Amsterdam Russ

Yes indeed, and Justin Hayward is given the writing credit on both the Dry Well and 'Ellen' versions. The guy who commented on my YouTube vid and claims to have been a member if Dry Well says that it was after seeing the Moody Blues do the song live in concert that they decided to record it themselves.

It's been an anxious two weeks, but at last it's here... Freddy Hill & the Reno-Bops - Mr Lucky on Ru-Tee Hit Records. Absolutely love it

About £20... Do like both sides, but especially 'What about me boy'.

You might find this recent thread of interest...

Three copies that I'm aware of, possibly four. Apparently the singer, Marilyn Fowler, was a local gal. Have to say that as soon as Huey P Meaux's name was mentioned, it was an immediate "of course" moment. The arrangement's got his fingerprints all over it, especially the sudden shift half way through into the New Orleans style!

No, when I say it came out of Texas, I mean it actually came from Texas - from someone who had part of Huey P Meaux's estate.

Don't know why this popped into my head, but... As a young and very naive teenager, I used to go to a local youth club in Maidstone, Kent. It was a Methodist run place. They played Northern and Motown there, but only because I and a friend took along our Grapevine and Inferno LPs and whatever 45s (reissues or real) that we'd bought recently and commandeered the decks for as long as we could. For reasons that are still unclear, the youth club let a couple of older boys attend quite regularly. One of them, Ian Arnold (and I've posted here previously asking if anybody knew him) wasn't a boy at all. He was a man, probably in his late 20s or early 30s. He was also not long out of Maidstone prison. He was the first Northern Soul dancer we'd ever seen and what we saw absolutely amazed us. Of course, we set about trying to copy everything he did - the fancy footwork, the spins, splits and backdrops and whatever else. He was an instant hero. However, this bloke had a mate, known to us only as "Biffo". He too, I suspect, had also been recently released from Her Majesty's Pleasure. Unlike our hero Ian, Biffo was a slime bag of the highest order. You felt greasy just being in the same room as him. Biffo saw that us youngsters looked up to the older Ian, and set about trying to impress us as well. As well as tales of derring-do, all long forgotten, Biffo had one party trick, and this is where the bullshit comes in (see, there was a point to this ramble): when you weren't looking, he'd peak at your LPs. Then he'd deliberately turn the conversation around to that LP and show us how deeply knowledgable about music he was by... quoting from memory the catalogue number of that album. To this very day, some 30 years later, I can still remember Biffo trying to impress by plucking out of the air "PLD 8000". We pretended to be amazed at this incredible feat of memory. The reality, of course, was that we'd sussed out his game. Anyway, you'll be dying to know what PLD 8000 is and the extent of Biffo's musical knowledge. Well, it was one of the first Soul LP's that I'd ever bought (this being circa 1980). The sleeve notes were full of musical insight for us empty-headed soul acolytes. The two LP's of this limited edition release got played time and time again (although disc one was the clear favourite). I still have it - in fact I've pulled it off the shelf just so I can type the number of it here and add some authenticity to my story. I look at it with great fondness for it's grooves are full of music, memories. It reeks of nostalgia. This double-albumed opus of soul - the catalogue numbers of which Biffo sought to gain high status with two impressionable and blotting paper clean kids? It was the Pickwick Records "Black Magic" double-LP from 1979! Biffo was without a doubt full of BS... and after dragging out such a minor anecdote, I think possibly I am as well! Just found a scan of this immortal album...

Roy Hamilton used to get played out a lot, including at the 100 Club, I'm sure. Mind you, that would have been something like 25-30 years ago.

Excellent - and thanks a lot. It's not something I intend to do straight away, so I'll be in touch when/if I need more from you. Much appreciated.

I must have been unlucky. Now that I think about it, I was unlucky four times... * A 45 from Spain that was badly graded. * Kelly Garret - Love's the only answer - graded ex, but came with a 30-45 second hiss in one channel (seller completely professional and refunded without fuss). * A 45 from Italy that was badly graded and came in flimsy packaging (for which I was overcharged). * A 45 from a UK seller, also poorly graded, and also with flimsy packaging on which the seller made a good profit on p&p costs. eBay offers buyer protection & a powerful dispute process. Soul Source offers the threat of loss of reputation (and Rod). Facebook doesn't offer any protection when you buy from people you don't know.

Lol - did you p-p-p-p-pick it up?

This has got to be one of the most comfortable/safe online sources to buy from - in the world!

What's a "mizell"?

Have to say that earlier this year I quit the two or three record buying/wants groups on Facebook that I was in. The noise level in those groups is far too great ("Great tune, mate" / "Wish I could afford that, but got to feed the cat" / "Tom, Dick & Harry played that in me bath last week"), and I had a couple of crappy deals off people. Doing business here and on eBay, and buying from those you know, is considerably more reassuring and much more "hassle free" (IMHO).

I don't 'hunt', I use eBay's 'saved searches' function. Every day I get a dozen or so, often more, alerts from ebay when things I'm after are for sale. You can have up to 100 saved searches, which is great, but is also a bit frustrating if, like me, you have more than that on your Wants list! I work from home and am sat in front of the computer for most of the day. So, when the ebay alerts come in, late morning or mid afternoon, I get right on them. It's a much more efficient way of 'hunting' in my view.

Well, it doesn't seem a lot to me. Oh, to have the funds to buy more! Anyway, my point was that there's stuff to be had on eBay, and I still maintain that's still very much the case. Seems in this thread you have sellers complaining they can't sell things on eBay and buyers claiming they can't buy things. That doesn't quite add up.

We've seen some really great pics. Keep them coming... Here's three more from me Fawn and starling Eagle Crow in flight

Jock, I'd love to have your permission to archive the Loma article you begin the issue with, and eventually use it on my website about the label (with full acknowledgements, of course)...

Shandels Shandells Shan-Dels Shan-Dells Elainne and the Shardells Shondells What a mess! No real idea Chalky. Geography suggests it probably wouldn't have been the Alabama Shandells, not if the group we're referring to played at Stony Brook University, which is on New York's Long Island. Given that location, the Shan-Dells, who came from the neighbouring state of Pennsylvania, could be candidates. However, the timeline for that group doesn't fit. https://www.garagehangover.com/shandells/ From the info given in the YouTube comments, Dry Well comprised Bob, Ellen, Bill, Eric, and the individual who posted the comments, KramerC. He alludes that he was himself in the Shandels along with Bob and Eric - so that gives us three partial names to help identify which group it actually was. Then there is the spelling of the group's name. 'Our' Shandels only has one L, so that should narrow things down a bit. I think... Oh, and thanks very much for subscribing to my YouTube channel

Yes, that vid's mine and comes from my YouTube channel...

Contrary to popular belief, Ellen and the Shandels did not record the song Gypsy before Dry Well. In fact, there was no group called Ellen and the Shandels. The group known as The Shandels broke up in June 68, some months before the song was even recorded. Dry Well was made up of three ex members of The Shandels along with Ellen, who provides the lead vocals on the Dry Well cut, and another person called Bill. The likely reality is that someone with the master tapes rereleased Dry Well's Lauren recording without the knowledge of the group and used a different name for the band. Essentially, Ellen and the Shandels on La Salle is a bootleg.

Great photo!

https://youtu.be/V7p1KjoW-e8 Peggi Blu(e), singer, performer and American Idol "vocal coach from hell" is Carl Hall's sister. Both performed in the stage production of The Wiz and appeared alongside Stephanie Mills, but brother and sister were never together in the show. Carl Hall appeared in the 1977 Broadway production (as The Wiz himself), while his sister did the national tour of the production. Mills did both. Carl and Peggi both recorded with Stephanie Mills in the studio. And likewise both recorded with Lou Courtney. Peggi's disco hit "I got love" came about because Carl introduced his sister to Jerry Ragovoy.