Our Kid

What a top bloke! Back in about '74 me and my brother wagged school on a Monday as I recall and set off for Max's. Got there and it was shut!!! Asked the butcher nearby what the score was and he said he didn't open on a Monday but he'd see if he could get in touch with him.Sure enough Max came in to open up for us 'niusances from Manchester!' Had a real learning experience afternoon with loads of new tunes fired in our ears.Max really appreciated our meagre budget and added loads of ace cheapies to make our trip worthwhile. Funny upshot of it all was - got back home and tanned the record player to death.Anyway, the old man came in from work and had found out (god knows how) that we'd wagged school.It was a mortal offence and oh yes he knew what had caused it - 'that bloody soul music' and was he gonna get it out of our heads once and for all yes sirreeee!!! Being Irish he went for the basic approach - legged it upstairs to our bedroom swept up the nearest records to the deck (you've guessed it - we'd only just begun tannin' em) and decided to grill em! yup grill em (not the verbal variety) Well 35 years later it's still in our bloody heads - we've managed to recollect all the charcoaled tunes -the old man finally had to admit we woz hooked and yes very fond memories of that day. Thanks Max Take Care Tom 'n Our Kid

Yeah I've heard Kentucky wasn't much kop for unearthing tunes!!

Don't reckon John Manship should consider them overpriced, or are we saying the prices he gets don't relate to the actual market? Discuss Paul

Sharon Scott - I'd Like To Know/Could It Be You - RCA Issue (Ace Double Header) 135 Harold Melvin - Get Out - Landa (multi) 65 The Capitols - Don't Say Maybe Baby - Karen WD 125 Dee Dee Sharp - What Kind Of Lady - Gamble 40 The Volcanoes - Storm Warning - Arctic SSWD 60 The Winstons - Need A Replacement - Curtom 90 Gloria & The Tiara's - Running Out Of Time/I'm Satisfied - Betty Offers All records VG/Ex Normal return policy if not orgasmically satisfied!!! Paul

It says on the instructions "Do not use this technique on With This Ring - The Platters!!"

I agree,however there is a missing factor as well nowadays - when import restrictions on US vinyl were lifted '71 I think that brought a massive block of unheard tunes to the UK which us detective soulies started on. That was a one off hit and will never happen again. As they say - "we was spoilt" Paul

Not quite sure about the swift movement between genres as a modern thing.In the v early seventies there were many genres available - Bowie,Stones (still knockin' good tunes out then),Pink Floyd,T Rex etc.So enough to go at and i'm sure many NS fans dabbled in bits if not all that was available and then bingo - tried NS or Motown and that was the one that stuck! Whilst they may seem transient, I reckon we were until we found something with feeling/soul. When I see younger folks at Soul do's i'm jealous cos they have virtually unlimitited access to the tunes so they can get the lyrics etc on demand.Blimey the amount of times people used to misquote titles cos we only got to hear them irregularly in the early days - so modern access is great for the scene and looks to provide the health it needed. The younger generation seem to prefer the uptempo sides when dancing - gotta be a good thing as dancing is critical to the scene (who wants to watch a bunch of old f*rts floatin' around -that's what your parents did!!!!) Paul

Time - Edwin Starr? Got a tick tock start. Paul

It's not much but worth thinkin' about. Several years ago I was playing 'One Way Out' on Gordy on a sunny day in the garden. As I was watching it it suddenly started warping very badly (sobered me up that's f sure!!). Took it inside and after 5 mins back to normal! I wonder if you try the weight approach when it has been made slightly unstable e.g with a light heat source.If the tune is particularly important to you it may pay you to attempt this first with a rubbish sound (anything after 1968 should do!!!!) Best of luck Paul

Didn't one of these boxed sets (UK I think) have a special UK issue of Finders Keepers - The Marvelettes included? Paul

Yup still do - take your point on the energy required.Funnily enough Ian it's easier to dance to a fast tune because the beat tends to be more constant.I also find people seem to be having a better time on the floor when they're dancing to the more uptempo tunes.I had forgotten how much energy was required on the following until jiggin' to 'em again recently: Rita da Costa - Don't bring me down Joe Tex - You better believe it Barbara Lynn - Take your love and run Had to laugh a couple of years ago - I'd bin at an alldayer dancing solid since 3.00pm and at about 1.30am somebody played Philly Dog Around The World,International GTO's I Love My Baby and to round the trio off Exus Trek!! I was tellin me pins to stop bl**dy complainin' and get on with it!!!! Paul

Time marches on - we might be dead! Acknowledge your drift. Saw an ace mix of people/ages at a do recently and the thought crossed my mind - these poor buggers are more likely to get run over than ever hear DLR Palm of your hand what a bl**dy shame! Oh, and then someone played Roscoe Shelton an' everything was alright!! Paul

Shows the policy worked at Motown! Hard to choose - Edwin juuust pinches it for me! Paul

Yup some damn good tunes in there! DJ's ???? Daft upstarts who seem to have forgotten what there job is! Heard some gems occasionally but much much too infrequently.Goin' back that's what made you travel the country specifically to hear different sounds.If I got a penny for the phrase "I haven't got it with me" i'd be biddin' for Robbie Lawson right now. Frankly DJ's you don't give a f**k for the audience which is exemplified by the a**hole routine I permanently come across whereby you feel punters who come up and ask for a tune are f***ing nuisances. So you were obliged the privelege of a written list (presumably to give you more creative time!!) which you deign to pick and choose which suits you with no reference to the punter. Wouldn't take much to say " I see somebody's lookin' for such n such - ain't got it but this is the closest i can get. Which would:- A Show a degree of knowledge/understanding of the scene B Indicate that there is an audience there! If you wanna satisfy yourself do it at home - don't charge people for the privelege!! Paul

Teddy Vann Orch - Coloured Man gotta be close on the shortest!

I had a BellSound test pressing of this which was overlayed onto a PartyTime label (you could just see it at the edge) but the typed details on the label indicated a Showtime release - so may well not have been demo'd on PartyTime. Paul ***NB This relates to the Ain't nothing but a houseparty***

Hi - A few for sale: All VG+ to Ex at least Al Wilson - Help Me - Wand Demo 100 The Creshendos - You're still on my mind - Aquarius 125 General Assembly - Sensitive Mind - Desiree 100 Margaret Mandolph - Something Beautiful - Planetary 225 Fantastic Four - Can't Stop looking for My Baby - Ric Tic 125 Steve Karmen - Breakaway - UA Demo 50 Lada Edmund Jr - The Larue - Decca Demo (Warp NAP) 100 John Bowie - You're Gonna Miss A Good Thing - Merben 200 Thanks for lookin' Paul

Think the Get Out was Bob Kuban from an LP

There was a bit of a game going on,I believe originated by Pye whereby the US guys said 'this one's a biggun you need the rights to it' when in fact it had done little in the states.I'm led to believe this was in retaliation to UK guys doing the same trick with pseudobeatle soundalikes. Bet it was fun at the time,and did the average soul collector benefit - and then some! Think of some of the great ones that got through - and why the myth still exists on some potential UK releases. Paul

What's the going rate for Village Sounds - These Windows - Onyx Doesn't come up often so hard to guess. Thanks

Don't think it has ever been exposed enough to be booted - agree light red first issue. Paul

One point that hasn't been made here is the effect on sales due to DJ policy. If the same old tunes keep getting played fewer will want to look for the gems lying out there. Good ol' Dave Evison - regularly he would dust off a forgotten gem and stick with it 'til it got through to the crowd (sometimes too much!!). So come on DJ's you've got your part to play - how did we get to hear all the tunes we know if they weren't spun out over the years for us. Any scene thrives on refreshment - no new life = no one chasing that 'new' sound they've heard through the dealers. Some of the greatest tunes weren't a quick fix on the dancefloor - so if people could do it then no reason why you can't show more perseverance and less ego now. Paul