soulfulsaint

The retail stockist ran out of stock and then the new turntable was an upgrade. The manufacturers are experiencing massive demand so supply to Uk is very limited. Waiting lists not uncommon.

thanks guys will try both systems

the new one's are good got one last month. still trying to find a good system to convert the 'audacity wav' files to mp3. any suggestions. now ist defo in wrong section.

in a perfect world Butch would swap his play box for my junk box.

If you could change one thing about the scene what would it be? I would insist on a ceasfire between rival promoters and record dealers. The level of acrimony that exists can be a major turn off for die-hards never mind new blood. What one thing would you change?

Heard he was about 10 when he was signed by ABC as a Michael Jackson rival. Maybe even features on some records as Little Reggie Garner. Not 100% sure tho. I love Hotline too. But its great black pop rather than soul, he said, sounding like a Mecca purist with a copy of Linda Jones rammed up his back passage.

Has anyone below the age of 12 ever made a great soul record? Take something like Reggie Garner's 'Call Me on the Hotline' - its likeable but hardly great. Little Stevie Wonder, Cubie Burke, Michael Jackson Five in the early years, were they up to it or a nice novelty? My theory is 'you win nowt with kids'. So name a great soul record by someone below the age of 12.

When Dena Barnes 'If You Ever Walk Out Of My LIfe' was played in the early '70s onwards I was struck by how many women instictively rushed to the dance-floor. Are there songs that women love to dance to and others that men prefer? Is their gender difference in rare soul dancers? (PS I distance myself from anyone who goes off-topic. This is a serious question - so Simon T, Dan and Rod Shard please show some self-restraint. And no self-restraint isn't a sexual term.)

Great film Pete - best bits are the tracking shots though what looks like London with all the skins on street corners. Brilliant.

...First heard 'The Bottle' at the Blue Rooms at Sale played by Levine. He called it 'poetic-soul' I think because Gil Scott Heron was then known more as a poet. Thankfully the term didn't catch on. 'Nine Times' and 'Love Factory' are 'modern oldies' to use Sean's term. The avatar is the first space-man Yuri Gagarin. A personal one. My dad met him in Russia and then my old man was killed in a car crash - so he's always been my hero. He would be a 'Space Race Oldie' as opposed to the Apollo crews who were more 'Modern'. You do raise a really interetsing distinction that 'Love Factory' and say Keanya Collin's 'Love Bandit' were in fact 'modern' although Wigan Classics. Head hurts now.

That's my point Sean. Outside the 'bubble' of the scene the way that we use the terms modern and crossover is ridiculous. Try to explain them to an intelligent music fan, who is not a soul obsessive - its quite tricky. As for Modern Oldies - Lew Kirton and Jan Jones surely fall into that category. They emerged on the scene when the term modern was at its height, and they are instantly recognisable to oldies fans.

A lingusitic minefield Simon but I wouldn't agree. The term modern cannot and should not be be owned by anyone, let alone a niche soul scene. Modern art preceded by Wigan by several decades, it also appearedf in architecture before any of us were born. You could also argue that the original mods (or modernists) preceded northern soul too. I agree that the term emerged on our scene to differentiate classic sixties northern from the '70s floaters and uptempo sound played at Mecca, some of which were early NYC disco. But I don't think that gives us ownership over a term. Crossover is a similar minefield. It was used in the msuic industry to refer to records that 'crossed-over' from the black/race charts to the pop charts. Now we use to refer to '70s mid-tempo. But other meanings preceded the UK rare soul scene. As for sixties-newies - I think we can claim that one.

Yes heard that version in the early '70s and I've also heard Sean's prison-house explanation. This was a fairly common story back then. It may have been at the Pendulum Manchester, I heard it.

Bought a new version of 'What's Going On' CD at the airport on the way to holiday. Loved the bonus track, an alternative vocal version of 'God is Love' by the end of the week I prefered it to the original. Superb singer.

It has to be Arnold Blair but call me an old Revilot bore but ther's a Clinton Avenue too.

I'm coming clean. I have paid over the top for records on numerous ocassions. It began just before Wigan opened when I paid Pete Lawson £7 for a Louise Lewis original not knowing he had hammered it on EMI Disc and it was about to be bootlegged. The 'coven' of collectors at the time thought I was a fool. Recently I paid way over the odds for a copy of Pro-Fascination from another respected collector because it irritated me when I heard it on CD but didn't own it on vinyl. Most people would think I was mad on that deal too. But there are lots of reasons why people pay over the odds - and its not just because they 'have more money than sense'. So come clean - have you paid over the odds? Why? And how do you feel now about the record? Now I'm off to the last night at Caledonia now its only a fiver to get in. But I'm going to insist on paying £7 quid. (PS Pete Richer, Chalky Pete-S and myself have been disputing this on another thread about the Cashmeres and I though it desrved a wider attention)

This is a good debate which will get lost in this thread. Paying over the top for a record is one of those perennial subjects that fascinates collectors so I'm starting it as a new thread. Then I'm off to Caldedonia for some soul....Keep the debate going in the new thread.

Well said Peter - a lot of people like to imply that they are 'wise owls' who never pay above the odds. I've noticed a few 70s-80s records making big prices on JM and EBay for the winning prices to be scorned on the boards. Try getting the same record in the same condition and you never do. This is a rare soul scene and I suspect prices like books, art and antiques the prices will grow for good sounds, whose authenticity can be proved.

.....still have a soft spot for that old Mecca play - Garland Green 'Sending My Best Wishes' ...

Most local radio stations have been stripped bare too. There was usually a librarian who knew the values and strategically upgraded libraries to tape and CD and now MP3, presumably they sold the vinyl - purely for reinvestment purposes you understand. Met a guy in Detroit who claims the Public Library still has 60s discs on top floor but when I went it was mostly gash old LPs certainly no rare Detroit.

so many myths about how the sound was acheived some say the acoutstics of the snakepit studio was key but another recurring classic was that they sprinkled rice on the surface of the drums to get a reverberating sound. heard so many theories.

Edwyn and other members of the Glasgow Postcard label used to attend the Sub Club in Glasgow where northern was played alongside funk and indie dance. He has very eclectic music tastes including northern soul. Tragically Edwyn has just had a serious brain operation and is now in recovery. On a side note the original Postcard Records (Josef K, Orange Juice etc) are now very rare and sell for a fortune - wouldn't trade them for a good soul original all the same.

Like to play Devil's Advocate on this one. Within the context of a rare Soul Site there is no doubt that we have a passion for producers who created classic '60s and '70s soul. But much of it was obscure, local, indie and hence rare. Many of them were largely unsuccessul commerically. So is the role of a producer to record great music or to see the job through distribution, marketing and into the shops. If you apply that criteria then HDH and Gamble and Huff are peerless. Others like Ollie McLaughlin are studio geniuses with less evident producer success. I accept that getting national distrcution is no mean feat. But the producer's job doesn't end when the musicians go home. Don't shoot me its only a debate.

How do you square the circle of rarity versus condition? I hate records that are scuffed, have needle fatigue or just plain knackered. I was in Detroit last month and saw records at a fair that would shame Albert Steptoe. Mind you, I have an old copy of Tamiko Jones 'Spellbound' that I can barely look at, the label is torn and the vinyl is scraped. I shouldn't have bought it many moons ago. At what stage do you let the desire to own a record overcome the logic of wanting a mint pearler? Records are getting older now, 40 year old sounds are rarely perfect - so what do you do?

Oxford Trites to me - not a big fan of Carolina pop music. Wouldn't turn it down but straight to the swaps box.