soulfulsaint

I was given a present by the late Dave Godin. It was a Tamla Motown Appreciation Society Speicial Release Promo featuring all the Motown Greats. I moved house and the valued item broke, sustaining a hairline-fracture that will not heal before or after the world cup. Has a broken record broken your heart?

I'm with Mark on Minnie Jones actually lent it to a friends and it just drifted away. This was at a time when Its value was about £6.

Good question she was from the UK sixties generation scene where several major artists used their talent to 'bring' black music to a wider pop audience. The Beatles, the Stones, Tom Jones, Dusty and even Lulu's 'Shout' spring to mind. But Dusty was good too, and her Memphis recordings go beyond pop. One way of taking 'race' out of the equation is to compare her best material with say Chris Clark's at Motown. For me Dusty edges it.

London record companies became aware of Wigan in about 1974. Some wanted to source original black music for UK release, others wanted to 'create' northern soul and make it the next big thing. Around this time some northern DJs took on record company jobs as advisers and A&R men. Richard Searling and Frank (Ian Dewhirst) being two examples. They were soon followed in a slightly diferent way by Ian Levine, as a producer. Just so this doesn't seem hypocritcial, I should say that I also benefitted from the heightened profile writing first for Pat Brady's fanzine, then Black Echoes and then the NME. The media was increasingly interested in northern soul and wanted people from the scene to give them advice. Trouble is that the media is much less committed than collectors and two things happened. They began to put the northern badge on anything that moved and created music that was uptempo and so could be put in the northern box. Wigan's Ovations being an embarrasing example. If I was honest some like Richard remained utterly faithful to soul, others drifted into more contrived areas of pop and Wigan became a place that sounds both good and bad could be 'broken'. By 1977 punk happned and a bigger sub-cultural bandwagon came along. It was also in London on the media's door-step so rare northern was left to go underground again. Thank god.

Lola Falana and Fluffy Falana - brother and sister.

Louvain Demps of the Andantes and Larry 'Squirrel' Demps of the Dramatics are brother and sister. Jean Terrell of the Supermes and Ernie Terrell the boxer are brother and sister. Mable John and Little Willie John are brother and sister.

I have always had an allergic reaction to Fluffy Falana's 'Little Cottage By the Sea'. Don't know why. Maybe I like my soul to be urban and the idea of a cottage by the sea is just too twee. Or maybe it the name Fluffy Falana. I know he was a neighbour of Tammi Terrell's in Philly and comes from a gospel family. But the name grates on me. Has a name or a title put you off a record?

You can sleep with the one that was murdered at the start of Series 1. Can I recommend The Embalmers 'Love Undergound' on (Stiff Records)

Convinced that Russ played Maxine Nightingale - 'Get Right Back To Where We Started From' but I may be blaming him of a crime he didn't actually commit. Good pop but rare soul - I think not.

Rod - a gentleman and a scholar* - makes a really important point here about the evolution of the Mecca. We are all guilty of making genarlisations about era, clubs and DJs. When Ian levine became more intersted in becoming a producer rather than a rare soul Dj he became a bit fixated with the contemporary NY Disco scene, and the origins of 'hi-energy' and gay disco. Anything mixed by Tom Moulton, Patrick Adams, Jellybean Benitez became potential Mecca plays. Some were good many not. Some are now much rarer and prized. But back then most were commercially available in any half-decent import-shop and not rare in the sense we now mean it. I am fairly convinced that wehn DJ's become producer their taste usually wanes - they like their releases and trade some of the passion of the fan. But that's a separate post. * Insert other crawling adjectives

Agree that Butch Keb et al gave a real injection of energy into scene in '80s and also belive, like you, that the co-existence of '60s traditionalism and modern variations of uptempo soul music are vital to future survival. I'll take the lethal injection please. The only thing I've ever protested against was the effluent pop that sometimes got played at Wigan when there was so many great rare 'and undiscovered sounds around. Modern, R&B, Sixties Core Northern and Soulful House are all fine be me. Just make those voices sing soul.

Didn't mean for you to bear the burden of what is always a relevant debate - how soul evolves should be at the heart of the site. But as a gesture of goodwill, I admit that you never protested about Ronnie Walker at the Mecca, I made that bit up. But it got a debate going and your lawyers have very impressive headed notepaper. In the bizarre world of rare soul Ronnie Walker is 'Old Modern' whereas DC Washington and Ron Carroll are 'Modern Newies'. Confused you should be. But I Love 'em all. .

I vividly remember the respected sixties collector Rod Shard going into a catatonic fit when they played Ronnie Walker's 'You've Got To Try Harder' at the Mecca. The next day he changed his name by deed-poll to modernsoulsucks. Personally, I love the stuff. That Timeless Legend tune is a nice little toe-tapper, for example. What is your favourite modern soul record of all time please? (PS Great records please not familiar old whinges, its time to heal wounds not settle old scores)

Yes it was but for the bonus what was the answer record that went big on the rare groove scene?

I agree Shaz. Great for the scene. Great for the DCA who put money into a film about northern dancers. And great for the city of Dundee which is a mere 18 miles from Perth - home of the Soulful Saints. Okay while I'm on a roll name the Perth/Dundee band that were the first white band to go to number 1 in the Black American Charts, and for a bonus, name the answer record to their big hit, which subsequently went big on the 'rare groove' scene.

....In my job I have seen a major rise in two things.First people wanting to make films or documentaries about northern soul. Second students doing their dissertations on northern soul. So I assume one of the search explanations is a sustained interest in it as a subject for research.

welcome back - thanks Mike all the unsung work much appreciated... regards

For reasons that I refuse to go into I once went to a soulboy stag party Paris dressed as a transvestite. When it was my turn to buy a round in a very expensive bar in Les Halles I was so grateful to the lyrics of the Contours' - 'First I Look At the Purse' ...I was also desperately trying to avoid the lyrics to Musique's 'In the Bush' but that is another thread....

I had always assumed that the 'Batman at the Go Go' was an attempt to cash in on the Batman TV series and I remember there was talk of a desist notice or writ against the label owners at St Lawrence. Presume it was then reissued as 'Working at Go Go'. As for price Batman is the more expensive and books at about £200. But there is a catch, and this may confuse some collectors, my memory tells me that it was 'Working at the Go Go' the cheaper version that was actually played first on the scene, late Torch early Wigan, and as I remember it was the collectors rather than the Djs that then unearthed the rarer 'Batman' original? Would love to know more too ceratinly one of those mystery records.

I agree with that one but still hate Papa Ooh Mow Mow by the Sharonettes for example which is probably novelty but wasted 'airtime' in an era when great soul records went un-played.

Ok so we can't find a Top Ten to unite the scene nor an ultimate Number 1. But can we find the all-time northern record that truly desrves to be smashed. What record would you break? Here are my rules it should be a record that you think has done harm to the scene. It should be a truly awful record that stretches soul to breaking point, and doesn't deserve to be remembered with any fondness. So its not about overplayed oldies if they were once great records. This is about the dismal, the dire and the downright duds. I nominate Boots Randolph's 'Take A Letter Maria' played at Wigan. Its like Bill Clinton playing the Sax after a session with Monica Lewinsky - truly awful.

Congratulations to Matt and everyone at the DCA - great to see the northern scene feature in a conceptual art prize. Modern art with an oldies title featuring dancers from all across Uk. Fantastic.

Hi Rod My Baby Luv copy has got a chip out of it so I'm afraid its not worth much to anyone. So buying from scratch. Cash buyer - Scottish Pound Notes which as you know are backed with oil and therefore more trustworthy Cos

Anyone got a Mint or near mint Othello Roberston on Baby Luv? PM me please if you have one for sale cheesr Stuart

Yes your right Peter I stand corrected. Staying on topic and on trivia. James McFadden's dad is a mod. The kind that would like a great double sider like Rose Batiste.