Sean Hampsey

I sold my spare on eBay for £39 in August this year. Has the female backing (not on the Carla 45) and always indemand. Sean

From his newly released album 'American Soul' apparently, Nick. Here's the tracklisting and a few words from Mick! That's How Strong My Love Is Turn Back the Hands of Time I'd Rather Go Blind Lonely Avenue I Only Have Eyes for You Tell It Like It Is Baby What You Want Me to Do The Girl That Radiates That Charm Let Me Down Easy Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood It's Impossible Hope There's Someone https://www.mbcpr.com/news/mick-hucknall-american-soul/ Sean

Hi Nick, Much as I love Otis Clay, surely we should never refer to this great song as anything other than Tyrone Davis' "Turn Back The Hands Of Time". But no, I didn't hear it! Was it any good? Sean

Not seen a download link yet Peter. I'll post it, if I find one! Hope you're well mate. Cheers, Sean

Thanks Steve. It's gonna be fun! Sean

Just a quick heads up! ...Just Soul comes to the airwaves 'Soul People' show again, this coming weekend... Sunday 28th October 2012 (10am-Midday) - a two hour 'Just Soul' special with Tats Taylor and Sean Hampsey on Solar Radio. Solar Radio can be found on www.solarradio.com OR you can get it on Sky Channel 0129 (why not Sky+ it and listen later!) OR you can check the link www.soulmusic.co.uk/Radio.htm later in the week to download the whole show (courtesy of Zane Hunter). So, if you're already part of the Just Soul fraternity, or just want to know what all the fuss is about, please join myself and Tats on Solar Radio's 'Soul People' (or listen later) on Sunday morning. We're looking forward to sharing a couple of hours of 'Just Soul' music with you! Sean

Didn't see that Joe. No UK MCA copy or anything resembling it to my knowledge. You might be talking about one of the 2-3 known copies of the Oz 45. I got mine off eBay but it must be nearer 12 years ago Sean

Nope, not particularly scarce on US ABC, but 'Cause You're Mine' is still a mighty fine record and I wouldn't swap my Australian Stateside DEMO of it for a Golden Chopper! Sean

Sorry John. Sean

All my records are gorgeous Peter. Yes, it is produced by the Wonderful Eugene Record mate. He of 'Overdose Of Joy and The Chi-Lites fame. He was also the Husband of the late Barbara Acklin. Together they wrote the classic 'Have You Seen Her' and many more. We are talking Soul Music Royalty, with Mr Record mate. A Genius. Sean

Here's what my Oz issue looks like. Sean

Still Looking For Dorothy Moore 45's Folks Will Pay Top Dollar! :0)

Nothing I like better than looking at a load of Record labels Pete. It's mouthwatering stuff and a real credit to you. Love it! Sean

Best thing I've ever seen online Pete. Added straight onto my Favourites. Superb job mate. Bloody superb. :thumbsup: Sean

Its about storage with me really, can' t always travel with 45s box and album box, easy in a car but i would be on public transport, also the travel overseas, can get on as hand luggage with 45s box...... I've got a box that takes 45's and LP's, Steve. Can get at least 8 albums in with me 45's (but rarely play more than 2-3 tracks off album, even then). That said, I still end up carting a box of LP's with me in most cases. Belts, braces etc. But I always go in my car, so it's fairly easy for me (except for the haul from the Car Park). I can see your point mate, if you have to use other forms of transport. And (unlike you Steve) I rarely get asked to DJ outside of the UK so its never a problem! Sean

Played the likes of Willie Hutch 'Lucky To Be Loved By You' and Clyde McPhatter 'Please Give Me' / 'Anyone Can Tell' etc. for many, many, years off LP Barry and they never sounded anything other than INCREDIBLE! But its another 'red-herring' matter and I understand what you're saying. Sean

Good question Steve. I play LP tracks off LP. Don't really get the practice of 'calving' LP tracks. Sorry. Beats me why some folk can't seem to cue an album Sean

I was referring to those who strongly advocate OVO Pete. It comes unstuck as a misplaced 'ideal'. It serves very few and limits opportunity. The late Frank Wilson would probably turn over in his grave, knowing that a DJ could not play his recording, on a legitimate vinyl 45, as a tribute to this fine artist, because of some well-intended but misguided piece of legislation in the NS Rule Book. Sean

The OVO thing is a bit of a Red Herring (IMO). What the majority of people want to see, is the end of Bootlegs and the end to the playing of Bootlegs at Northern Soul events. So 'OVO' seemed like a good idea at the time. However, this brings with it the sort of nutty problems you've highlighted, ricticman, in your post. What a bunch of grown up music fans should surely be advocating and supporting is LVO (LEGITIMATE VINYL ONLY) or even LFO (LEGITIMATE FORMAT ONLY) and then at lease we'd be doing our artists a true and proper service by buying and promoting their music - and we just might even end up putting a couple of bob in the right pockets, where its deserved! Sean

That's true. A similar 'split' took place during the Wigan v Mecca and the 'Levine Must Go' periods. And the rise of the 'Modern' scene - within the Northern scene - also caused a stir. But, of course, that's all history. What we need to do is understand the 'now'. What's happening out there and why. We pays our money and we takes our chances. Should we get all hot under the collar and try to foist our 'taste' or our preferences on others? I don't think so. Having a healthy 'respect' for individual choice is really all that's required. Sean

Think I understand your frustration Russ, but I guess we all really need to accept that there are TWO very separate ‘Northern’ scenes nowadays (probably more). At least these are my observations. There are a myriad of offshoots, born out of ‘Northern Soul’ (Crossover, Modern etc.) but we might classify the two main factions as the ‘Progressive Northern’ scene and the ‘Nostalgia Northern' scene. They are related but they are not the same. They’re probably cousins and certainly not twins. They have the same genes… but not the same jeans… lol. They are different. 1. ‘Progressive Northern’ The ‘Progressive Northern’ scene is frequented by folks who want to hear, play and discover tracks that are ‘new to them’. The crowd at these events want to ‘hear something different’ on a regular basis, to keep them stimulated and to ‘keep them coming back for more’ — ‘Just like it was in the old days’… seeking out the next big tune, being true to the ‘ethos’ and ‘Keeping The Faith’. The DJ’s on this ‘Progressive Northern’ scene tend to play new and more recent discoveries. They are as conscious of the 40+ year history as anyone else- they need to be, to ensure that what they are ‘breaking’ is truly ‘new’ or exclusive - but it is these DJ’s - and those who eagerly attend wherever they play - that keeps that particular scene going. They work hard at it, are dedicated, some might say fanatical about their chosen path. They constantly seek those elusive sounds (some of which actually become popular) and are generally the most passionate people you could ever wish to meet when it comes to talking about the music. And good luck to ‘em. If you or they have got the energy, mental capacity, knowledge, drive, enthusiasm, resources, lifestyle, contacts and (I hate to say it) finances it’s a noble and enjoyable pursuit. In this scene, and there are numerous exceptions, many discovered the music in the latter days of Wigan or sometime after it closed its doors. They found ‘Northern Soul’ at such places as Stafford, 100 Club, Rotherham, Bradford, Warrington, Keele and in later years Lifeline, Burnley etc. all venues with a culture of ‘progression’ coupled with something of a ‘siege mentality’ as defenders of a dying faith (remember when the black gloves came out again?). 2. ‘Nostalgia Northern’ The ‘Nostalgia Northern’ scene is a different animal. This particular scene is frequented by people who want to hear and play tracks that are familiar to them, to keep them stimulated and to ‘keep them coming back for more’ — ‘Just like it was in the old days’… reminiscing about their youth, being true to the old tunes and ‘Keeping The Faith’. They probably left the scene sometime before Wigan closed its doors, missed the 80’s and 90’s, spent the decades, between then and now, growing up, getting married, having kids, living and working to pay the mortgage, getting divorced, being made redundant, retraining for a new career, paying off the Mortgage, remarrying and then rediscovering their youth… at the working men’s club… at the bottom of the road, where on the weekend, they play a bit of ‘Northern Soul’. They don’t want, or need, to travel around the country each and every weekend in pursuit of the ‘next big thing’ or new discovery. Why should they? Those days are long gone for these folk. Northern Soul (as they always knew it) is right on the doorstep. In many Northern Clubs, the dominoes, bingo and ‘turn’ have been replaced by some chap with a box of records. And these old ‘sounds’ remind our typical male of his youth. He has a few Beers with his mates, he might even shake a leg to ‘Landslide’ or ‘Freddie Chavez’ — the wife likes it too — nowt wrong with a bit o’ Motown — and as he leaves he picks up a flyer for an upcoming Weekender. Fancy that our lass? Sunshine, Fish & Chips & Northern Soul? And the rest is ‘a life based on’ history or ‘instant nostalgia’ as Dave Withers once said! Nothing new there. Old folk have been looking in the rear-view mirror for thousands of years. But, unlike previous generations, these 50 or 60 something’s won’t have to rely on the British Legion, or grow old alone. Thank God. They can grow old disgracefully if they choose to, at the seaside, two or three times a year, or at any number of events across the north that might take their fancy; enjoying a beer or two, catching up with old faces and making new friends, to incredible music that takes them back a bit, keeps the pulse racing, raises a smile and keeps the heartbeat turned up! And good luck to ‘em. If they have ‘still’ got the energy, enthusiasm, resources, lifestyle and finances it’s a noble and enjoyable pursuit. And it sure beats crown green bowling! As it happens, the ‘Nostalgia Northern’ scene has taken to playing and enjoying more ‘post Wigan’ sounds in recent years. The NS Top 500 has recently been revised to reflect this. Not too very long ago ‘I’m So Happy’ and ‘Home Is Where The Heart Is’ were considered ‘Modern’ by many, whereas now some of these are considered passé, by those more ‘adventurous’ down at the club! Probably a separate thread entirely, but there's a lot more to this than can be explained in a simple post, on a thread, in a forum about whether a DJ should or shouldn’t risk clearing a dancefloor, by playing something out of the ordinary, but I do tend to think there’s also an element of demographic and regional differences (North and South) involved here. Up North there are literally tens of thousands of folk who went to Wigan, Samanthas and Cleggy... etc. Let’s face it; Northern Soul hasn’t been an ‘underground’ scene up here for nearly 40 years. That genie flew out of the lamp a very long time ago. Northern Soul was actually ‘a way of life’ for most young people, in the towns and villages of the north. They might not have all been hard-core nighter goers (although many of them certainly were) but your Postman, the village Bobby, the Butcher, the Landlord at the local all bought a copy of Tami Lynn ‘Run Away’ and the Tams ‘Hey Girl Don’t Bother Me’ in the early 70’s followed by a Judy Street, a copy of ‘Out On The Floor’ and a Mike Post Coalition during the Casino years! — I imagine it’s not quite like that south of Watford, where there have always been many alternative entertainment opportunities vying for attention and where ‘Northern Soul’ was and is still seen as an ‘exclusive’ club that has to be ‘travelled’ for. I know it’s probably a separate subject all on its own, but the reality is that the heritage (Nostalgia) side of things and the ‘legacy’ of the Northern Scene, at its absolute zenith in the 70’s, in the North of England, is still seen as one of the things that many Northerners feel quite proud of. And (even though many got busy doing other things, some 30 odd years ago) just like a prodigal son, it seems somehow more valuable to them now. Middle age brings greater lifestyle choice and ‘Northern Soul’ is something many want to celebrate and enjoy, free of someone else’s ‘rules’ and ‘pressures’, and they might just want to relive a bit of it all over again. One bloke I spoke to recently said that, since he retired, he and the Mrs now take all their holidays literally ‘on the scene’. There are enough weekenders throughout the year to be able to have 2-3 mini-breaks a year without having to leave the country (but for the more adventurous, there’s plenty going on abroad also). It’s inevitable that for my generation at least, the trip to Blackpool to ‘see the lights’ will have soon been completely eclipsed by the Northern Soul Weekender, which, in the main, tends to be a ‘Nostalgia Northern’ pursuit. I’ve seen you at venues all over the country Russ, over the years. Few people are as knowledgeable, dedicated and as passionate as you are. You have great taste for all things ‘soulful’ and you know and frequent the places I’m referring to that might be considered more ‘progressive’. I said at the start of the thread, I’ve made a bit of a career of clearing floors to ‘different’ records, but I’m more than happy to live and let live and recognise that not everyone is as up to their neck in ‘Soul’ as some of us might like to be. It’s a broad church and we shouldn’t be at all surprised that some people just want to have ‘fun’ to the soundtrack from the Gods; that is Soul music. Given these two separate scenes have common Grandparents, it’s important not to enter into a ‘family feud’ of sorts. We all have more in common with each other than we have differences and it’s therefore incongruous to disparage the family from either side. The ‘Progressive’ scene will just keep on ‘progressing’ just so long as those that are on it ‘want’ to do it. The ‘Nostalgia’ scene will also just keep on doing what it wants to do. Enjoying the music, the friendships and even creating new memories, in our twilight years. Often, people cross over from one ‘scene’ to ‘feed’ the other. At my time of life, I like to think I can enjoy it all, regardless, because the MUSIC is important to me and because (even though I might not want to hear it all the time) the Tomangoes, Jimmy Burns and Sam Williams sound every bit as good to me now as they did 40 years ago. Life is far too short, for Soul fans, or anyone else, to be perturbed by other people’s choices. We should perhaps be more pragmatic and embrace the differences. We’ll all be looking in the rear-view mirror before we know it! Sean

I was sent an FOC box full, of Blue and Orange copies (about half dozen of each) plus full Press Kit, from the label owner, 30 years ago, Wayne. Owzat! Sean

Yep - That was my ender for Cleethorpes Winter Gardens Nighters, early 80's. Nice one! Sean

Very few DJ's with Rob Hurcomb's taste on the planet. Sean

I posted it Dave. It's on the Capitol album 'The Soul View Now' and can be obrained for upwards of £30 generally! Has met with massive approval from the Just soul crowd every time I've played it. Wonder if we can get her to do it at Cleggy next year? :0) https://www.discogs.com/Bettye-Swann-The-Soul-View-Now/release/3013115 Sean