Amsterdam Russ

Took a visit to our local garden centre as they always put on a huge festive display. It's all very well done, although in places it can have something of a surreal quality about it. Judge for yourself...

Oddly (or not), the first thing that came to my mind was that it was a macro photo of grooves on an lp?

Really has been ages since I've been out with my camera, Steve. Don't know why either. Just haven't felt the inspiration, I guess. Have to say you're exactly spot on. It is indeed raindrops hitting the small waterway running next to our apartment. The light source is a streetlight on the other side. I'd seen the effect of rain hitting that patch of water before when standing on our back balcony and have become quite fascinated by it. Finally thought I'd have a go at capturing the effect - and about time too!

A couple more...

Dusted off my NIkon for the first time in ages last night. Have to say I'm rather pleased with the results!

Glorious late October sunshine illuminating some of the blooms still remaining on our balcony.

No allnighters over here, but will have been to four soul events in Amsterdam by the end of the month.

A number of Caribbean islands still have close ties to the Netherlands, of course, just as Suriname does, so reckon it's highly plausible copies might have reached other islands as well. Love it!

Information received from a magnificently helpful source with universally superior knowledge than mine posits that this is indeed a Dutch press put out with the "Danger" flip in mind, although whether legit or not, they advise, is unknown. They further offer that any legit release (prior to the post-73 MCA reissue) would have been "pressed on MCA or another Decca subsidiary", which affirms with greater clarity what I thought. So, Dutch market in mind, possibly, and if so, likely the Suriname sweet soul market specifically. Fascinating!

Out of interest, what points you towards that?

First thought was that it is a Dutch release, and perhaps it is. After all, the label is in the traditional orange colour associated with Artone, which released so many great 45s here. Against that though is the point Robb makes - that there's no country of manufacture given. On top of that the mechanical rights organisation is given as BMI rather than the usual Dutch ones of Stemra and Buma. This was released in the Netherlands on MCA, but that release is on the black/rainbow label design, which came in from 1973 onwards. My thinking then is that they'd only put out something like this in the early to mid 70s as a reissue, meaning it did get issued over here in the 60s. However, I've seen no evidence of that - unless this is it. One possibility could be that it's a bootleg pressed for the Suriname market, something not uncommon what with that country once upon a time being a territory of the Netherlands, and one with a huge appetite all of its own for sweet soul, and with interest being in the flip side "Danger". Certainly record shops here are awash with sweet soul 45s from Suriname collectors and DJs who eagerly covered up names and titles of artists and songs - just as the Northern scene did/does - to ensure tunes remained exclusive to the owner. That said, I can't be certain about this theory at all. MCA, Robb… and as you say, no country of manufacture given, which, for now, adds to the mystery as outlined above.

Trying to find out about the copy of Marvin L Sims "Danger/Get off my back" in the pic. I picked it up in Amsterdam yesterday. I'm presuming it to be a reissue. Can anyone confirm? For the sake of clarity, I should say that the pic attached actually comes from Discogs and is identical to the one I have.

Still on YouTube but set to private, meaning, I guess, the only people who can view it are those the poster of the vid gives permission to.

Interesting article here from the Lancashire Telegraph showing the reporting of the illegal "acid house raves" that were taking place around the same time as the nighters... https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/13793051.Blackburn___s_acid_house_raves_remembered/

The same Eddie Walsh as quoted in the newspaper article? https://www.rovers.co.uk/news/article/ex-police-chiefs-key-role-at-ewood-262407.aspx

Did you ever get the records back?

Can you post up a scan of the acetate?

Sam Cooke firmly believes that Saturday night is the best time for pulling the birds...

Listening to the opening lines of this great track from The Olympics, it would be reasonable to assume that these guys prefer Fridays to Saturdays.

Hope it proves useful to you.

Are you on Facebook? If so, I run a group called the European Soul Club Network, which lists soulful happenings in mainland Europe. You might find some events there that coincide with your dates. https://www.facebook.com/groups/europeansoulclubnetwork/

Now there's the thing. Why stop with the end of the Wigan Casino? Northern Soul didn't suddenly disappear when the Casino shut its doors for the last time. In fact, the early 80s marks a new chapter for the scene as a whole as a new generation - many hearing the music through the 2nd generation Mod scene of that time (that's certainly from where my first introductions to Northern Soul came) – developed a passion for the music. I went to my first allnighter in 1983 (Hinckley) and in the ensuing years travelled from Kent (and later London) to go to packed events all over the country (Bradford, Peterborough, Chesterfield, Blackburn, Hinckley, Sheffield, Leighton Buzzard, for example). The early 80s also saw a powerful shift in the music played at many Northern Soul venues. In fact, what were termed "60s newies" changed the direction of the scene tremendously. My point is that the closing of the Wigan Casino isn't "the day the music died" for Northern Soul. Far from it. Look at Northern Soul today and you'll see that it's become a global movement. I, for example - and as my signature shows - am co-promoter of a small Northern Soul night in Amsterdam. I also run a Facebook group called the European Soul Club Network, the purpose of which is to provide soulies with a calendar of events taking place in continental Europe - and there are loads of them. Northern Soul is worldwide. To sum up, finishing a history at 1981 ignores 35 thriving years of the scene - a period of time considerably longer than from the late 60s to when Wigan closed its doors.

If it's the same version as appeared on the "Essentials" LP, then it did come out on vinyl. I bought it on vinyl when it was released and had it until about a year ago.

Previously unreleased on vinyl? Didn't this feature on "Essential: The very best of Terry Callier" (1998), or is this a different version of the track? That LP came out on vinyl.

The questions I've picked out below are written from the viewpoint that Northern Soul is a thing of the past. Or possibly are given with the view that anything "Northern Soul" today is nothing but a nostalgic reflection of that past. 32. How did Northern Soul shape your identity? 33. What is the legacy of northern soul? 34. How important was it in terms of your social and cultural life? 35. What are your thoughts on how the scene has been remembered by film makers, writers, and participants? I do feel that some clarification about these questions would be useful. Likewise, an outline of the premise of the proposed 'history' would enable Soul Sourcers to ascertain the value of the project, and specifically whether they will be contributing towards something that accurately reflects the development, history, and current status of a scene that has survived unbroken for decades. If Northern Soul is to be written about as a cultural movement of the past, that would be fatally flawed from the outset. Likewise, if the scene today is presented as a nostalgia-based one, that too would be fatally flawed (even though some aspects of the scene in more recent years have become nostalgia-driven). Prof. Gildart..?