Explain to me what will happen after the big guns pop their clogs, surely not far off now ay?

Will the security disappear?

What will happen when the much appraised thick-skinned, stage positioned targets aren't there?

And who are the torch carriers (The Olympics, topical)?

Or has it already happened, have I missed it with my lack of attention.

So much music, so many people to appease, so little time.

Barry, I really worry about you sometimes ...

Barry, I really worry about you sometimes ...

F*ck me - concern!!

I'll have to take a look at the positioning of my posts in future, I can't be seen to be garnering 'concern'.

That aside, thanks - I'm touched.

For once a response that makes me feel wanted.

Barry, I really worry about you sometimes ...

...al that aside mate, when I re-read my posts following a response such as yours, I can totally see what you're on about.

But back to my initial question.

Could the scene be as strong without the life long beacons at the helm?

But back to my initial question.

Could the scene be as strong without the life long beacons at the helm?

We will see if and when it happens , providing God will allow us to view the proceedings ..........

Given Mr Barnfather's longevity , he will be around long after the majority of us have shuffled off this mortal coil .......

Malc Burton

I think "stalwarts" have been leaving on a regular basis since I started on this scene. Im sure we can all think of past dj's,collectors,"movers and shakers" who are no longer around. If they left a hole it was soon filled.

Their contribution to it all is not lost cos the legacy is there in what is played and although it could be argued that their part in it was greater than some,it is referred to as a "grassroots" scene and IMO everybody plays a part.

I don't think there's anything to worry about just yet.

ROD

Explain to me what will happen after the big guns pop their clogs, surely not far off now ay?

Will the security disappear? What will happen when the much appraised thick-skinned, stage positioned targets aren't there? And who are the torch carriers (The Olympics, topical)? Or has it already happened, have I missed it with my lack of attention. So much music, so many people to appease, so little time.

Barry

The 25 year old chinstrokers will take over, any NS choon with strings will be banned, any

record with more than "3 Known Copies" will burned (at night on a big fire), dancing will

only be allowed to slow R & B grunge. We'll be carted off to re-education camps, somwhere

around the London area and everybody will have to line up in the morning and sing the

praises of "Rare Soul". Of course we'll all deny ever going to a venue in the 70Ts or 80Ts.

Now there's something to look forward too..............................

Look at the Facts.

The biggest ever number of 'official Northern Soul fans' were starting off between 1975 and 1977 at about 13 or 14 year old.

That means the average age is still short of 50.

Lets hope then with an average lifespan of 75 years old, theres still a quarter of a century before the numbers start to drop

As for the artists, look at Tupac....................... Still material being released today and he's (allegedly) long gone.

DJs? - Plenty of contenders to keep the masses happy.

Ed

"The biggest ever number of 'official Northern Soul fans' were starting off between 1975 and 1977 at about 13 or 14 year old."

Not sure what that's about but I don't remember many 13 or 14 year olds at say the Mecca in 1976. I don't really think age has anything to do with most people's decision to stop attending.

ROD

"The biggest ever number of 'official Northern Soul fans' were starting off between 1975 and 1977 at about 13 or 14 year old."

Not sure what that's about but I don't remember many 13 or 14 year olds at say the Mecca in 1976. I don't really think age has anything to do with most people's decision to stop attending.

ROD

Exactly ........

I am still in contact with several people who were scene stalwarts from the mid 70s to the early 80s , who , at seperate times , decided that " enough was enough " for them , and stopped attending events / nights etc. . These people were in their late 20s / early 30s when they " called it a day " ........

Malc Burton

Edited August 20, 200816 yr by Malc Burton

Exactly ........

I am still in contact with several people who were scene stalwarts from the mid 70s to the early 80s , who , at seperate times , decided that " enough was enough " for them , and stopped attending events / nights etc. . These people were in their late 20s / early 30s when they " called it a day " ........

Malc Burton

That's not such an unsual occurance, you know NS boy meets girl, NS boy shags girl, NS boy

marries girl, NS boy becomes a NS big boy and girl becomes a woman, have children, get a

mortgage, have a life, etc. etc.................

All sub cults have had this phenomena I wonder how many Teddy Boys are still alive, if so

are they still kicking (parden the pun)?

I guess one day NS will be consigned to the history books (or just Wikepedia) someboday will

make a movie about it, set in Bolvia, slow dancing to cha-cha's, driving tractors and wearing

Scottish kilts............come to think about it a bit like the Rare Soul Scene

"That's not such an unsual occurance, you know NS boy meets girl, NS boy shags girl, NS boy

marries girl, NS boy becomes a NS big boy and girl becomes a woman, have children, get a

mortgage, have a life, etc. etc................."

I have some trouble understanding that line of reasoning too,Chris. The two things aren't mutually exclusive.

ROD

"That's not such an unsual occurance, you know NS boy meets girl, NS boy shags girl, NS boy

marries girl, NS boy becomes a NS big boy and girl becomes a woman, have children, get a

mortgage, have a life, etc. etc................."

I have some trouble understanding that line of reasoning too,Chris. The two things aren't mutually exclusive.

ROD

First time round I spent all my money on records and getting to the North of England, once I started

dating seriously I couldn't afford the 2, have to admit sex beat NS :-((

First time round I spent all my money on records and getting to the North of England, once I started

dating seriously I couldn't afford the 2, have to admit sex beat NS :-((

But nowadays we have the time, experience and (for some) the money to enjoy both

Been a long time since I had to polish my own Trumpet

Edited August 20, 200816 yr by Guest

But nowadays we have the time, experience and (for some) the money to enjoy both

Been a long time since I had to polish my own Trumpet

polish your own trumpet steve lol

i never met any 14 or 15 year olds ether rod back in 74 there was a hell of a number going up to the casino and the mecca . and from what i hear there was just as many even further back whats so special about 75 and so on ????

i never met any 14 or 15 year olds ether rod back in 74 there was a hell of a number going up to the casino and the mecca . and from what i hear there was just as many even further back whats so special about 75 and so on ????

I think Paul we're getting sidetracked with this age thing and screwing up Barry's thread. You're right though there were hundreds attending clubs prior to mid 70's Wigan of which IMO not very many were 13 or 14 and most of whom drifted away either during the first half of the 70's or soon after.

I think Ed's reference to 75 is purely tongue-in-cheek in that we will keep going till we drop. That of course assumes that today's fans are more committed than those that went before and begs the question whether it was just a phase or a fad for many, such as referred to by Malc, and Im sure we can all think of people who were very active and involved who just packed it in.

Scene keeps on though. I put it down to those not quite 50 who are the "new blood" everybody talks about!!!

ROD

Given Mr Barnfather's longevity , he will be around long after the majority of us have shuffled off this mortal coil .......

Malc Burton

================================================================================

====

Very true that Malc regarding Soul Sam not many people know this regarding Sam but he,s a Time Lord

and goes from venue to venue in his DJ box which is in fact a time machine similar to Dr Who,s Tardis

Arthur Fenn is a Cyberman domesticated by Sam and given Earthly features so as not to frighten

his mass army of soul groupies which follow from venue to venue........

Regards Ian Highlander Cunliffe

That's not such an unsual occurance, you know NS boy meets girl, NS boy shags girl, NS boy

marries girl, NS boy becomes a NS big boy and girl becomes a woman, have children, get a

mortgage, have a life, etc. etc.................

All sub cults have had this phenomena I wonder how many Teddy Boys are still alive, if so

are they still kicking (parden the pun)?

I guess one day NS will be consigned to the history books (or just Wikepedia) someboday will

make a movie about it, set in Bolvia, slow dancing to cha-cha's, driving tractors and wearing

Scottish kilts............come to think about it a bit like the Rare Soul Scene

When I came to live in the area where I reside ( 1971 ) , there were two chaps who were true to the Teddy Boy faith - frock coats ( with velvet collars ) , drain pipe trousers , bootlace ties , brothel creepers and lumiinous socks , complete with the heavily greased / slicked back elephant's trunk / ducks arse hairstyle ........

It is only in the last 7 - 8 years that they have bowed to " convention " , and started to dress in - if there is such a thing as normal - attire ........

I must admit that they did cut an impressive figure when you saw them out and about , but in the case of one of them , he had lost the majority of his hair on the top of his head , and when he styled the remainder - the sides and the back - it gave him the look of Max Wall .........

Malc Burton

But nowadays we have the time, experience and (for some) the money to enjoy both

Been a long time since I had to polish my own Trumpet

True, there's nothing quite like a female grabbing your trumpet. Northern Soul was never for me an obssesion say in the same way it was for some like Ian Levine or Richard Searling. When I got out

of it I di realise how much I had departed from the real world took me a few months to get back into

shape.

got to agree with that rod its the 40 somthings that are now in the driving seat so to speak

Too many cooks spoil the broth....etc.

Will there be any soup at all in 7 years time, outside the local under attended (in 'number counters' minds that is - like numbers really mean anything!) regional venue.

Are my posts that hard to follow?

Actually Barry your posts are hard to follow as you insist on framing your thoughts in the manner of the Oracle at Delphi requiring a host of willing acolytes to interpret your pronouncements as if delivered from on high.

Unfortunately not too many replies to what I thought was an interesting view in that [and I may have misinterpreted!!] there are "big guns" without whom the scene will falter.

That there are leading lights is not in doubt but over the years they have, with a few exceptions, tended to come and go so your notion that there is some kinda security, through continuity or guidance perhaps, is something I'd disagree with.

You only have to read the posts on here to get a sense of a state of flux and almost anarchy within the competing views as to what the scene ought to be about. That suggests to me that there are an awful lot of people around with passion and committment ploughing their own furrow who would barely notice the loss of a "big gun".

From your last post Im guessing that you're not comfortable with the idea that a myriad of styles can be encompassed in the one scene or that one man's view of Northern is equally valid as the next and you yearn for the return of the "Head Chef" to whip up a consistent menu but those days are long gone.

ROD

Given Mr Barnfather's longevity , he will be around long after the majority of us have shuffled off this mortal coil .......

Malc Burton

================================================================================

====

Very true that Malc regarding Soul Sam not many people know this regarding Sam but he,s a Time Lord

and goes from venue to venue in his DJ box which is in fact a time machine similar to Dr Who,s Tardis

Arthur Fenn is a Cyberman domesticated by Sam and given Earthly features so as not to frighten

his mass army of soul groupies which follow from venue to venue........

Regards Ian Highlander Cunliffe

Shouldn't that be Ian Highland Room Cunliffe ?

regards Ritchie

Barry

The 25 year old chinstrokers will take over, any NS choon with strings will be banned, any

record with more than "3 Known Copies" will burned (at night on a big fire), dancing will

only be allowed to slow R & B grunge. We'll be carted off to re-education camps, somwhere

around the London area and everybody will have to line up in the morning and sing the

praises of "Rare Soul". Of course we'll all deny ever going to a venue in the 70Ts or 80Ts.

Now there's something to look forward too..............................

Alternatively (and far more likely) we'll just carry on digging for more unknown tunes and get together in smaller venues to enjoy hearing such sounds, instead of gathering 1000 people together to celebrate all the clubs of yesteryear and listen to the same 50 records repeated 5 times over in a 10 hour session.

Now there's something DEFINATELY worth looking forward to.........

Actually Barry your posts are hard to follow as you insist on framing your thoughts in the manner of the Oracle at Delphi requiring a host of willing acolytes to interpret your pronouncements as if delivered from on high.

Unfortunately not too many replies to what I thought was an interesting view in that [and I may have misinterpreted!!] there are "big guns" without whom the scene will falter.

That there are leading lights is not in doubt but over the years they have, with a few exceptions, tended to come and go so your notion that there is some kinda security, through continuity or guidance perhaps, is something I'd disagree with.

You only have to read the posts on here to get a sense of a state of flux and almost anarchy within the competing views as to what the scene ought to be about. That suggests to me that there are an awful lot of people around with passion and committment ploughing their own furrow who would barely notice the loss of a "big gun".

From your last post Im guessing that you're not comfortable with the idea that a myriad of styles can be encompassed in the one scene or that one man's view of Northern is equally valid as the next and you yearn for the return of the "Head Chef" to whip up a consistent menu but those days are long gone.

ROD

Good response mate.