Russ Vickers

Thank you so much for all the research you have done Tim, its very much appreciated & thank you for sharing it all with us, there should be a proper digital archive some where, where all of this information & photographs can be stored & shared for research & reference. Thank you & look forward to the further instalments, as a slight aside, I have the booklet that you produced about Robbie Lawson, would it be worth posting that up as well, if it hasn't already been digitally re produced already ? Kind regards Russ

Triumphs - I'm Coming to your Rescue - Okeh - Ex £30 small '45' Okeh re issue. Small writing on label. Bobby Wilson - Feels Good - Stax - Ex £15 Wheel/Torch pounder that could do with some plays now IMO. Tiffany Wilson - Your Love - We Coast - M- £12 (Red Vinyl) https://youtu.be/LRu91Re5zKE Mighty Sam - Never Too Busy - Malaco - Ex £30 Joe Frazier - Try It Again - Jobo - Ex £40 Keith Chism - My Life & Song - Carrie - Ex £60 Rose Royce - Ooh Baby - Whitfield - Ex £6 (I love this https://youtu.be/ZFvS1APwfuw The Impressions - I'll Always Be Here - Curtom - Ex £15 Fantastic - Highly recommended 7ts Bomb ! https://youtu.be/u8Z415IiPbE Frank & James - How Long Is Forever - Smooth City - Ex+ £100 - This is the far rarer first issue of this great 7ts dancer. Maxine Brown - Let Me Give You My Login' - Wand - Vg £25. Marks & light scratches & some fool has gone mad with a red felt tip pen on the 'we can' side. I will try & add a scan of that side later. Record plays through loud n clear with no problems at all. Ron Surrey - Sweet City Woman - Insurance City - Ex £120. Some slt bubbling to label. Versatile Gents - You've Blown My Mind - Linco - Vg+ £80. Most copies of this I see are in a similar condition, scuffs n marks, grubby labels, but this killer plays thru loud n clear with no major problems. TSU Toronadoes - What Good Am I - Atlantic - Vg+ £15. DH & some residue from a sticker in the dead wax. Fir - Ya - Keep On Trying' - Star - Glow - Ex - £100 Lee Bates - International Playboy - Instant - Ex+ £150. Brilliant & in demand NOLA killer !. Jimmy Burns - Give Her To Me - Tip Top - Ex+ £80. WOL. Falcons - I Cant Help It/Standing on Guard - Big Wheel - Vg+ - £15. Rickey Andrews - Take Me Back - RWA - Ex £30 Phyllis Brown - Oh Baby - Rainbo - Ex+ £150 Please PM if interested. No trades. Paypal F&F, but Bank Transfer preferred. Postage calculated when ordered.

I helped with the Cover Up title of the Clara Hardy

Absolutely.....if you wanna stay in the game, you dig, dig, dig, then dig some more, its pretty much the same as its always been, one way or another....

I thought Anna Ford & others were invited for one of the Anniversaries by the management, apparently there was a cake n everything.... ???

Shane McGowan was the cloak room attendant for a bit....

Doesnt matter if it was, it may not have been right at the time....

We all have different tastes, thats all part n parcel n that break in the Sir Joe not so many years ago would have been unacceptable to a lot of people.....thank good ness some people dont always go with the flow.....

No mention of 'Upfront' here.....https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10212413164143242&set=a.10200175209802032.8133682.1205119204&type=3

No, I do understand Kirsty, not everyone likes every record & records like the Triads have to be placed correctly within a set to get the best response, but there have always been records that not everyone likes, its not just a more recent phenomena ...I love your honesty.....if records wernt at least tried out though, how would we know, there are accounts of some now classic records taking a very long time to gain exceptance...

Try this for size too....took years to eventually break, but by all accounts is filling dance floors now.....

As for particular records, its difficult because different DJ's & venues could be playing lots of different things & 'Upfront' doesnt describe a genre....I dropped this into a set over Xmas, the crowd were a mix of soul people who only had one thing in common, they wanted to dance....this record has been played at various venues up & down the country for a while now, so Im not suggesting that for one moment that its unknown or unplayed, just a bit different from the norm....& for what ever reason, the already busy floor, not only remained busy, but went up a notch or too.....this will hopefully cause some debate, but it rather proves that non classic style records will be excepted if programmed correctly within a set at the right time in the right venue....& I am not the type of DJ who can drop anything in & it would fill a floor regardless either.....

I think 'Upfront' is just a loose term used to differentiate from the main stream, I dont know anyone personally that would describe themselves as an 'Upfront' DJ....I can't think of a venue either that describes itself as 'Upfront' either, altho I am happy to be proven wrong on that. If there is such a term, I dont think its used to describe a genre per se, IMO its venues, rooms & DJ's that are playing something different within the mix. That could be anything from an underplayed traditional oldie, to a new release, with lots of other stuff in-between, usually aimed solidly at the dance floor.....its what the Northern Soul scene used to be about, cherry picking from all genres of dance music, usually black, to find sounds that will make people wanna dance....depending upon your personal taste, some will be good, some bad & some indifferent. I think we should be pleased that there are still diggers n DJ's out there, that are prepared to spend the time finding n playing these lesser known things, as ever, some will eventually go mainstream, some may even become classics. But, lets also not forget the venues & promoters that encourage & support them, past & present. These kinda venues are the ones we now herald as legendary, Wheel, Mecca, Torch, Casino, Stafford, 100 Club & others, what makes them legendary in our hearts & memories, is the records played there, which, on the whole were newies, or maybe another word that could be used is 'Upfront' ? Food for thought maybe....... Russ

It was originally played from the LP, the 45 was released in the UK due to demand, so theyre all re issues lol....