Tomangoes

In its truest form it would need to cover virtually 60 years of musical styles with a common denominator of ' soul' in the mix. My cynical sides says it's just a way of getting as many folks in as possible and playing one or two ska, r&b, northern, crossover, modern, and new stuff to keep everybody happy. It's not for me. I prefer a narrower selection, and where possible have multi rooms playing definitive styles. The local free night obviously cannot do that, and since its free or a couple of quid entry, I guess the choices put up with it or stay away. Ed

A licence to thrill? Or a licence to justify playing anything and everything that anybody who happens to be there, requests? Ed

Was it Butlins who decided to not carry on, or the promoter. It makes a difference. I went once. I'm not sure you could commercialise an event any more than this. If you forgot your uniform, no worries, you could buy one there. Certainly had its devotees, and yes very similar to Whitby. As much as events like this get berated for a multitude of reasons, the punters who attend regularly love it. For sure it's not ALL about the music for them. Ed

Could have been a ' best version ' topic! Ed

Indeed Ed

Awful news. RIP Had the privilege of hearing her in LV and talking at length as she waited for her ride to the airport. Wheelchair bound she gave it her all. BEATM sounded as good live as the record. Ed

Swan Lake! Ed

Some last throws of autumn.. Ed

I think the GC version has more punch to it in terms of beat and delivery. All are good though. Ed

How many of these discs are leaving the UK? I hope not many:) Ed

Glorious Whitby now. Ed

Am I right in saying some of these tracks have Northern flips? Try as I might, I can't wholesale get into deep soul. Sacrilegious I know, but there you are. Ed

Simple autumn colours Ed

I always wanted Sandy Waddy on SOS and Wand, but never got both at the same time. Go for it! Collecting is an individual taste. Ed

At last! Folks were beginning to get down in the dumps with a lack of progress and tempted to go off into Spaceland. Ed

Just to see loads of demos ( even if they were not soul! ) was impressive. And at 14/15 I had very little knowledge really, unless it was top 500 of the day, so probably missed loads of stuff! There was also another shop similar on the Rotherham to Sheffield bus route that was mainly rock and roll stuff, but I did pick up a tell me what he said, the playground, and I'm coming home, that the proprietor handed me and said you will like these! I did not know any of them at the time. Ed

Violet Mays in Sheffield. Boxes and boxes in alphabetical label order all around you as far as you could see. Its of people combing through the boxes every Saturday. Went on my own once, midweek in the School holidays. Picked up a mint reflections Adam and Eve black issue for a quid. Best find I'd ever had at that point. Sold it for twelve quid the following weekend. Happy school days...and beyond. Ed

Maybe a book about the story of the label? Ed

How good is that! New version to me...sheltered life etc. Ed

Worth a listen on this dull Monday morning. Ed

I'd say derogatory on the rare soul scene....but Northern? A bit rich for that scene to be all puritanical.... Ed

It's funny because the general impression is copycat artists stealing original black music and making a more commercially viable recording. However John Anderson RIP does talk about white artists loving the music and trying to emulate the sound. I think I'd definitely pre dates Northern as a term. Just look at the stuff by Dusty S and Bobby G Ed

I dare say his collection, if sold, will throw up some great tunes, across the board. Or maybe his son will continue to build it if he is into soul music. I remember looking through Nev Wherry's boxes about a month before he tragically died and stood back in amazement. Ed

I hope a biography of Johns life gets written. Even though he was not a great fan of Northern Soul himself, his efforts to bring every 45rpm disc from the USA that could be adopted was simply awe inspiring. It's probable every record collection in the world has records he shipped over in it. A posthumous freedom of Kings Lynn should follow, and Portland Street renamed after him. However since he was a humble man, maybe call it soul bowl street. Ed

You don't mention the wheel, but did Godin come up with the term norvun soul whilst it was still open? If so, it might be prevalent to have a picture of that plus a current regular norvun venue, highlighting the almost 50 year lifespan of norvun. Also concentrate on who is going to buy the book. A history lesson, or an inspiration for young uns to get into the scene. Ed