Amsterdam Russ

It was certainly by the edge of the dance floor, but I don't recall the location of the stairs relative to it. So possibly then you and your mates were responsible for putting off the camera man and depriving me of my moment of Northern Soul dance floor glory. A quarter of a century later, all I can say is cheers - thanks a lot, mate!

I was there that night and feature in the clip a couple of times - for about half a second in total On the night, the camera man was kneeling on the floor beside me filming close-ups of my feet whilst dancing. I reckon the blur of my footwork must have been too fast for them and that's why it wasn't included

Actually, it looks as if it could be quite good. One concern would be if there is no rigid support on the walls or edges. If the only thing keeping it in shape is the 45s themselves, I'd be a bit concerned until someone told me they'd used one and judged it to be sound. Also, the 80 disc capacity - is that with them in paper or card sleeves??

I thought you were referring to the actual phrase. Off topic, but how is the use of the word 'winning' a Sheen-ism?

A very well crafted and entertaining article. The interviewer doesn't use the phrase. It's Womack who does.

Perhaps the truth is that "Northern Soul" just isn't as underground or as "secret" as people would like to think.

Hahahahahahaha... (pause for breath) Hahahahahahaha...

Anyone watched Treme, the HBO series about life in post-Katrina New Orleans? Season one aired in April 2010. Season three is on the way. Dr John, and a whole lot of others, have cameos, and by its very nature the series has a NOLA soundtrack. We've just finished watching season 1 - it's well worth a look. Perhaps this series has something to do with the rising interest in his music. Just a thought...

There is a detailed posting in Q&A form on an ebay help forum that touches on this matter. Most of it deals with tax issues per-se for small business and is not completely specific to those selling on ebay, but there is relevance if you dig through the details. https://members.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=talkinpeace For example, the opening question and answer...

Open up an "Item not received" claim immediately. If the seller has sent it as promised, you can agree to wait for it to arrive whilst keeping the claim open. If it does turn up, you close the claim. If it doesn't turn up, you're covered.

I am sorry, but this survey requires participants to have very inflexible ideas about music and cultural genres. I'm not a fan of the 'rock' genre, but that doesn't preclude me from liking an occasional track that some might want to classify as falling under that heading. And I cannot possibly stereotype absolutely everyone who likes classical music/rock/pop according to a checklist. It's nonsense and incredibly divisive. People judge people - and songs - on merit. Well, intelligent people do, anyway. If tribalism in culture is what is being explored here, why not just stick to something more obvious such as football: "I hate you cos you're a Gooner (or whatever). "All [insert name of team here] fans are sh*te because..." You'd get more in the way of black and white results there, if that's what you're looking for. Whilst the people here can be immature from time to time (myself included), I don't think I'd class any member as being juvenile to the degree that they'd have such inflexible world views on so broad a subject matter. Possibly you may get better results from behind the school bike sheds, or from the kids that hang around outside your local McDonalds late at night... Alternatively, you should build an options into your survey that allow participants to say: I am not a music Nazi and do not judge people based on the type of music they like or the clothes they wear.

You've just proved that people do look at the videos, Chalky!

Sure, but you can take in all those details in about 30 seconds. Visually, if you only have a static shot of a label, it makes the remaining two minutes or so rather dull!

Nope - link doesn't work properly. It only takes me to my own sign-up page. Whilst we're plugging, if it's of the slightest interest to anyone here's my own channel: https://www.youtube.com/HarveySoulFinger I think it's often difficult to know what to do visually when what you're actually uploading is only a song for people to listen to. Often, I try at least to have a sense of movement rather than offer something that's completely static. But at the end of the day, how many times does a listener/watcher want to see a close-up of the record label or have something panning across the screen using the Ken Burns effect?

This one landed in the post box a little while ago... The Four Tops out of Yugoslavia.

With a snipe in place, I can buy records even when I'm asleep! Nearly every day I wake up not knowing what records I've bought the night before. Now that's fun!

Ultimately, yes, 1 & 3 are the same. There are many reasons why an acetate might be cut for in-house use. In these specific instances, I think the difference (and the point that I wanted to make), is that number 1 is very much a finished track. Indeed, it is the version that appears on the album. My feeling here is that the acetate was made, not to decide if this is the take that should be used, but to show the finished product, and for those involved to perhaps decide if it should be included on the LP or not, or even released as a 45 or not. Number 3, on the other hand, is a take - a possible interpretation of how the song might sound. It is not a finished product. Indeed, acetates of finished tracks would also be used as reference copies and filed in the archives. RCA provide us with great examples of those...

It didn't? I could swear I've seen it on UK Fontana. Maybe I'm hallucinating as there's no mention of a UK release in the Record Collector price guide!

Another reason for an acetate being cut is as a vanity item. Not only could you and your band cram into a tiny booth, record your own song and have it cut in disc, but recording studios often provided this service. In part, it was an extra revenue stream, but also meant that studio owners had a constant supply of potential new talent: everyone in the record industry wanted to pick up on "the next big thing". Local groups and singers would walk into a local studio and cut an acetate in the hope of finding local, and maybe in their dreams, national success. For the vast majority of acts however, the acetate would be the closest they'd ever get to realising that dream. The acetate below (advance warning it's not soul!) is an example of exactly this, a short-lived dream, one that lasted a just few seconds over two minutes! https://youtu.be/SeJonCYtAao

Acetates served a number of purposes. They might be cut after a session, so that those involved had a reference copy: a personal copy for the performers, perhaps. They would also be used at meetings where the record company's execs would discuss what should and shouldn't get released next. And, exactly as Pete says, they could also be used as super-advanced 'advance promo' copies, so that companies could give DJs exclusives and at the same time get advance exposure for a 45 before it was officially released. If sufficient DJs didn't like a track they heard on acetate, it's probable that it may have been pulled from the release schedule and not even pressed. Here are some examples: 1/ In-house acetate. This very probably would have been cut on an acetate for in-house purposes only and for record execs to decide what should be done with it. In this case it didn't get released as a 45 and only featured on Thelma's Sunshower LP. https://youtu.be/c848aE4Om5E 2/ Reference copy. The acetate below was likely cut as a personal reference copy, hence why it shows the name of Barbara Harris rather than The Toys (although I asked Barbara and she doesn't recall owning it). However, if it was indeed made as a personal copy, one can speculate that three copies like this (with Lover's Concerto on the reverse) might have been cut - one for each member of the group. https://youtu.be/UH-nrkcNmLw 3/ Reference copy. The next acetate is an unreleased alt take of Major Lance's "Keep on loving you" and would have been used as a reference copy - possibly listened to away from the studio and alongside the slower version (or maybe even other versions) to determine which take of the song worked best and whether they should look to improve on it (and it obviously did need improving as you can hear the backing vocals break down about half way through). In the end, this take was rejected. Very probably this is the only copy of this track, excluding the master tape should it still exist. https://youtu.be/PV19XiWJ1s8 4/ Promotional copy. The acetate here - of Terri Sharp's debut 45 "A love that will last" - was pressed up specifically as a promotional item to send to record labels by radio DJ and TV presenter Larry Kane in the hope that they might pick it up and give it a release. When the studio time and session musicians were booked, there was no record deal. The sessions were cut speculatively. I know that's exactly the case here because Terri Sharp saw the acetate on YouTube recently and kindly supplied the background info on it. The majors turned it down, but Huey P Meaux released it on his Ventural label and had a hit with it in Texas where it sold over 5,000 copies. After the local success, one of the majors did then pick it up, hence it also being released in the UK US on Fontana. https://youtu.be/I1VW7HLRnCQ So, there you have it - just some examples of acetates cut and used for different reasons.

My first thought on hearing the demo was that Simon & Garfunkel could have handled it very well indeed.

Wow, it's difficult coming up with even just 12 tunes. To save on the brain-ache, I selected from iTunes the tracks on my computer that have been played the most under the genre of 'Soul'. That seems to be the most convincing selection. They are: 12: Beverly Shaffer - Where will you be (One-derful) 11. Marva Whitney - Ball of fire (King) 10. Cam Cameron - They say (Capri) 9. Liz Lands - Midnight Johnny (Gordy) 8. Johnny McCall - I need you (Al-teen) 7. Barbara Mercer - Call on me (Sidra) 6. A possibly unreleased popcorn thing that impresses only me 5. September Jones - I'm coming home (Kapp) 4. San Francisco TKO's - Make up your mind (Kent) 3. Big Maybelle - I got a feelin' (Okeh) 2. Jimmy Robins - I can't please you (who cares what label) 1. The Townsmen - Please don't say goodbye (Columbia) There you go, no dick swinging, no big hitters, just the tunes that have been played the most through my computer since its count began!

I do hope he got his fair share of royalties when Kylie Minogue covered the song!

Rather interestingly, I uploaded a track to YouTube about an hour ago and to my surprised found it's been blocked in the USA and all American territories! This is at the behest of Warner Music Group. I have just over 50 tracks on my YouTube channel and it's the first time any song been blocked from being visible in the States. Considering the audience share that comes from there, that's a huge loss of potential viewers and potential ad revenue for YouTube. Seems WMG would rather block content than earn from it.

A bit crackly here and there, but yes, it plays! As the needle hit the grooves, memories came flooding through the speakers. I was back at the local youth club, hogging the decks, and playing this all the way through from start to finish! Available on both red and clear vinyl as I recall, Dave.