Amsterdam Russ

What's the story behind this one? Amazing shot!

Absolutely incredible photo! Full story (and some more pics) here: http://www.itv.com/news/2015-03-02/incredible-image-shows-weasel-flying-on-woodpeckers-back/

The song's on YouTube, but that's taken from the CD. A bit of simple online detective work gave me what I've posted — I don't have that CD. https://youtu.be/7jUebeoowmg

Great to know that at least some of the obscure things I post up to YouTube every now and then sometimes have an appreciative audience. The labels on both sides of the acetate are exactly as you see in the clips, so no writer/producer credits, I'm afraid. Will reply to your PM next...

Never liked this and years ago gave away a copy I picked up cheaply to a friend for nothing.

I'm looking to find out any information about two tracks by The Charmaines that I have on a King Recording Studios acetate and which I've just uploaded to YouTube. Don't go getting too excited now. Both of these'll be way too early and too poppy to interest most on here. My best guess is that the tracks come from 1963 and were recorded for the Fraternity label. The first one, "I saw a star fall last night" didn't get a release as far as I can tell. Perhaps someone can confirm one way or another? The other song "I can't go on this way", is the same as the Fraternity release from 1966, except it lacks the bongo/rhythm track. This, I'm presuming, was laid on top of the arrangement to make it sound "new" at the time of its release, something like three years after being originally recorded. Did this first version get issued at the time and can anyone provide any information on either track? All info appreciated.

Ah, thanks. I thought it might have something to do with footy considering police numbers, but couldn't see any team shirts or colours.

What's the occasion?

Could have been a prototype image for the creation of the emblem of the Young Ornithologists Club circa 1974!

Not long back from a shopping trip to the Hague - Marks and Spencer opened up a store there not so long ago! The M&S cafe and food hall makes the trip worthwhile. Anyway, back to the point. We saw quite a few daffs in full bloom on the way. Spring has sprung!

Or click on the link here… https://www.mixcloud.com/fingerpoppinsoulsoulradiofroma/fingerpoppin-soul-1113-26-02-2015-full-show-with-special-guest-william-bell/

No, this isn't from this year. As you say, too early yet although the daffs I can see out of the window should be blooming very soon.

Congrats. Still building mine up after the tragic accidental deletion a year ago!

Crow - looks like a young 'un. Saw it sitting very still in the grass, which isn't normal behaviour. Perhaps it was sick in someway, although it looked well preened.

Very unusual, Pete! Anyone hand rearing them locally?

That's annoying! Checking their Facebook page, I see that they've not made any updates for getting on for six weeks. I can only guess that they're busy with the new record store or something. There should be no excuses though, a customer is a customer and an order is an order, and if they carry on like this they'll build a bad reputation for themselves. That said, I trust them to deliver… eventually. Here's the Facebook page. Might be worth contacting them through that. https://www.facebook.com/Colemine45

Out of interest, when were these considered provocative? Haven't these been "Northern Soul" classics for decades. Are the musically ignorant people who were so offended "way back when" still on the scene? If so, please do point them out. Better still, let yourselves be known...

Depends on who's in the cast...

Then stop searching for yourself on YouTube!

Good points. How many would that account for, do you think - 10-20,000 duplications? That would still mean 80,000 members. And, of course, not everybody who was into Northern went to Wigan, so that would bump up the numbers again. Maybe it's easier to have a guess at how many people are on the scene in the UK now. Between five and 10 thousand? Too high/too low?

Rufus R. Jones aka "Freight Train" Jones - professional wrestler!

Based on a run of, say, 500 per bootlegged item, what loss of earnings and royalties, etc, compared to the mass-scale digital piracy associated with today's music? I'm sure that in many cases it would probably cost rights owners more to chase someone pressing a limited run boot than they'd ever recover when they caught and prosecuted the people involved. Think of all the legal costs, salaries, etc, etc. I'd doubt if any court outcome would award costs that would cover all of that and even more to make it worthwhile. Online marketplaces such as eBay and Discogs should perhaps be taking more responsibility - especially if eBay forbids the sale of counterfeit products in sectors outside of records. To not do so for records while doing so for other products seems rather hypocritical.

Added to Amazon 'wish list'. Got a birthday coming up soon.

Relative to how 'big' the scene was back then, it's often been said that the Wigan Casino had a membership of around 100,000. Was that actually true? Presuming so, there must have been a hell of a lot of tourists in that number, and many others who were on the scene for a while, drifted away for one reason or another and never came back. People talk about the commercialisation of the scene now, but I wonder if UK venues combined are attracting anything like 100,000 today.

I've noticed a rise in clubs creating vids as a means of promoting themselves via social media, YouTube, etc, etc. Some of these have a real professional feel to them. This is particularly so with mainland European venues. This is great as you can get a good idea of the size and feel of a venue as well as an indication of what the crowd and thus atmosphere will potentially be like. That's very useful if you're thinking about paying a visit to an event in another country.