Amsterdam Russ

Also read his post about this. He says that he'd hoped to keep the news private, but had to confirm publicly to (my words) stop the gossip mongers once it had become widely known. I echo the sentiments wishing him a speedy recovery.

I thought Ragovoy (Philly born) was working out of NY during his tenure with Loma. Am I wrong?

Technically, a classic from the Loma label! "Mr Creator" was recorded in the same session as Loma 2053 - "Sorry Mama / My Soul Concerto" - but was given over to the parent Warner Bros because it had all the makings of a hit and as such would benefit from their marketing and promotions budgets. They were nearly right.

One of my absolute favourites from the label. Difficult to say why exactly. Not sure if it's about having some sort of empathy with the emotions of the record, or maybe the harmonies - there's certainly something about harmonies that resonates personally - or maybe it's just simply a sublime slice of that music we call "Soul". Whatever, it works for me - big time!

August 23rd 1964 marks the 50th anniversary of the Loma record label. The first ever release (Loma 2001) was Billy Storm - I never want to dream again (There in a garden) / baby don't look down. https://youtu.be/bLalYfXKoBo Happy birthday, Loma Records!

Actually, I could do with a couple. Shipping to Netherlands?

Pete's sold a few records for me in the past and exactly as he says, it's about avoiding all the hassle that goes with it. You read enough of the threads on here about people's bad experiences - buyer or seller - and you realise that as much as it sounds like some sort of dream job to be record dealer, the truth is anything but. Hats off to anyone who makes a living at it. If I were selling up my meagre collection, Pete would probably be my first port of call. He has (as do others like him) the contacts, the reputation and the knowledge to ensure that I would get the best out of whatever might be in my boxes. And paying a cut as commission is a very small price to pay for saving yourself all the hassle that can go with every… single… one… of… those... 45s. As for record sold on here specifically, while I've bought a few here and there - and had some great prices — I do think that with the exception of a few dealers, prices offered are high. Indeed, they're often at a premium. Ebay still works for me.

One offered on here two days ago... No idea if still available or not.

Have to admit that I'd not heard of it before. According to Google Maps, it's about 2-2.5 hours away from us by public transport (we don't have a car and it's a bit too far for cycling!). Looks a very interesting place - I'll do some reading up and find out more. Thanks for the tip.

Two photos taken at visitor attractions within the woods of Amsterdam. One (you'd never guess) is the goat farm, where they also make cheese and offer cuts of goat, lamb, etc. The other is the Boerderij Meerzicht (Lake view farm), which we affectionally call the pancake house because, well, you can guess. The peacocks and hens are there partly as an attraction and partly as an alarm system for those dark woodland nights and for during the closed season. This post also marks the 1,000 post in this long-lived thread - a remarkable achievement. Thanks to everyone for posting and for providing such must-read entertainment and countless wonderful photos. More please…

I'm pretty certain it's a record that featured on one of the very first Pat Brady sales cassettes. That's where I heard it first, anyway.

Prices in dollars, I presume :-)

Again, more house martins over Aalsmeer town. I'm guessing these are just passing through - or they're local birds extending their hunting range. Either way, nice to see, even if they were in a rain-soaked sky.

Razorbill - taken on the Isle of May in Scotland a couple of years back. And I'm wondering if that's a kittiwake blurred in the background.

And caught fish into the bargain! I haven't been fishing since I was a kid and rarely caught anything more than a few tiddlers, usually roach. Like a lot of people, I really enjoyed just being there, sat quietly and enjoying nature - and especially so early evenings when the light softens and turns increasingly golden. Happy days

Saw three late last night, and not long ago spied a house martin out the front windows. The house martin is quite unusual as hardly any were to be seen from home earlier in the summer. This appears to be swift territory with the swallows and martins - I'm guessing - probably located themselves near the lake that's just behind us.

See...

Not a cloud in the sky here (sitting on the balcony with a bottle of rose)!

Maybe so, Steve, but I still haven't seen one

Never yet seen an osprey! There was a report of a sighting locally a couple of years ago; it was spotted in one of the marshland parks. I always remember Dad taking us as kids to the Loch Garten RSPB reserve after reports of a sighting (we lived in Scotland at that time). All we saw was an empty nest. Other birds I've yet to see here in the Netherlands are owls. If I cycle my way to and from the monthly Amsterdam Soul Club, I often hear them very clearly late at night on the way there and early in the morning on the way home, but I've yet to spot one. One day, hopefully.

Seen Hoopoes a couple of times - first time was in the Beachy Head area when I was a kid. That would have been 35+ years ago. Seeing it was a real thrill as it was so unexpected. Also saw one on the Greek island of Lesvos on our last holiday. Marvellous birds!

Wooah there. Hold your horses... The swifts may be making an early departure, but that doesn't mean summer's over just yet. It's only the 2nd of August. We had a BBQ in the Amsterdam woods last night, and when we got home sat on the balcony til around midnight. Just come in from the balcony a couple of minutes ago (10:30pm local time). Summer is very much still here! That said, I did notice the absence of swifts mid-week. There were a few still around, mainly making their presence known at dusk, but tonight the skies were silent. For those who may be missing them already, here's a couple of pics I took while on holiday. The one of the swift over the water isn't anywhere near as sharp as it could have been, but I do like the effect of the sea in the background. Long live summer!

The original is still the greatest? Not every time, Mr Gray...

Same for me...

Well, I finally watched it last night and have to say that I think it was very well done. Congrats to all those involved. Very clearly, the purpose of the show was to educate and entertain, and provide the general public with an overview of the early days and heydays of the scene. And in this it succeeded. The participants had much to add that was relevant to the context in which they were speaking - even Tony Blackburn, whose contributions highlighted the commercialisation of a movement that went from relative obscurity to full public spotlight. Having said that, of little worth (for me) was Lisa Stansfield. However, at the end of the day she's someone with whom an unconnected audience can identify, so I can see why she was included. Marc Almond highlighted how Northern Soul extended its influence culturally to the degree that it could provide musical fodder for the masses (and even make Top of the Pops, much to Ian Levine's chagrin based on his anti-TOTP comments throughout the programme). I think that what people on the scene forget is that there is no collective consciousness among TV producers - nor the general public - so they're not seeing this in the context of other documentaries that have come before. Indeed, some of those documentaries will have aired before the people making this programme were even born. Only people here will be comparing this documentary to previous ones. It's success therefore, should be measured on whether it educated and entertained as a stand-alone, one-off show. In my view it succeeded very well. That said, I do agree with the consensus of opinion that some exploration of the "post-Wigan" years (i.e., the 80s to the present day) should have been done. The programme did state that the scene continued, but the degree to which it did wasn't made clear at all. If any viewers gave this aspect a moment's thought at all, they probably would have concluded that it contracted in size and went back underground. An additional oversight for me was any meaningful contribution from the young people who - apparently - have given the scene the kiss of life. If that's the case then the lack of such input makes the programme more of a historical "look back" than a review of where the scene came from, where it is now headed, and all the bits in between. Again though, I thought it was a success.