manus

Very sad news indeed - what a great singer.The album is one of my prized possessions and I come running back and The Sha -La bandit were on the cassette I compiled to woo my missus . I'm pretty sure it was HMV I bought it from Binsy as a new release. The one on Oxford St - either there or Virgin on Oxford Street. Manus

Anything to avoid the ultimate downer of having to go home Carl Cheers Manus

Hello - it was definitely open in the morning for a few hours after the niter - I had to be pulled out of there a few times to catch the train home - didn't want to leave - it had some strange seating arrangements at some point with rows of seats that went up like terracing or theatre seats or was I hallucinating All the best Manus

I never tire of Motown - Jimmy Ruffins Farewell, Brokenhearted, Passed this way - Marv Johnsons Pick a rose - Martha's Forget me not - jeez the list is endless - any of these and the back of my necks tingling. Cheers Manus

You seem to be missing my point I only used the Rockabilly pair as an example I could have used other examples such as Scooter boys but they sprang to mind when I originally posted. So forget the Rockabillys if you can and think of what I was actually saying which was about early influences and their possible longevity. Cheers Our Friend ( no longer in the North)

Well this certainly cheered me up this morning Classic Cheers Manus

Err I wasn't putting forward a "Rockabilly theory" I was making the observation that a couple of people I know whose early exposure to Rockabilly seems to have stayed with them and maybe influences their tastes now at Soul events and how my own Motown/Invictus/Reggae background influences mine. It's was just an observation not a theory and most likely bollocks but you seem to be agreeing with it when you use the example of "Scooter boys" and their influences. There's plenty of people down here on the South Coast who have come the Motown route I agree and lot's of them still around at events. Personally I see RB/Funk/Uptown/70s/Modern as as all interlinked and I like listening and buying from all eras/types - there's lots of good stuff being released right now. If pinned down to actual favourite periods or types it would be classic midtempo 60/70s and deep/southern but I'll listen to anything good. Cheers Manus

It would be crossover for me - but I do like good raw Black R and B and think that at a point it meets the funky edged 70/80s tunes that Paul mentions. As a point of interest I've noticed that a few people I know on the south coast who have come into the Soul scene from the rockabilly/Rock and Roll scene favour the R and B sound where as I came into it via the Motown/Invictus/Reggae route and would go for the crossover - maybe early influences make a difference. Cheers Manus

Very sad news - another of the greats who has played such a big part in our lives. Manus

Hello Ian - Cissy's He/I believe/I'll be there single is one of the greatest Soul 45s ever recorded in my opinion -you're right she is very under rated. Cheers Manus

Well done - a warm glow indeed - Merry Xmas Manus

Yes I remember him he was a mate of Knocka from Prestons didn't know him that well but chatted to him a few times and almost bought a Stevie Wonder Nothings to good from him once - but I though £2.50 was too much. He was really tall even bigger by a fair bit than Big Ray from North Sheilds and Ray was tall. Cheers Manus

I take it you missed your Sunday morning constitutional on the hills Kev My son went to a charity function recently with a friend whose mother is a music PA and they were behind the scenes - Madness were there and apparently very friendly and happy to give the two lads autographs as was Mutya ex Sugarbabes - Mr Stewart was there and completely ignored the kids attempts to get an autograph from him. Lovely bloke Cheers Manus

Hello Rick - No don't think we know each other although if you were friends with Ray then we would have been in the same company at some point I'm sure. I don't think anybodys seen Ray for a long time - I know that there were attempts to locate him to let him know about dear Sylvia Henderson/Croasdell's funeral but he couldn't be found - there was a rumour he was driving a cab in the Boro area but I don't know if there's any truth in that. There's still a lot of the NE crowd around - I left there about 24/25 years ago but I was up at a Soul do in Gateshead recently and lot's of the old faces were there and it was great seeing them all again. There are quite a few on here - Paul Mooney, Jeff Heads , Kev Johnson, Baz A , Kev Cane and Tim (Toaster) who's from the Peterlee area and Davy Mason and Toma joined recently. Cheers Manus

I didn't say Newcastle Rick - there was a lot of folk travelled to all nighters from Tyneside I know because I was one of them and I knew Big Ray very well. I said that there were not a lot of niter folk from Sunderland which was a wee bit odd given how big the scene was in County Durham with places like Aycliffe and Darlington and Middlesborough packed with Soul fans. Cheers Manus

Just seen Old man me Frank Hutson in wants - I'd just stopped thinking about it and now the lyrics are floating around my head again. Don't mind though great tune Cheers Manus

Well Done Paul -15 hours of free classes per week that's a pretty heavy duty commitment. ATB Manus

Hello Ian I think you'll find that a lot of the posters in favour of playing newer stuff also like the older stuff - its just that they don't want a groundhog day situation everytime they go they to a Soul event. I have great memories of clubs like Wigan but I personally don't want to relive 1974 in 2009, I want to walk away from a venue having listened to records I haven't heard before or that I haven't heard for a long time and I want Soul music to be a living thing rather than a retro get together but I do understand that others think differently. But you did say Uptempo " nothing more nothing less" and I thought that would rule out quite a large part of Northern Soul history. I remember dancing to the Tams Hey girl don't bother me as a young skinhead in late 1970 I could only do that because the record had crossed over from the early Rare Soul scene and into the charts now thats hardly an uptempo record is it and what about Tony Clarke's The Entertainer. I remember being enthralled along with many others by Betty Wright at Wigan in 1975 she had been booked because her "new release" Where is the love was massively popular at the time. It seems sometimes that the playing of new releases during the 70s is being written out of Northern Soul history but it's a fact that they were played and not just at the Mecca. Also I do feel that genuine Northern Soul records are also being written out of the story in favour of records that were viewed by many as devaluing the scene. Derek and Ray and the likes of Phil Coulter are touted as the real deal and records like Nolan Chance Just like the weather are dismissed. I seem to recall Derek and Ray and such like being seen as a " nail in the coffin" records when it came to real Northern Soul. I have been to clubs that have reminded me of the past, Soul or Nothing springs to mind and also Soul revolution but it wasn't because they were trying to recreate the past but because they felt fresh and exicting in the way that the great clubs of the 70's did. Yourself and your partner Debbie seem really passionate about our music and hope you both keep on enjoying what your doing but for me it's any era and any tempo as long as it's got Soul. ATB Manus

So that would rule out all of the wonderful midtempo tunes that have always been part of the scene. Manus

Cheers Steve - Hope yourself and Lydia are enjoying married life ATB Manus

Not sure about a top 10 - but if I walked into a Soul event and heard the following played one after another I'd be counting the goose bumps on the back of my neck. Melvin Davis I must love you JJ Barnes Lonely no more Clay Hunt Since I lost you Cheers Manus

How about these two fast and furious Fabulettes Screamin and Shoutin Sapphires Gonna a be a big thing Cheers Manus