Just click on a pic and I'll tell you what I think    

Well this section of the site has been a long time in the coming, Why well I have always considered fanzines to be of great importance to the whole Northern scene and as such I have been wanting to get something done about it, This small selection of fanzines is only just a start of what I intend to be the best guide to fanzines that I can provide for the Northern enthusiast out there, who like myself wants to get the latest information on the scene and add to the knowledge they already have, A lot of the text here has used OCR so if you find any mistakes please let me know.......Dave Barrett

There's That Beat Mag

what's it all about you're probably asking? Well, the fact that you're reading this leads us to believe that you have at least a passing interest in the phenomena known as Rare/Northern Soul so, that's where we'll start. By we, I refer to me, Dave Moore (Vinyl-45s) and my "partner in crime" Jason Thornton (JazzyJas / MajorWaxBuildup). We are both based in Florida USA and are hoping that we can provide a publication dedicated to celebrating soul music both at home and abroad whilst enabling fans, particularly the ones scattered around the US, to keep abreast of all things Rare/Northern Soul related. Not just with records, CDs or what we are all listening to in our individual record rooms, but with live appearances, by artists, promo events, and generally keeping a finger on the pulse of all things soulful.
 

"SHADES OF SOUL"

 I would like to bring to your attention is"Shades of soul",It's a well know fanzine on the scene produced by Derek Pearson of Bradford ,Who has been providing us with his "Shades" since 1984,A long time before I returned to the scene a mere two years ago. This fanzine is both informative and along with some fantastic contributors (the likes of Andy Rixs, Rodger Banks,Bob Hinsley and John Pugh) so here's two articles from it, the first by John Pugh and one from Derek Pearson himself later on when I can get hold of him (busy guy)

"I've only got myself to blame" by John Pugh.

Firstly the Constellations - Numbers wise there's probably not much difference in the total number of copies here m the UK between the two. I remember looking through a dealers stock many years ago when "Didn't know how to" was starting to go big, and he had something like 30-40 copies of "1 Don't Know About You", and it seemed like every time you went out you'd see several copies of it in boxes at between £3-5.Funnily enough, the two records I now own cost almost the same. I gave £30 for a wdj "Didn't" best put of twenty years ago, and either £20 or £25 for "Don't" about six years ago. (I'd previously had several copies of "Don't" over the years, buying them and trading them on for under a tenner; always had issues, never had a DJ copy yet It was a popular spin at our local weekly soul night circa 1983? I remember talking to Mark Wills one night, probably eighteen months ago, when I was DJ'ing and I'd Played  it. He told me that "Don't" was now (then) fetching a ton. Surprised maybe, but not shocked I chose to keep mine as I like the record. It's had a good run for quite a few years now, but I rarely play it in a DJ set anymore as I think it's had too many plays, and nothing annoys me more than records being played to death. Especially when they're things I really like, I prefer to leave them at the back of my DJ box for a couple of years and bring them out for the odd spin, or wait until they're requested.
A good friend of mine reluctantly sold his copy of the Constellations recently, he said "I just couldn't refuse that kind of money (f 150) for a £30 record" and this is what's happening a lot now. When the price of a record gets to what most would consider "Over The Top", collectors who would keep a record like The Constellations in their collection forever when they thought it was only worth say thirty quid, will now fetch them out to sell. So in a way the higher prices make more records available than there would be if the price were lower. Just look how many people fetched Bettye Swann out of their collection to sell when the price jumped up to £ 150! 
As I see it, there's two main issues around the recent price hike Firstly who is responsible and secondly will collectors stop collecting because of the rise in prices? 
Taking the who is responsible first I've come to realize that in recent years since I've had children of my own that I'm slowly turning into my Dad. I hear myself saying things to my kids that my parents said to me, and The one that fits the bill on this issue is almost a classic Northern title "You've only got yourself to blame". Last weekend I overheard a conversation on this very issue. Three lads were discussing a record they had seen listed on a major dealer's list. They were getting hot under the collar that this particular record had appeared on the list for "offers". Why get so upset. It's not as though you'll die if you don't buy that particular copy. After all there's probably more records for sale at any one time than there are in all our collections put together ,It's a myth to think that every time a record appears on a list it sells straight away and if you don't get on the phone quickly you'll miss out. Added to that, the dealer concerned is a pretty genuine bloke as record dealers go, and I'm sure he's probably had lots of 'warns' lists with it on, so to be fair to everybody he put it up to the highest bidder. Or put it another way the one who wanted it the most. 
Now I don't like discussing the prices on records I don't currently own but I agreed with these lads that most collectors would rate this record at between £125 to £150. One lad said he was told that this record had been bid up to over three hundred pounds; double what we agreed was the "normal" price. Borrowing from the old Stafford fave "So What", if you don't want to pay that much for it, wait until you see one at a price you want to pay. Just be a bit patient. It's impossible for us mere mortals with fixed incomes to compete with those more fortunate than ourselves in the cash stakes. I've often heard collectors say that once the dozen or so rich collectors have paid huge money for any rarity there's no point offering it to the rest of us at that price, because we won't pay that much for it. So once all those guys have a tune, the price has to come down or else the dealer will be stuck with it Pay what you think is fair or walk away. If no one will buy a record at £800 what's the dealer gonna do with it? They may be prepared to sit on it for a while, but eventually they'll move it on for trades or a lesser amount than they originally asked. A record I've wanted for close to 20 years is J J Barnes "please let me in"on ric tic, but the catch is to match it up with the rest of the Golden world/Ric Tic's so I wanted it on white demo, I saw one on John Manships list at£20 fairly recently and I decided that was too mush for me to pay, I'd have gone to £25 for a minter, so I left it for a week or two then asked if it had sold (in the hope that no one had bought it and he would sell it to me at my price or trade soothing of a similar price) needless to say it had been sold, another collector had decided that to him it was worth the £40 that was too much for me. Fair enough John had obviously priced it right and I'm being a cheapskate, maybe I'll never own one, but there's 100's of records that I'm just grown up enough to admit I'll never own, and most of them are not mega expensive most are under a ton at least by my valuation

What I'm really trying to say is to stop blaming the dealers, both the professional and the amateur. The professionals are in business to make money plain and simple and there's nothing wrong with that. If they don't make money, they will not be able to finance buying new stock and end up going out of business and without them the scene would die out, how could you have a scene with no one to buy records off? Unless you're into record collecting to be able to brag " Look what I've got, and it's worth loadsamoney" pay what you think is fair and don't worry about it. The alternative is to spend your money on a penis extension then you can walk around with it hanging out of your trousers and the whole world can see what a BIG KNOB you are.
One thing that has forced up the prices of our records far more than the wealthy few you have done is the number of dickheads who insist on sending prices to American dealers. Imagine if you were a U.S. dealer and you keep getting wants lists with 300 records on that are all priced at £300 upwards. You could be forgiven for thinking that us Brits will pay that much for any old soul record, so consequently you'd raise all your prices on all your stock, which what has happened in lots of cases. To be honest the 60's stuff that's coming in from America now tends to be a lot priced than it was say as recently as two to three years ago. And in most cases they are in pretty poor condition possibly because they are the records that were too rough condition wise, to be bought back previously. But now with the trend for selling lesser-conditioned records at a somewhat reduced rate, it's worth brining back a vg copy of a £400 minter to sell at £200. 

Another factor is the dreaded returnees to the scene. The guys and gals who missed all of the 80's and the first part of the 90's. The most common quote you hear around the record bar from these folk are " I'm putting my collection back together". Bollocks, most of the records they're buying hadn't been discovered when they took leave of absence from the scene. These are the ones who prepared to pay over the top prices for very ordinary records, because they don't have a clue, by large. It used to be a standard line that oldies collectors would pay up to £60 for a nice clean original of a former Wigan bigg'un, but now these seem to start at a ton and skyrocket upwards and out of control. A lad I know has sold Soul Brothers Six " I'll be loving you" at a local Oldies Soul night for £75, and he's sold 3 copies in 3 months, picking them up at venues for around £25 each.
Don't get me wrong; I'm not talking about the ones who go around whole heartedly back into the scene, chasing new music alongside the classic Oldies. I'm talking about the ones who play at it just to feed their egos. You know the lines so well now you can almost recite them by heart "Well my kids have grown up now and the mortgage is all but paid off so I'm going to spend my money on me now", or " I used to have one of those in my old collection but it was on a British demo". Oh was it really, I didn't know Mel Britt came out on British. On the other hand, I do think the raising prices are changing of the collecting scene. It's not gonna make us stop collecting, but it will change, but it will change out buying habits. For me and many who've been colleting virtually all our lives, the high prices asked for some 60's records, both Oldies and more recent discoveries, have helped to fuel the Crossover and Modern boom we're seeing at the present. There are hundreds if not thousands of really great Crossover and Modern records just waiting to have their heyday (when some enterprising DJ gives them needle time) that you can find for between a fiver and a tenner. But even on that side of the collecting divide, I'm already noticing prices rising, so the time to buy them is now before they are all £50 minimum.

Northern Soul or whatever you want to call this thing of ours, has always been about finding something new vinyl wise to play, whether it's in your house or at a venue, With a new discovery it'd impossible to say whether only a handful will turn up or lots. With well-established records you can usually tell after a few years that only odd ones will turn up over the course of a decade, so it's O.K to pay a big price. Of course every so often a record like Danny Moore's, that makes everybody wary of paying out hundreds of pounds for anything for a while. The big problem with records supposedly turning up in quantity is the gossip mill, fuelling rumors that hundreds have been found because they have appeared on all four major dealers' lists. As few as three new copies can cause widespread panic, causing the value to fall dramatically in less than a month.

More often than not, these days if I go to a venue with say £300 to spend; I'll come back with a pile of unknown or semi-known records and the odd £30/£60 oldie rather than one big tune. My philosophy is that if I have 10, 20 or even 30 records for my money, if one of them turns out to be a gem (both musically and financially) and the others are between OK and very good, I'll have more pleasure for my buck, and be on a winner should I ever sell them. That's not to say I only buy cheap records. I was gutted to hear a copy of Timmie Williams went for a grand recently without me getting a sniff at it. Would I have bid more than that to get one? Dunno mate, ask me next time there's one for sale. Over the years locally, both Ted Massey and I have been accused of paying over the odds for a record, but my answer was that I wanted t and I'd earned the money honestly to pay for it, so it was up to me. The passage of time meant that all the records we bought for " Too Much " back then is chicken feed compared to what they would fetch today, even without the recent price inflation. It’s all relative, this supply and demand thing. The same week I was offered £1250 for my copy of The Vondells, my mate bought one for significantly less than that price, but to be fair the lad bad done the deal some time in the past and the seller held to his word. Which is refreshing and kinda reinforces your faith in humanity. But,the other side of the
supply and demand see saw is that because the very rare elusive so called Top Sounds have gone up hugely in price it doesn't mean that all the records that were for many years £60 are now worth £100. or perhaps I’m  wrong and it does.Most of my friends agree there’s 2 types of money, Record Money and Real Money. Real Money is what we get paid for our work, it’s what we pay our bills with - looking after Real Money makes sane people drive an extra five miles, just
to fill their car up with petrol at a lp a Litre cheaper. But Record Money, now that’s a different story. It has no meaning in the real world. Collectors who understand the difference between Real Money and Record Money realize that buying your kid a pair of trainers that cost £90 is ridiculous because they sill out grow them in three months. But buying an absolutely thrashed, scratched to bits, edge chipped, hairline cracked with sticky tape on the flip, not even VG minus,
copy of Betty O’Brien for £90 is a brilliant idea - because it’s a black issue!

All in all, I’ll pay what I want to pay, not what the seller tells me I’ve got to pay for that copy, so I’m not worried about prices escalating, which I suppose is strange because being charged subscription for lists bugs the fuck out of me. Can you think of another industry where you have to pay money just for the tight to be able to buy something? It’s like being charged an admission fee to go into Woolworth’s. But you see the difference between escalating prices on records, even
when they double almost overnight, and subscription charges are that subscriptions come out of my real money!!!

John Pugh

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RARE SOUL REVIEW.

RARE SOUL REVIEW.

 Why another soul fanzine? Well, a number of circumstances have set me thinking over the past few months  it has become increasingly apparent to me that as a leading collector and dealer in rare soul, I tend to overlook the  fact that most people have not been exposed to the amount of music that I have. In fact, we could say that  the majority of fans are not aware of the almost-infinite amount of good soul that exists. So we are here to tell  you about obscure and not-so-obscure, but over-looked, soul sides (anything beyond the well known actually). Secondly, I do feel there is a niche in terms of the style and caliber of reviews. It is not unusual to see a review elsewhere that explains little about the record other than where and how the reviewer bought it. It is also our intension to let the reader know about availability (or otherwise) and price.I am unabashed in my view that if I have a for sale that is under review, then we will say so. although there is little point in doing this on those rarities that fly out of our door. Lets face it, most records here will have been for sale at Anglo-American at some time It is also a fact that some tracks, whilst difficult to obtain on original, are currently available on CD. So I'd mention those - not forgetting that the CD compilation format is some ten years old now and many are deleted,
we will concentrate on currently available CDs then.As far as this publication is concerned, we offer 45’s from Anglo-American and CD’s from Beatin’ Rhythm (addresses are on the inside of the front cover). Yes, we are biased to these sources, but you should still find
‘ed good read if you collect soul music.
Enjoy issue #1


Tim Brown.
Anglo-American (One-Stop) Ltd.
P0 Box 4
Todmorden
Lancashire, 0L14 6DA.
Tel. (01706) 818604
Fax. (01706) 819280
e-mail: postmaster@raresoulvinyl.demon.co.uk
web-site: www.raresoulvinyl.co.uk

SUBSCRIPTIONS
Four issues of Rare Soul Review are £15.00 (£24.00 overseas). I don’t know
how frequent the magazine will be as yet but it will be at least twice a year, maybe
more.
Please make payment to “ANGLO-AMERICAN (One-Stop) Ltd’.
We accept Access, Visa, Mastercard, etc.

Northern Soul Circles With Tim Brown
So, into a new century and what constitutes Northern soul  these days’ Well, it is not always soul muse as the currently massive Holly St. James and Oxford Nights demonstrate nothing to get too excited about there then because it has always been that way This column will always restrict itself to soul music that is Northern but we will cover some of the oddities as well from time to time (a column entitled ‘Strange Change) The definition of Northern has always as always been a constantly changing and evolving definition - witness the fact that few would quibble with Sam Fetcher or Tommy Navarro. both records that are a long way from the archetypal  100 mph Torch or Wigan stomper Now, 1 seems that a new influx has emerged - the so-called ‘R&B records and as a variant I’ve little argument with some of them The Northern scene has always embraced new styles, indeed Blues records lie at the very root of UK all-nighter culture, yet for this sound to become the backbone would be wrong  indeed If some people want more and more of these so-called R&B’ records (and by definition some of these are not that) then fine, but the place for domination by these records is in a parallel scene rather take the Mods whose pop and beat records are kept exclusive to that culture, some discs can be common to the Northern scene but a preponderance of these records should be left to their own environment (some of these 45’s are fifties for goodness sake!). The lifeblood, nay, the identity of Northern Soul, is sixties up-tempo - of course there is room for a few beat ballads some Latin, a little Blues and a whack of seventies, but let us not forget what it is all supposed to be about maybe a few written word s can't change the scene. but as far as is column is concern some of the variants will be reviewed without ever forgetting just what Northern Soul actually is Nor will this column be all about obscurities and unknowns, but I do feel hat there are a certain number of classics and others about which there as little left to say - why write about records which everyone can chant in their


Martha Starr: ‘Sweet Temptation (Charay) A very rare
record from the late Major Bill Smiths stable of labels- Martha is best known for her recordings in Detroit but would have appeared to head Sweet Temptation hits a very mellow mid-tempo groove with a fin-get-snapping almost jazz influenced feel To a certain extent this is also the downfall of this record as it never really gets out of second gear and lacks attack, just seeming to pleasantly float along To those perfection but it leaves me somewhat cold Value: £800
Availability: Original 45 only.

Ins Harvey: ‘Betrayed’ (Cloumbia)recently spied on
the cover of fanzine ‘Shades Of Soul’ much to triy amaLement as
I picked this record up and repected it many years ago, Turns out
that time has lent a certain enchantment to a unique record
unlike any other I have ever come across Existing, as it does, in
a picture sleeve and patently with barrel-loads of big label
Columbia money behind it, this is almost over-produced. As we
now can see Iris is a black lady and as such lends one or two
Dinah Washingtonish touches to what is essentially a pop beat
ballad. This does not necessarily make "Betrayed’ a bad record
and I find it quite enjoyable whilst remaining eternally perplexed
as to what I’m being confronted with Not  quite soul
Value: £75
Availability: Orginal 45 only.

Inuz Moore: ‘Trouble’ Gardin : Only a degree or so short of being an absolute winner. So what do we have here then9 Firstly, and most importantly, a black-as-midnight vocalist,a churning rhythm, a crowing ~io,an section and a song with he right ingredients The pity is that the whole thing is rather too low-key and small-time If only Eddie Singleton had produced and Dale Warren dune the arrangements then I’m sure we would have been talking about one of the best discoveries of the tast twenty years Actually given the current vogue tot so-called K~b Iron mis could easity appean to that faction given the overtly black’ approach of the record Love Value- £100 but probably rare.
Availability Original 45 only



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In the Basement

This one is for your all round soul fan and covers all types of soul not just northern,

so maybe if it's pure northern you're looking for then maybe this one is not for you, however it is packed with first class reviews on events, records, CD's ,news on the soul scene not just here but in the USA, This is a fanzine i gladly recomend to anyone into soul music



SUBSCRIPTIONS 
£4.00 per copy 
4 issue subscription Inc. P & P, UK £15, Europe & Ireland...£17.00, Elsewhere £21.00
Please note that all payments should be in pounds sterling, by cash, cheques, postal/money orders made payable to ASTRASCOPE and which must be drawn against a British Bank
Astrascope, 193 Queens Park Road, Brighton, East Sussex BN2 2ZA

Telephone 01273 601217, Email inthebasement@btinternet.com or website www.btinternet.com/~inthebasement

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MANIFESTO

This fanzine/magazine has been around for a number of years now and is very well known and one of the top selling rags of it's type on the scene there's plenty in them as well, loads of photos for the dummies amongst us and loads of articles for the eggheads,both of which are amongst the best to be found in print .what can i say but buy it and see for yourself....top marks



SUBSCRIPTIONS

To subscribe to Manifesto simply send a cheque or postal order made payable to Manifesto for £18 per year (UK), £24 per year (Europe) £27 per year (rest of world) these prices include p&p
 back issues available at £3 per issue 
MANIFESTO, PO BOX 313, GLOUCESTER, GL1 5YW, UNITED KINGDOM

Telephone 01452 3000894 or E-mail: manifesto@aol.com

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Togetherness

Another top rag from the people who bring you those rather nice shinny little disc things - Goldmine and these guys are as good in print as they are on disk,fact is you get a CD with it !!! this one is chocker full of the good stuff and with writers the likes of Dave Rimmer (SKM), Richard Searling, Kev Roberts, Big Mick, Eddie Edmondson (Soul in the sun)and loads more, infact  more "names" than you can shake a stick at go into making this the top banana at the moment

subscription

 £10 inc P & P which is a yearly two issue subscription

including the free CD from 

T.P.C. Ltd. PO Box 909, Worksop, Notts S80 3YZ 

(phone 01909 515150 0r FAX 01909 774200

or check out their website at http://www.firstnet.co.uk/goldsoul 

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Northern Essence

this comes from Eddie Edmondsons "NORTHERN SOUL TIME" and was written by Eddie

Northern Essence is run by Northern Soul fanatics Pete & Viv Coulson, who live & breathe Northern Soul, it would be hard to find a nicer more dedicated couple. 
Issue ten has out and about with Uncle Webby, A great review of The 100 club, lots of pics, Andy Rix does a comprehensive article dedicated to Shrine records, 
The highlight for me is a very interesting, and frank interview with Dave Rimmer

of Soulful Kinda Music fame. Dave pulls no punches, and tells it how it is (in his opinion), His knowledge and love of our music is well known, and although you might not agree with ALL of his views, you must respect them. 

There is a nice section by Pete Thorpe, at the end he list ten of his favourite plays at the moment, I was just going to say I didn't know any of them, but then saw Lanier & Co - I don't know, and Pete cedits yours truly for playing it, (I think it must have been at The Ooze) thanks Pete.

Lots lots more for just £3....go get it

Price £3 from:-
Northern Essence, 34 Lobelia Avenue, Farnworth, Bolton BL4 0EQ
Cheques payable to:- P Coulson

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Motown Chartbusters

this comes from Eddie Edmondsons "NORTHERN SOUL TIME" and was written by Eddie

If you are a Motown fan, this mag is a must.

Special features in issue 4 include Marvin Ruffin, review of the latest Twisted Wheel book, (Central 1179, A great interview with Pete Lowrie & an article of The Four Seasons, and an interview with no other than Earl Van Dyke.

In issue 5 we have the reprint of the Andy Rix / Brenda Holloway interview 7 and an article on diana ross & the Supremes.

Regular features are Reader's favourites, Kev Jones's look back at The Motown E.P.s, and features from Motown Expert Alan Pollard.

Add to this some gig dates, tape swops,and you have got a great read.

All this for just £19.99 (inc P & P) per year...covers 12 monthly issues

You can obtain your copy by writing to:- Motown Chartbusters, 1 Caton Drive, Clayton-le-Woods, Preston, Lancashire, PR5 2SU or Phone / FAX 01772 452908

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soulful kinda music

This is a fanzine which over the years as evolved into one of the best  for all types of soul music, however   it is mainly about the Northern soul and the northern scene, What can i say here apart from sorry Dave only ever paid for one copy ,The rest i've stolen off mates :))

anyway here is the mans own words, and yes Dave i should buy this fanzine off you each and every issue

Originally started in 1989, Soulful Kinda Music is fast approaching it’s tenth anniversary. Not a bad achievement for a magazine about an underground scene that has had very little outside publicity or involvement over it’s thirty year life. Whilst not totally aimed at the English Northern Soul Scene, the magazine is based around my, and many of the other contributors involvement in that scene. So a little history, both personal, and that of Sixties Soul Music in the UK seems appropriate:

1967 – I’m still in short trousers, but the underground circuit of clubs which play Black American Soul music, but only British releases, is already starting to form. Clubs like The Flamingo and The Scene in London, The Mojo in Sheffield, The Night Owl in Leicester, and perhaps the most significant name of all, The Twisted Wheel in Brazenose Street, Manchester.

Issue 35

1971 – By now the DJs had started to play imported records, and London had deserted Soul music. Journalist Dave Godin took a trip to The Twisted Wheel in Manchester, and coined the phrase ‘Northern Soul’, little did he know then what effect those two words were going to have over the next thirty years ! I’d also discovered Soul music by this stage, and was a fanatical buyer of Blues & Soul magazine, it was natural, living in the North West (Warrington) that I would gravitate towards the uptempo side of things, it was the music at our youth club. 1971 was also the year that The Twisted Wheel was finally closed down by the Councillors of Manchester.

1972 – The Golden Torch Ballroom, or The Torch as it became known, in Hanley, Stoke On Trent, had taken over as the number one allnighter. Northern Soul was becoming a cult ! Bigger numbers attending, live acts recording live albums at the club. It was also the era when bootlegs first made an impact. The records were becoming more and more esoteric and obscure, the DJs were searching harder and harder to find that one record that would become an exclusive sound for them. Many other clubs were also starting up, The Catacombs in Wolverhampton, is one that springs to mind. Blackpool Mecca has also started to make a name for itself under the guidance of Ian Levine and Colin Curtis.

Issue 36

1973 – The Torch is closed by the Police, VaVas in Bolton starts an allnighter, a young man by the name of Richard Searling is the main DJ, but by August Va Vas is also closed down. To fill the void a venue in Wigan decides to run an allnighter. Wigan Empire as it was called when my parents used to dance there in the 1940s and 1950s had changed it’s name to Wigan Casino, and that name became a legend in it’s own right, voted number one nightclub in the world in the mid Seventies no less ! I’d also started attending allnighters by this time.

1978 – Publicity, a curse, or a benefit ? Northern Soul had made it big, TV programmes, Top of The Pops, Newspaper articles, coach loads of ‘daytrippers’, crowds of 2,000 people at the Casino, a membership of over 100,000 people. The DJs playlists had also altered. A lot of DJs had overlooked, what to me was essential, the Soul content, and were playing anything with the right beat, mindless instrumentals, pop stompers. Enough was enough. I stopped attending and went to work in North Wales.

1979 – Northern Soul makes it’s first reappearance in the capitol under the name of 6Ts Rhythm & Soul headed by Randy Cozens and Ady Croasdell. The venue they eventually ended up at, The 100 Club in Oxford Street, London celebrates it’s 20^{th anniversary in September of this year. Now that is a real achievement !}

Issue 37

1981 – Shock, Horror, The Casino closes…eventually ! For many people this was the end of the Northern Soul scene. For many people it was a welcome thing because the Casino had turned Northern Soul into a circus, and people were ashamed to admit they were actually Northern Soul fans. An alternative name developed around an alternative niter. The Top Of The World allnighters at Stafford brought a breath of fresh air to the Rare Soul scene. Promoters Dave Thorley, Keith Minshull, and later Chris King, allowed DJs to play slower beat ballad records, and many more Seventies tracks found their way onto the decks. However, Sixties Soul had found new champions under the guise of the Sixties Newies Mafia, headed by Guy Hennigan and Keb Darge. I missed all the Stafford years, but now feel that the records which came out of this shortlived, but legendary niter were amongst the best ever played on the scene.

1986 – The scene fragments with the closure of Stafford. Many allnighters start, but none become the national focus that the previous ones had been.

1988 – I’ve moved to the Midlands, sold all my singles, but continued buying albums. I keep seeing adverts for Northern Soul nights in Wolverhampton run by Pep, a name I remember from the Casino and The Catacombs. I’m married, with two kids and a mortgage. Eventually I go. It’s like being transported back fifteen years…the same atmosphere, the same beat, and even people I know. Almost immediately I’m hooked again, Soul Music never goes away, it just rests within you.

Issue 38

1989 – I’ve started doing allnighters allnighters again, and believe it or not, The Twisted Wheel is open again every Bank Holiday weekend. I’m still into the Oldies side of things because that’s what my memories consist of. At one of the Twisted Wheel allnighters I buy a mag off a guy called Derek Pearson, it’s called ‘Shades Of Soul’. Very specialised, full of discographies, label listings, record reviews I realise this is what I’ve been missing. Something to read. Blues and Soul should really be prosecuted under the Trades Description Act in my opinion by this stage, I’m still buying it, but can find precious little Soul, and certainly no Blues in there. An idea germinates, and by the September of 1989 the first issue of Soulful Kinda Music appears (At the first Keele Allnighter anniversary in fact). The next few years are a crazy period for the magazine because I manage to publish six issues a year for the first three years.

1990 – I start buying Vinyl 7" again……..Oh God !

1991 – I’ve realised that I missed the Stafford era, and have become a Newies fan, I’ve started visited The 100 Club on a regular basis, and made lots of new friends, as well as some old ones who I had lost touch with. The change came about because I became bored with hearing the same records again and again. The Twisted Wheel, The Torch, and Wigan Casino were all Newies venues in reality. It was always about hearing new records. Oldies only became a big part of the scene at the Casino. By 1992 I’m bored with hearing records I first heard in 1974. Fortunately I’ve got all the Stafford period to catch up on. I buy my first PC and the quality of the magazine improves dramatically once I learn how to use the damn thing.

1992 – Weekenders have become a big part of the scene, twice yearly extravaganzas with live acts from the States. I start Djing at local venues, and we even manage to bring J J Barnes over from the States for a show at Bentleys Night Club in Dudley.

1995 – I get my first allnighter spot at The Wilton Ballroom in Normanton. Thanks must go to Saus for getting me the spot, I also get to DJ at the Cleethorpes weekender for the first time. The magazine is now well established on the scene, and up to issue 21 (I’ve dropped the publication rate down to four issues a year), and has now taken over as the most prolific magazine on the scene having just overtaken Derek Pearson and Shades Of Soul. What’s more Dave Godin has agreed to start writing a regular column for the magazine.

1996 – We start to run Soul nights at the Station Hotel in Dudley, and have a music policy which definitely avoids played out Oldies, but concentrates on Sixties rather than Seventies. In the West Midlands this is rather adventurous because of the area’s staunch Oldies fan base (There is only one other Soul night not playing Oldies, and that’s the Lea Manor at Albrighton, which is basically run by the same people). We’re looking forward to the third anniversary in September this year. The magazine goes to a colour cover for the first time as well.

1997 – A world exclusive for the magazine. I manage to solve a puzzle which has long been oustanding on the Northern Soul scene. During the course of an interview with Don Juan Mancha he mentions that he can tell me who Jack Montgomery really was. Say no more ! The interview appeared in Issue 32.

1998 – My first international booking as a DJ at the German Northern Soul Weekender in Nurnberg. A great weekend.

1999 – Bang up to date, Issue 38 has just been published. With contributions from writers in this country and The States. The internet has made it so much easier than the old days when I used an old manual typewriter, tippex, a pair of scissors and prit stick to put it all together. . I’m now DJing at the majority of the UK’s allnighters and Soul nights on a regular basis, but more of that elsewhere.

S.K.M still printed today and can be had by emailing dave at Dave Rimmer daverimmer@btinternet.com

 or visit the site at http://members.tripod.com/SoulfulKindaMusic/

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