Ady Of Newark

For over 100 years now Detroit has been a hotbed of musical talent with over 1500 labels operating alongside each other, issuing music from the Motor City alone Having shown an interest in the art of recording at a very young age, by the time he was 12 years old Gary Rubin had built a recording facility in his family's basement which grew to become Pioneer Recordings, a studio at the cutting edge of technology in the heart of Detroit. Here Gary gives a candid account of life in the industry including sharing a studio with Lou Rawls, being raided by the FBI in search of gangsters, moonlighting Motown musicians, to being at the wrong end of a handgun for the sake of some stringed instruments! Unfortunately the audio files are too large to upload here so please visit www.shinyl.co.uk/gary-rubin-detroit-label-owner-producer-recording-engineer gary rubinshinyl p1.mp3

You know that thing where you're singing in a club and some chap comes up afterwards and says 'come with me to LA and i'll make you a star?' Judy Street took the guy at his word and found herself in the studio with the legendary H.B. Barnum and the iconic northern soul song What was born. You can hear Judy's story here, and did i mention she's still recording?

Thanks to Alan Johnston for putting me in touch with the lovely lady that is Elsie Gray, original member of the Debonaires who gave me an insight into her singing career initially as part of the Sterophonics aged just 14 years and then alongside Dot Garland, Joyce Vincent and latterly Diane Hopkins as The Debonaires. Elsie and i chatted about her life in music, within (and outside) Golden World in 60s Detroit and beyond. You can hear our conversation here

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Wardell is a dance, disco, funk, R&B music artist legend. She received international acclaim with her hits Super Sweet, Captain Boogie, The Power Of Love along with recent singles Be Sure, Distant Star and Legendary. Plus she was a founding member of 70s Philly vocal trio First Choice Here Wardell recalls her long career in music and discusses her exciting new projects: www.shinyl.co.uk/wardell-piper

Originally recording as Marshall & The Chi-Lites, The Chi-Lites became one of the best known groups of the 70s thanks to mega hits such as Have You Seen Her and Oh Girl. Here Marshall Thompson recounts his life as the driving force behind a group whose records went triple platignum, his pride at their having been awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and their new release, Love On A Two Way Street. Recorded in the nineties, it’s a previously unreleased cover of the Moments’ classic, produced by the legendary George Kerr, which is available now from all streaming sites You can hear our conversation here: www.shinyl.co.uk/marshall-thompson-of-the-chi-lites

Bobby is a man whose resume includes every aspect of the music business. He’s a multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, producer, label owner and promoter. At just 10 years old, Bobby began performing publically and as a result he embarked on a career that’s spanned 65 years and counting! During that time he has been honoured with gold discs, awards and accolades and rightly so. Bobby is The Storyteller, and you can hear his story here: https://www.shinyl.co.uk/bobby-patterson/

Legendary jazz drummer, writer, producer & arranger Norman Connors, who’s career has spanned 60 years, has led some influential jazz and R&B groups achieving big hits featuring the vocal talent of Phyllis Hyman, Michael Henderson, Rena Scott, Gloria Jones, Adaritha and Eleanore Mills to name but a few. Here Norman recounts his life in music, announces his autobiography and also his forthcoming CD https://www.shinyl.co.uk/norman-connors/

Known as ‘The Queen of Northern Soul’, Gloria Jones is a singer/songwriter for labels such as Motown, EMI, Sidewalk and Uptown. A prolific backing singer, she also took to the stage performing in musicals such as Hair, she is mother to Marc Bolan’s son Rolan and very much a philanthropist. Fresh from her appearance at the Skegness Northern Soul weekender, Gloria recounts her career, discusses unreleased material and her mission to improve the lives of Sierra Leone children through a self financed free school. You can listen here: www.shinyl.co.uk/gloria-jones/