British Soul Vol. 3, Part 5

The final post of 2013; I'm not going to do a rundown of the year (that'll come later) but carry on with part 5 of the series that has kick-started my blog back in to my corner of the web after another fallow year.

I have to fess up that this is a new one on me that I found whilst researching for some more trax for this compilation. I thought I had pretty much run the well dry with Tom with pretty much all of his LP's and 7"s on Decca passing through my collection over the years. I have said this before but I am baffled by how anyone may have had the chutzpah to spin this at a Northern night ( and I understand they have!). I mean there is no way you can cover up Tom Jones' voice! This I kinda like in that the tune was played on it's own merit of being a good tune (maybe not the 'Delilah' trumpet parping away in the background) and I'm sure would be much more at home on the floors of Antwerp or Eindhoven than in the North of England (more on those crazy popcorn peeps at a later date). And so here is another addition to the Tom canon...now to find one of these bad boys: Are charity shops open on New Years Day?

Tom Jones- City girl

British Soul Volume 3, Part 4 (sort of...)

And so we're on to part 4 of my current playlist with the end of 2013 in sight. It's a bit of a stretch to shoe-horn this Elvis-lite dude in to both the 'British' category and arguably 'Soul'. This be-pony-tailed (and now sporting some massive chads) Yank appears to have debunked to blighty and hitched his wagon post- Tom Jones with a light soul sound (and also following Tom's lead of churning out ballads by the bucket load). Anyhows this is a new one for my cab doors and it recently surfaced over at John Manship's on some ultra-rare Israeli white label demo or summink! Anyhow, I thought I'd heard it all from P.J and had begun to give this trouser-splitting creep the swerve. Seek out other Den faves- 'That's the tune', 'That means a lot' and 'Niki Hoeky'

P.J. Proby- You can't come home again 

British Soul Volume 3, Part 3

First up I have to admit that I cannot remember when I first heard about this tune. I was chewing the boosh last night and how I came to be aware of Bill Oddie's stab at a beat ballad is a complete loss to me. I really wanted to hate this tune as I expected it be a terrible comedy record from the famously grumpy Oddie (for any non- UK readers check out his Wikipedia page). And so what is it like? It reminds me of the fabulous 'Where I'm gonna find her' by Mark Loyd (as featured on British Soul Vol 2) and builds to rousing ending with the cool delivery from Bill of 'You're not to blame baby' ! Possibly too slow and ahead of it's time to get spins at Wigan during the daft years I doubt that anyone has had the brass neck to play this prime slice of vinyl. I would if I could but it joins the other 2 previous entries as having no known reissue/ boot so the only option is an original which in theory should be a cheapie. So it's hats off to Bill and his SELF PENNED! beat ballad monster!

Bill Oddie- I  can't get through

British Soul Volume 3, Part 2

And so an unprecedented second blog post in as many weeks! I'm hot off possibly my most satisfying show with Burly Q at the City Hall Ballroom and looking forward to the combo of an extended break and thinking ahead about more shows in 2014! In the last week I've read the combo of 'Yeah, Yeah, Yeah' by Bob Stanley and 'The history of northern soul' by David Nowell- both good reads...one a classic another just ok. Anyhows, I've always been perplexed by where records like this fit post- Wigan Casino as there seems to be no-one fighting their corner. The only positive remarks are apologies along the lines of 'we just wanted to dance to something fast and we didn't care what it was'. There's certainly not a place for tunes like this on the rare soul scene of today and the mod scene seems to be looking back earlier and earlier for R & B kicks. I'd struggle to even get this one classed as popcorn which seems to have a much more open, forgiving approach (similar to Wigan of the '70's??). Anyways, Jenny Wren: a name that brings up Charles Dickens and Paul McCartney references on the web. I'm not gonna rehash my research but it looks like this Philips release is getting harder to find from the Dudley born Jenny. And so where does a record like this fit today? It doesn't appear to have been booted or re-issued (like many British Soul releases). The production sounds impressively 'Wall of sound-esque' for a British release with Kiki Dee type vocals and a nice guitar line and hot horns. I'm amazed I have gone through 18 years of listening to Northern Soul/ British Pop before stumbling across this back in the Summer. I advise you to seek it out...

Jenny Wren- Chasing my dreams all over town 

British Soul Volume 3, Part 1

About 15 years ago I purchased two CD's of British blue-eyed/ northern soul tracks on the now- defunct Goldmine label. I then began (the pre-internet) hunt for these 50 or so tracks to fill out my vinyl collection. In my humble pov these two CD's exhibit the joy and exuberance of the British recording scene in the '60's. Whilst there is a smattering of tracks by acts who were scoring hits (or would go on to) many of these tunes never stood a chance.

With the murky demise of Goldmine around ten years ago (I don't know much about this but I understand that some of their stuff may not have been entirely legit releases) there was never to be a volume 3.

With my penchant for always sniffing out something new to box my cab doors I began to think along the lines of compiling my own volume 3. At first it was going to be a balls- out 18 track single blog but given my recent lack of blogging I'm going to do it one nugget at a time.

I understand that Emma was actually really called 'Jackie Lee' (clearly not the Jackie Lee from Bob & Earl)...are you confused yet?? This hit the shops in January 1967 as the flip of 'Just like a man'. I may be barking up with wrong tree but it's probably safe to say tunes like this sold in the areas where the acts were from (possibly in significant numbers). The little blurb I can find on Emma/ Jackie is that she was 30 when she recorded this and hailed from Ireland. In Den's humble opinion this tune is as strong as any ballad from the big names of the time and would surely have sat nicely with her label mate Lulu. That said I can't imagine that Emma was ever as annoying as Lulu so maybe she won the battle to get her sweaty mitts on this b- side flop. That said, it warmed a corner of Den's world in 2013 and I'm sure you'll dig it as much as I did!

Emma Rede- I gotta be with you

In store at Vinyl Demand for 7 hours of fun!

One of the most memorable gigs I've ever done happened the other weekend during the Tramlines fest at the Vinyl Demand shop in Sheffield. Teaming up with Scott and Mark from Plan B we played 30 minute sets from 1pm until 8pm!

Here's the lowdown...

I've cribbed the vids from my first set and I they are all from 1977 (I think?). First up is Den fave Joe Tex and the 'Ain't gonna bump no more'- lite 'Rub down'. No footage of Joe doin' this one folks so you'll have to be content with hearing this over- looked gem whilst staring at the weird- ass sleeve.

In quick succession we have the cheesy lyrics of 'Vitamin U' which is a rare occasion of Smokey singing someone elses tune. The only other I can think of is 'I gotta dance to keep from crying' which I think was HDH?. Again, no footage so here's some horrors on 'Soul train' doing their thing!

Here's the tunes...

The Jellybeans- You don't mean me no good
The Angels- Wow wow wee (he's the boy for me)
Shirley Matthews- Big town boy
The Beattle-ettes- Only seventeen
Little Nell- See you 'round like a record
Camera Obscura- If looks could kill
The Marvelettes- Don't mess with Bill
Bobby Bland- Ain't nothing you can do
The Temptations- Blue surf
Jessica Pare- Zou bisou bisou
Grace Jones- I need a man*
Joe Tex- Rub down*
Smokey Robinson- Vitamin U*
The African Messengers- Highlife Piccadilly


Donovan- Hurdy gurdy man
The Monkees- Porpoise song
Billy J Kramer and The Dakotas- Chinese girl
The Danleers- One summer night
The Monotones- The book of love
Duane Eddy- Gidget goes Hawaiian
Johnny Cash- Get rhythm*
The Shangri-las- Footsteps on the roof
The Miracles- I gotta dance to keep from crying
Paul Revere and The Raiders- The great airplane strike
Elvis Costello and The Imposters- My mood swings
Tobi Lark- Happiness is here
The Kinks- King Kong
Bill Forbes- Once more
Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds- Nature boy
PJ Harvey- Reeling
Tony and Joe- The freeze
Cliff Richard and The Shadows- Choppin' and changin'
The Fireballs- Bulldog
Elvis Presley- Promised land
Morrissey- Pregnant for the last time
The Kingsmen- The jolly green giant

Mel Brooks- The Hitler rap
New Order- Shellshock
Georgie Fame- Daylight
Skyy- Skyyzoo
The Peech Boys- Don't make me wait
Billy Preston- Outta space
The Temptations- Superstar
Billy Paul- Am I black enough for you?
Lou Rawls- See you when I git there
Jacqueline Taieb- 7 heures du matin
The Alley Cats- Puddin n' tain
The Cookies- I want a boy for my birthday
Marvin Gaye- How can I forget?
Eric Burdon and The Animals- It's all meat
Manfred Mann- Hubble bubble (toil and trouble)
Ike & Tina Turner- Two is a couple
Chuck Berry- Club nitty gritty
Dave Edmunds- Girl talk
The Isley Brothers- Get into something
Relaxed Muscle- Sexualized
Bush Tetras- You can't be funky
Barry White- I'm gonna love you just a little bit more baby
The Originals- Down to love town
Lenny Gamble- I'll do anything
Trio Valore- Rehab
Donnie Elbert- So soon
Larry Williams and Johnny 'Guitar' Watson- Too late
Banbarra- Shack up
Inez Foxx- Circuits overloaded
Billy Fury- Bye bye
John Lennon/ Elton John- Whatever gets you through the night
Ral Donner- I got burned
Shape and Sizes- Rain on my face

Dusting off the Den files

A much delayed return to my corner of the web for a much neglected focus on my sets from Plan B. It was an early one hour plus single set as I sloped off to my jalopy at about 12:30. I've broke it down by the split between the singles and the LP's, so you will see that I'm not a DJ who insists on having the original 7"! There was a heavy sprinkling of 80's stuff and an opening with my current fave- Kate Bush  and the single mix version of 'The big sky' which features KB in a tin foil suit with a full on vid that flipped my wig!

As always a * indicates a debut!

The small ones with the big holes-

Kate Bush- The big sky*
The Jam- The great depression*
ELO- Hold on tight*
The Kinks- King Kong*
The Flee Rekkers- Blue tango*
The Fireballs- Bulldog*
The Doors- Touch me
The Monkees- Porpoise song*
Lou Rawls- A natural man
Shirley and Company- Shame, Shame, Shame
Men Without Hats- The safety dance*
Generation X- King Rocker
Bryan Ferry- Tokyo Joe
Warren Zevon- Werewolves of London
The Castaways- Liar Liar
The Temptations- Superstar (remember how you got where you are)
Elvis Presley- Put the blame on me*


The big ones with the small holes-

The Attack- Anymore than I do
Ian Stewart and The Rail Roaders- Stu- ball*
John Lennon/ Plastic Ono Band- I found out*
Elvis Costello and The Attractions- I hope you're happy now
The Beach Boys- It's about time
The Band- Baby don't do it

A short blast on the wheels of plastic before I have a break in June for my Circle line frolics! Hope you enjoyed the picks folks and more from me sooner than soon...

Two moustachioed dudes in bar

It had been a few years since I had seen the previously blogged "After Hours" but since I received a copy on DVD (the old VHS now sat snugly in the over-flowing loft) I gave it a view the other night. I had long thought that the 'doo-wop' (I'm still not entirely sure what to call this type of stuff) song playing in the bar that Paul enters was 'Lover's island' by The Blue Jays but hey-ho it turned out to be this gem. 'You're mine' is a fab low-tempo black vocal group record from the late '50's (maybe that's what I'll call the genre?!) that gives me the shivers down my spine and ants in my pants. If you haven't seen 'After Hours' (I've met few that have) give it a viewing- it always transports me back to Cologne and the Summer of '98 and riding a bike to the video shop to pick up a copy.Check out a few platters that matter from this copacetic flick...

Robert & Johnny- You're mine

The Danleers- One summer night

Rosie & The Originals- Angel baby

Back to the start

And so it's been 4 years since my first post on this blog and I hope to start 2013 as I mean to go on with more posts than I had last year (5 I think!). There's tunes a plenty to lift the lid on as well plenty Burly Q going on's to keep me busy. A current fave of mine is Slade so here's a couple of obscurios for you to lap up!

Tipped off by my big bro on this one this fits in nicely with some recent viewing here at Casa DenAud. Slade keep surprising me with the dearth of material out there once you look past the hits. We were chatting in the pub about this the other day and came to the conclusion that Slade are often overlooked due to the ubiquity of their Christmas record. These two are later b- sides following their move from Polydor (the period when Dave Hill was sporting the bald 'ead and pirate earring!) Thanks Scott for the latter and VD for the former...It's heavy man...

Slade- O.H.M.S. 
Slade- Funk, Punk, Junk