Amsterdam Russ

Yes, in the last thread in which this 45 featured! I had a dig around of the various titles on the sleeve at that time and came to the conclusion that they were 60s releases. I also pointed out that Lara's theme came from Dr Zhivago as has been pointed out here once again. I do wish you guys would pay a bit more attention!

There are loads of songs and albums with the words House and Party in them, so it's definitely not a guess. It's all about digital/acoustic fingerprinting, but I never realised it was so advanced. Often times on YouTube you'd see that the iTunes link under a music video was wrong. They seem to have gotten smarter, and have access to richer databases of music! Anyway, it's still kind of spooky!

Looking through ebay, I came across a beaten up old acetate with pieces missing described as "Unknown frat rock R&B 7". Link here: https://www.ebay.com/...=item35c4db2155 The seller has posted a sound file to YouTube and described it as "unknown band". Play it and you'll hear the acetate is in a dreadful condition. It's not just crackly; the sound is badly distorted. It really is awful. What really surprised me is the ad underneath the YouTube player. It says that the crackly and unidentified track is "Willie's House Party" by the Willie Mitchell Combo (screen grab below). Click through the link to iTunes and it takes you to a Willie Mitchell cd, which you can buy. Listen to the sound file for "Willie's House Party" and you'll hear that the YouTube song id algorithm was spot on! And, this song isn't even on YouTube (if it is, I couldn't find it). I knew music id algorithms were good, but not this flippin' good! I think that's absolutely amazing!

My eBay account tells me that I've bought seven items in the last month; 70 in the last six months, and 125 in the last 12 months. Not a lot, I know, but 95% will have been 'Northern Soul' records. Add to that all the ones I didn't win and for certain there's stuff out there all right. I think most of my purchases wouldn't fall into the "top 500 oldie, classic rarity or current in demander" category. It all depends on what you're looking for.

I'd never have guessed that, thanks! Thing is, how many of them are into Northern Soul and how many of those are on here?

My stamped issue of Jerry Cook has a name scratched into the run out groove. It says PETE SMITH. However, I asked Mr Smith about this ages ago and he denied it was him.

This one came out of Texas - Marilyn Fowler - We got a good thing going on. https://youtu.be/ttx8decx2IM

Ouch!

The legacy has already been televised....

I'm always interested in issues of anything that include articles about Loma or Loma artists...

We all know that the majority of performers made little or nothing from their work. It's about recognition. It's about recognising their contribution individually, and to the body of music we all love. It's about that thing call R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

The way the doomsayers would have it, there won't be a market for records when retirement comes in a few years time, so that shouldn't be a worry. As for Lib Dems getting elected, I think coalitions are here to stay, and if so, they may just get their way.

And that kind of baggage as well!

Which price guide do you mean?

Go to bed? No chance - keep writing, Len! It's one of the most intelligent, original and well-observed opinion pieces I've read on here in good while. The scene will carry on, but eventually it won't be recognisable. Over here in the Netherlands, people (young people) love the music but couldn't give a monkeys for "the scene". They're not interested in the all nighter culture of old, the fashion throwbacks from the 70s, or even the dance styles. They just want to hear good music and have none of the snobbery, hierarchy, etc, that exists in the UK. Imagine, listening to great 60s soul/dance with none of the cultural "Northern Soul" baggage attached! It's great, and I hope that eventually a new scene evolves in the UK with a similar attitude.

Can you confirm whether the song is by the male or female Dale Brooks? There appears to be one of each!

Definitely not an acetate. Out of interest, why do you ask?

Thanks for the feedback, guys. I've found out that there's another Ringolevio/Ring-A-Leevio song - from Dale Brooks. Maybe there are others. Can anyone supply sound files or confirm if the track on the flip to Mr Creator is one of these versions? What's interesting here is that the versions of the Ringolevio song are early 60s, whereas Mr Creator is what, 1967? Would WB normally have pressed up a few white label copies of a 45, circulate them to radio DJs, but include a 4/5 year old song on one side? Anyone got others like this?

Yup...

One thing that puzzled me about this song - as well as whether it's the same group on the A side of the dis - is the lyrics. The opening words of 'Tap, tap, 123' are straightforward, but I couldn't make sense of what they said straight after. After trying variations of what I thought they might be singing into Google - "ring/bring Olivio/Olivia", for example - I got lucky and stumbled upon this at Wikipedia... Now the song makes complete sense, especially as the opening lines after the introductory chorus is "Sweet darling, you've been tagged / At last I've got you trapped". If, as was told to me, the disc came out of the collection of a New York radio DJ, and that the song here didn't make it on to the actual 45 release with the flipside, it makes sense that maybe it was sent to the DJ in order to get feedback on whether the songs had what it takes to sell well commercially, and be worthy of the air play needed to get those sales. It may be that the A side received positive feedback, and got a release, whilst the B side (the song above) was considered to be not good enough and so was replaced with the song that appears on the actual 45. Whatever, it seems fairly obvious that any song about a game played primarily in New York could only have local appeal. The rest of the country wouldn't have a clue what the lyrics meant or what the song was about. What is the "classic girl group stomper" on the other side of the white labelled disc? It's The Apollas singing Mr Creator. Is the poppy number in the sound clip also by The Apollas? Can't be sure; it certainly hard to hear the same voices that feature on Mr Creator. Perhaps WB thought about giving the girls a musical make-over and turn them into more of a pop act rather than a soul group. Perhaps it's a different group all together, but it would be nice to think that is in fact The Apollas, no matter how poppy the song sounds.

It's not a matter of revenue, it's about respect. It's also about what the priority is - the dj's fame or the artist's recognition. At the end of the proverbial day though, cover-ups are an integral part of the scene (and others, as has been pointed out), and nothing will change that. The point is relevant to the poll because it's about exposure. The question is whether exposure of 'the scene' is a good or bad thing. Exposure of the scene and exposure of the music go hand-in-hand. And I can't see that exposing fantastic but forgotten music to the public-at-large is ever a bad thing. It certainly isn't from the artists' point of view.

If bringing great and otherwise forgotten music into the consciousness of the public at large is a good thing, then I vote an absolute yes. If keeping great and otherwise forgotten music hidden from the public at large because of a sense of elitism is the goal, then I vote no! I wonder how forgotten artists feel when/if they learn a song they recorded 40/50 years ago has been picked up for exposure on the "Northern" scene. And then they learn that a DJ who professes to love the music and its origins has crossed out/covered up their name for the sake of 15 minutes worth of personal glory and a fast buck!

I picked up a white label test pressing of a classic girl group stomper recently. Apparently the copy came from the collection of a New York dj from the 60s. On the flip is the song in the sound clip. It's not the B side of the actual 45 release, and it's not in the catalogue of the group. It doesn't sound anything like the group on the A side, so I'm wondering if for promo purposes each side was given over to a different group. It's got that kitsch 60s go-go girl group sound of the type that could have been written for a TV programme or a low budget film from the 60s. It could have been a major pop hit for all I know. Anyone know who this song is by? https://soundcloud.com/harveysoulfinger/unknown-60s-girl-group-tap-tap Title of post edited to reflect addition of the info below.

A 'Want' I posted up for last week arrived today...