Agentsmith

pete's on the ball guys,....it's all about enduring popularity, and that exists in one form or another through generations..."postioning" certainly isn't something that should govern a books format...because that's exactly the argument you don't want but will be if you try....NO-ONE, no matter who they are, can truly say or decide what is the number 1 record of all-time...and by the same token, the 500th...kev's book IS truly based on popularity but he's not claiming that frank wilson SHOULD be number one because it's the greatest record ever,..it became to most, at the most PIVOTAL time of the scene, when wigan was in it's zenith, THE popular northern soul tune to dance to, AND AS WE'VE SEEN OVER THE NEXT 3 DECADES, it still commands attention.of course we don't have to like it, we're entitled to tire of it or despise it...but it's there, isn't it? and it can't be denied. eddie parker isn't down there at 485 because it's ONLY ranked the 485th best record ever....IT'S ONE of 500 genuinely popular records to be played on the scene.....it can just as easily be claimed to be the best, it's personal opinion and choice, isn't it? if you want to add REAL extenuating circumstances why a certain record/ records don't appear in the book...it's exact;ly the same reason that stops rare/connoissuers soul nights from being the norm.......RAREITY......how many influential djs own exactly what and how few copies there are to go round....THAT'S why so many don't make kev's book...a record CANNOT be popular in 50 places on the same night if there are only 3 COPIES doing the rounds...the term LEGEND, applies to this theory, because people get to hear ABOUT the tune, but won't hear it unless they go to a certain venue. in this day & age we are fortunate ( or are we? ) that there are so many gigs to go to in the calender year and thus, chances of hearing something unique and different, are greatly enhanced....BUT it still dosn't mean they will become popular enough to make a book's references about the most popular sounds to ever be played on the scene....BECAUSE THEY'RE STILL JUST TOO RARE!. if you also take into account that kev did orchestrate a reappraisal of the first book to include a 100 of the most popular tunes since the beginning of the millenium, then he did go someway to addressing people's concerns. if you catch my drift from the earlier entry in this debate...a book collating the top 500 most popular discoveries of the last 3 decades is your answer, i'm sure it wouldn't discriminate, because i suspect that a lot of undervalued/underplayed cheapies would register in there ( think totw, yes these tunes were throwaways back then ) along with the detroit "hoard" and the dedication of messrs croasdell & rix, to name but two for putting unissued gems on the map......or what the heck,......we'll all just carry on arguing about this til the cows come home!...i don't see ANYONE sticking their neck on the block to produce ANYTHING of comparison to kev's book in our lifetime's that can be referred to as DEFINITIVE....OR DO YOU WANT TO SPEND A LIFETIME DOING IT?

3 great tracks there, classic oldies to the vast majority, completely new to the young generations grasping the nettle and in no mans land with the handbaggers, the vast majority of whom want the clubby tunes they grew up with,never allowed theirselves to be subjected to change or progress and generally...from my viewpoint ( and it's only my view ) are the types who have NEVER ventured out of their own back yard and experienced what other venues have to offer. i think that the top 500 book addresses several generations,selecting tunes that have been popular at one time or another but with one thing in common...they have not been forgotten, they are memorable and that even includes the dire...nobody danced to them all of the time, but they're in the book because they caused people to dance. of course there's no reason NOT to have another book..perhaps the top 500 discoveries of the last 3 decades ( since wigan )?

dionne warwick....." i think you need love"..quote: good b-side.......GOOD?, think you need a reappraisal there randy...AWESOME MORE LIKE!...you didn't list the credits for it,..why?...the orchestration is sublimnal!!, the voice is just...dionne.

total agreement there dave, huge tune a number of years before the actual vocal turned up on lp.

exus trek.....the vocal/isntr mix that nick brown used to play you mean?...i remember taking that into a studio and doing the same myself...it ended up almost 5 minutes long but totally brilliant...best of both worlds!!...you should ask mr. rushton why he's NEVER put that out as he has a copy ( i gave him it )

agree, monster tune waiting to happen again...couldn't envisage a vocal to this somehow, even though the title is a reference to darrell banks ( well sort of ). backstreet/detroit rhythm section....another awesome dancefloor killer...and how about guy's sweeter than the day before....when was the last time you heard that played anywhere? ( other than where guy gets to dj )

another venue whose sets i always look forward to browsing....ovo in full effect

lorraine, it's a shame that we may never see his likes in the u.k. again...think those who attended the concerts in 2004 were mighty privileged....i also believe that the in-fighting prevented the surviving members from giving us so much more, that we craved and will eternally regret. we have, of course, as our heritage, the musical soundtrack that was, and still is, their creation. eddie gave his heart, soul and long hours in the relentless pursuit of perfection, as a band the guys were an unstoppable force...berry gordy has taken a long time to give them recognition....perhaps now, more than ever, he should step in to help eddie in his time of need or will he never truly know, in such high esteem, his beloved musicians are held. what you are doing is honorable, it's the least you could do, you've known these people all your life long...if you decide to market a video of this showcase, i will most definitely contribute...i envy the folks who will still be able to see mr. willis in the flesh...i just have the treasured memory of 2004, when they finally came out of the shadows...god bless your man eddie. rob

didn't chris plant & steve porter ever dj there?

well rub it in bro!

spot on bro,...cockney mick, don't know why but i used to think that was a reference to mick smith but apparently not!...clive jones...now that's a name that ain't been heard on the scene for years..a bit of a mick.h of his day...had a great playbox...think THE tunes were with pep though. think edwin actually played the locarno all-dayers twice.

birmingham locarno all-dayers were run under several guises including the WEST MIDLAND SOUL CLUB and latterly, the NOTTS & LEICESTER SOUL CLUB.....in birmingham? which, was courtesy of TERRY SAMPSON & CHRIS KING. chris was also at the time running a gig in tamworth and was also prominent at the redditch all-nighters which were held at the queen vic ballroom ( correct? ). i distinctly remember two rooms...don't know about a modern room...or i simply wasn't aware...the BALI HI was a very popular back room with upfront jazz-funk, PEP would dj in there as well as the main room, along with NOEL TILLEY, can't recall the other djs. MICK DERRY used to get regular spots in the main room....this man had some unbelievable tunes...many of which found their way to the casino....but he played them FIRST...even remember seeing the late NEV WHERRY doing a spot in there...that was something!. the revival in the first decade of the millenium just didn't happen...personally i thought the decor had changed too significantly and lost much of it's atmosphere...remember this place used to get rammed on sundays. i don't think you can catagorize the locarno as a place which had big tunes associated with it...it was as much as anything, another place to go if you wanted something extra on top of your dose of weekly casino and, outside of the tiffany's ballrooms, the civic & wulfrun halls & the lafayette, the LOCARNO was probably the biggest deal in the midlands. ( the cats had shut several years earlier ) live acts included EDWIN STARR & JUNIOR WALKER.

crackin' crossover tune of some mention, "i gotta tell somebody" from an lp that got issued here on djm as well as canyon in the states...championed by mr. searling...great voice, another now silenced. r.i.p. gloria

phew!!...there's several mortgages in there!! HOW GOOD IS SOUL BROS INC. - MY PROPOSAL?

pm'd you

right about the startrek thing matt, that's where you, me and a billion other earth dwellers heard the term, but it's not fantasy, it's a proven scientific fact...however guys, i suggested the thread is about what actually pops into you head for no apparent reason....NOT WHAT YOU'VE BEEN DIGGIN' THROUGH YOU BOXES FOR!!

THE definition of motown?....read levi stubbs...so many great vocalists adorn the companies success story, but the stand-out is the top's frontman, and that's not to withhold the tortured genius of ruffin or gaye. stubbs voice and commitment was unfaltering throughout the top's residence. we can talk about the tunes we associate with readily yet, the exposure of archive material in recent years revealed a dirth of classics that would have given them a superior status and rewarded motown financially, had gordy had the foresight to have faith in their output. from the double cd collection released 7 years ago via hip-oselect, i have to nominate a track that has resounded with many similar minded folk and, courtesy of mr. searling, will become a stellar memory for years to come, pending it's imminent release for the first time EVER. CLIP MY WINGS...if you haven't already heard this masterpiece, you are in for a treat.

another great instrumental that keep going round in me 'ead, is LUCKY DAY - THEOCOFF INVASION on dearborn....a mega want for ages, finally purchased a mint issue off tim complete with smart company sleeve...i always say that the if the americans had created THE AVENGERS, this would have been the theme tune...i also think a lot of you agree with that remark as well!

of course it dosn't follow that what you end up singing is what you want or expect...have you noticed that this, tends to happen just as you are waking up from a night's sleep?..that's why it's impossible to figure out why it's any genre of music....don't you wish you could program your brain to just wake up with a northern soul tune, pounding in your brain?

a scientific anomaly, it's a fact that they exist in the human brain....hence the every day occurence of a tune or tunes popping into one's head for no rational reason resulting in them being sung to one's self over and over again......so WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN SINGING INCESSANTLY TODAY? ME?...quite simply one of the most iconic soul/funk tunes of all-time, so much so, that i youtuned it in its full glory then listened to the brilliant 1978 remix, followed by a huge cleethorpes anthem from the same man...and just to add a touch of banality, that tribute tune that was huge at the casino, early doors.... so WHO'S ON MY MIND? A. ISAAC HAYES - SHAFT ( full version ) - SHAFT II ( polydor records ) and...R.B. FREEMAN - I'M SHAFT ( YOU AIN'T SHAFT ) avco records 1973 and to cap today's sequence: another monster pier tune TODAY'S PEOPLE - S.O.S. ( all we need in time for love )

hi tracey, check out keith williams' soulsearcher website,...he has a copy priced at £100, in demand xover tune.

correct, stylus wear contributes...most djs who put in their own equipment will look after their gear, especially stylus & cartridge, afterall, other djs play their records on the gear and naturally assume it's up to scratch. cueing up is part & parcel of the dj art...but like has been said here as well, poor quality vinyl simply isn't going to prevent cue burn or hiss, and styrene has always been notorious for this. i did worry about tobi ledgend when i first bought an issue copy, but upon inspection it is good quality despite being styrene and has not suffered the same fate as johnny bartel, for instance, which after a few plays, now has a two second hiss. so, if you do backtrack, as opposed to just dropping the needle on the record and hoping for the best, rest it gently and wind back slowly, treat the gear and the records with respect...simples!

a good many still to make up their minds then....assuming a good proportion of the u.k. watched it?, i think anyone who takes on this most hallowed of subjects, deserves the maximum for the effort, it most certainly wasn't over-subjective, at the same time it had an air of disaffection from the media hype we would all imagine it would be threatened with.....we begrudge with perpetual consistency, anything of this nature for fear of it perverting the course of justice, that in, telling it like it is and not belittling the scene and its congregation. this, however, was respectful and as if to hammer the point of longevity home, managed to portray a few of our well known brothers and sisters as proof that this genre, once scoffed at as being another fad, simply hasn't gone away and that the mantle is passing faultlessly, from one generation to the next...slowly but surely, the youth of this country are realizing that REAL music begins at home, that it never went away. just like "the pen is mightier than the sword", so the stylus is mightier than i-tunes

remembrance is a great thing.......in the right context..such as november 11th. where anniversaries of long departed venues, is concerned, the music and the enjoyment of youthful abandon is, or should be the foremost reason for respective "attendees" to celebrate. it's inconsequential that the hub of those rebellious activities is not the same place that now holds these annual festivals. whilst it may be considered nothing less than blinkered, that an excuse for intense hammering of previously hammered oldies is in order,...the inescapable fact is....these records ( in the main ) are to be associated with the said venue...and if the latest generation of inductees to the cause, feel it is a duty to pay respect to their parents ideology by also liking the same tunes ( which in overwhelming cases, they do ) and dancing to them, applauding them and calling them brilliant ( though we've all heard them a million times over ) then so be it. the scene has always been about the masses and their undying love common bond for the music...without people to head up the promotion of this style, the catalysts who we call dj's and who through their own vocation, saw a niche in the market to put on a good "do" and make a living out of it ( no shame in that ) exactly where would we stand now?...perhaps a different shape & form?....no scene of any significance?, that hasn't left the indelible footprint, we acknowledge universally? we haven't, after 40 years, actually surrendered to the burden of commercial exploitation, though we have come uncomfortably close, as to stiffen our resolution, that weather above or below ground, our scene and it's music, it's ethic of genuine originality of style simply cannot have a candle held to it. no genre before or after, has had such a deft ability to open people's minds to the reality that great music dosn't have to be formulaic and beholden to the fancy of the media. 40-50 year old grooves resonate with a freshness and vitality that has outlasted warhole's 15 minute theory...our mantra is famed for it's survival where other musical tastes are quickly forgotten...washed away by the tide of change.....northern soul is still holding back that tide, because people accept it's relevance in this day & age, lyrically these forgotten gems display the true artistry of folk trying to eek out a living, simple to sing but displaying unerring truth in their statements and backed by sublimnal orchestration. so....no, we can't, in the spirit of things, celebrate the anniversary of the venue, it's music, it's atmophere, it's camaraderie ( it's solvent abuse..to please the minority! ) within the bricks & mortar...and yes, naturally it's earning somebody a few bob....well, when you pay for avenue, you invariably are going to want to get your overheads back, aren't you?? as i said in my first line....remembrance is important...like the soldier who passes on his memories to his grandchildren, so the spirit of what they did & saw is kept alive, so should it be for the scene we created...be thankful a good many youngsters see it the same way....the spirit of northern soul will endure and the anniversary will always be an integral part of it's appeal.

derek allen? god rest his soul