Dave2

"I'll Bet You" - Top Northern. Thank you Theresa. RIP x

He's on a lovely black strat here, looks brand spanking new. What's interesting for me is the great funky sound out he's getting out of it! Completely unique in contrast to say other guitarists of that era who used the same model, sounding nowhere near this. Such a great, original unique sound! It's beautiful!

Awful news. A ‘genuine’ soul in body and spirit you gave to many. Forever remembered in the hearts (and play boxes) of the few. RIP Mr Charles Bradley.

Very nice. -and don't forget the Capsoul in your box, next week :-) ATB Dave

Such loss but a proud legacy left by a humble man. Sansu was your baby. As well as UK Top Ten hits, you dedicated your life to music; gracing ours with well-crafted, catchy R&B. The boogie-woogie got you, but so did we. You gave us ‘smart’ tunes; brilliantly balanced melodies that spiral on the dance floor, lifting the heart! It’s your vocals on Omar! Your penned horns on Irma Thomas What Are You trying To Do? - and those chords in Show It! -all over the shop but absolutely magnificent. (Hang on a Minit... is it you too? - piano chords 1:20 in on Homer Banks’s 60 Minutes?) RIP Mr Toussaint, and thank you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EihE9a_mEE

Nice thread Steve. My initiation to the scene began in Germany. As a Brit abroad, I will always be indebted to the Munich soul family for looking after me. The Babalu/ Atomic Cafe were my 100 Club, and the Loft was my Kings Hall J. (When there was nothing on, I went to the actual 100 Club and Kings Hall.) German soulies are generally a diverse younger crowd of mixed friendlies (aged 20 to 50). The key elements are tolerance, and an open-minded attitude on the floor to everything played, and everyone else. Some allnighters don’t set tables with chairs out, so standing/ drinking space is floor space as the venue fills. To dance, you just get in there!! Drinks spillage is resolved by shed loads of talc. No-one whinges, or gets too grumpy, and each to his/her own. The success of the night is measured by the smiles on the faces of dancers (up for just about anything!) and OVO is a serious given in respect of the roots and knowledge of the music. I’ve only danced in Berlin, Munich, Nuremburg, Bamberg, Hamburg, Augsburg and Frankfurt like many other Brits I imagine. And enjoyed every single night! Smaller venues are on the rise, with younger promoters working passionately raising the profiles of smaller towns. Bamberg Weekender is popular, as is Hamburg, and Nuremburg. Germany has added bonuses; good food, beer, history, art and culture making weekend breaks a special experience if you want to sightsee (usually ends up pear shaped, as the record sales bars are where the magic happens!). Berlin and Munich are superb to visit, but you need to book flights well in advance for best prices. See you soon Dave. You should know Steffi & I idolised your footwork to reach your standard! I think we turned out alright! J And Frank, you need to hit the floor moves more often J

Congrats on a great a site Mike. -and thanks to mods, and everyone in the past who's contributed. I particularly love the historic content people enter i.e. fanzines, old record lists, photos etc . For people like myself, it's a first port of call for the important things in life... i.e. What's on? / Can I really afford that record?! (of course not!), and passionate articles about the music /artists and top humour from forum regulars (you know who you are!). ATB Dave

A true soul gent, RIP Joe.

few more.... 'Twisted Wheeler Dealers' 2 Essex wide boys hunt piss-poor condition rarities. With water colouring pencils and solvent cleaning tips, labels are touched up 'like new' and the vinyl gleaming' before sold VG++ for obscene profit. 'Kick-Ass Kung Fu Soulies' Some Shaolin Kung Fu monks are taken to Yorkshire/ Lancashire to experience the art of 'Northern Soul; - A Way of Life'. Intense conditioning begins: pub crawls, scuffles with locals, and relentless oldies all-nighters, etc. As their spiritual journey ends, the monk who can talk the most bollocks, with the coolest footwork on the floor is awarded the notorious prayer beads. 'KTF!' engraved on every, single, bead.

Tragic. RIP Steve.

Its Ollie Reed isn't it? After a massive sesh with Keith Moon they stumble across the Stax studios.... (By chance the Booker T boys are in house laying backing tracks, and fearing for their lives, Steve Cropper invites Ollie to 'join in' on vocals). The rest is history...

Always loved the flip to this German Smokey Robinson. ATB Dave

I immediately thought Marvin Gaye, which is a much better record! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inFDgCSGWDs

Thought it was good. I liked the contributions from Richard & Ian D. - well done guys! I imagine lots of interview footage was shot, but cut to a minimum. 80's and 90's could have interviewed those pioneers that carried the scene forward i.e. Stafford, 100club (no interviews from Dave Thorley, Ady, Soul Sam, Butch, etc) what about the noughties's and present day? - not just revival anniversaries /club,. the 'European' scene and Japan, what's happening there? Liked the bit about Wigan tunes not always to everyone's taste, and it did document the so called split of the scene - pure v modern with Ian Levine fessing to 'going to far' with disco-esque tracks. -DJs have to play what's popular don't they?, if people are gonna dance to Sylvester and Joe 90, what's the problem? A good documentary should have stories, and it did (Tony Blackburn pseudo-signing records, Ian D's clean cut 'dedicated driver' image, Ian Levines dad bollocking him 'cos the aircrafts gonna crash massively overloaded with a 4k box count). But there's way better stories out there, isn't there? - the Wigan Sunglasses, 'car borrowing', Simon Soussan, Ian D catching his nuts on pole! (that's on here somewhere?), but at least it had something. Disliked the way they tried to solidly link Northern to other UK music as if to say; its always been there!- it had fu*k all to do with new wave/ electronica (albeit Mark Almonds cover) and the passion is a million miles away from 80's rave scene - that's how it came across to me. Great to see Fran Franklin; nice touch at the end, and she made a brilliant point; NS dance evolved naturally with kids completely free to express themselves on the floor -without outside influence from sh*t chart music, so, defining Northern Soul as totally unique to those that were there, and made it happen. And young souls today; dress sharp, pull some awesome moves and interpret it their own way.

Get well soon Rick, wishing you all the best. Dave

I'm glad they did - though it was quite brief Rob. Dennis Coffey with a few words, on the music and the '67 Detroit riots. It's not too bad. Craig Charles narrating.

Against basic flavour of the day posts (i.e. piss takes about the size of peoples trousers, the scene's all going wrong, blah, blah, etc), 'Bob A' was a million miles away from this. His inputs were always a breath of fresh air; full of acclaimed knowledge and astute soul wisdom - borne from a love and enthusiasm we all genuinely recognised. Even if you didn't know him personally (I didn't), you knew that he absolutely loved what he did, and pursued it with a fulfilling passion. (An unexplained passion that drives most of us). This forum has lost an ambassador. 'God Says Only Play Original 45's'. Well, now he's got someone to help in-force it, in the great soul club upstairs. RIP Bob

Rob, is your post aiming to extract lots of views to support a book or academic paper on the subject? The context of your posts suggest to me, you're in dire need of material to support something you're working on academic wise? If you need material you should say so, it could illicit more positive responses. Would like to contribute more on the actual post topic, actually. (Remember it - but I'd need to do some more 'research') But your attitude to the whole thread has made me reluctant as it's developed into a bit of a piss poor farce with false pretentions. ATB Dave

Fallen on deaf ears, John. Rob, it might be wise to consider that your level of understanding humour might simply need some development in order to keep up.

I believe these are in the mix of the youtube address clip in your post. Robbie Vincent first brought the attention of turntable skills to a wider audience . i.e. broadcasting events to the UK Radio 1 audience and the general public - I'd say that was being involved, because unless you were actually @ the world championship mixing events, you wouldn't know the what the best djs at the time were capable of. By the way, I don't have a point, I was just trying to join in....

Curtis Blow - Party Time Doug E Fresh & The Get Fresh crew - the Show Remember Chad Jackson leading the way for the UK mid/ late 80's. Robbie Vincent covered such events after the Radio 1 top 40 every Sunday night! The diverse range of 'themed mixing' eventually competing against 'newer' turntable skills that constituted... well, just noise really. and the gimmicks... :-)

Nice one Stu! Really glad it went well. See you on floor, as they say. atb Dave

Nice to know England has contributed something back to the Americans re; original music. We can call it quits then. Hows it work when they need new tunes? 'Shelf digging' in the Cotswolds? (the un-earthing of rare medieval sheet music from antique book shops).

I'm thinking beer towels, circle skirts, and shuffle steps. And there's a pub venue.... @ 3:41 "I've gotta find me somebody" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoKvMqQXRRo

...pull the other one..! It's got bells on it!