Slim Jim

The current revival and commercialisation of the scene has been terrible , for a scene that was founded on the principles of style and individuality and great rare soul music its all got extremely bland .

From the same tired tunes to the uniform of clothes that went out of fashion in 1975 the northern scene has gone very mainstream and is little more than a retro scene 

As people have already well stated in the past you needed a decent collection to become a DJ now it seems all you need is the Northern Soul top 50 and hey presto you are a DJ

I'm all for more people DJ'ing especially young people but I just wish people would use a bit of imagination and try to be a bit different in what they play .

For me a good DJ is someone who plays something I haven't heard and need to find out what it is as opposed to records I expect to hear at most soul nights .

I look forward to the passing of this current fad and a return to the good old days when people where there for the love of quality rare soul music 

Luckily we have the good book to refer to on this very issue

The book of Jed refers to - "Stomp or shuffle thine feet to the joyous sounds and spin and backdrop as thy wilt if thine body permits it " 

Like all works of scripture this of course open to interpretation , in the early days of its inception many's a passer by was taken out by a dropkick to the head or an over zealous spin , this interpretation was particularly prevalent in the Wigan tribe though with the enlightenment and the proverb "With age comes conservative dance moves " an altogether different style emerged with the new millennium.  

A nice pair of Bertie brogues great for spinning 

And my Adidas Italia's are great for a shuffle  

Don't worry people those that get it will always be cool 

Those that copy counterfeit and cash in will always be tits . 

And there's me thinking it was down to the cereal and cat food commercials  

I got this at the weekend and finished it in two days of glorious Irish June sunshine - which in itself is as rare as some of the records described in the book .

Its an excellent read I couldn't put it down , it must be up with the best books I've read on the Northern scene .

Refreshing to read a book that's honest  and doesn't think the world begins and ends in Wigan .

It was nice to read about Cleethorpes , Stafford and the 100 Club and the part they played in the scene as well as a few places I'd never heard of .

Some interesting and witty sidelines like the legend of the mighty Bub or the story of the Japanese collector who donned a forensic suit , gloves and mask before trawling through the records at Soul Bowl or another guy who prayed over the records hoping to make a rare find . 

It also worked well giving a social and political setting to what went on in Britain in the 70's and 80's and how that also shaped the scene . 

Well worth purchasing .

Standard postage rates for the UK are pretty well known and its fair enough to include another 20-30p to cover the mailer and packing as well as the tape,  labels etc sellers have to buy .

Anyone adding too much is really taking the piss .

I sell a lot of records on Discog's and you gotta take the rough with the smooth , you get some good sales and some with little or no profit margin , I've lost count of orders I've had to Europe or the US for a 50p or £1 record once Paypal takes its cut I just break even .

I had a joker from Germany the other day asking for front and back photo's of both sides of the vinyl and same again for the record sleeve ...... I checked the record and I had it for sale for 50p !!!!!! 

When I post to Canada and the USA I always end up loosing money on postage .

I had an order today - 3 LPs to Canada and I estimated the postage and packaging at £12 it came it at the Post Office at £14.65 as I'd packed it well so I had to take the £2.45 hit , no  way am I gonna go back to the buyer to tell him I underestimated the postal cost that would be bad form .

At the end of the day the dealer should be well aware about the postage costs , in the UK anyway and be fair in setting them .

I'm gonna have to review my costs elsewhere 

Milton Wright - Like a Rolling Stone / I Belong To You -Satiron 

Excellent condition .

I've had this in my collection since the mid 80's , Rolling Stone side never played until recently .

I'll take offers on this and keep the offers open until Friday , I'll keep anyone who makes an offer updated .

I'm reluctantly selling this on as I need to free up some funds so if I get a good offer I'll sell if not I'll hold on to it for another while .

Minimum bid £500 

Paypal accepted and I'll post it Special Delivery / Insured for full price which I will cover .

Many thanks Jim 

You boys are lucky the announcer for my local team plays Van Morrison at half time .

I think he only has one CD its been the same for the last 20 years 

Sorted now many thanks 

Hi I'm looking for a copy of Diane Jenkins I Need You on Creative Funk in good condition .

Can pay right away through Paypal at the right price .

Many thanks Jim 

The Peanut Duck - a catchy tune it may well be but the lyrics are gobbledygook   

Ah that explains things .

Apologies to anyone here I've bought records from I've never left feedback because I didn't know how ... you are a decent bunch one and all salt of the earth and all that  

In my experience they do .

I've only had one bad instance with an idiot selling a record from America claiming he hadn't been paid , I was able to track the payment ID and times etc and proof he had been paid and then reported him to Paypal  he backed down , refunded me and it was resolved very quickly .

The northern soul scene must also be the only scene that refers to records from the 1970's as modern .

Try telling that to the kids today and they'll not believe you 

A few years a ago I was DJing at an event where I was to play 2 sets , one early evening and one later on .

As I'm always running to the toilet if I'm drinking pints of beer so I had the bright idea of drinking red wine instead ...... not a great idea .

I took the stage to do my second set completely 3 sheets to the wind , even though I remember little of it apparently I got through it OK with no mess ups until the end when I tripped over someones box of records and did some sort of forward flip / forward roll from the stage to the dance floor and somehow landed on my feet again .

People actually thought it was some kind of dance move  

Thats what its all about good man Billy ! 

Exactly that's what its all about , you should be confident every tune you are playing stands up as a good tune on its own and don't try to anticipate what people expect you to play .

When I DJ  I always try to play a slightly "off the wall " set I don't plan it , I play what I've bought recently or what I'm currently listening to as well as the odd oldie I'd forgot about .

If people don't like it don't ask me again .

I DJ 'ed a few months back and the guy before me filled the floor with all the usual greatest hits of Wigan stuff , mostly on reissues and bootlegs too , I came on after to a more muted response (still got them dancing but not in the volumes like the last guy ) but I didn't care I got more satisfaction from someone who know's their stuff asking me what a certain record was as they didn't know it or someone else complementing me on something else they hadn't heard out in a while .

To me like many here heaven is hearing a set full of tunes you don't know , and as long as its not a funeral march I'll dance to it know it or not .

You are right Kev it did definitely have a more underground feel in that era and some brilliant sounds were discovered .

I was referring to Ireland and Belfast in particular and we hadn't a lot going on , the highlight for me was the odd trip to London and The 100 Club .

We had one club here from the late nineties until about five years ago now its nearly impossible to have a night that doesn't clash with something .... too much to try and get to it all .

It seems everyone loves their Northern Soul now days    

It is all about opinions and a scene like ours that has lasted so long inevitably causes people to look back and think it was so much better before . 

There are aspects of today's commercialization of the scene that makes me cringe especially when one of your mates say's "I saw that Wheatabix advert on TV , do you guys really run around dressed like that al the time ?"  etc etc , but wasn't that always the case ? For every cool soul brother there was some dick running around with a Wigan's Ovation tee shirt .

Unfortunately in periods of popularity will come the negative exposure but the thing that will endure is how good the music is and that in itself is the cause for optimism that there's still plenty of life left in the ol' dog yet . 

I remember the late 80's/ early 90's when very little was happening , it was a case of keeping the head down and supporting whatever was on ...look on the bright side we've got plenty of choice now and there's still still plenty of quality to be found amongst the quantity .

I still get the same hairs on the back of the neck feeling when I hear a new sound I don't know or a brilliant oldie I'd all but forgotten same as I did when I first heard soul as a 15 year old kid .

Before I used to DJ once in a blue moon now there's plenty to choose from and I'm enjoying it .

Signed .... a cheerful Irish soul fan 

Thanks Ernie but need the 7" it takes too long for the vocal to kick in on the 12" and I'm not that good of a dj when it comes to mixing 

Thanks anyway .

Hi i'm looking for a copy of Al Hudson- Spread Love on ABC USA or UK in decent condition .

Not particularly expensive or rare but what I've seen on Discogs all are in poor condition or over priced .

Need this for a set I'm doing next weekend .

Thanks Jim 

The Slim Jim shuffle has never worked for me yet 

A few bootlegs / Re Issues etc for sale 

Not mine guvnor selling em ' for a friend ahem ahem !

A few fairly rare ones you don't see often

Postage and packaging £2.50 First Class Paypal accepted 

All VG+ at least or better 

Jimmy Mack / The Invitations - My World is on Fire / Skiing in the snow - Soul Bandit £8

EP- Evie Sands - Picture me Gone / Baltimore and Ohio Marching Band - Condition Red / Billy Butler - The Right Track / Willie Tee - Walking up a one Way street - Soul Cat EP  £10

The Detroit Prophets/Eddie Holman - Suspicion/ When I'm Not wanted - Soul Beat £ 25 

Benny Troy/ Bobby Bland - I Wanna Give You tomorrow/Shoes - Moon Dust £8 SOLD 

The Winstons/ Irma Thomas - Color Him Father / I Wish Someone Would Care - Collectables  £5 

Judy Street / Hi Fly - What / Theme For a Dream - Soul Stop £5 SOLD

Muriel Day / Jimbo - Nine times Out of Ten / Do The Skunk -Soul Stop  £3 SOLD

Art Williams - Interplay - Soul Stop -£3 

Corrine Gillies / Bill Colman - You Don't Know Where Your Interest Lies -Soul Stop £3 

James Coit - Black Power - Destiny £2 

Roscoe Shelton - Running For my Life - Sound Plus -£5 

Major Lance - Ain't No Soul / The Right Track -Contempo-raries £3 

Gene Chandler - Mr Big Shot / I Can Take Care of Myself - Goldmine - £5 SOLD 

Many thanks for looking Jim 

I have a fine collection of invisible watches I must stick them on Ebay .

It seems some people have more money than sense .