Still Diggin

Check Dave Thorley, pretty sure he had one on his site. Andy

The catalogue numbers on the David Lenyard 45s are all flying eagles with no mention of ME-O, so perhaps Romeo Taylor had split the scene by then?.

Assuming it is the same artist, check out the 45 'Love don't lie' on the Jimilynn logo. Excellent beat ballad with good lyrics. Andy

The possible connection is Romeo Taylor who also had a 45 on the logo, same publishing etc. Dragging the ME -O logo from his christian name , probably owning the logo and pressing them up over on the west coast? Andy

Crossover was the very genre created from ' no mans land', and gave the soul scene a much needed boost. Rare records like psychedelic Frankie 'Put me out of your life' lived together with the more regular Jesse James 'If you want a love affair' (which was massive by the late 80s) lived together on a great scene. But for me Bobby Dukes 'Just to be with you' defined the genre not very rare, but held that busy arrangement within that midtempo beat, topped of by that fantastic vocal. Pam Bowies 'He's all I Need' on Aquarious gets me every time. Great choices from previous posts, although many leaning towards the northern side of things. As for a top 500, i'm sure that could be done just out of lp tracks.

I am sure you are aware it has been re- released in the 12" format if you get stuck. However if you need it for the superb flip ' You got your hold on me' then i'm afraid it's not on there .

Like I mentioned in an previous post on this subject, all sorts of beat ballads and mid tempo items have surfaced via Jamaica or pressed in the states for the Jamaican market. Another good example which prompts the question why, is Harold Melvin & the blue notes ' Keep on lovin' you'. It was pressed as the flip of 'Don't leave me this way' on a look a like PIR ( CBS Jamaica ltd). It never even received a 45 release over in the states, as the flip over there was 'Bad luck'. If you pull the lp out you will realize why I would hold it with the same high esteem as the Ridley 45.That is no party record either. Even those thick vinyl presses of the Jules Johnson & the Dynamics on polydor that people pass of as originals are of Jamaican origin . Does anyone have any clear evidence of Jamaican presses of major label product having a genuine licencing deal? or is that something a few back in the day said either to cover their arse or to wriggle out of the fact they were actually boots!. Why was Universal love 'It's you girl' on Jamaican Columbia and not a look alike glades or TK imprint?. Personally I fail to see how we will ever know how many of these titles had a genuine licencing deal. Andy

Different styles and moods, something I like very much in a good compilation. The deep soul piece from Presberry is outstanding. Nice work. Andy

Really enjoyed this comprehensive article.

I Think the flip 'Ain't no way' is a great ballad. My copy is a tad hissy and the pressing is not great. Does anybody know anything about this artist, as he sounds similar to Johnny Gilliam? Andy

Excellent tribute.

Yes, the Sussex copy I have comes with what looks like the Bell sound stamp, all be it rather faint. However if I had a pound for every major label test press that had the same amount of writing ie no logo etc then I could retire. Some companies actually used different or associated labels to do the test press. Absolute can of worms. Andy

Yes, that is my opinion. However I would actually like to be proved wrong. As you know there are all sorts of Jamaican presses on a whole heap of different titles, mostly beat ballads and midtempo . First copy came from a Jamaican friend associated with the two step scene, the second a guy in New York who sold a lot of Island soul and re-issues associated with that type of stuff. So you can see were i'm going. Andy

I have had a couple of those. I Sold one on here for about £20 or similar. Was led to believe they were presses related to the jamaican scene. Given the fact I have never seen another Sussex test pressing that looks like that, I can only assume that is correct. The background colour was a little deeper, but same red writing. I have the sussex 45, but the sound quality is roughly the same. Andy

At the moment it's 'Rain in my back yard' as it seems to have been doing this all day! . Worth checking out is the you tube clip of the fellows backing Alicia Keys on her 'You don't know my name' track. Mind you just watching Alicia keys is not to difficult.

Have dropped you a line. Andy

Angie Stone 'Clothes don't make a man' from her 2015 cd Dream. No doubt some half whit will play it in ten years time as new discovery!

The 45 looks and sounds badly off centre or am I having a stroke. Could be covered up as Gerry Marsden. personally I would not class this as soul music.

Remember looking at that piano Al kent was playing, and thinking they can only smash it up when it's over!, it looked very old and f---in huge. Some fellow had several copies of Charles Johnson at £4. Don't remember much else.

If somebody gave me a load of records to flog, only to find out later they were boots, then I would make sure everybody and their dog knew who they were. I see no reason why you are unable to disclose his ID. You should have him locked up in the shed by now, ready for the fraud squad to ask him a few questions!

I did in fact think of doing that today, so protecting some poor bugger ending up with a very expensive boot. However I think you would end up with one of those unpaid item strikes or whatever they call them. But I am sure there must be a way of getting it removed if you could prove it was a counterfeit/boot etc. Trouble is if you are unable to do so then you could be open to some sellers blocking you from their auctions. Several years ago there was a guy in Indiana ripping people of on a regular basis and not coming through with the goods. He ripped me for $60, then like a prat I bid on another of his items not looking who the seller was, when I realized it was to late. However I decided not to take the chance again and did not pay up. You can guess what happened, I ended up with one of those strikes or whatever they call them!. But this could be the only way Ivor. Andy

If you read my opening post you will notice that was one of the alarm bells that rang! but well spotted Dave. So it looks as if the soul-source detective agency has detected another boot, of which we seem powerless to do anything about Andy

Yep, that's the fellow Swifty. And yes I had my doubts about that 45 too!. I am not accusing anyone either, but if things go on and we all keep our mouth shut, and they do turn out to be bad eggs, it will just escalate. I appreciate your reply. Andy

Have I become paranoid about boots, or is it a couple of lucky ones!. The reason I say this a seller in Japan has a copy up on there which is resting on three other 45s, if you look closely the one on the bottom is also Earl White Jr. The copy I have had since the mid eightees would appear to be a slightly deeper color, sharper text, and the both letters p and b within the text are a bit more fat. I know the record comes up for sale occasionally, but what do you folks think? Andy