Source Team

The last weekend of the month, which as usual means it's a Release Day for Ace/Kent Records And it's a busy one this month, with 5 brand new quality soul 45s unleashed, that's two Repro 45s, 2 Select 45s and 1 Pied Piper 45 Details follow below, along with other Kent release news Valerie Simpson - Look Away - It's Just Love - Kent Select 102 Release notes This is a previously unheard, Kent Records exclusive release from the great singer/songwriter Valerie Simpson. ‘Look Away’ by the Shirelles on Sceptre was a big 100 Club play in the 80s. Now we have found the original version by the song’s writer - complete with a sensitive girl backing group, no doubt featuring some of those legendary NYC studio vocalists. CITY_102-1-1.mp3 The flip is possibly even more relevant. There has never been a known US production of ‘It’s Just Love’ which is adored by collectors and dancers through the UK’s John Andrews’ super-rare and expensive 1966 Parlophone release. To have a female version by the song’s co-writer is exciting and advance DJ plays of this have already built big demand. CITY_102-2-1.mp3 The Cheques - The Merits - In The Groove - Arabian Jerk - Kent Select 101 Release notes ...is a double dancer’s delight. The Cheques infectious ‘In The Groove’ comes with instructions over a pulsating organ-lead track. That singing Louisianian organist, Tony Nardi, would go on to form Salt & Pepper in Thailand where he recorded the funky ‘Man Of My Word’. This very 60s-style mover has crossed over from the mod scene to northern soul dancefloors and beyond. CITY_101-1-1.mp3 ‘Arabian Jerk’ by the Merits was a Goldwax production out of Memphis. It is a mod meets exotica gem; perfect for the belly-dancer in your life. Both of these tracks were issued at the time but now fetch very high prices – if ever available. CITY_101-2-1.mp3 The Hesitations - That's What Love Is - Soul Superman #2 - Piper 014 Release notes Last month’s Eddie Parker ‘I’m Gone’ 45 release reused the Pied Piper backing track from the Hesitations album-only recording ‘That's What Love Is’. Both versions of this great 60s Detroit soul stomper are adored on the northern soul scene; to see it on our Pied Piper label will be quite a buzz. PIPER_14-1-1.mp3 We’ve plundered another of the group’s LP-only tracks for the B side. ‘Soul Superman #2’ has never been on a 45, though its brother ‘Soul Superman’ was one of the few Pied Piper chart hits. #2 has a similar macho theme with a different, though recognisable, Pied Piper track. PIPER_14-2-1.mp3 Albert Washington I'm The Man / Case Of The Blues - Repro 22 Release notes Cincinnatian blues stalwart Albert Washington was a prolific recording artist from the 60s to the 90s. His ‘I’m The Man’ has become a New Breed R&B classic, which despite several US and UK releases, including our Kent one in 2003, is still eagerly sought out by people willing to pay whatever it takes. REPRO_22-1-1.mp3 'Case Of The Blues’ is a similarly hip R&B dancer that was first issued on the Rye label in 1971. This slightly earlier Fraternity version is very similar REPRO_22-2-1.mp3 The Pretenders - A Broken Heart Cries - For The Rest Of My Days - Repro 19 Release notes When we accessed Joe Evans’ master tapes in the mid-90s we were pleased to find the superb ‘A Broken Heart Cries’ by the Pretenders as it had never been released. Over time enterprising Crossover DJs picked up on it from our CD, causing demand for a Kent Select release in 2007. Once that had sold out demand continued, making that original Kent 7” so in demand that prices are now into the low hundreds of pounds. REPRO_19-1-1.mp3 We took the opportunity to add the group’s beautiful harmony ballad ‘For The Rest Of My Days’ for its debut UK vinyl release. REPRO_19-2-1.mp3 Cd and Lp Releases Also out today, more info soonest CDTOP 1660 ISAAC HAYES HOT BUTTERED SINGLES VOLUME 2: 1972-1976 CD ACE / STAX HIQLP2 154 ISAAC HAYES HOT BUTTERED SINGLES VOLUME 2: 1972-1976 2LP ACE / STAX BGPD 1120 VARIOUS ARTISTS THIS IS NORTHERN SOUL LP BGP NORTHERN SOUL BGPD 1121 VARIOUS ARTISTSTHIS IS FUNKY JAZZ LP BGP JAZZ / FUNK Availability Availability All the above items are now available via Ace Records website (tap here), and various record stores including our very own Source Store (tap here to visit)

We Were There: How Black culture, resistance and community shaped modern Britain by Lanre Bakare (Author) Out today (17 April 2025) via Kindle, Hardback and Audible formats Site note Check out the Kindle preview (at end) or the Audible preview (below) which details the author's experience while viewing Tony Palmers 'This England' 1977 Granda Tv Northern Soul documentary which is explored further in the first chapter 'Chapter 1: Northern Souls – 1977' Audible Preview Tap here to listen to Audible Preview (5 min) Release notes We Were There is about a Black Britain that for too long has been unknown and unexplored – the one that exists beyond London. 'A vital corrective that enhances our understanding of black British history' STEVE MCQUEEN 'Utterly brilliant' DIPO FALOYIN 'Captivated me from the first page' PRAGYA AGARWAL 'Essential reading' EKOW ESHUN From the late 1970s to the early 1990s Britain was in tumult: rocked by Margaret Thatcher’s radical economic policy, the rise of the National Front, widespread civil unrest. With anti-immigration policies in the political mainstream, Black lives were on the frontline of a racial reckoning. But it was also a time of unrivalled Black cultural creation, organising and resistance. This was the crucible in which modern Britain came into existence. We Were There brings into the spotlight for the first time extraordinary Black lives in once-rich cities now home to failing industries: the foundries of Birmingham, the docks of Liverpool and Cardiff, the mills of Bradford. We are in Wigan, Wolverhampton, Manchester and the green expanse of the British countryside. We meet feminists and Rastafarians, academics and pan-Africanists, environmental campaigners and rugby-league superstars; witness landmark campaigns against miscarriages of justice; encounter radical groups of artists and pioneering thinkers; tread dancefloors that hosted Northern Soul all-nighters and the birth of Acid House. Together, these voices and stories rewrite our idea of Black British culture. London was only ever part of the picture – We Were There is about incorporating a vastly broader range of Black Britons into the fabric of our national story. Alive with energy and purpose, We Were There decisively expands our sense of who we are. Confronting, joyful and thrilling, this is a profoundly important new portrait of modern Britain. Kindle Link https://amzn.to/4ims0t0 Hardcover Link https://amzn.to/3GbAkOJ Guardian Review https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/apr/16/we-were-there-by-lanre-bakare-review-reimagining-black-britain Contents About the Author Introduction 1. Northern Souls - 1977 2. Free George Lindo Bradford, 1978 3. Jah Warriors - Birmingham, 1979 4. The Ghost of William Huskisson - Liverpool, 1081 5. Black Art an'done Wolverhampton. 1982 6. The Black Door - Manchester, 1086 7. The Last Fort-1087 8. The Myth and The Bay. Cardiff-1988 9. The English Disease. Edinburgh-1989 10. People of the Future 1990 We Were There: Coda End Notes Acknowledgements Credits

A quick heads up map view on this weekends Soul events, with over 100 events this weekend featured including weekenders, allnighters, alldayers and soul nites. All taken directly from our vibrant event guide, Please note that the above image is just a screengrab of our feature and so it is a static overview of this weeks Uk events To view the most up to date and the dynamic Source Events weekly map just go to our Event Guide page (link below) and then tap the orange 'Launch Map View (Weekly)' button The latest and dynamic map view will then popup ready for you to drill down to all the events full details - if needed see the below video for location and a demo of how it all works https://www.soul-source.co.uk/events/ Video demo https://www.soul-source.co.uk/events/

Natasha Watts – Go Slow (Chris Baxter 2025 Rework)/ Right the Wrong (LRK-32) UK soul favourite Natasha Watts is back on LRK Records with a brand-new 7" 45. On the A-side is Go Slow (Chris Baxter 2025 Rework) – a fresh take on her groove-laden collab with European funk duo Cool Million (Frank Ryle & Rob Hardt), reworked with dancefloors in mind. On the flip is Right the Wrong – a fan favourite from her LP, now on 45 for the first time. Produced by Mike Patto & Toni Economides, it's a lush, soulful gem that’s been crying out for a 45 release. Strictly limited to just 300 copies, and with Natasha’s 45s always quick to sell out, this one won’t stick around. Don’t miss it. https://lrkrecords.bandcamp.com/album/go-slow-rework-right-the-wrong Go Slow (Rework) / Right The Wrong by Natasha Watts

A Friday shout on all this weekends Soul Events, taken directly from our vibrant Event Guide, a quick look in map form on just what is going on this weekend soul wise... Please note that the above image is just a screengrab of our feature and so it is a static overview of this weeks Uk events To view the most up to date and the dynamic Source Events weekly map just go to our Event Guide page (link below) and then tap the orange 'Launch Map View (Weekly)' button The latest and dynamic map view will then popup ready for you to drill down to all the events full details https://www.soul-source.co.uk/events/