Roburt

Baileys had been a dance hall before it was converted into a supper club. It formed the top floor of the big town centre Co-op store & was originally known as the Skyline Ballroom. I went to see loads of mod & soul acts there as they always featured live acts on (mainly) Thursday nights. I saw Rod Stewart (singing with Jeff Beck Group), Zoot Money, Mike Cotton Sound & they had the likes of Small Faces, Who, Jimmy James & Vags, Garnett Mimms, Lee Dorsey & many more on. It converted to become Baileys around 1970 / 71 and had acts such as the Flirtations, Fantastics & numerous non-soul acts on (playing week long stints). I went to see a few of the soul acts that were on when it was Baileys (married a Hull lass, so was always back in the city visiting her family & old soul friends). The newspaper this guy is talking about is the HULL DAILY MAIL. It's still going strong & even has a web site ... https://www.thisishullandeastriding.co.uk/people/Hull%20Daily%20Mail/profile.html They publish (monthly?) editions of a 'history / nostalgia' special that just features old photos from past editions (40's/ 50's / 60's) but I think they also do reprints of specific editions (for birthday presents on someone DofB). Its worth contacting them or someone at Hull City Council Library Dept as I'm sure one or the other will help out determining which edition any report on the events detailed above occurred appeared in. HOPE THIS HELPS. ......

"So Blue" had strong 'Dells' connections (2 of the writers were members of the group and Wade Flemons + Barrett Strong wrote songs for the Dells) & the group provided backing vocals on Joe's version. Wonder if the Dells ever cut a version of the song with an actual group member on lead vocals. If they did it would have been back in their 1964 / 65 Vee-Jay period when the company was slipping into financial problems & bankruptcy. So I guess it would have stayed in the tape vaults.

I've got a spare of "I Want You" on UK 45.

Is the Noel McCalla 45 on Direction ("One More Heartache / Beggin") from 1980 worth owt on a demo ? ....... and did CBS release anything else on Direction during that time period ?

Just picked up a copy of Grand Theft's 1st 45 as I really like "Love Burns". Guess the title of the B side was quite cryptic -- "Turn It Over" -- as it's a bit of a throwaway instrumental. OK I suppose but it would have been better as a vocal track.

Meanwhile ....... In 1969, back across town, a little known Detroit group were playing some gigs

Gwen McCrae's proposed UK tour has had to be postponed after she was rushed into hospital in London just over a week ago. 67 year old Gwen had performed at (Jazzy B's ?) Happy Days Festival (held at Imber Court, East Molesey in Surrey) on the Saturday (2nd June) to great reaction but was taken ill shortly afterwards & rushed into a London hospital. Anyone know of any updates on her condition ?

So now that dozens of rare expensive UK 45's & numerous more less pricey items have been 'mentioned in dispatches'.... anyone who has their finger on current prices tempted to try to list an actual Top 10 ???

There was a Willie Hutch (TMG 885) & an Originals (TMG 1066) that were pulled. Did demo's of either of these 45's actually escape here ??

Two local acts that recorded were on this Miami charity show ... https://www.sirshambling.com/artists_2012/S/starettes/index.php

Diane Ferraz and Ferris Wheel were on at the Nite Owl (Leicester) on Saturday / Sunday 26 / 27th August 1967. A week later the Fabulous Temptations (really the Velours / Fantastics) were on at the Nite Owl niter on the Saturday night (well, early hours on Sunday morning really) and they then drove north to appear at the Mojo Alldayer on the Sunday afternoon / evening. I caught them (Tempts) at both clubs & (I'm now getting to the point of this last bit) whilst at the Mojo was talking to the club's owner (Pete Stringfellow) & he said that he was about to restart the allniters (as well as keeping the alldayers he had already booked acts for going) and was desperate to get some good live acts. I told him that I had seen Ferris Wheel & that they were great. He then said that he'd been offered the group for one of the proposed upcoming allniters but (not knowing anything about them) had turned down the chance of booking the group. When would the Ferris Wheel have been in a London studio for Pye in 67; anyone know. It must have been not too long before I saw them live in Leicester ... AND ... at about the same time that Linda Lewis was in an EMI London studio cutting "Bitter Into Sweet". Do written records exist for UK Record label (EMI, Pye, etc) recording session dates & which studios were utilised, etc. ???

For a while around 1969, Linda was in Ferris Wheel. Diane Ferraz and Mike Liston had formed Ferris Wheel with George Sweetnam also featuring on vocals for the group. Most of the other guys in the group had been members of singer Emile Ford's Checkmates. The Ferris Wheel quickly became a popular club act in London and toured widely (I saw them play the Nite Owl allniter in 67). The group were soon signed to Pye Records by producer John Schroeder & they recorded & had tracks released in 1967. The group continued to tour before Ferraz decided to leave the music business to raise a family. She was briefly replaced by Marsha Hunt (in 68) before she in turn left to be replaced by Linda Lewis (late 68 or 69). Linda Lewis was their lead singer on the group's 1970 recordings. Linda then quit the group & went to live in a 'commune' type house in London. Here she hung out with other musicians & this led to her being invited to perform at the 1st Glastonbury (the last bits of info she talks about in the above interview). ....... So what was Linda up to (musically) between cutting "Turned My Bitter Into Sweet" and her joining Ferris Wheel.

The Doris Willingham (aka Doris Duke) Jay Boy 45 was played in UK soul clubs from the day it was released here (which my shot memory tells me was mid to late 68, but I could be months out) ... even with the 'slow down' during the instrumental opening to the track.

Don't be a 'grumpy old man' Steve, what's happened ... someone broke your copy of Kylie's "Time Will Pass You by" 45 ??

1962 now & the proof writer obviously wasn't a music fan ..... How Claudine is mis-heard enough to put Cordine instead beats me !!

Towards the end of the 60's, Wilson entered the San Remo Song Contest in Italy (the 19th year the contest was held ... hence it was titled XIX Festival di Sanremo). In this; various artists were given certain original songs to sing (more than one singer having a go at each song) and a 'winner' was eventually selected (bit like an early version of X Factor but with less prats on the panel & way better singers involved). Anyway, Wilson was given a song to perform & he did this part in Italian (I believe it was written by 3 Italians) & part in English. It's not the best song he ever did & the bits in Italian leave me a bit cold ... but as it was only ever released on 45 in Italy on the Song Contests 'in-house' label, it's worth owning.

There are also a few nice collectable items on Alaska (some of the Cymande releases on the label seem to command decent prices). if we slip a year into 1980; then there are some good 45's on little Notts label Rondelet that are chased after (though they cocked up with their version of the Rain bows Valley release). More decent things on Ember from the same Detroit source as 'Fork In The Road'. I always thought of the Chi-lites "Changing For You" (R&B Recs) as a 10p single, but that seemed to jump up in price around 5/6 years back. At least a couple of decent outings by reggae guy Leroy Brown on EMI ..... can anyone tell me what his last 45 on EMI ("Holding Out") is like ... soul or reggae ?

Don't fret Bob. In the strange world of NS, anything that's not OVO is a 'boot' (go figure). Many don't even accept that (say) a UK or Euro version of a US 45 that got released over here within weeks of the US 45 hitting the shelves is OVO. STRANGE certainly is the appropriate adjective to go with Northern Soul.

There were some great tracks put out on Tangerine (TRC), the above one included. Some were produced in-house by Ray himself, whilst others were done by friends of his in the music biz. This one from early 68 had input from the likes of Wally Rocker & (Big) Dee Irwin who would go on to run the Canyon label not long after.

Not a big hit for him (chart wise) but surely one of his best .......

All the way back to 1958 now ... for one of Detroit's finest ...

How about a couple of the others on Mint : there's the Roger Hatcher & ain't there a Freddie Waters as well (think I have both here somewhere).

Not 100% here but think Jimmy sold these direct around the clubs..... ...... I am of the same opinion; came out after Jimmy was dropped by Pye & he was still doing very regular live gigs back then (when I think he was still residing in Retford -- down near the railway stn). Yours got a picture cover? ........ Probably had when new, but didn't have when I picked my copy up (about 10 yrs after its initial release). ..... another 10p blind buy of mine ... loads of these buys turn out to be gud recids to make frisbee's out of but a few 'fly' musically speakin'.

RE: Missing You on Mojem by Jimmy James far rarer than Hey Girl & far better too IMO. ....... can't be bad as I've also got a copy of J.J's Mojem 4 tracker that contains this cut. (the colour of the Mojem 45 on that youtube clip ain't too close to the real shade of blue of the label).

Bob, the 3rd single was my mistake (as its not on EMI & may be by a different group) .... ... the 45 I was on about is th one I make mention of above on Honey !! Sorry for confusing you. The Sunburst label soon moved on from their distribution deal with EMI and so I don't think there was time for a 3rd Grand Theft 45 on EMI. The LP contains a track that deserved to escape on 45 ....... it's "Keep On Smiling" (written by the group). It would have benefited from a 45 mix too as the drums are a bit too prominent on the LP version ... too far forward in the mix for me ... the drummer was also a singer for the group, so maybe he sings on this track & so wanted his musical addition up front & central as well (though Peter Ross was their main & more soulful sounding singer). BTW, what's "I Never Know" like, I'm told it's also decent !!