Thinksmart

I've always enjoyed any of the dance Soul related to spies that I guess played off the popularity of James Bond, Man From Uncle, Mission Impossible, Get Smart, In Like Flint etc. Secret Agents, The Spy, I Spy For The FBI, Sock It To 'Em JB, Come Spy With Me etc. I was also a fan of the Kent Soul Agents compilation. I recall Ace did a CD of Spy related music years ago, but it wasn't just Soul related. After digging it out it was 'Come Spy With Us'. Anyway in passing on ear worms, from Secret Agents to today's..... Karate soul. Jerry O's Karate, The Emperors Karate Boogaloo etc. Karate Booaloo is especially hard to stop hearing those backing singers once in your head. I enjoy all those novelty dance things - Karate, Skate and so on as a bit of innocent fun in our music. The Skate ones were also stompers too.

I don't recall one, but feel like there is too. The song is now my earworm of the day.

Yes sad news, a singer who has been appreciated increasingly in Modern Soul over recent decades.

To keep this thread going I also welcome quality reissues on CD of: Gary Taylor' - G.T. Rockie Robbins - first album Ronnie McNeir - S.T. 1975 Thanks Mark

Great music across a number of Soulful styles, thank you.

Indeed!

Yes I have the bootleg ones but I do not know of any official ones done from the masters as you confirm. The Bootleg ones are generally bad in terms of sound quality.

I don't think we have had any high quality CDs dedicated to Ric Tic or Golden World. The songs are compiled but spread across others. But getting the original singles from the masters compiled properly on CD would be welcome. There are the usual less-than-official compilations with the usual murky quality, but they do not do the job.

Indeed. Those first two Luther albums are a must. Like some of those Aretha albums, I think I read it was the artist themselves who blocked their reissue. I could be wrong on that. The Four Tops ABC singles have now been issued in a good CD set, so I hope for the albums too soon.

There were all those Cam-Park CDs. I always felt they sounded a touch muddy and their origins were dubious. I posted the original item here as it seems to be the first CD dedicated to Northern Soul for the label, even though the songs are distributed amongst other CDs and almost now available legally online I think.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/jul/01/martha-reeves-dancing-in-the-street-motown-protest

You Got The Power - Cameo Parkway Northern Soul CD View full article

I know we are a vinyl based scene, but I really like CDs and think they are maligned incorrectly. As you say, some CDs trigger the same memories and time as vinyl also does. When done well, they are wonderful - the compilations have been wonderful since late 80s giving us access to a huge range of music, with extensive notes, sound quality. They also last far better than we all feared a decade or two ago. I have plenty of CDs that are now over thirty years old and still as good as new. Quality reissue and new artist labels have added hugely to my enjoyment, including these days getting the reissues from such as Japan that have never made it to UK/USA issue. Today I still use the old notion of 'pay day' to work out which old and new releases I'm going to get on CD this month. It's nice to see new reissues and releases come back during this year for issue in coming months too. Some great ones on the horizon.

I buy almost every Soul related CD that is issued (certainly in the reissue space, but most of the new releases too). For me it depends on the rarity of the music, quality of the sound, respect I have for the issuing label, the research put in and the notes. But I think about £15 is the most for a single CD. A number of 3CD sets are going for around £27 new by such as SoulMusic. There are CDs I'd paid more for to unearth some rare music or labels that it isn't worth doing unless the price is more. It is important that the royalty holders are paid to me, so I do factor that into the price. Inexpensive isn't always right. There are still key 1970s albums by such as Jerry Butler and The Originals with enduring scene plays that still haven't been issued on CD. There are hundreds of albums issued in Japan on CD that never saw issue in UK/USA. The UK CD pricing of £17+ we see around for some new release, single artist CDs by someone unknown feels too high to me. I do understand there is a need to make a decent mark-up to fund music shops and also import costs too - which can add to the cost for some sellers. As I've bought just about every Soul CD from the 80s onwards in UK, but also importing globally where needed - I will be happy to provide any input I can. Feel free to PM me and I'm very happy to chat on this.

Great to hear, thanks Mick.

Yes I could see that emerging a bit.

I really do not want to dampen anyone's enthusiasm, but I'll be very surprised if venues are open legally for dancing in that timeframe. As it is now, drinking will have to be outside, table service only, minimal contact and recording your details. That's not even near normal, just to have a drink in the sun. I believe through my professional life and engagement on the new requirements that nightclubs / dancing will be amongst the very last parts of society to reopen. Dancing in particular has deeper inwards/outward breathing, close people proximity, bumping into each other, recirculated air inside venues and the lowering of inhibitions with drinking (and more) in the vicinity - so the perfect environment for fast transmission. Nail bars cannot open due to the risk of circulation through touch in addition to breathing, so record sales will be difficult at venues. There are so many issues to deal with - including the risk of transmission by multiple DJs using the same decks. This might sound an overreaction but the recent Croatian tennis exhibition now shows the risks. I genuinely cannot see any events happening in August or September, possibly even this year. There will be extra government caution as we proceed through Autumn and towards winter with an anticipated recirculation in colder weather. Even conference centres cannot reopen yet, with none of the above risks I've mentioned. Any events allowed will need to be outside for sure in the interim. There is an extremely limited window late summer to Autumn this year, the government priority before nightclubs is indoor theatres and cinemas then such as bowling alleys where the interaction is slightly more controlled and less likely to have the same rate of potential spread. At present, I do not believe any venue or organiser can have even the slightest clarity to inform their plans for now on inside drinks/dancing events. The government has not issued anything at all to that sector with the PM today saying in Parliament taskforces will be formed to look at still locked-down areas. The work on high risk, inside locations such as nightclubs, dancehalls, ballrooms and the like hasn't really started at all in a way that will give clarity in the near term. Soul is considered as a tiny part of the wider venues sector. Keeping nightclubs closed also lowers crime and hospital admissions too at a time of limited financial and physical resources. It isn't a huge employer compared to other sectors and has high cash usage relatively. It also has the risk of fast transmission when university students return in late September, who are the main users of nightclub spaces. So I think we will not see early focus on nightclubs or dance venues by government that helps reopen the Soul scene. It will come back ultimately but not at the pace of the next key focus which is schools for September. What happened from one person in nightclubs in South Korea is profound and stimulated infection of hundreds of people which has led to re-lockdown. The fast spread outbreaks in Germany, our own Anglesey, China and even now New Zealand show the wider risks. Government also knows that people won't come forward for testing now, may give false details at pubs and that track and trace is going to be hard. If one person is a superspreader at at event (as was the case in South Korea) then a Northern Soul type event will be the perfect place for transmission. The government knows it should not of allowed Cheltenham Races to go ahead with crowds, so it is likely to be more cautious on inside events. We all hope events will be back safely and soon, but I think we need to balance that with the government considerations around venues to avoid disappointment. All of this is just my view of course.

Those Boogie Times CDs are as you say hard to get (at a decent price) and never released outside France. I had overlooked the Nightime Lovers one.

Hi all, the new double CD of under The Influence 8 arrived to me yesterday, compiled by Woody Bianchi. It is also available on vinyl. It has Rideout and Jay Player on CD for the first time plus other songs of interest with good sound on it too. https://www.zrecords.ltd.uk/product/under-the-influence-vol-8-compiled-by-woody-bianchi/

It will be self evident to most people at the forum, but this compilation is sublime. It is on heavy rotation and will be enjoyed so long as I am able to listen. I am grateful for those putting out excellent Soul music, old and new. During these times, music is a big help. Ace/Kent is commended for their continual work in releases that we all enjoy. Please just carry on the good work. Thank you.

https://www.wigantoday.net/heritage-and-retro/retro/archives-wigan-casino-pictures-through-ages-2884350/ There are four pages, with a small link at the bottom of the pictures. Most are of pop acts at the venue which are themselves interesting. There are some Northern Soul related pictures in there too.

Excellent, thanks. I'll be sure to check this out.

Recorded last night, so look forward to watching.

I had not realised that the track had been done by them too even though I have it. I'll go check, lots of wonderful music on their albums.