Markw

Hi Johnny - in reply to your comment, I wasn't suggesting PW was a a soul singer as such, rather that he writes and sings songs which are soulful. The Mod thing is a red herring and irrelevant to the debate over whether (a) Weller is good and ( whether his covers of soul songs are good. Weller's no more a mod than any of the football fans who wear the latest High Street fashions.

Here we go again! It's the old Johnny Daye, Dean Barlow, Helen Troy, Betty O'Brien etc rock n roll, country n western records debate coming back for another round!

Weller's been around a long time and will still be around for a long time to come. The fact that so many people have joined in this topic on a soul website is testimony to the influence he has had and continues to have. A brilliant songwriter, a great singer, a superb interpreter of other's songs and an inspiration to many. My ticket for Cardiff Arena is booked and I'd rather listen to his soulful singing than a lot of the shite passed off as soul at niters these days..........so there!!!

Maybe not the worst soul night but possibly the strangest. Ian Levine's World's 1st Gay Northern Soul night at his Heaven nightclub, Charing Cross Arches. I think it was Easter Sunday 1984 or 85 and it was advertised in Black Echoes. Group of us got sh*t-faced and @ 10am jumped in a mini from High Wycombe to London. The place was full of Freddie Mercury lookalikes and transvestites. The dancefloor was a mix of said leather-clad, moustachioed gentlemen, fake ladies and back-dropping, floor-spinners of undefined sexual orientation. Herr Levine said nothing to the crowd and all records were announced on a CCTV screen (very hi-tech for the time). Then Jimmy Ruffin (bless his cotton socks) was dragged on to voice-over his greatest hits. Paul Fielder could have copped on if he'd wanted to but declined the offer. A wierd night was had by all. Anyone else go to this?