Colouredman

DETROIT FOR SALE Edward Hamilton. Willing mind / My Darling baby. Mary Jane EX / M- £300 (Rarely crops up for sale in good condition). Taurus and Leo. I aint playing baby / Goin out the world backwards. Velvet Sound. M- (Rarer vinyl stock copy; most are styrene) £75 Postage: Special Delivery £7. Signed For £4

Bobby Bell. Dont come back to me. RCA Black issue wanted. Mint or NM only. Cheers

FOR SALE: Frankie. Life in the city. UK North Broad Street TEST PRESSING. M £65. Rose Marie McCoy. Teardrops and heartaches. UK North Broad Street. M £20 James Fountain. Seven day lover. UK Cream Test Pressing. M- £50 Jimmy Soul Clark. Sweet darling. UK Test Pressing. M- £25 Carl Hall. Mean it baby. UK Loma Kent. M- £15 Bobby Freeman. Lies. UK Loma / Kent. M- £15 Bobby Reed. I’ll find a way. UK Loma/Kent. M- £15. 1st Class Signed For Postage: £4

The seemingly endless discussions about the Mello Souls fascinate and bemuse me simultaneously. Butch and I found/discovered this record, and Butch then played it and made it the epic iconic monster it has since become. As such, he and I probably have unique perspectives on it; heres mine. I know when we pulled this out of the rack at John Moores in Philly that day, and put it on the ‘unknowns’ pile, and subsequently played it on Johns little counter deck, we couldnt have known the impact it was gonna have. I say that partly because, we played a couple of bars on it, looked surreptitiously at each other and quickly pulled it off the turntable so as not to alert John to its potential Northern attributes, but I dont think we were blown away by it or thought it to be outstanding. We’d heard enough of it to know it sounded promising, but even later on when we’d had chance to play it all the way through, and assess it, I dont recall that either of us got particularly excited or animated about it; I know I didnt for sure. I also definitely remember that we didnt talk about it particularly, or discuss its prospects; it was just another oddball record we’d found. I dont think either of us for one minute thought we’d found the next Cecil Washington, Deltours, or Damon Fox calibre of record. I mention those records coz that was the standard of top niter records we had not long before been privvy too at Wigan, courtesy of Richard. Maybe thats why we werent getting over excited; I dont know. For me it conjures up an era, a point in time, memories of great record/road trips with my best mate; some of the best times of my life etc, in the way that music can instantly take you back to a time and a place. I get it, that for others this record does the same but that the associations are about venues, great niter nights, Butchs superb spots etc. But I think, other than that, if I try to assess this record as objectively as I can, I’d say this. Its most definitely Northern, its absolutely a great niter record, and Butch absolutely did the right thing to play it and stick with it til the punters got it. It was perfect for that time/era. For me though, as group Northern records go, its noisy, which works in terms of niter atmosphere, but isnt great for just listening, it has a great dancefloor-beckoning beginning, and a great sax break, which is always welcome aswell. Its also very atmospheric in that indefinable ‘niter-2-in-the mornin’ way. But I find it to be poorly produced, and instrumentally lacking and uninteresting. The Servicemen’s ‘are you angry’ is similarly loud brash, frantic, in your face and hectic, but its so much more polished and better produced, with much more interesting stuff goin on, as loud noisy records go, in my view. The Mello Souls is also not lyrically strong either. For all that though, if I’d had dj aspirations in that era, and I wanted an unknown, hectic, explosive niter record to ignite the chemically-inspired masses, at the height of their speed induced euphoria and enthusiasm, I would definitely have played it, without necessarily loving it. What carries this record in my view, is the sense of utter frantic audio mayhem. The Jewels had that, the Twans had that, General Assembly, Trypt on love, and so many more have that too. The Combinations on Kellmac has it too. Whats interesting is that ALL those records, bar the Combinations, are as dead as a dodo, with no niter, dj, collector or interest whatsoever. The Twans was once one of the biggest, most sought after, most discussed niter records; you couldnt buy a conversation about the Twans now! Trypt on love; Richard’s Eddie Jason c/up, wouldnt even cause anyone to travel as far as their Ipad YouTube, these days, let alone a niter, but it did back then. Noisy busy Northern like that very often doesnt stand the test of time, but this clearly has. All music appreciation (or lack of) is subjective. Whilst Im proud that Butch and I found it, and even more proud that he saw potential in it and played it, and made it huge, for me its a record Ive thought little about since the day we found it. When Ive read this thread and now thought about it, Ive realised the following (and I say this without in the slightest wanting to offend anyone, or be derogatory about the record, or be deliberately controversial or provocative about it). Ive never played it at home in any way shape or form, (Youtube etc), never owned it or wanted to. Also, if I could only take forward 2000 Northern/Rare Soul songs in tape or record form, to listen to for the rest of my life, that most definitely wouldnt be one of them, and I mean that absolutely sincerely and without any malice towards the record or those who love it. If someone found 500 copies of it, and it came down to a £50 price tag, maybe then I’d buy one, and only for record trip memories etc. But from that same general era I would definitely want ‘Go on and laugh’ ‘Love is alright’ Tommy & The Derbys etc; different class completely, hence the potential inclusion. Ive privately speculated about whether, if the Mello Souls would be just another Torch oldie, from a bygone era, long before Stafford, Blackburn, 100 Club etc, the same folks who talk it to death now, would still be doing so. If it sat alongside ‘our love is in the pocket’ ‘whats wrong with me baby’ ‘girl across the street’ epitome of sound’ etc, as just another great, but inherited overplayed oldie, from the Wheel, Torch, Wigan, Cats, etc etc, would it still be the iconic ‘must talk about’ tune for these same people? If The Mello Souls had been played at the Torch by Keith or Colin, at the same time as ‘our love is in the pocket’, would these people still conclude (relative to the obvious quality of something like ‘our love....’ ) that its the best record ever? Something I cant pinpoint, tells me it wouldnt, but at the same time I cant nail down why; its just a very strong feeling I have. Food for thought. I get it completely that for some people this record is completely iconic and super meaningful; absolutely nothing wrong with that. It isnt at all for me, but I would say that I DO think its a very significant record, not for how it sounds (to my ears), but in terms of what it is. To my mind what it is, is THE record to define an era as linked to a specific dj and playlist; Butch. I mean this in the same way that ‘Skiing in the snow’ and ‘Queen of fools’ seemingly defined a specific era of The Torch and Keith and Colin. Similarly in the way that ‘Country girl’ and Cecil will always be Richard and late Wigan era, and probably Frank Wilson with Russ and early Wigan era. These are key dj and points-in-time milestones, which took the audiences of those eras by storm, and will forever have those associations for them. Its a superb niter record, its undoubtedly Northern, and for some people its great Northern, or so much better than great. For me its not, and never was or will be, and so the continued discussion about it, decades after its first spin, will remain a puzzle for me, but each to his own; its all good. Am I glad me and my best buddy discovered it though; absolutely I am lol.

FOR SALE. Xmas gift maybe? Limited Edition, numbered ‘Motown 7’s Volume 4 Box Set; Rare and Unreleased vinyl’. UK Tamla Motown. Completely new, never opened, still sealed. Significantly cheaper than any other sealed set currently for sale elsewhere, in UK or EU, and new not used. Most of these singles sold separately (e.g Bobby Taylor), now sell for in excess of £50 each, so the complete box set is superb value at this price. £115 all in (incl. Special Delivery postage).

Tripps. Theres that mountain / Love cant be modernised. Paul Sindab. Do what you wanna do / You dropped your candy. Int GTOs. I love my baby / Its been raining in my heart. Lorraine Chandler. I cant hold on / She dont want you. Servicemen. Are you angry / I need a helping hand (Wind Hit only of course) Servicemen. Sweet magic / Connie. That’ll do for now lol.

FOR SALE Lorenzo Manley. Swoop down on you. Original Sound Demo. M- £100 James Spencer. In law trouble. Taurus. M- £100 New Group. Theres that mountain. Gemini WD. M- £100 (*Same title both sides). O’Henry. She sang to me. Sunny. Ex. £75. N F Porter. Keep on keeping on. Lizard. M- £30 Postage: Signed For £3. Special Delivery £7.

FOR SALE. British, mainly DEMO’s. Bobby McClure. You got me baby. Chess WD. M/M- £150 Al Greene. Dont leave me / Back up train. Stateside Demo. M- £125 Shirley & The Shirelles. Look what you’ve done to my heart. Bell Demo M- £85. The Marketts. Stirrin up some soul. UK Warner Bros Demo. M- £120 CODs. Michael. Stateside Demo. M- £100 The California In Crowd. Happiness in my heart. Phillips. Ex. £50 Barbara Mason. Keep him. London Demo. Ex/M- £100 Kenny Chandler. Beyond love. Stateside Demo. M- £125 Ikettes. Fine, fine, fine. Stateside EP. M- £85 Gene Chandler. Im just a fool for you. Stateside Demo. Ex. £70 Helena Ferguson. My terms. London Demo M- £100 Gene Chandler. My love. Coral Demo M- £100 Gene Chandler. A song called soul. Stateside Demo M- £100 The Fashions. I.O.U a lifetime of love. Stateside Demo. M- £100 The Toys. May my heart be cast into stone. Stateside Demo M- £60 The Chiffons. One fine day. Stateside Demo. M- £60 Postage: Signed For £3. Special Delivery £7.

FOR SALE Artus Satterfield. You are better. Axis Demo. Ex Gary Rushbrooke Wigan spin. (Rare on yellow demo; most around are purple reissues). £100. Chuck and Eddie. We’ve got a good thing going. SIGN. Ex £75 Fabulettes. Screamin and shoutin. Sound Stage 7. Vg+ £70 Postage: Special Delivery: £7. Signed For: £3

For Sale: Gary Carl & The Orchids. Baby stay and make me happy. Phillips M- £100. Signed For Postage £3.

FOR SALE: Angelenos. Down in East LA / Lori. (Northern one side, Low Rider on flip) Highland WD. Ex £135 Gary Carl & The Orchids. Baby stay and make me happy. Phillips. M-£95 Bobby McClure. You got me baby. UK Chess WD. M- £145 Carol Jones. Dont destroy me. Mutt. M- £120. (This is the better version with horns instead of strings) Cody Black. Keep on trying. Renaissance. M- £70. Postage: Special Delivery £7. Signed For. £3.

FOR SALE Bobby McClure. You got me baby. UK Chess WD. M- £150. Special Delivery Postage: £7

FOR SALE. Any 4 of the following Motown Box set records (out of the following 7)for £100 all in (Inclusive of 1st Class Signed For Postage). Bobby Taylor. Dont be afraid / Thelma Houston I aint goin nowhere. Ivy Jo Hunter. Dont stop loving me / The Contours. Sometimes I have to cry Gladys Knight. Aint you glad you chose love. / Shorty Long. Baby come home to me. Marvin Gaye. Sweet thing. / Tammi Terrell. Give in you just cant win. Barbara McNair. Baby a go go / Monitors. Share a little love Brenda Holloway. Cant hold back the feeling. / The Spinners. Tell me how to forget a true love. David Ruffin. The world I lived in. / Rita Wright. Since you came back.

FOR SALE Bobby Black. Right on. Axis. M- £295 Bobby McClure. You got me baby. UK Chess WD. M- £150 Carol Jones. Dont destroy me. Mutt. M- £120. (This is the better version with horns instead of strings) Gary Carl & The Orchids. Baby stay and make me happy. Phillips. M- £95 Cody Black. Keep on trying. Renaissance. M- £70. Postage: Special Delivery £7. Signed For. £3.

FOR SALE. Limited Edition, numbered ‘Motown 7’s Volume 4 Box Set; Rare and Unreleased vinyl’. UK Tamla Motown. Completely new, never opened, still sealed. Significantly cheaper than any currently for sale elsewhere, in UK or EU, and new not used. Most of these singles sold separately (e.g Bobby Taylor), now sell for in excess of £50 each, so the complete box set is superb value at this price. £125 all in (incl. Special Delivery postage).