Source Team

Connie Austin / Charles Spurling Ball Of Fire / You've Got Love On Top Of Love - Kent City 084 Co-writer Charles Spurling sang and wrote at King in the late 60s, providing songs for James Brown, Hank Ballard, Junior McCants and Peggy & Artie among others. ‘Ball Of Fire’ is an exceptional song, first recorded by Connie Austin as a smouldering mid-tempo number on which she pours her heart out. It would be updated a year later by Marva Whitney who took it at a faster funkier pace. Charles Spurling remembers Connie as a good looking, fast-living girl who was murdered in Los Angeles soon after. Spurling was a good singer himself and had five King releases between 1967 and 1969. The excellent ‘You’ve Got Love On Top Of Love’ failed to make it to wax until now. Kent found the tape in the King vaults and issued it on CD in 2001; now it is on a righteous single. View full store item

The Classic Example - Right On / I Found Me A Girl - Kent City 083 The Classic Example were a Los Angeles duet - possibly the songwriting team of Curtis Colbert and Harriet Hurst who provided four of the songs on the eponymous 1972 GSF LP. Inexplicably the superb dance track ‘Right On’ was the only one omitted from the album, but Kent’s licensing deal with Mickey Stevenson’s Stevenson International revealed this gem. It was finally released as a promo 100 Club Anniversary 45 in 2021 and has been in demand ever since. Now it can be purchased at a reasonable price with the duet’s excellent harmony ballad ‘I Found Me A Girl’ added on the B side. The backing group is none other than Hodges, James, Smith & Crawford. View full store item

Hodges, James & Smith / Kim Weston - Wishful Thinking / It Takes A Lot Of Teardrops - Kent City 081 A great addition to the Kent Select 45s - two Basemore/Ware related songs Hodges, James & Smith / Kim Weston Wishful Thinking / It Takes A Lot Of Teardrops Kent Select 081 Release Date: 25th March 2022 A most recent Kent Select soul 45 outing, Kent release notes follow below Hodges, James & Smith were the mainstays of Mickey Stevenson’s post-Motown recordings and he gave them this fabulous Mikim Publishing song, written by Vickie Basemore and the redoubtable Leon Ware. Superbly orchestrated, after a dramatic intro, it hits an uptempo rhythm that epitomises the great girl soul sounds of the early 70s – somewhat reminiscent of the Supremes’ ‘Up The Ladder To The Roof’. Kim Weston was Mickey’s most prolific solo act throughout his career and ‘It Takes A Lotta Teardrops’ is another triumph for her, albeit one that has only surfaced recently. It is another Basemore/Ware song from the late 60s which imitates the Motown sound exquisitely. Can listen to both sides above View full store item

Ronnie McNeir - Say You / I'm Sorry - Kent City 080 Our licensing deal with Mickey Stevenson is proving to be a major musical find. Ronnie McNeir is regarded as an absolute top class, modern soul singer. These tracks are from the early 70s, around the time he cut his eponymous first LP in Los Angeles with Mickey. ‘Say You’ is a superb updating of the Monitors’ harmony hit from 1965 and is given the distinctive, sensitive McNeir treatment. ‘I’m Sorry’ is a slow-burning song that builds into a perfect dancefloor beat. It was penned by Ronnie and his writing partner of the time, Andre Moore. The release is a taster of the complete, previously unreleased album we will issue on Ronnie later this year. View full store item

Jimmy Radcliffe - Big City Blues / You Can't Lose Something You Never Had - BMR 1012 The first in a series of previously unissued Jimmy Radcliffe recordings from Big Man Records. Fully licenced from Black Patch Productions to Big Man Records taken from studio masters, Big city soul of the highest order. Each 45 is provided in a custom card picture sleeve, with liner notes written by Christopher Radcliffe Jimmy's son. Also included is an A6 collectors card, lyric sheet (insert inside the sleeve), all in a poly outer sleeve View full store item

Sharon McMahan - Got To Find Another Guy / Love Is Wonderful - Big Man Records BMR 1011 Sharon McMahan - Got To Find Another Guy / Love Is Wonderful - Big Man Records 1011 Both songs written by Sharon McMahan and owned by McMahan publishing company. Released with both her blessing and kind permission Sharon wrote songs for Barbara Lewis, Deon Jackson, Gracie Darnell, Johnnie Mae Matthews, and has appeared at the Cleethorpes Weekender to great acclaim. The record will come in a custom picture sleeve, a6 collectors card personally signed by Sharon in a poly outer sleeve. View full store item

Willie Tee - Please Don't Go / My Heart Remembers - Repro First official reissue of this essential and insanely rare Willie Tee double sider. New Orleans gold from the Nola vaults, the A side ‘Please Don’t Go’ is a certified Northern Soul classic with the flip a fantastic smokey, low slung soulful number that’s become a real collector’s favourite. With original copies having traded hands for £1800 in the past, it’s high time this was made available to a new generation of listeners. Red label version original black sleeve. View full store item

Garfield Fleming - Don't Send Me Away - Repro A multi genre-busting release that has transcended most dance scenes from Modern Soul, Rare Groove, Crossover and Boogie to become perhaps the most in-demand '80s record on the current collectors scene, Finally released on 7 inch. The popularity of "Don't Send Me Away" was recently confirmed when a YouTube clip of Garfield himself, performing "Don't Send Me Away" at a Paris record stall in late 2018, went viral with over 2,000,000 views to date. View full store item

Guitar Ray - You're Gonna Wreck My Life - Repro One thing that's become apparent, is the vast trove of super-rare independent U.S. Soul releases that crept out in the ‘60s and ‘70s, usually with only local distribution. Many of these records never made it out of the city they were made in and would have been doomed to obscurity if not for the international network of Soul collectors. Guitar Ray's incredible "You're Gonna Wreck My Life" on New Orleans’ music veteran Senator Jones' label, Shagg, is a case in point. This New Orleans gem from 1974 has recently soared in popularity with much in-demand original copies going for between £1000-£1500 apiece. We're delighted to be able to make this available again with a straight reissue on the original label. Yet another example of the buried treasures that surround us. View full store item

Houston Outlaws - Ain't No Telling / It's No Fun Being Alone - Kent Town 175 The Houston Outlaws ‘Ain’t No Telling’ is re-released due to the constant demand for this atmospheric dance track. It has been coupled with their in-demand harmony ballad ‘It’s No Fun Being Alone’ from the same year – though a different US release View full store item

The San Francisco TKOs - Make Up Your Mind / Ooh Baby Baby - Kent Town 176 Since its first plays at the 100 Club in the 90s, the San Francisco TKOs ‘Make Up Your Mind’ has been a revered sound that consistently packs the dance floor - with soul music devotees who like their music edgy. It first appeared as an Anniversary single and has sold out of its previous Kent pressing. We have taken the opportunity to re-release it coupled with the group’s beautiful ballad version of the Miracles’ ‘Ooh Baby, Baby’. Listen to both sides above View full store item

Hytones - You Don't Even Know My Name / Good News - Kent Repro 10 A top of the tree double sider addition to Kents ever growing Repro imprint. The Hytones were Nashville’s top soul group and under the tutelage of genius producer and songwriter Bob Holmes, made some great music. ‘You Don’t Even Know My Name’ was their first release on the short-lived Southern Artists label before it was released on Bell. It is an exceptionally smooth style of singing by the group - in unison for much of the track. ‘Good News’ by contrast is a gritty Stax-sounding mover that was first a 100 Club Anniversary single before being issued as a Kent 45. Now regarded as a rare soul classic, its release on a Southern Artists repro label will be welcomed. View full store item