Amsterdam Russ

It seemed so obvious I was surprised no one had mentioned it already - and that made me doubt my eyes.

CD4 (Northern Soul Collector 2) - the guy in the middle is Bobby Freeman. https://www.discogs.com/artist/372977-Bobby-Freeman CD11 (Northern Soul) - the woman on the bottom (standing to the right of the group) looks remarkably like Eartha Kitt!

Nah, in my book rare groove is a scene, not a genre. That said, so much music defies being labelled – usually when it's infused with different styles and cultural flavours, which is exactly the case with Jon Lucien's stuff.

And now back to jazz… Fontella Bass and her husband's (Lester Bowie) jazz group, The Art Ensemble of Chicago, performing Theme de Yoyo.

This one always springs to mind, although there are a couple of very clean sounding copies on YouTube. This one, posted up by John Manship, has the hiss common to most copies, which I've always presumed was down to a pressing fault.

That's a good way of describing it.

^^^ IMHO, I wouldn't call that "jazz" in the slightest. It's a great fusion of styles that includes elements of jazz, but it's not jazz. Far from it in my book. And I say that as someone who likes Jon Lucien very much.

Absolutely love this from British jazz musician, John Surman - 10 minutes of jazz dance pleasure! Well, wish I could dance to this sort of stuff in the style of the jazz dancers who thrived on the London scene in the 80s and 90s!

Coltrane does it for me - although not anywhere near as keen on his more free-form/experimental works. Just love this interpretation of Mongo Santamaria's Afro Blue from the series Jazz Casual. This whole episode featuring the classic John Coltrane Quartet is fantastic!

Two marvellous sets thoroughly enjoyed by a very receptive and appreciative crowd. Big thanks to both you and Lynne for coming over and giving Amsterdam a huge musical treat. Loved every minute of it.

Looking at legit releases, I think you'd have to look at the major soul labels, and Motown in particular. Its output was released in many countries worldwide meaning that any given 45 could have been issued in every one. Then you'd have to look at the releases of any of those 45s across all of those markets. Basically, a Motown 45 could have lots and lots of releases.

Have to agree - they epitomise the summer as do the swifts, which I just love hear screaming through bright sunshine and cloudless skies. They're my soundtrack to summer. Come on all of you guys - get a move on! I'm a bit concerned though. Considering current attitudes to migrants coming through Greece, will they be allowed to enter the UK?

Yesterday on Facebook, a friend on the Greek island of Lesvos posted up a freshly-taken pic of a group of swallows, which means that they're on their way…

One posted in Sales not long ago...

Picked up a copy in lovely condition not so long ago for quite a bit less than that.

You mean like this Levine-created boy band?

Pretty bootleg!

Brilliant gospel mover from Marie Knight - recorded 1955. The similarities in style and vocal delivery between Marie and Sister Rosetta are very apparent. They made for a very exciting match.

Been thinking holiday thoughts recently and we decided that in spite of the huge, huge immigration problem the island has faced this last year we'd go back to Lesvos.

That's a stunner!

Sure it's not a clip of your copy he uploaded to YouTube?

Nope, mine doesn't jump.

I meant to pick up on this earlier; your statement that the term predates the music. If this is true then you are not talking about a music-centric cultural movement in the slightest, which means we're talking about completely different things. To take the leap that the term "Northern Soul" existed before soul music came along means that it could only have been used in the context of geography. For example, the music that is made/played by those souls/people/cultures in the north. Or, the spirit/culture of people who are geographically in the north. For example, those people really have northern souls. Basically then, we come back down to the differences between adjectives and nouns as well as the context in which the term might be used. That wraps it up for me unless something entirely persuasive comes to light.

This is such a shame. I, for one, and I'm sure plenty of others here, would be delighted to find out that the term "Northern Soul" had been used to describe a musical scene, a genre, or whatever in the USA. It would add very much to our own knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the cultural development of the music we love and the people who made it. At the same time, even if the name "Northern Soul" was given to a cultural movement, musical style, or whatever, in the USA, it wouldn't be the same "Northern Soul" as we understand it here (as a couple of people have already pointed out). Both will have developed separately to one another and as such would mean different things to different populations and cultures - basically, they would be completely different things. To cut to the chase, the only option is for you to provide some supporting evidence for what you say. Just one cultural reference or mention from a reliable source from the period would be a step in the right direction. If you cannot, then we cannot accept your unsupported claim no matter how fascinating it might be.