Seano

Got this in a soul pack years back. Both sides are good. Can't recall if it was in the '70s or '80s, might have been a Soul Bowl pack, they tended to be the most interesting.

Long thread and I can't remember who said something about young people using modern tools and social media but good point. Lev and the other dancers were all taking an amazing opportunity to be involved in an event like this. I didn't watch it 'cos I wasn't interested but I can still appreciate the buzz of just being there and even being on stage. i think Lev's YouTube clips are a creative bit of fun and if we can't enjoy the fact that a younger generation are getting into Northern then god help us. Sure we can all be snobby and try to assert how many years we've been into the music but there's not going to be anyone who just appeared on the scene fully formed out of nowhere. We all began somewhere, we all learnt on the way, and hopefully we can all keep learning. For an event like The Brits it's not surprising that the dancers were styled with a fairly uniform set of clothes, and that they were choreographed as well. Would have been nice to see Lev and the others free to dress as they choose but then the show wasn't aimed at us was it?

Mine came from the same loft and the same friend.

Really atmospheric listening to that tape, many thanks for posting it! Along with the dancing, I remember that the synchronised patterns of clapping stunned me when I began to visit. I did take a tape recorder up twice. The only one I've still got was the 2nd Oldies Anniversary on 3.2.78. It's a C120 so dodgy quality, but at some point I'll try and copy it to digital and post it. Sadly the other tape, which was a normal nighter, got stolen back in the early 80's when I lived in a flat in Deptford. I'd left it in the music centre (remember them?), along with a Millie Jackson 'House for Sale' on the record deck, and the sods took the whole thing. I managed to talk up the value of the single but the insurance firm steadfastly refused to see the tape as having any value at all. Same thing happened in the late 90's when my wallet was stolen at work and the two things I most regretted losing were my Wigan membership card and one for the 6Ts Rhythm and Soul Club. Got the value of the wallet and cash that was in it, but nothing at all for the memories.

This was also put out on the Heavenly Jukebox label, as the B side to a track called 'Devilish': https://www.discogs.com/Various-Devilish/release/1389542 I picked up a fairly rough looking copy for 30p in Music and Video Exchange in 2010. It plays fine and seems to be the normal version (ie not the hand clapping). No idea if I've ever even heard the clapping version before, I certainly didn't notice that it was different if I have heard it somewhere. I was also visiting a friend in Epsom some years back and got a copy of the Expansion LP 'Jeffree, Love Don't Come No Stronger' that came out in 2003. Epsom Record Centre, £2. The cover adds 'The Best of Jeffree (aka Jeff Perry). Interesting sleeve notes excerpts of an article that came out in 'In The Basement'. Lots of good tracks on the album the version of 'Love Don't Come No Stronger' is again the non-handclap one. Interestingly to me, it has 'Mr Fix-It' on the album too, with a longer version (4.08) than the one I have on an MCA demo which runs for 3.09.

Impressive, people! Sorry I can't add anything to the thread other than Happy New Year!

Brilliant track. Really strong lyrics. I can't remember where I got hold of this but it was always one I'd put on the old tape swops in the 80's. One that got me interested in the Sussex label.

Try Music and Goods Exchange on the main road in Notting Hill, soul 45s upstairs. And several shops down in Berwick Street including another branch of Music Exchange and Selectadisc. There's also one between Oxford Street and Soho called something like Beyond the Universe with 45s downstairs. Flashback records on Essex Road in Islington isn't bad either.

Vinyl porn. It had to be out there.

Four Tops 'Clip my wings' , but also David Ruffin 'I can't be hurt anymore'. Can't decide between them. Really like most of the others too but had heard them in various forms already (not the Stevie Wonder, but not so keen on that).

As others have said, really interesting thread. Most people posting seem to be very comfortable with the buying and selling, but I suspect there's a fair few of us who've built our collections via the old soul packs, junk shops, hunting around for a record shop whenever visiting a new town or going abroad, and not spending big money at all. Then we hang on to all of them, so the current value becomes somewhat academic, as most of us are highly unlikely to get out there on eBay, take a box along to the soul nights, or find other routes to sell some of them off. For me it's a mixture of not being well enough versed on current prices to know what I'm doing (goes for buying as well as selling), but also just loving the records themselves as objects as well as sounds. That said, none of us could have the scene we have if it wasn't for you guys out there making the effort to turn up and sell records, push new discoveries, and add that special edge to what makes a northern event as opposed to just another disco. I think the way it sounds like the big ticket items are holding value but the much larger number of less well known or less commonly played records being a struggle to sell echoes the art world - with massive prices for works that are hyped up and where a buzz of rarity develops around the sale, whilst the majority of people making artworks can't sell them and find it hard to even get opportunities to show them.

Just playing some through again and so far very pleased that all have played fine, including Temptations, Spinners and Four Tops. As others have mentioned, the surface of the Four Tops looks more grainy than the others in the set, and all of them attract the tiny white paper bits as if they've been specially treated to have high static somehow. But.... Have you checked the runout groove? 112637H1/A and 112637H2/A (Marvin Gaye / Spinners) 112638H1/A and 112638H2/A (Frank Wilson / Originals) 112639H1/A and 112639H2/A (Diana Ross / Stevie Wonder - but this one has an 'A' stamped over a 'B' at the end) 112640H1/A and 112640H2/A (Four Tops / Tammi Terrell) 112641H1/A and 112641H2/A (Barbara McNair / David Ruffin) 112642H1/A and 112642H2/A (Temptations / Kim Weston) 112643H1/A and 112643H2/A (Chris Clark / Isley Brothers) So the numbering clearly follows the set as in Richard's sleeve notes. But opposite those stamps in the runout, you see another number stamp that replicates the number printed under the large 45 on the label, followed by an 'A' or 'B'. And here's the bit that may be useful after all that chinstroker bumph - on the 'a' side it also has 'www.gzvinyl.com' which I presume is the company who actually pressed these records. If you don't get any joy from Amazon, Universal etc, maybe worth looking at them? As they might have said if these had been pressed back when they were recorded : "It's what's in the grooves that counts."

Mine was 00843, also lucky enough to be the full set, and on first listen through all fine too. Good luck to all with returns and suppliers, and I liked the comment in an earlier post "Universal, the record company that stole Christmas"!

I did finish the book and enjoyed it, but totally agree that the emphasis on drugs really grates. I guess if I'd written the book then people who were mates with those into drugs would have exactly the same criticisms, feeling that it ignored the drugs side. Certainly keen to see the film anyway.

Yes I always thought the lyric was dodgy too!

And then of course, there's Clarence Carter's 'Backdoor Santa' for volume two as well!

Got home and played them all through. Excellent sound, feel and presentation. The correct singles were in the box, and were even in the same order as their write-ups on the sleeve notes. Thanks to everyone who posted about this set being released, very happy with mine! Some years back(2002) I bought a set of 5 boxed singles in New York, at Restoration Hardware, called "Motown & More". Weirdly, along with Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell ('Ain't nothing like the real thing' and 'Give a little love'); The Spinners ('It's a shame' and 'Together we can make such sweet music'); Diana Ross and The Supremes ('You keep me hangin' on' and Remove this doubt'); and The Temptations ('My girl' and '(Talking 'bout) Nobody but my baby'), the 5th single is James Brown!

Apparently mine arrived yesterday but I'm away til Friday so looking forward to seeing the pack and having a listen.

'Paris Blues' by Tony Middleton and 'I go to pieces' by Gerri Grainger both put me right back to visits to Wigan and the early sessions before the nighters, lots of space. Haven't been to Rugby for ages but Brown Sugar The game is over' and Eddie Holman 'Hold me in your arms' put me there. And The Bamboos as Banbury Soul Club's ender is a given. Sean

Got my order in, looks good. I'd prefer to have put it on a wish list but worried they'll sell out! Good thread thanks. A birthday present from my nephew and his girlfriend late summer was a pair of cuff links crafted out of vinyl Motown. They're pretty oversized for cuff links, and I hope the singles they came from were damaged or naff, but if you fancy a look: Www.whenthemusicsover.folksy.com Sean

Used to like going up to the all dayers too. Pretty sure it was where I first heard Soul Sam playing Billy Nichols 'Diamond Ring', and first listened to Skip Mahoney and the Casuals 'Janice'. Bought Jimmy Jones 'Ain't nothing wrong makin' love the first night' on a tip from a friend, still a great track. I do remember the jazz funk room too, as mentioned above, awesome dancing and very intense atmosphere.

Just to add to the thread, some more early 80's flyers.

Sad to hear. Instant urge to dance to this record, but it's a very accurate measure of how much older I am than when I first heard it!

Looks really good, and if the quality of the edit of the trailer is a mark then bring it on.

Thanks for that.