Soulfinger

I didn't know that about Barry's - thanks! I always bought albums in Piccadilly Records because my pal worked there. I only remember Robinson's being on Blackfriars. I particularly remember being completely gutted when it stopped being a record shop, I stood outside "Robinson's hang em and bang em" in a state of misery, looking in disbelief at the window display of mirrors wondering what had happened to all those lovely 45's.. From my foggy memory, I think Mike Raven did the sleeve notes to Motown Memories Volume 2, which was one of the things that introduced me to slightly less mainstrea

Happy days indeed. I was trawling the same shops as a youth with a list of tunes I'd heard on Mike Raven too. Also looking in Mazel's on London Rd and Hime & Addison (though I don't think I ever bought anything in there) and later, with a bit more success, in Robinson's and Global.

Not sure if this is widely known about, but there are some big implications for the future of Bury Town Hall and The Longfield Suite in this. Consultation started today. https://www.mynewsdesk.com/uk/bury-council/pressreleases/your-views-sought-on-future-use-of-civic-halls-3066505

Now that I know that it's a (checks notes) "Real Hands in the Air Anthem", 88 quid for a carver sounds like a complete bargain...

Wow! That's fantastic. Thank you very much for sharing it.

It seems very well written, but I am struggling to see a justification for charging £52 for a kindle edition. I buy a lot of music books but couldn't bring myself to stump up that kind of cash for covering ground that's been pretty well covered previously.

If you haven't read Tony Douglas' terrific book: Jackie Wilson - Lonely Teardrops, I really recommend it. The multi-layered complexities of Jackie's personal and music business life are thoroughly explored. Not many people come out looking good. It would have been interesting to see what Motown did with Jackie but, as Tony Rounce observed above, look at what we would've missed.

Yes please. I'm really looking forward to this.

The Ritz. Couldn't pick a specific night or even a year. Nowadays, when I go there for the occasional live show, even though it is much changed inside, I get flashbacks. It was phenomenal!

I've been enjoying this lately:

Series 2 of Tin Star started nicely...

I used to go to the Oaks when I was 15/16 in 1973-74. The music policy was mostly youth club soul and current soul releases. They played some good tunes. I remember hearing the Originals - Good Lovin' is Just a Dime away and Bettye Swann - Kiss My Love Goodbye as new releases there. I had no idea it had had such an excellent soulful past. Fair play!

Harlem '69 maintained the excellent standard of the first two books. I also particularly enjoyed House of Broken Hearts - The Soul of 1960's Nashville by E. Mark Windle.

I had a very fine pack from Roger Banks a few months back.