macca

I've always been of the opinion that a 'pressing', bought with your school dinner money/pocket money, was for home consumption, or the tuesday night 'soul session' at the local school youth club. when somebody, invariably older, say 18 & at work, turned up at the club with rarities, we were all gobsmacked, in awe even. but, it was the youth club, not a soul night with paid deejays. I admired these guys, lugging in their huge boxes and spinning the new discoveries, watching knowledgeable collectors sift through boxes, proudly having their piccie taken with their latest rare purchase etc, etc. There came a point, when I was 17 & in my first job that I could no longer justify buying pressings even for my bedroom. I started, very slowly at first, to build up a collection, spending most of the night in the record bars listening to the 'shop talk' of dealers like Mick Smith. I ventured into the main hall, where big name jocks spun the big sounds of the day. I began to see the 'pressing crowd' as either misguided fools or, I hate to say it, plain divs. You might call it an elitist position, but it was how I (and many others) felt at the time. To talk of the dancefloor as if it were some kind of mobile mass of jelly with no mind of its own is quite insulting in my opinion. Some dancers clearly care about OVO & some don't. I can't help thinking that NOVAP (can we use this acronym?) is a cop out. I'm sorry if this offends anyone, but I consider rare records to be a vital component of 'thing' we call Rare Soul. Does this make me an elitist/anorak/taliban etc, etc? I think not.

I know not Steve, I thought you might be able to tell me. The tom, dick and harry scenario hadn't quite kicked in when I made my move to spain in late 1991. The historical re-enactment societies were still very much limited to Marston Moor and Sedgehill. More's the pity...

I have to say James' use of the word dullard is frighteningly accurate, and serious note should be taken. It seems that the dullards originated in Boetia, in central Greece, not far from the ancient city of Thebes. These hapless people were so abjectly dim, that their sheer dullness apparently blighted crops, causing widespread famine and pestilence in the region. At the height of the Byzantine period, they had successfully established themselves in Philistia, earning themselves the derisory term of philistine, i.e. to be culturally ignorant in the extreme. By the middle ages they had successfully penetrated the upper echelons of the growing religious reform movements of 14th century, almost supplanting their far brighter comrades, the lollards, stern followers of John Wycliffe who gave us the first English translation of the Bible. Their mind-numbing determination took them across the Atlantic Ocean with the Pilgrim Fathers, where they infiltrated Boston high society in the 18th and 19th centuries. The secret of their power and success is their apparent insensibility to blows, bring a mallet down on their head and they'll respond with a smile and disarming compliment. James knows more than he's letting on.

ask dave moore, he's a known WD fetishist (?). :-) thanks for the info. shall we say 60-80 for a minter then, or more? I haven't seen it listed anywhere for ages, unlike the issues.

I've never actually felt the need to approach the decks. Such a hideous stench emanates from the speakers when a non-legit eddie parker is spun that it's evident it's not OV. under those circumstances one has no other option but to abandon the ubiquitous maple sprung floor and seek solace in a bottomless glass in the breathtakingly tacky lounge bar, replete with 'real leather' sofas.

That's the track about heroin abuse. Simply gobsmacking, just him at the piano, if I remember well. Sam the Man!!

anybody know the value of the demo in mint minus condition? I see issues are going for 40-50 pounds... cheers M

It's a question of taste I guess, but these modern R&B artists, in the American sense of the term, leave me cold. The stuff they do sounds to me like the pap you see on X Factor, Fame Academy and the like. The guys put forward as examples of today's Black Music, like Joe & Brian McKnight don't sound much different to Justin Timberlake to my ears. I guess this music just isn't for us forty-somethings, is it? When Motown was at its height, Marvin Gaye was 23 or 24 years old & the people buying his records just a few years younger. To every thing there is a season, no?

That's an astonishing vocal from Jerry Williams. The man can evidently still cut it, & I love that 'leg banging' at the piano too.

You're right, it's evidently the same person. I presume the same backing track was used for all the artists you mentioned. Pat Lewis's version is in the refo section, but I can't get it to play right now. I can imagine Martha doing it justice though... M

The lovely Rose indeed. Very poignant when she wells up in TSWON, she seems a sweet lady. I heard from a Detroit nut that Hit & Run wasn't actually her, that the Debonairs had been slated in & Miss B's name ended up on the record. Anybody else heard that one before?

It's sound business ken to launch the product in this way. I don't personally like the spiel, but the net has to be thrown to catch all the shoaling fish, not just a few isolated sprats. You'd be surprised how many sales are chalked up to 4am impulse buying, especially those that come in after a beery night out on the tiles. I've done it myself. Who hasn't? BUT, in this case we're not talking about a mini trouser press, we're talking about some of the most iconic names ever to grace a 45 in the flesh, at least as far as this scene is concerned. I personally feel they thoroughly deserve it.

Ian, I think you mentioned in the other thread that Mr Rounce had turned up at the Mecca with a copy of Freda Payne's 'Band of Gold'. As an 11 year old, I remember my older sister raving about this track when it hit the charts, it was all we heard in our house for weeks on end. Was it another of these 'cross-over' records, along the lines of Robert knight, Tammi Lynn, Jamo Thomas etc?

This is very, very sad news indeed. My deepest sympathy to his wife & family. Richard 'Popcorn' Wylie was really an iconic figure. As an impressionable fifteen year old I considered it a sacred duty to memorise the record titles, labels, production/writing credits of his wonderful creations. & who among us can really say they're weren't absolutely floored the first time they heard Tommy Neal or Jimmy Soul Clark, and that's just two titles. I think a Richard 'Popcorn' Wylie Anthology is a marvellous idea. Could it be done Ady & Paul? Que descanses en paz Richard, te queremos mucho... M

What would the motives be for not wanting Soul music played Malc? Did they consider it too low-brow or something? The Rubettes is OK, but not Elouise Laws?

& the 'german sensibilities'? Teutonic knights & bratwurst? M

Errrm... Paul, is this not a little over the top? Benji was just making a point. German system & sensibilities? A dictatorship sounding familiar? You'll be blaming him for bombing your chippie next?

Seen here on a list of Soul Sam spins for March 79 at St. Ives. https://martysbox.tripod.com/id30.htm He's also playing magnetics 'lady in green', sharpettes 'lost in a world of a dream' & don ray 'born a loser. A weird time to be on the Soul scene. Don't be suprised Albert. All part of this very oddball scene mate. :-)

Thanks for all the info guys, a reet good read. shame we don't have more info on his final resting place, circumstances of his death etc, etc... He'd have probably loved to know about his cult status on this scene. Brother Jack!!

Here's one that'll make you positively gooey Paul. Why don't you ask him if he put the feelers out for Jack Montgomery for SWONS? I'd love to see a video of our Jack. If there's a monolith in NS, it's him, I reckon...

it all went pear shaped again, didn't it? I liked the soul notes track that james posted. the vocal sounds so familiar. now who does it sound like? jack montgomery in 'don't turn your back on me'?

wash & wear love is one of the greatest EVER to have been played on this scene, full stop. redeeming points? if we didn't get past the intro I'd be more than happy, after that it's mess your pants with joy time, all the way. I never felt like this about kenny smith or the anderson brothers.

Nae problem. Some of the stuff I've read on this thread borders on the insane. One might not agree on the musical aspect but I think character assassination is downright nasty. Life's too short, in my opinion of course.

You must try a Spanish Soul weekender Russ (if you ain't already) & then we'll talk. I don't like gutters. M

A stab at humour. It didn't work. A keyboard will never substitute the human voice.