Amsterdam Russ

The best thing about the 1974 film 'Gold' starring Roger Moore and Susannah York is the eponymous opening theme sung by Jimmy Helms. I bought a copy of this last week (Japanese 45 on Philips with lovely pic sleeve) and was disappointed to find that it's a different version of the song. The YouTube clip has the version I was after, rather than the funkier and somewhat disco-ified version I now have. Is this also on 45, or is it on the soundtrack album only? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJtjmS8WXR8

Hi Lorraine, A question for you, if I may... When you cut 'What can I do'/'Tell me you're mine' on Giant - or indeed any records - and the 45s are pressed and all packed in their boxes ready for distribution, what happened next in terms of you promoting the songs? How did that work; what happened at street level - were you performing the songs in clubs (and if so were the likes of Mike Terry out there with you?), or doing radio interviews, that kind of thing? Do bear in mind that whilst we might be able to hold these records in our hands years later, it's sometimes very difficult or impossible to appreciate and understand the life cycle of a record when it first came out at the time and the efforts that went in to promoting it, particularly by the artist or group. Insights about such things are (certainly for me) absolutely fascinating and really add an extra dimension not just to the songs, but to the disks themselves, the 45s we hold in our hands and treasure so much.

Incredible - the one and only Lorraine Chandler here, right now! Just by being here Lorraine, you're making a whole fresh batch of memories for people. It's the stuff of legend!

Wanted: Linda Jones & Whatnauts - I'm so glad I found you - Stang (Ex/M preferred). PM's only, please. Thanks for looking.

Just picked up a copy of the French release on eBay, with sleeve, for £2.99.

Benny was his older brother.

Nice French release

I would have thought that any acetate of the Lou Ragland track would have gone by its original title of Travellin' Man.

Yes, it is the same person.

Oh, don't worry. I do get out - every day, for about an hour. Sometimes without restraints.

Hold on, I haven't finished yet! The Orisha (the spirit God) can manifest itself in many ways and each form is given a different name by worshippers. One of these names - and our linguistic connection to Exus - is Eshu (in Portuguese - Exu). Here's what Wikipedia has to say about Eshu/Exu: So, the track could possibly relate to the journey that the spirit God Exu embarks upon when taking the souls of the dearly departed to heaven or hell (Exu's Trek). Of course, you are marked down for heaven or hell depending on whether you prefer the instrumental version over the vocal one or vice-versa.

A quick look online shows that the word Exus can have meaning in Latin. Here it can be translated as burn down or set on fire. Google Translate suggests hath burnt. Digging a little deeper provides a link that connects Exus (in Portuguese) with the Orisha, an elemental spirit of the Yoruba people's of West Africa. The indigenous Yoruba religion is practised wherever West Africans have settled in the world, but particularly in South America, Brazil, Cuba, the Caribbean - all places that would have seen a major influx of Yoruba beliefs courtesy of that thing called slavery. Of course, the national language of Brazil is Portuguese and so it would be natural for the language of slaves to morph into the prevalent tongue. Brazil, and other countries in Sth America played an important role in the slave trade, and many of those poor souls who found themselves as chattel in this part of the world ended up in forced migrations to North America. Perhaps there is a distant association, one that crossed the Atlantic centuries ago with the African tribes people who were sold into slavery, that links the trek of the Exus with the journey of the spirit God Orisha. Then again, perhaps not!

The Record Collector Price Guide 2010 states that it is a promo only release from the 90s. The flip song, 'Emidisc Theme' is by Saint Etienne. Value - ten quid.

No, it was well before then. I was a kid then and possibly rather oddly Nationwide was my favourite TV programme! Thought of a 'twisted wheel' was very funny, not to mention unusual. The notion of it stayed with me as did whatever visuals they showed. It would be years later, when I got into Northern Soul c. 1980, before I would hear the name again, this time in relation to the club. When I did, the first thing I thought of was the TV segment from years prior and the penny dropped - that's what the segment was about. Could be false memories, of course, but as I say, it was around 30 years ago that I became aware that I'd seen something about Northern Soul & the Twisted Wheel on telly. To me it was very real indeed.

Does anyone remember the current affairs programme called Nationwide? It used to be on around teatime during the week. I'm positive that they did a segment on the Twisted Wheel. I've always presumed that this is common knowledge, but I've never seen it mentioned. Anyone?

As far as I'm aware the complete back catalogue of Billboard magazine is available and searchable through Google Books. Have been using for a couple of years and have found it immensely useful in digging up stuff. One tip - if you have a Google Account, then you can save pages for future reference within your Google Library!

Why bother with a single acetate when you can buy the entire shop - lock, stock and barrel? Buy my shop - $100,000!

By way of additional confirmation, here's an overlay of the writing on both sides! The word 'Timi' is obviously from the same hand, and the 'r' in Yuro is very unique and easily identified as being the same in both. By the looks of things the ink side was written using a fountain pen and the other with a blunt pencil. All this confirms to me is that the writer changed writing tool!

The difference comes from the fact that one side is done in pen and the other in pencil. In the same hand pen and pencil will produce slightly different results even on the same paper. But, look closely and you'll see they are indeed the same. They certainly look the same to me.

Wanted: Jimmy Robins - 'I can't please you' - Impression. Ex preferred. PM's please.

Bob, you confirm exactly what the 'Band on the Wall' website states (Band on the Wall being one of the organisers/sponsors)... Band-On-The-Wall

My partner Bev has just reminded me that this is the same Allen Klein who stitched up the Rolling Stones big time and is seen by many as being responsible for the break up of The Beatles (so he couldn't have been all bad, then). Nice story here courtesy of The Daily Mail from 2009 when reporting on Kein's demise. Also, it's worth noting that ABKCO - Allen Klein's company - owns the rights to Cooke's publishing legacy (and I presume that would include KAGS) and many of his master recordings!

What also helps is having a father who (it is alleged) was as slippery as an eel and managed to stitch up so many artists and bands so successfully that his company still owns the rights to their songs today and continues to profit from them to the degree that those same artists and bands have seen very little or even nothing from their creative output. Here are a few lines from the book 'Boogaloo' by Arthur Kempton, which explores at some length Sam Cooke's career and contractual dealings with Allen Klien: "By the fall of 1964, Cooke had concluded that Allen Klein was 'No f*cking good'." "He [sam Cooke] spoke of firing him after Christmas. Cooke never had a chance to act on his premature New York resolution." (Cooke was murdered just a few days later, on December 11th 1964). "Allen Klein never lost a lawsuit. Later [after Sam Cooke's death], when Barbara Cooke tried him, Klein's claim on the company her husband had been assured existed solely as his means of owning himself, was found to be absolutely and utterly unassailable." Clement and la Frenais better make sure they get paid in advance

Resurrection of St Vincent? Think I saw one on Ebay earlier in the week. Not sure if it's the one you're after, though.