Mickey Finn

Hi Les, many thanks for the Folkestone weekender last October ... Too young to have been at the Mecca but assuming that's no barrier to entry I'd be interested in what comes out of this. Hope you get a good response.

I can see why you might not want that, but all the same there are regular comments and agreement on these throughout the forum about the dire quality of some records that managed or still manage to fill floors on the scene. A thread like this might be more useful if there would be some kind of insight as to why e.g. Tribute should be so popular, when there are so many better properly soulful tunes out there that don't get a look in. Going back a bit, why would a record as (to my ears at least) transparently terrible as that Pierre Hunt nonsense have been acceptable to dancers who might otherwise take the hump at records with a far more soulful pedigree? I get the novelty of Joe 90, but there are some records that filled floors despite having no obvious joke value, never mind soulful content. It's also interesting to see how opinions diverge sharply over someone like Helen Shapiro. If we can discuss it rather than just post something simply to slag it off then is that not a good use of the forum? Before the gates are locked once and for all, is there anyone on here who has while deejaying ever played out any of the above nominations? If so, why? What sort of crowd gets down to them, do you get down to them, is there something we're missing, are we all just mindless snobs?

Fair point - maybe the better way to do it is some sort of Q&A like at the summer Blackpool festival.

Professionals get paid. Some of those artists might never have got paid in the first place. Discovering there's a bunch of people crazy about your work that you thought was long forgotten, and who are prepared to pay to see you in person, must be really uplifting. Easy to knock promoters for seeing the angle, but without them the artists might be none the wiser, and a lot of punters denied the pleasure of seeing and even meeting their heroes. As for those who keep on recording, I wasn't too wild about much of Aretha's stuff on Arista but there was a big audience for it, apparently. It doesn't have to take away my shelf space or listening time that's better used for more worthy releases.

It's certainly working out better for them than it did for a previous generation of heirloom owning offspring:

Richard Searling just published a book like that! Great idea - it would be a good way of sharing memories of the scene in addition to bringing some insight and maybe even generating new appreciation for the well worn, the rare, or simply the underplayed obscurity. I don't think this place is so negative at the moment, although I don't scour every corner. For me this thread has been a good laugh and Ed deserves our thanks for starting it off and giving us yet another chance to enjoy "Tribute". Can somebody kick off a new "Personal favourites" thread?

Apparently not: https://www.discogs.com/artist/120167-Peter-Shelley

If I may be permitted to nominate a standout contribution to the dung pile:

Absolutely. I don't think he came near to fulfilling his potential on record - the highlights featured above hint at what could have been done if he'd been discovered a few years earlier, before the music became overly programmed, or if a different producer like Michael J. Powell had been able to work with him on a full album, rather than just a track on an album. Having said that, his work with MAW was terrific and there could easily have been more along those lines. Grateful for what he left us.

Sensational!

I like debate of this kind and appreciate your attempt to give us something to debate. But this debate is part of how the thread has evolved. The definition of 2 step remains an open question and hopefully we'll get some more perspectives on that. The regional variations are interesting, for example. Meanwhile Babinski will hopefully find some good tunes along the way. And the same goes for the rest of us. For what it's worth, those bpms you are quoting up there probably are more 4 to the floor than 2 step, in my opinion at least.

As I write I'm listening to the Expansion Soul Sauce volume 2 comp and this track by Wilton Felder featuring Bobby Womack from 1992 came up - seems to fit the bill:

That didn't last long, did it? The thread was started by someone with a particular interest in soulful slowies above ballad tempo looking for similar tunes. As far as I'm concerned the thread has not deviated at all. It's always interesting to see different perspectives on what qualifies as something such as "2 step", but while Martin S clearly knows his stuff and has channeled his inner James Hamilton to work up a particularly precise definition of "2 step", I don't see anyone else setting such rigid boundaries or calling for disqualification of this or that. We nominate tracks we like - others like them, or they don't. I appreciate the analysis and we are beginning to see variations in style thanks to the stuff posted here about Chicago, London, Hackney, my bedroom, etc. But even more I appreciate hearing great music I've not heard before or just forgot about. And hopefully Babinski's original request gets satisfied along the way. What's difficult?

Onward to 1987 for this Leon Ware masterpiece:

Nice to see the Roy Ayers productions getting recognition here - howsabout this from Roy himself in 1979:

Forward to 2010 for this big Mick O'Donnell spin by Miles Jaye:

And back to 1987 for some harmony soul with the Down Five:

And onward to 1993 for this wonderful track by Alex Bugnon featuring the criminally underrated Regis Branson:

Back to 1987 for this Jam & Lewis production, featuring Herb Alpert duetting with wife Lani Hall:

Valentine Brothers - absolute classic Featuring Porter Carroll on vocals, this from Bob Baldwin in 1992: