Amsterdam Russ

While some records may have had their day, it's such a shame that's there's so much snobbery now!

I think most of the confusion about terms used in this thread is actually confusion over adjectives and nouns. For example, to say that someone is a "northern soul brother" is to use the word "northern" as an adjective to describe people who are "...situated in the north" or are "living in or originate from the north" (definition from the Oxford Dictionary of English). This geographical reference has been outlined by a number of people already in this thread. The same dictionary defines northern soul thusly: While almost everyone on Soul Source, including myself, would like to take the Oxford Dictionary of English to task on this definition, the point is that it's clearly defined as a noun of the variety known as a mass noun. In a nutshell then, using "northern soul" in the adjectival sense to argue that a "northern soul scene" (as a mass noun) existed in the USA prior to the scene in the UK is fatally flawed. If the original poster wishes to argue this claim then they actually need to back this up with much more than hearsay. Whilst we're at it, a trawl through the archives of Billboard magazine shows the first use of "southern soul" as a mass noun (eg, referring to a southern soul musical genre) came in the issue dated 29th April 1969 in a reference to the music of Clarence Carter. While one would expect a mainstream publication to be somewhat late to the cultural party, this is much later than I would have expected. Interestingly though, what it shows is that both "southern soul" and "northern soul" come into being relatively closely to one another, albeit on opposite sides of the Atlantic. At the same time, the first mention of "northern soul" in Billboard doesn't come until the issue dated 19th March 1977 where it is used as a mass noun in reference to the burgeoning UK market for bootlegs of obscure "soul" 45s. Thus it is the first time that Billboard ever makes any mention of a "northern soul scene". Billboard: 19th March 1977 One can only conclude that if there were an identifiable "northern soul scene" in the USA, it would have been mentioned by one of the USA's most authoritative music publications well before this date.

Thought this might interest some of you. As we head into spring and the breeding season for birds, the Dutch equivalent of the RSPB has set up a number of web cams at nest sites, including those of barn owls (kerkuil), tawny owls (bosuil), montagu's harriers (grauwe kiekendief), kingfisher (ijsvogel), peregrines (slechtvalk), storks (ooievaar) and a whole lot more. English language story here: http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2016/02/big-brother-is-watching-dutch-birds/ Actual web cams (some of which were not actually live when I looked earlier & noted by the word "onderweg") here: http://www.beleefdelente.nl

Sniffing around out of curiosity, as one can't help but do from time to time, I came across this on the eBay profile of soul-institution. So whoever this person is, according to eBay it appears that they began using the name soul-institution from the 3rd of March 2012. That's well after 2010 dates quoted earlier. Indeed, for 10 years prior, this user went by the name of algmusic. You can see this for yourself here: https://contact.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ReturnUserIdHistory&requested=soul-institution I'm not making any judgement here and nor am I drawing any conclusions. I just think it's something that ought to see the light of day. Others can turn their hand to being detective.

Hi Jazz, Possibly the best thing you can do to get an idea of what's popular out there is to have a trawl through the playlists that you can find here: /forum/80-events-playlists/ Do understand that these days the "scene" is rather fragmented nowadays, thus what works for one crowd won't necessarily work for another. One of the clearest divisions in the "scene" is that between the "nostalgia scene" (people dress up as if it were the 1970s again and enjoy the same tunes as were played back then) and the rest of the scene as a whole, which to lesser or greater degrees looks to new and/or less obvious sounds while still enjoying a smattering of "classics". A quick look in the Events forum will show you that there are many events taking place every week. And it's not just confined to the UK. There's a strong scene across mainland Europe and farther afield. Any list of "top 3" tracks would vary wildly from country to country, venue to venue and DJ to DJ. I sincerely doubt you'd get much if any sort of consensus or obvious playlist trends at all. As said, have a look at the playlists and see what you can glean from them.

Amazing camouflage all round coz I can't even see the picture!

Stop being so coy and give the dancing its proper name - shagging. There, I've said it for you. As for the song, it does indeed sound like a very slowed down version of the Roy Brown tune!

Speculation in a Yahoo Group from 2013 suggests that the lead singer is Geralene/Geraldine Toomer... https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/spectropop/conversations/messages/48631

According to Chalky in a thread from 2013... Thread here: https://www.soul-source.co.uk/forums/topic/292278-inverts-time-will-change/

I'll bet it was worth it - and a round trip of 130 miles definitely falls into the category of dedicated. I usually travel a round trip of about 10-15 miles to go to the Amsterdam woods - but that's on my pushbike, which is absolutely no fun at this time of the year!

All good here, thanks, apart from bit of a cold. Nice that you had the opportunity to get out and about. Not done the same for what seems like ages. Sounds like you need to get there a bit earlier - or pass up on the coffee…

Lovely late afternoon light!

Ah, yes. Very logical and meaning that the photographer was perhaps looking for an impressive selfie...

Great pic. I'd be keen to know where the second photographer is positioned. Are both in the water and on either side of the apparently oblivious kingfisher, or is the second person taking the pic with a telephoto lens from some distance off (and, one presumes, also camouflaged)?

Never had a problem with Gilles, and he is rather well-known having set up Motown in France back in the day. I'm surprised to say the least.

Ah. I'm with you now.

You know as fact that he's responsible for pressing these 45s?

So who's pressing this stuff up? With the "Northern" scene a primary target audience, surely people here must know...

Only just picked up on this.. I wasn't actually attacking anyone's specific post at all, so on the one hand apologies if that's how it came across. On the other hand, my inference is that all too often on Soul Source the weight of opinion seems to be very much against "oldies" and venues or DJs who play them. Contemptuous might be a better word... …except when those "oldies" have a perceived high market value. It smacks only of money and status-chasing.

Amazing that people are stunned by ebay & Manship prices while speculating on this 45's value and at the same time complain that it's not about the money while knocking the category of "top 500 oldies" that have been played time and time again.

My copy on Blue Rock sounds absolutely fine.

A quick search of the Billboard archives shows it's likely that Big Frank on Blue Rock was released somewhat prior to May 1965. The first scan here, from issue dated 8th May 1965, shows Blue Rock 4014 (Mustang Sally - Sir Mack Rice) already getting enough action to merit a mention at this time - suggesting fairly obviously that it was released some time prior. Also from the same issue of Billboard, the "Top Selling R&B" chart lists the Blue Rock 4014 at #16, having already spent four weeks in that chart - which means it first hit the chart in the first week of April. The next scan, also from the May 8th issue of Billboard, shows Blue Rock 4020 (Ain't you glad - The Chi-lites) making some noise in the R&B genre - again pointing to the fact that it was released before May. In the "Breakout Singles" section of the same issue, Blue Rock 4015 (To be or not to be - Otis Leavill) gets a mention as achieving strong plays in Chicago and Detroit. Again, this clearly points to it having been issued some time prior. All evidence therefore supports the belief that Blue Rock 4012 - Big Frank - was released a number of weeks prior to May 1965. Plenty more digging to be done in the Billboard archives for anyone with the time to do so (I'm supposed to be working!).

If I'm following you… my understanding is that matrix numbers are often given to recordings, not release dates. Thus if a group recorded four tracks in one session (which was typical with a big studio) then each would have a sequential matrix number. Basically, the matrix doesn't have to relate to the date of release of those recordings. As an example, The Apollas on Loma 2053, which was released around July 66. - My soul concerto - matrix: J71047 - Sorry mama - matrix: J71048. Step forward a few months to when The Apollas release Mr Creator on Warner Bros. Check the matrix and you'll find it's J71046, meaning that it was recorded at the same session as the two Loma releases from perhaps six or so months earlier. Check the flipside to Mr Creator and you'll see that All sold out has the matrix number JX70091, showing that it was recorded later. (As a separate note, L71049 is unaccounted for and doesn't appears on the Loma run leaving me to wonder whether it's an unreleased track by The Apollas). This sequential run of matrix numbers is also to be found on the four Loma recordings made by The G-Clefs who had two 45s on Loma but which were released some time apart.

The seller might have mistakenly named it as "Catch EVERY teardrop", but the label clearly gives the right title. In fact, although not the best pics/scans, it looks like a genuine ABC issue. Can anyone clarify?