Roburt

Thanks for that info / link ... so it was B&S #19 ... £57. I guess my early editions of the mag (still in VG+ condition) are now each worth more than most of the individual records I have in my collection then (having well over 15,000 records, mostly soul, very many easy to obtain items).

Which edition of B&S went for £57 -- a quite early one I guess. Think my collection starts at around #13.

We in the UK always viewed the Johnny Moore led group as being the real Drifters but as that group spent all it's time in the UK, US audiences / fans had to look elsewhere. Johnny Moore had joined the Atlantic Recs group (from Cleveland's the Hornets) in 1955. He had to go into the military so left the group, only to return as lead singer in 64. He then brought his version of the group over to live in the UK in the early 70's and they remained here right through the 70's & into the 80's. Johnny then hired his own 'new' set of Drifters and he & they stayed in the UK till his death at the end of 1998. But that meant that from around 1973, that group weren't available to fulfil US engagements.,So numerous other versions of the group took the place of Johnny Moore's guys. Charlie Thomas had quit the Atlantic group in 1967 (he'd become a Drifter in 58). He started his own version of the Drifters in the US around 1973 and they cut for Musicor in 74. Charles 'Don' Thomas joined the Atlantic group in 69 and was with them till the group fell apart in 1970. Don Thomas then re-joined a set of Drifters in 1978 and at one point (80's), Charlie Thomas became a member of that same outfit (see photo). Charlie passed in late January this year, just a few weeks after Don had passed.

There are a few books out there but they don't cover the whole geographic area. Of course there are books about the bigger / later venues -- Casino, Wheel, Mojo & the 60's London scene. There's also book that's mainly about the mod /soul scene in Leicester in the 60's ('High Flying Around'). There are web sites for the Blue Moon in Cheltenham & for the Dungeon in Nottingham. There used to be (& may still be) a web site about the Dunstable California Rooms. I seem to recall a book about the Gliderdrome in Boston. Leicester council staged an exhibition a couple of years ago about the mod / soul scene in the city in the 60's, this being staged in the local museum. There has been a decent newspaper article about the Catacombs. Nothing I know about to do with any 60's scenes in Northampton or that general area., Same situation for Mkt Harboro, Peterboro & Lincoln. I guess there has to be a book about the R&B / mod / soul scene in 60's Birmingham, but I don't know the details. There is an article about Brum in the 60's on the RETROWOW web site but that deals with everything; architecture, shops as well as clubs, etc.

Charles Thomas had to become Don Thomas when he joined the Drifters in 69 as a long standing member by the name of Charlie Thomas had only recently left the group. So as not to confuse fans, Charles became Don. He was on their 69 recordings, released by Atlantic in 70.

A totally differnt guy, as was established at the time the 'You're The One' album became popular.

Don appears in this TV commercial video, shot when he'd returned to be in a US based version of the Drifters ... www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jhm2nkHu6y0

Of course, ticket prices for live performances have generally shot up in the last 25 years ... I was in Florida this winter & Bruce Springsteen was on ... ticket prices up to $1600. if you like Beyonce, then it's now £199 to see her in the UK.

Starting in Miami in February 1964, ending in Nashville in a few days time ... Admission -- free. (there's a lot of gaps -- from the mid 70's to 2022) ...

Just learnt today that Don Thomas passed away on 10th November last year. . . . R.I.P. . . . .another one gone. Don't think that fact has been posted up on here before.

Vel Lewis has confirmed that the groups (Life) unreleased 74/75 album was cut @ Walt's Queen Village Studios in Philly. He was pleased to learn that Walt had a framed copy of their 45 up on his studio reception area's wall.

Yes, you really should have asked.

Thanks for the responses. I'm not doing anything with the info. Just thought it needed airing on here before much of the info is lost as attendees keep passing. Ian, Dougie is a big mate of mine & we have talked endless bulloks on soul related matters @ many Cleggy weekenders.

Glad to hear that (even though of course, I haven't actually bought any vinyl from Canada). Now, how to get the wife out of the house when the postman rings twice.

A 1968 pic of the Futures (it's so early, Vel Lewis had not yet joined the group). Vocalists form the front line, musicians the back line. It was the musicians who became LIFE in 73/74. Futures lead singer (James King) is btm left. in the pic ... & looks very young indeed.

I became mates with a guy from Walsall who used to go to the Nite Owl. His name was Brian (no idea of his surname). Also mates back in the late 60's with Sinbad from Wolverhampton area & two lads from Kidderminster; Mick & John (again, no idea of surnames).

Lots of threads on here about the legendary early soul clubs -- the Wheel, Torch, Nite Owl, Catacombs, Mojo, even Up The Junction ... + lots of the London ones (& the Club A Go Go t'up north). But not too much else on other Midlands soul venues. I was from Yorks, so only went down into the Midlands to go to the Nite Owl on a regular basis. However, there were lots of other great soul venues in the Midlands. Birmingham was early onto the R&B kick, with lots of R&B style clubs and then mod clubs. Nottingham always had a strong mod / soul following so had decent clubs too (Dungeon, Boat Clubs). Cheltenham had the famous Blue Moon. Dunstable had the California, Boston the Gliderdrome, Leicester's Il Rondo,. Did St. Ives (Cambs) have soul clubs in the 60's, I know it did later on. I attended a good soul club in Norwich in 67 but that's a bit far too east to qualify as the Midlands. Cambridge would count though & with all the students there, I guess they had soul venues in the 60's. I now live in the Oxford area but don't know of any decent 60's soul clubs in the city (their were venues on Botley Rd & on CarFax that booked beat groups / R&B outfits, etc but I think they'd gone before the late 60's influx of live US soul acts). Many of the Kidderminster, Walsall, Northampton, Peterboro, Derby, Notts, Lincoln soul crowds would travel to venues such as the Mojo, Nite Owl, Wheel, Catacombs (& to later clubs too). but they had to have more local venues they attended. The memories about lots of Midlands soul venues will surely just be 'slipping into darkness' unless aired on a site such as this .. What other venues need a mention here ?

So you're still allowed to add to your collection are you, OurKid ?

By any chance does anyone on here have a copy of the above 45. It's a 1978 single, out of Philly, on Eastwood Sound. I don't believe it's any good (in the soul stakes anyway) as it's described as a jazz /easy listening cut. I believe the lady joined a soul / funk band I'm looking into a present (in the early 80's) and that's the reason I'd like to get to hear it.

VAT charges on discogs deals are mentioned above ... I am not allowed (by the wife) to buy records any more from any source, so this is purely a rhetorical question ....😉 But if I was to buy 45's from Canada & was charged VAT on that deal, does that mean I won't get charged VAT by UK customs + a collection fee by Royal Mail ??

Heck, I was subscribing to B&S during that period, so have that edition of the mag. I used to get my old copies out & go thru them on a regular basis, not something you need to do now coz of that new fanged inter-web thingy. I still do on occasions though, it's a nostalgia thing. However, I don't remember that article at all -- old age I guess.

I went to lots of the early Southport weekenders (& the Morecambe one) but don't think I saw Bill at any.

I know we have guys on here who met up with Bill Spoon before he passed. I only ever got to chat with him on the phone (when he was still in LA) & that didn't give me much time to get the fine details of his career. Via Lou Ragland, I know about stuff from his period with the Soul Notes on Way out (Lou was their producer) in 68/69. Ahead of that, he had moved up to Cleveland with his family and started singing on street corners there with Richard Fisher (later to be lead singer with the Jive Five) & other friends. At Way Out, Bill was connected with the likes of the Sensations & Richard Fisher's brother Jesse. After the Soul Notes broke up he headed back down south & got involved with a Memphis label before returning to Cleveland for a while. He next relocated to LA by 1972 and continued his involvement with the recording biz (as a solo artist). In LA he hooked up with ex Motown guy Tom Wilson and cut tracks at Tom's Angel City Studios. One of those tracks was cut under producer Gene Dozier ("Be Concerned" being one of the tracks they laid down). Tom Wilson set up a deal for 3 of his acts to sign with Polydor -- Bill Spoon, Vernon Burch and Charlene & Darlene. But nothing from the 3 acts actually escaped on Polydor. Bill had to wait 6 more years for his next release. Vernon Burch was luckier, via Angel City he got a deal with United artists in 75 and I have no idea what happened to Charlene & Darlene (unless the twins split & Charlene was the woman who got a deal back with Motown). With his LA deal not working out, Bill went back to Cleveland & ended up working there in 1980 with Gene Dozier again (Gene then enjoying a long spell of success with Solar). Tom Wilson had lots of other acts cut at the studios -- non-soul folk such as John Mayall and Fleetwood Mac + more in our line acts such as the Younghearts, Monk Higgins, Gene Harris, Ronnie Laws, Pressure, etc. Anyone know what other tracks Bill cut in the mid 70's @ Angel City in LA (I think 2/3 of the tracks escaped on the Soul Junction LP 'A Spoonful of Soul' a while back). Vernon Burch was cutting numerous tracks @ Angel City in the mid 70's, at least 10. So it would seem strange if Bill only cut 2 or 3.

Can't Get Enuff of that Northern Stuff ...

Further to the above, I've just been chatting with Vel Lewis (of LIFE) again & the process of 'cleaning up' the old master tapes has started. It's the 80's lead singer from the group that has copies of the tapes from their 83 album. HOWEVER, the co-writer of "TELL ME WHY" also got back in touch with Vel to say he had copies of the album master tapes too. ONLY THING IS ... turns out this is tapes of a different album. The additional tracks now unearthed were cut in Philly in the mid 70's (so not long after the TELL ME WHY session) but with a different keyboard player as Vel had moved on (taken a more 9 to 5 job by then). Vel says these tracks were cut with a full 70's Philly sound, with Don Renaldo being in charge of the studio musicians. The facts linked to the group and their recordings just gets even more intriguing.