Sean Hampsey

The true collectors come out of the woodwork.

Spent a big part of my DJ career following him... and resetting em (...along with the Pitch control). Gotta love the man. Sean

Cheer up Kev. Soon be Saturday Sean

Contrary to what some might have thought, it was 'Rare Soul' quite a while before Dave termed the music 'Northern Soul' (from which the term the 'Northern Soul Scene' sprang). See pic of Dave and Alf (with Mr Levine and others) at their first visit to the Mecca 'Rare Soul 71'. I know as a young lad growing up and first getting into the music I was just into SOUL - it was later I became aware of RARE SOUL (certainly the older guys I used to buy lots of records from called it 'Rare Soul'... just so they could charge me more, lol), followed by NORTHERN SOUL a year or two later. Eg; Sam & Dave 'Soul Sister Brown Sugar was Soul, Chubby Checker 'At The Discotheque' was Rare Soul. Junior Walker 'Road Runner' was Soul, Jackie Lee 'Darkest Days' was Rare Soul. At least that's how it was around these parts. Sean

SOUL SERIES Sapphires Baby You've Got Me Showstoppers Ain't Nothing But A Houseparty SS101 Spencer Wiggins Let's Talk It Over Percy Wiggins Call On Me SS102 Del Larks Job Opening Eddie Parker I'm Gone SS103 Hesitations That's What Love Is Hesitations I'm Not Built That Way SS104 Major Lance Don't Fight It Major Lance Nothing Can Stop Me SS105 There you go. Sean

Another I've been playing for a good number of years; Messiahs Of Glory - Thank You Sean

Played this lots over the last few years; Universal Jubileers - Childhood Days Sean

I sold one a year or so ago for £120

From recollection, this was the first £1,000 Soul record. A truly iconic piece. Sean

I included it on a Soul Source CD Swap some years ago. Maybe it came from there into your iTunes Mal C? Agreed, great tune, and a real grower. A Smokey song also done by Mary Wells and the Temptations amongst others. Sean

Yep - and that's just some folk you meet on the scene Ian But I think you make a good point. It was less in the spotlight in the 80's and 90's than in the 70's and its certainly getting a lot of media attention currently, so it probably is cyclical. I also wonder how much of its 'popularity' is still a North / South thing? In my part of the world, pretty much every second or third person you meet went somewhere at sometime on the scene. I can't imagine that's the case in the more cosmopolitan south. Sean

Absolutely right. It was all over the press and even became 'mainstream' to ask people 'Are you a Mod or a Rocker?' - And I was only about nine at the time! Amuses me to think that the next and subsequent generations think that they are somehow part of some elite, clandestine, movement that the man in the street is completely unaware of. They're not. They haven't been for donkeys years. But where the music is concerned, its still the greatest. And no one is going to know everything, so there are will always be a few secrets yet to be unearthed and discovered! Which is what keeps it plenty 'special' enough for me. Sean

I think I agree with Brivinyl above. Being a mod, being into Soul, in the sixties and early 70's was an alternative and 'slightly' underground lifestyle and 'scene'. But by '74 'Northern Soul became seen (certainly in the north of England) as 'popular' music, with scores of chart hits and TV exposure. The Bay City Roller generation found Wigan and the rest is history. I've never had a problem with that, personally. I thought I was the only real Soul fan in the world for far too long, lol. Soul is the greatest music the world has ever provided. The more people enjoying, admiring and loving it the better for me. The artists deserve to be exposed and appreciated by as many people as have an ear for it. That is not to be coveted by just the few who feel that they alone have a divine right to it. Live it, love it and be prepared to share it. We are fortunate, some might say blessed, to have been exposed to it, and had it as the soundtrack to our lives for such a long time. Sean MFP (Music for pleasure)

Hope to see you both there. Might be a very long time before we have another. Cheers, Sean

Irish copy here! Green EMI Sean PS: Great double sider Steve. Played it many a time at Essence over the years.

Good question Simon. Have thought for a while I really ought to do a list... Will add them as I remember, but these are the first that spring to mind, as late as it is :0) Dramatics - I Can't Stand It - Capitol (I'd always bought the Dramatics records. And though this was a departure from the stuff they were known for it became the epitome of the Clifton / Cleggy 'modern' stomper). Bobby Patterson - I'm In Love With You - Action (Thought if Poke's 'Lester Thomkins' good gain acceptance this could too!) Brothers Guiding Light - Getting Together - Mercury (Had played it since early 70's, long before the N. Soul scene was ready - but when Larry Houston 'Let's Spend Some Time Together' went big it reminded me of this. It had never really left my playbox so I dug it out and thankfully they loved it) High Fashion - Hold On - Capitol (supplied by the ever reliable Mick Godfrey as was the next 45...) Skip Mahoney - Running From My Love - Abet (Mick sold it, I played it, instant smash) Rhonda Davis - Can You Remember - Duke (I covered as 'Ann Sexton' for quite a while) Darrell Banks - I'm The One Who Loves You - Stax (Before the end of Wigan, no allnighter would have touched this with a barge pole. It was the Darrell Banks record that collectors 'didn't want' but I flipped it over, loved it and found that Clifton / Cleggy was the perfect environment). Now seen as a 'crossover' classic 😉 Stairsteps - I'm The One Who Loves You - UK Buddah LP (Not the Darrell Banks song above but the Curtis Mayfield / Impressions song superbly performed in this album only version I used to play from the UK album). Steve Mannion always appreciated me playing this. A man of great taste! Ronnie Dyson - Lady In Red - Columbia (cost me 35p off Lincoln Market - Talked Crofty into letting me put it into the box and it became a Monster!) Donnie Gerard - He's Always Somewhere Around - Greedy (I covered as Milt Matthews cos it reminded me of his vocal style on 'All These Changes') Detroit Spinners - I'll Be Around - Atlantic (Mr Searling had Doug Parkinson, so I thought I'd dig out the 'Pop - Hit' version). Took some stick at the time but its now an evergreen! LTD - You Must Have Known I Needed Love - A&M LTD - You Come First at Last - A&M (Heard Pat Brady play James Galyn one night at Clifton so was chuffed I had this version on LP - although neither version did much) Joe Simon - Love Look At Us Now - Posse (was never afraid of playing LP tracks at the time. Made good use of that format) Eddie Kendricks - You Can't Stop My Love - Atlantic (reminded me of Gary Glenn so thought it worth a shot... but it really didn't do much. Shame as I thought it had real potential. Had it been on an obscure label... who knows!) Coke Escovedo - I Wouldn't Change A Thing' - Mercury (naivety had me cover this as Johnny Bristol, because he'd written it, but I didnt realise at the time, he'd also recorded it. Another that went big for me at the time and, pleased to say, has endured) Lew Kirton - Heaven In The Afternoon - Alston (Picked this up at a Record Fair for pennies. Took a lot to get it going. Then one night at Clifton Steve G. told me he'd heard 'my Lew Kirton' played elsewhere the week before... and I knew I had a monster on my hands!!) Still took another few months in all honesty and these days I can hardly listen to it, but it is certainly an acknowledged classic of the time. Whispers - Gonna Love You More - Solar (I covered this as 'Leon (Sylvers) & The Whispers... just for the craic! - thankfully it was superbly received! - But the irony, I played a ten bob LP track covered up for several months and, years later, it transpires the track is actually an incredibly scarce 45) Stargard - I'll Always Love You - MCA (Great track. Hammered it, but it never really took off. Shame. Very soulful record). Shirley Brown - Crowding on My Mind - Stax (Perfect pace for Cleggy and fabulous vocals) Gene Page - Love Starts After Dark - Arista (Brought to me to craft into an 'After Dark' anthem by the lovely Richard Broughton) Cut Glass - Alive With Love - 20th Century (Flipped over the DISCO tune 'Without Your Love' and found a surefire winner for Cleggy!) Detroit Spinners - Cant Shake This Feeling - Atlantic (Theres a story here...) Actually, quite a scarce record it would seem... Spencer Wiggins - Take Time To Love Your Woman - Sounds Of Memphis (Thought if Wilson Pickett 'How Will I Ever Know' could make it, this southern midtempo growler could do likewise - how wrong I was... Took me a good while to get off the ground, but very pleased I made the effort) Ujima - I'm Not Ready - Epic (Had been a brief Mecca spin, but Nighters ignored it in '75 - At Clifton & Cleggy I felt its time had come... and I was right!) Silk - Call Me - RCA (Never did much...) Norman Connors - Take It To The Limit - Arista (I bought from Alex Denham and broke at Clifton Hall. Went huge - and then everyone (including Richard) started playing it. Became a Clifton Anthem) Eddie Billups - Shake Off That Dream - 77 (another brief Mecca spin that hadn't seen 'Nighter' action until Clifton / Cleggy) Bill Harris - Am I Cold Am I Hot - RCA (Bought and played this as another new release. Had been another Mecca tune that hadn't made the N. Soul Nighter scene. Was surprised to find that fellow Cleggy DJ Chris Dalton also had it in his playbox one night so the two of us commited to make it a monster, (which it surely wasn't until then) and by hook and by crook we did! Stanley Clarke - Straight To The Top - Epic - Straight off the release sheets a brand new release that the crowd took to immediately. Grey & Hanks - Love's In Command - RCA Inner Life - Caught Up In A One Night Love Affair - Prelude Walter Jenkins - Back In My Life - Fader Kat (Fingersnapper that worked really well for me at Rotherham Windmill but was a floor clearer at the nighter!) Debbie Taylor - Just Don't Pay - Arista (I'd bought some years earlier for the flipside, but thought this side had that 'Independent Woman' feel so I played 'em back to back. Another that took an age to get of the ground, but persistance pays with records of this quality) Alvarez - Sooner Or Later - Polydor Purple Mundi - Stop Hurting Me Baby - Cat (folk said this was too slow for Cleggy, but it did gain quite a following) Jerry Jackson - It's Rough Out There (a 'collectors' record I bought from my old friend Matchie for a quid in 1975. A UK Cameo Parkway record that nobody was interested in, because of the tempo. I played the pants off it and cleared dancefloors for many years until it eventually broke through for me at the Windmill and Clifton Hall in Rotherham. Family Circle - I Hope You Really Love Me - Sky Disc Ruby Wilson - The Feelings Still There - Malaco Lorraine Johnson - The More I Get The More I Want - Prelude Terry Callier - Ordinary Joe - Elektra LP Al Johnson - School Of The Groove - Columbia Whispers - I Got A Feeling - Soul Train GQ - Make My Dreams A Reality - Arista Bill Williams - Things Will Be Better Tomorrow - WCM Samona Cooke - Subway - Epic Jerri Richard - Goin' Away - Royal Shield Don Gardner - We're Gonna Make It Big - Master Five Tommy Rodgers - I'll Tell It To The Wind - AJP Jackie Moore - Do Ya Got What it Takes - CBS Creative Source - You're Too Good To Be True - Sussex (Bobby Miller C/U) Jack Montgomery - Dear Beloved - Scepter Minnie Jones - Shadow Of A Memory - Sugar Mel & Tim - I May Not Be What You Want - Stax Quotations - I Don't Have To Worry - DiVenus Dynamics - You'll Never Find A Man Like Me - Black Gold (LP track) Three Degrees - Lonely Town - Roulette (later to be 'discovered' by Tammi Terrell) Chosen Few - Birth Of A Playboy - Canyon (Rex Garvin C/U) Larry Davis - The Magic Is Gone - Decca (Sunny & The Sunliners C/U) Jimmy Ellis - Puttin It On Your Mind - Salem (Roscoe Shelron C/U) Masqueraders - I Aint Gonna Stop - AGP (Mel Britt C/U) Derek Martin - If You Go - Sue (George Blackwell C/U) Otis Clay - Show Place - One-Der-Ful (Jimmy Burns C/U) Cole Bros - Make Yourself Ready - Jamie (Cecil Washington C/U) Brainstorm - We're On Our way Home - Tabu (What I always thought was a very fitting ender) They're the first few that come top of brain. Plus I always shared with Steve loads of the stuff we all (Clifton & Cleggy DJ's) seemed to be playing and had a hand in promoting at the time; Most he would never have bought himself, the tight old begger, lol Quick list comes to mind: Luckey Davis - Its Not Where You Start - Highland Jay W McGee - Over & Over - Scorpio LP Niteflyte - All About Love - Ariola Charles Johnson - Never Had A Love So Good - Alston Otis Clay - The Only Way Is Up - Echo Charles Sherrel - Things That You Do For Love - Muscle Jan Jones - Independent Woman - Daywood Johnny Scott - Let Me Be A Winner - Portra Greg Perry - It Takes Heart - Alfa Johnny Bristol - Love No Longer Has A Hold On Me - Handshake Keni Burke - Let Somebody Love You - RCA Tony Fox - Love Let Loved - Blaster Pretenders - Just Be Yourself - Carnival Willie Darrington - Never Should Have Walked Away - Rav Sharon Henderson - Inside Of Me - Melody World Mighty Fire - Sweet Fire - A&M (sooooo rare on 45) Bobby King - If You Don't Want My Love - WB Patches - I'm Gonna Make This World a Better Place - Phax Reuben Howell - Can't Stop A Man In Love - Motown OT Sykes - Stone Crush - Fun City High Frequency - Summertime - NIA Cheryl Berdell - Giving It All To You - EMT Charles Mann - Sho Nuff - LA Revelation - Feel It - Handshake ZZ & CO - Getting Ready For The Get Down - Columbus Larry Brown - Breaking Training - Fireworks Dee Edwards - Once You Give It Up - Morning Glory Bileo - You Can Win - MTU Watts City Rideout - Someone Special Dustin Wilson - Have Some Sympathy - Judas Atlantic Starr - Circles - A&M Bobby Womack - So Many Sides Of You - Motown Sunfire - Step In The Light - Capitol Phillip Mitchell - I'm So Happy - Atlantic Jewel - Paradise - Jewel Productions Billy Nichols - Diamond Ring - West End George Jackson - A Little Extra Stroke - Happy Hooker Charles Mann - Sho Nuff No Funny Stuff Love - LA Dells - Your Song - 20th Century etc. Most of those were huge, with a number of DJ's playing 'em. For Steves part he came up with these to share: Cognac - How High Finished Touch - The Down Sound - Motown Billy Preston & Syreeta - Go For It - Motown Mandrill - My Kind Of Girl - Arista Rufus - Any Love - MCA Annis - Don't Play Your Games - GTO Gil Scott Heron - Lady Day & John Coltrane - Flying Dutchman Moment Of Truth - Loving You Is Killing Me - Salsoul Kelly Garrett - Love Is The Only Answer - Smash ...amongst others...... that I will add as they come to mind. Interesting times with a fairly rapid turnover of tunes. The whole period, post-Wigan / pre-Stafford seems so poorly represented and largely undocumented 30 + years on. I think that Steve Croft and Alan Senior (and the DJ's that worked for them, lol) kept it all together during those years, creating the environment for other 'open minded' venues (Morecambe etc) to come along in the wake. Hope a few more tracks will come to me in the night... The old Grey Matter aint what it was, but I need some sleep :0) Wonder if Steve has a copy of the few reviews I did at the time in his wonderful Blackbeat mag? Might fill in a few gaps. Sean

Yep - You're all right... but also slightly wrong. Steve Croft and I had a 'shared' box of tunes that we were working on each weekend (at Cleethorpes, Bradford etc.). We figured that sharing certain 'new' records would get them played more often and we could 'break' them quicker. This was one of Steve's 'discoveries'. I didn't like it at all (thought it waaaay too poppy) and we argued for quite a while about it as a consequence. But, in the end, I was forced to use it, trading it against him playing my Ronnie Dyson 'Lady In Red' (which in retrospect probably wasn't an awful lot better, lol). I think, for at least a few months, Annis was by far the most popular record at the time, but 'Lady In Red' did prove to have more legs over the much longer term and did at least go on to earn the prestigious merit of getting 'bootlegged' Steve never was one for measuring a record's 'soulfulness' - it was all about the BPM for him - but it never stopped him filling dancefloors and at that time, early 80's, that was always what seemed to matter most. Sean

There've been a few records from the late 70's and early 80's that, at the time, we thought were LP only. Bobby King "If You Don't Want My Love" LTD "Love Magic" Whispers "Gonna Love You More" and Mighty Fire "Sweet Fire" all came to us as a bit of a shock when they turned up on 7" 45. Tony Fox 45 was known to only a few, the Bobby King came much later. LTD seems now to have dried up, Whispers, only 3-4 known copies and only ONE known copy of Mighty Fire thus far! These tracks were all played in the days when being on 45 mattered much less in the eyes of the scene and when LP's were scoured for the killer tracks, without ever expecting their to be a limited 7" press anywhere or even needing to be. Bearing in mind that this was before the Modern Scene existed, we are talking The Northern Soul Scene here, it shows how ahead of the game some people (such as Glyn) really were in terms of turning up great tunes that only since (and largely in only the past few years) have gone on to be seen as classics, worthy of a second issue! Sean

Think that's exactly right Phil. Sean

Chris Clark is a Demo only misspelling Darren. Lovely one mate. I have Otis Redding "That's How Strange My Love Is". Made me smile.

I saw Joe Dunlop had one for sale at the last Whitby weekender. When I told him it was Dave's own handwriting he was well chuffed. Sean

Ive had both 'The Motown Sound' volumes since the early seventies. The first one caused me to search out the Lollipops and Terry Johnson 45's a very long time ago. The second volume is another great comp which features tracks less retrospective and more of the time such as the incredible Val Simpson track 'Cant It Wait Until Tomorrow'. Every home should have them! Sean

Earlier thread on Randy Brown 45 here Pete. Scarce, but don't think its indemand. £25 - £30 tops... at a guess? Moses Smith Original must still be £175 - £200? Recently reissued on lookalike Cotillion. Cheers, Sean

Not a re-issue or boot. I bought it for the flipside, many moons ago, for about fifteen quid. Sean