

Soul music is made by soul singers (& the odd soul instrumental group). You don't have to be black to be a soul singer; Johnny Daye, Eddie Hinton, Wayne Cochran, Eli Paperboy, etc made/ make soul. Equally not everything a ceratin singer did was soul ... Tina Turner cut many rock tracks that had no soul, Jimi Hendrix (as a solo artist) didn't make soul music. Charlie Rich was a country singer, but a couple of his tracks are pure soul (mind you, most of the rest is appalling).

You know a soul track when you hear it, it's the feeling in the music that makes it soul (an emotional experience) ... dance to anything you want to, but don't try to tag everything played at Wigan as soul.

Completely agree, Peggy March along with dozens of others can never be Soul music, for me its an average pop record. Its easy to call something you dislike  "shite", but as we all know its all subjective. However, Ive heard the Carstairs on Red Coach called "shite" on more than one occasion, an opinion that really baffles me regarding that particular record. As a few people who actually like PM have said, it may be northern but not northern Soul. The thing i find annoying is records such as PM being played at the expense of 100s of authentic Soul records which have been played three or four times at the most then dropped as they didnt get an immediate dance floor reaction.

 

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12 hours ago, Mal C said:

I don't know about 'the new soulie' and all that, but I was thinking about what kind of soul music and how we will enjoy soul music in the future. I can for see a smaller 'scene' or amount of lovers of the music, of what we know as Rare soul, or northern soul, that's happening as we speak I think as the generations get older and sell up.  I think the balance of the type of music will change, If you take all the new productions that are coming out, stuff like the brilliant Benjamin & The Right Direction et al, it may well grow in terms of live acts in the flavor of their sixties forerunners, listening digitally will be the main way to 'get' the music, and the collecting scene will be smaller I think... I don’t think newcomers to soul music whether its old or new in the main are going to pay the prices that are being charged these days, that model if you like isn’t something that’s going to make it accessible, it’s always been a niche thing anyway....

We cant say with certinaly what will be happening in 2030, but it wont resemble whats gone before... and that's right, stuff evolves...

what do you all think?

Mal

Well collecting records in general is becoming more popular. 60's and 70s soul and funk are more popular than they've ever been. Cant see why the two would make collecting on this scene decline. Hopefully many will see the light and collect the thousands of magnificent records that dont fall into nto the top 500 oldies. 

Edited by geeselad
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37 minutes ago, Zed1 said:

What ever anyone thinks Peggy March is a great 'Northern' Soul Record. Like countless other tracks on the scene, It was chosen first and foremost for it's Dance floor appeal NOT because the artist is a Sister from the Ghetto.

50 years on and people STILL keep trying to rewrite the history of this scene.

 

Amen to that brother.

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Been biting my tongue too long ...  Peggy March is as bad a pop tune today as it was when I first heard it 37 years ago , thought it was shite then and think it's shite now ... sorry if that offends the old-timers but it's just my opinion ... glad I started my journey "on the scene" just as the backlash against this purile lazy pop drivel started and the 'new guard' started digging a bit deeper for the real thing ... :thumbsup:

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21 minutes ago, Roburt said:

PRAY TELL ME ... how is saying PG is not soul trying to rewrite the history of this scene ??  That's a silly statement.

I never have been a NS fan ... my main niter eras were the 60's & 80's ... in the 60's, soul clubs played a much different mix of sounds to in the 70's .. from the 80's (& ever since) my main love has been Modern Soul, so I never really bought into Wigan era sounds (they hold zero old memories for me). BUT, I love soul; dance tempo, beat ballad, deep & slow, bluesy, gospelly, the lot ... music that exudes feeling & emotion ... so I have always sought / bought all such music ... I avoided listening to / buying many Casino era sounds as (in general) they're not for me. Doesn't mean I think they shouldn't mean sumat to YOU though.

BTW, while I'm on my soap-box, I'll put in a request ... I've got everything on this 63 R&B chart on original vinyl but I'm missing #20 ... please get in touch if you've got a spare copy ... 

 

R&BchartAug63.jpg

Satire is not dead shock

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23 minutes ago, Roburt said:

PRAY TELL ME ... how is saying PG is not soul trying to rewrite the history of this scene ??  That's a silly statement.

Because When Peggy March was played at the Casino and many other places. Everything played there WAS northern soul.  No one mentioned just soul. Unless I've missed something 

Ste

 

 

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