manus

I know is was a long time ago but the guy in the green harrington was a geordie as I posted earlier. It was part of a documentary done by Look North and shown in 1970. I wore a red harriington in those day's and remember those blokes fairly well. The small one on the terrace footage wearing the braces was Colin Proud who came along occasionally to Soul nights. All the best Manus

I felt really angry at Jazzie's B's comments too as I can't recall any door policies based on colour or anything else and if anyone had of tried it they would have been very quickly run of the scene. Colour was not an issue it was all about the music. Have to agree with Tony Rounce as the quality decline between the first show and the second was really marked. The light shining in the eyes of Eric Burdon and Chris Farlowe as they talked about the music they loved was a joy to behold and I'm sure was an emotion instantly recognisable to all Soul fans and helped to make the first show really enjoyable. The second show was very messy and seemed to have an agenda we heard Jazzie B's negative comments on the Northern scene and alleged prejudice and then the "This England" footage was shown and surprise , surprise it only used footage of white dancers. Very selective that. I did like the footage of mixed groups dancing to ska and reggae and the three skinheads walking across the terraces really took me back. That was the Gallowgate end at St James Park and the three blokes were fairly well known at the time. The smallest one at the back was Colin "Proudy" Proud who came to a few rare Soul do's in the seventies. All in all though a real let down after the promise of the first show All the best Manus

Hello Simon Brighton does seem really quite at the moment in Soul terms - so any addition would be welcome I'm sure. Great to see Si putting on something at the Volks again , hopefully there'll be a good turn out for that. All the best Manus

I don't remember that much trouble but I do recall a fight just outside the record bar at Wigan around 1974 when one slighty older guy knocked seven bells out of two younger guys in bowling shirts. He was shouting something about "don't ever rip me off again" or words to that effect leaving the younger guys to crawl slowly away under the nearest table. Records or drugs? We'll never know, but I did get the feeling that the young guys thought they were hotshots and maybe picked on the wrong person. All the best Manus

My son bought this for me for xmas too and I really like it. As to the argument corncerning if it's Soul or not the voice certainly sounds a lot more soulful to my ears than on some of the pop stompers I heard played out and about under the guise of Northern Soul. All the best Manus

Hello John If you haven't picked up a copy of the Masqueraders yet there's a copy at www.soulmusic.co.uk for £40 Great record All the best Manus

Hello Andrew Have a great Xmas and New Year All the best Manus

No boundaries with this man - if your feet or mind don't move to James Brown then you ain't got soul. All the best Manus

You're certainly not using the pony express here are you Dale. Paid for a record on this list via paypal on Thursday afternoon and it arrived (at the other end of the country) on Friday morning. Very impressive and decently priced as well. Cheers All the best Manus

Shocked to hear this news. Tony was a real fixture of the soul scene in and around Gateshead in the 70''s. I hadn't seen him for quite a few years and I hadn't realised he was ill. He'll be much missed. I'm really saddened by this news. Respects to his family and all his friends. All the best Manus

Got to give Maxine Woon a mention , one of the most knowledgeable collectors around and that's of either gender. All the best Manus

How about the oh so soulful Jackey Beavers - Bring me all of your heartaches or Donnie Elbert- In between the heartaches Both slow but danceable and Gareth Sweeney played a brilliant Joey Gillmore slowie up at Soul or Nothing a few months back - not sure of the title but pure class. All the best Manus

What about Ginji"Karen Carpenter" James "Love changed his face" this could easily have been slipped onto the Carpenters greatest hits without missing a beat. All the best Manus

Wasn't it a response from James Brown in the guise of The Above Average Black Band. Can't remember the title now might have been Pick up the pieces one by one, might not have been. The old brain's a bit fuddled. Manus

Bit surprised by some of the negative comments about Dave Godin's articles in BS/BM. But the old saying"different strokes for different folks" springs to mind and everyones entitled to be inspired/bored or whatever. For me Godin made the connection between poverty and repression and the abilty to sing like someone's tearing at your heart. Soul records weren't an abstract entity for Godin he saw the singer behind the song and the ghetto that many of our heroes and heroines came from ( and sadly for many that's where they would stay) and I believe he tried to give the reader an insight into this life. He certainly did this for me and for that I'll always be thankful. All the best Manus

What a night that was the "clean up woman" live at Wigan Casino.She sang her heart out and the atmosphere was electric it helped that "Where is the love" was really popular at most venues at the time. It was the best live performance I've seen at an allnighter. Great days. Manus

Otis Clay "You hurt me for the last time" Byrdie Green " Don't make it hurt" Na Allen "Everytime it rains" George Benson "My woman's good to me" There's a lot of hurt going on here All the best Manus