Hooker1951

I rest my case with the posts I’ve already sent, quite obviously there were parallel Soul scenes evolving in Europe the same time as in the UK. Considering there were literally millions of American servicemen and personnel doing service time in Germany and parts of Europe from 1945 especially in Germany it’s not surprising they brought their preferred music with them especially in the 50,s and 60 ,s being RnB and Soul, they had their own clubs on their bases playing it and it would not have took long for it to spread to the civilian and local clubs, Mck L

And so what? He played more all nighters than all dayers I’m sure, to say that popcorn was only played in the day time at clubs is ridiculous , have you ever lived in Europe for a large amount of time and visited many cities and looked at the night life , lived it, danced and felt the atmosphere, it’s a lot different to collecting records and knowing labels, I’ve been there and done it ML

Hi Chris They did do gear ,where there are licensed clubs open 24 hours there certainly would be gear to follow and Germany was no exception, In fact there was much more drugs available and being used in the cities I worked in Germany than the UK ,It was a very cosmopolitan scene in the night clubs with all kinds of music being played, I prefer Soul so myself and friends looked for these kind of places, I love good popcorn as well as soul, and unknown American oddities, it wasn’t called popcorn then it was music that we loved , we only got Sundays off so we used to look for all night clubs to suit our taste, Just because some people on here weren’t there doesn’t mean it didn’t exist, Trust me it did, I don’t make things up I don’t need to . One club I used to frequent was in the basement of a french martial art Savate club where most of the members who practised there were also into Soul, I’ve heard what is termed Popcorn today and believe me it was being played there, And to some of the Boffins of Ballihoo on here who say it was just all dayers , I say Cobblers you weren’t there so how do you know, Some who were too young don’t believe everything you are told, be flexible accept that things might have been different than you thought. Just another point this was not a young crowd age range 21 too 45 very mature in their behaviour, Some of the environments were pretty intense and there was no room for your usual clown behaviour . Stay Safe Mick Lyons

Hi Benji As I Stated in my post I worked and lived in Germany nearly all of 1974, there was a British occupation Zone there , we actually used the YMC A there for breakfast if we were working nearby, I also worked in Bochum ,Essen ,Etc where there was a German Soul Scene as such , as I stated it wasn’t popcorn to me, it was Soul music, 60,s Reggae, early And mid 60,sAmerican music which wasn’t prevalent in the UK, As for Americans there I know Americans been there enough , there were bags of Americans at the time living around the area some might have decided to stay and raise family there, I know 3 of the gang I worked with there did that and are still there to this day, All I can tell you is it was a pretty vibrant and cool scene, as regards the drugs, I do know if some one has been using uppers , I was a security boss for 40 years plus and I also do know my music I’ve been into Soul since 1964, Germany as always had drugs there was a scene pre war and after the war during occupation the Americans brought Bennies into the scene there but the Germans already had Peratin there own met amphetamine , the night life in Germany was well advanced and streets ahead in The 60,s and 70,s with all nighters and such, as regards Belgium being 150 miles away that’s no distance people over here travel sometimes over 200miles to visit a venue, Besides the German punters there was always a good percentage of foreigners ie, Turkish in the nighter venues, Where this nonsense comes there was no drugs in Germany at the time and Popcorn was all dayers is fantasy island , Germany as always had one of the best all night time economies in the world even to this day. Sorry if this spoils what you thought about the Popcorn scene , Sometimes it’s hard to pigeon hole music it has a way of spreading and causing confusion . keep Safe Mick Lyons

GreatArtist could do many faces of Soul effortlessly , a real soulful voice. RiP Joe Simon

Hi Rick Yes there was definitely substances on the Popcorn scene in Germany mostly uppers of some sort or other and alcohol served all night but nobody seemed to get into drunken states, there was an element of style with it and you are right about the Reggae it was mid 1960,s with a soulful sound to it running parallel with the soul sounds of the USA 60,s always a good beat, better reggae than what came later. One venue I visited a few times had a full cinema screen showing science fiction films no sound of course it added to the oddity of the night , in fact it was probably a small cinema converted to a club. Of course I didn’t know it was called popcorn , to me it was a different style on Soul Music king Regards Mick Lyons

I was living and working in Germany in 1974 and the Popcorn Scene was buzzing there, I used to frequent all nighters there around Dortmund in the clubs, it was a great scene , I did know a lot of the tunes, but there were some great oddities, I t made for a real cool scene , some of the music I remembered from the early 60,s, I don’t agree it was for a rich set at all the crowds covered all spectrums , including American servicemen , Turks,as well as locals it was a good dancing scene, and a great night out. Popcorn is great corner stone of Soul Music and should be given the praise it deserves ML

Smokey,s funeral and service and Wake took place on Thursday and what a fantastic turnout and farewell it turned out to be for a great character of the NS Scene and off it. The Weather even loved him, The Church was rammed, The Service uplifting and with the Gospel singers and the Saxophonist, The Tunes picked made it a true celebration of a lovely guy and a great friend, He would have loved to thank you for it, So I’m doing that now thank you all for coming, and a special thanks to Alan who supported him to the last, I’m sure his family would have been comforted by your support in this sad time. Again Thank you for giving a great guy a great send off. Always Love you Ste I will see you in Another Time Another Place. God Bless Mick Lyons

Keele was a great all nighter when Neil Clowes promoted it, I had the pleasure of DJ,ing for Neil in its Halycon days on numerous occasions all through the early and mid nineties and was proud to be part of the set up it was a real good mix of Soul Sounds that pleased everybody at sometime of the night, The later ones when different promoters tried it never got the magic back. But I think most people who visited then have great memories of great nights KR Mick L

Rave and soul are compatible, true Soulies would understand that they both represent a coming together for like minded people who just want to be happy, dance, get off your head and forget about the world outside, . I promoted Soul venues and rave venues from 1990, DJ,d at Soul and Mc,d at raves all over the country, sometimes doing both n the same night at different venues , Some of the trance, dance, and techno was mind blowing, In my own Pub the Brickhouse aka Temple of Sound we played both and the crowd loved both and would travel hundreds of miles to our Sunday sessions whi cheers lasted from 12pm Sunday dinner until at least 8am Monday, from 1990 until 2000 it was magic but like everything else the mainstream moved in watered everything down attracted the pretend snowflakes and Legend days were over, But it was better than good while it lasted, Yes you can love two things at once,there is no rule book you can’t especially when they are exciting, Respect and God bless Mick Lyons Aka MC Warchief

Awful Record cheap sound, doesn’t belong in any set, must have been produced by peanut brained people, It would bring any Euphoria I had at a venue down faster than Hayleys Comet no matter what chemicals or alcohol I had ingested LoL, ML

Full Address for Smokey’s Funeral is St Mary’s church Bushbury lane Bushbury Wolverhampton postal code WV10 8JP 1pm The Crematorium Bushbury Wolverhampton postal code WV10 7JG. 2pm The Goodyear’s Club for the Wake after Crematorium KR Mick Lyons

You can claim what you want on here doesn’t make it true,,I never said Charles Johnson was not played at Northern S venues I said I had never heard it played where I was, or it didn’t make any impression on me to remember it, but it was obviously played out because some of the Stalwarts on here like Karl have said they played it, To my ears it is modern but if people like it So What? I think you need to broaden your horizon and look past Charles Johnson you just might be pleasantly surprised LoL ,Stay Safe ML

Hi Soulsearch Those two records don’t sound remotely Northern Soul to me and I’ve never heard them played in any venue I’ve visited as a punter or a DJ , to my ears they are modern Soul and wouldn’t go down well in any Northern room, if you like them or anybody does that’s yours and their perogative that’s why people like different rooms, For example 1960,s RnB has more in common with Northern Soul than those two sounds your ears should tell you that much LOL, KR ML

Hi Soulsearch I would say there is no definitive end to NS , It starts to morph into different genres around 68 to 72 but there are sounds that I would term pure NS as late as 74 that’s only my opinion though other people on the scene would have theirs, different ears hear different sounds depending sometimes on an individuals choice of music and how much soul dust has fell on them LoL KR ML

Hi Soulsearch Don’t want to sound disrespectful but if you don’t know the difference between NS and modern , if you don’t know musically , the year the record was released is a big enough clue to give you a flying start, As long as it’s good does it really matter? kr ML

For those who wish to go to Ste,s funeral the location will be St Mary,s church Wolverhampton, post code to follow. It will take place on the 25th of November at 1pm Then he will be taken to the Crematorium at 2pm. There is a wake to celebrate his life at the Goodyear’s social Club following that. I have been informed by Alan who has looked after him in his last days there will be a Gospel band performing plus music, I will let you know the post code for the church ASAP as there are two St Mary,s in Wolverhampton, any other news I hear I will let you know KR Mick Lyons

It’s with great sadness I must tell you that Ste died this morning around 12.30 am. He fought to the last, they only gave him 48 hours on Monday last week and he fought and lasted another 8 days. We have lost a true character a lovely happy man who loved his friends loved his music and who could never be replaced and who will never be forgotten, He did tell me a few weeks ago if you missed the first link I put on to let all his friends on and off the Scene that he loved you all and he meant it. He did have his loved ones with him and his best friend Alan who has really looked after him and been with him through this awful time. It still is so sad even when you knew this day was coming, I’m sure you will join with me in sending love and prayers to Ste’s family and loved ones As soon as I find details of his funeral arrangements I will leave them on here. Fare well my Friend and I will see you again in (Another Place Another Time) Will Love you Forever Mick Lyons.

Original Mods in Wigan their favourites and mine at the time, were Otis , Mr Pityful, Wilson picket , ( Don’t fight it ) Robert Parker,Barefootin, Lets go baby baby where the action is ,knock n Wood, Eddie Floyd, most Stax and Atlantic sounds Solomon Burke etc with Motown sounds of Temps ,4 tops, miracles etc, I’m talking the time period 65 till 67 here, f course not to forget Dobie Grey,there was also a raft American soul that was re released in the early 70,s that became Northern Soul that had already had a run in underground Soul clubs in the mid sixties. KR ML

Freddy North ML

Just to let you all know I’ve spoken to Ste he,s in good spirits, I told him that you all send him best wishes and all your Love, A big thanks to you all I know he really appreciates it . God Bless Mick Lons