Disappointments...

In my 32 years I've had some disappointments.

First up, I was rather hoping the Millennium bug was going to wipe my credit cards clean. It didn't.

Around the same time I eagerly anticipated the return of the Star Wars franchise. I was expecting the greatest cinematic experience of my life. I got the Phantom Menace.

On New years day I awoke to discover Jon "The Beast" Parkin had been sold by my beloved Preston North End. Not the way to start a new year.

However one of the biggest disappointments happened last summer, and it wasn't me ending my career as a teacher. No, it happened on a field in Croydon of all places.

Earlier that summer I'd witnessed Stevie Wonder's triumphant headline slot at Glastonbury. I found it magical and the scene was set for me to bask in the music of another legend of the Motown roster; Martha Reeves.

Let me just set the scene. We were in Croydon at a free festival featuring Captain Sensible and The Lightning Seeds. (On the tube to Croydon, I was sat next to a woman and got talking. She told me her brother was playing at the festival. In my head I pictured the bass player with some local band etc. I politly asked the name of the band, promising i'd go and check them out. "Oh he's Ian Brodie, he's the singer with the Lightning Seeds" - Oh. As it happened they were pretty good, its amazing how many great pop songs he's written).

However it was the prospect of seeing Martha live that was the main draw for me. (Love like a) Heatwave is in my top 10 songs of all time. However, I was building myself up for a mighty topple.

I was expecting a female Stevie, I got a club singer. Unlike Stevie, there was no band, Martha sang along to a backing tape. Also unlike Stevie, that beautiful voice was no longer there. The acoustics were awful and the sound seamed to drown in the field. I felt like crying.

That said she still ramains one of my favourite recording artists of all time. As sick boy rightly points out in Trainspotting. You've got it then you lose it.

One of the most surprising aspects of the day was also the fact I had to explain to people who she was!

I conducted a little experiment recently. I asked a few friends if they could name more than 1 Ray Charles song. No one could.

I then asked them if they could tell me who sang "Jimmy Mack", "Dancing in the streets", "Nowhere to run" and "Heatwave". Also no one could. All instantly recognisable classics yet no one knew it was Martha who made them famous.

Interesting results I'm sure you'll agree. I'm making it a personal mission to raise Martha's profile and will be regularly dropping her songs at Odder on a Sunday.

Keep the Faith.

Click on the Link to get get a Martha Playlist on spotify.

The big gig in the sky....

2011 has started out on a sad note. Especially with the sad news today of John Barry's passing.

The music world has lost 3 greats recently, and I'd like to pay tribute to them here:

Teena Marie passed on boxing day last year. She was widely regarded as Motown's most successful white solo act and was a protege of funk legend Rick James. Teena, to me, helped dispelled notions of colour in music, soul was no longer "black" music. She paved the way for Caron Wheeler, of Soul II Soul, to announce in the 1990s "You can't distinguish between colour any more – it's just people." Amen.

Here is my personal favourite-

Last week, Gladys Horton, singer with Motown's first successful female vocal group The Mavelettes, died. Ive posted a clip of Mr Postman, my personal favourite. Also covered by a small band from Liverpool in the 60s- Messrs Lennon and co. You cant really get fans bigger than that.

John Barry, a legend of the Film World. He was best known for his work on the Bond films however he also scored music for films such as midnight cowboy.

It was on the Bond themes that Barry was able to stamp his own mark. Without those lush string sounds i doubt the films would have had the same impact. David Arnolds scores for the recent films have had a very Barry-esque sound to them.

Jack White and Alicia Key's theme for Quantum, paid more than a passing homage to Barry's orchestral scores. Something bond film regulars have now taken for granted. A reason why Madonna's effort for Die another day didn't really cut it.

Here's my favourite bond theme- On her majesty's secret service. Sampled by the Propeller Heads 30 years later for the soundtrack to Tomorrow Never Dies.

I will be playing tracks by all of the above in tribute over the next few weeks at my nights.

The Essential Guide to Clobber for the Modern Northern-Soul Dancer.

The Essential Guide to Clobber for the Modern Northern-Soul Dancer.

New to Northern Soul Dancing and wondering what gear you are going to need? Well I asked the Gok Wan of The NS Scene to give us the complete run down on how to fit right-in at the Wigan Casino.

Item 1. Vest. When you’re out on the floor doing your flips and spins you’re going to perspire heavily. This calls for a vest to keep your body cool and has the added benefit of showing off the tan you’ve built from years of living in Manchester. Preferably obtain a vest in a tasteful colour such as purple or emerald green.

Item 2. Acrylic slacks. Let’s be honest, you aren’t going to get into any establishment wearing addidas three stripe track-suit pants. The Modern Northern Soul gentlemen sports a pair of slacks carefully crafted from artificial fibres. This will allow you to maintain maximum dignity while slippin’ ana slidin’. Acceptable colours for slacks include pastel blue or beige. These can be found in many outlets such as Greenwoods or C&A.

Item 3. Shoes. You will need a smart pair of shoes preferably with leather soles; to ease your glide across the floor. These should be polished to a high sheen to attract the eye to your fancy footwork. However, the use of Michael Jackson sequinned socks for the same effect is frowned upon. No one likes a show off. Your platform shoes or rubber soled Reeboks just aint gonna cut it on ther dance floor, if you want to attempt some sweet 360 spins.

Item 4. A holdall. No Northern Soul Dancer should be without a leather holdall, this should be adorned with patches from the various working men’s clubs you have previously danced at. As a rule of thumb, be on the lookout for patches with clenched fists and burning torches. Your holdall should carry talc, for aiding slippin ana slidin’ (see item 3), a bottle of Lucozade, a spare vest (see item 1) and a rare copy of a classic floor shaker on 7”, say for example, the last known copy of Frank Wilson’s “Do I love you, Indeed I do”- reputedly worth £30,000.

Try out some moves every Wednesday at Dry Bar Manchester. Free Pizza before 7, Cocktail offers and a sweet soul soundtrack. Free entry all night.

Keep the torch burning.....

Interview with Chippy- A Northern Soul Dancing Legend.

Undoubtedly, the Wigan Casino, is synonymous with the word Northern Soul. Although it wasn’t the first club to play Northern Soul, it took up the mantle after the untimely demise of our own (Manchester’s) Twisted Wheel club in 1973. (The Twisted Wheel closing in 1971, then reopening in 2002). Like all good clubs the Casino is sadly no more, the Hacienda becoming apartments in the late nineties, the Casino becoming a Debenhams. Apparently the world needs orange shop assistants more than men dressed in slacks, leather soled shoes and a vest...

In 1976 a legend stepped into the club for the first time and has kept the torch burnin’ ever since. By ‘76 the Club had a sound following and had been going for 3 years. What Tony “Chippy” Nicholls experienced on that first night he can’t fully explain. The energy of the place hooked him from the start and he never looked back.

For those who have seen the film “Soul Boy”, you will have caught a glimpse of the moment that people were caught up in, although Chippy liked the film, it can’t quite capture that magic he was part of. For Don Mclean, the death of Buddy Holly was the day the music died. However to Chippy- that day was December 6^th 1981- the Final Wigan casino all-nighter.

“I thought it was all over [after the Casino closed] a mate of mine saw me years later and noticed I was down. It was 1988. He mentioned there was a new Northern Soul night on. The moment I was back on that dance floor and the music hit me and I knew I was back for good.”

“Wherever I go to dance, I’m recognized. Even before winning the competition (World Championships in 2009)”

Which is true, at the Premier of Soul Boy, in Chippy’s native town Lancaster, he got a standing ovation from the audience.

One of the themes of Soul Boy, is the use of amphetamines by dancers at the Casino. Chippy remembers one night a good friend of his took too much and ended up having to walk him around the car park outside until an ambulance came. Did Chippy ever take uppers? “Never”. Good man. In fact while a lot of us (me) require a few shandys before we venture anywhere near the floor, Chippy is happy to dance without any alcohol. Truly a brave man.

Fast forward to 2009, the venue is the Tower Ballroom, Blackpool. The Title of world Northern Soul World Champion is up for grabs. It came down to the final 4 dance off, and after a closely fought battle Chippy won by popular vote and final ruling by 2008 winner.

“Winning that Title was awesome, so many people there. I put everything I had into it. The Money didn’t matter, all I wanted was the recognition and the chance to prove myself against the younger lads. I don’t have to prove myself anymore, I only regret that my Dad wasn’t there to see it”

So sitting pretty at the top of his game, I asked Chippy was there anyone he looked up to in the Northern Soul world?

“Vernon from Bradford. Man, we used to clean that floor together at casino. He was awesome; I can't put into words how good he was. We used to get in for free in those days. He was a real nice guy with it too though”

So what made Chippy decide to pass on his undisputed skills?

“Other have said to me I should, I want to give something back to something which has given me so much. I wanted to do something while I still can.”

Chippy got a bit of training from a friend in the beginning, then started to pick up the moves from those around him at the Casino.

"To get started you just need the basic moves which I will be teaching people how to do. If people want to progress then I will be giving some 1-2-1 sessions afterwards."

Finally give us your all time top 10 Northern Soul Floor shakers.

1: Free for All: Phillip Mitchell

2: Come on train: Don Thomas

3: I don’t want to discuss it: Little Richard

4: He who picks a rose: Carstairs

5: Turnin’ my heartbeat up: MVPs

6: I go to pieces: Gerri Grainger

7: Blowing my mind to pieces: Bob Relf

8: ‘Cause you’re mine: The Vibrations

9: I got the fever: The Prophets

10: Stay: The Virginia Wolves

To hear this playlist, get the spotify playlist here. Or come down to Odder on a Sunday afternoon.

To see the Winning dance Click on this youtube link.

To become a fan visit our facebook group click here

For live tweets from DJ sessions join twitter here.

Righteous Brother Curtis Mayfield

I first heard Curtis Mayfield in 1994-95 when I was still rocking the Nirvana T-Shirt/Dock Martins/lank greasy hair look. The song was “Move on up” and i was listening to Blur being interviewed on Radio 1. They were talking about their influences and playing some songs from their own collections. (another song from the day that stood out was Glen Campbell’s “Witchata Lineman”). I remember just being hit by those trumpets like a steam train. I was hooked.

I got hold of a copy and was determined to sample the trumpets for a musical project of my own. I managed to loop them on my old Amiga 1200. However I couldn’t do anything with the sample that didn’t sound rubbish. That didn’t stop Kanye West a good 10 years later....

To this day it remains possibly my favourite song of all time. It was on a CD called “Soul Survivors” which had 40 or so Northern Soul gems compiled by Wigan Casino DJ Russ Winstanley. It was the start of my love affair with Northern Soul and Keeping the faith in general.

There has always been something quite Righteous about Curtis’ music. From the gritty “tell-it-like-it-is-on-the-streets” narrative of songs such as “Pusherman” and “Freddie’s dead” to the almost fisher-price description of a hustler in “Superfly”. These “keep it real” in a way that Ganngster rappers, who harp on about guns and bling will never really understand.

In the 1990’s Curtis’ was paralysed in an accident involving some stage lighting. He carried on recording however up to his death in 1999, one line at a time while laid out vertically in the studio. The last recording of his voice was as a guest on the Bran Van 3000 tune “Astounded”, which includes lyrics from “Move on up”. I own a copy on 12”.

Click on the Link below to hear 10 essential Curtis Songs.

Spotify Playlist

Soul Brother #1 Every Weds (From Feb) at Dry Bar, Northern Qtr, Manchester. Become a fan.

Soul Brother #1 to launch in February

Watch this space to read my reviews of classic soul albums, articles on soul stars, to get free mixes and to get spotify playlists.

to get you started here's a playlist for spotify:

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fopen.spotify.com%2Fuser%2Ftobinlochrie%2Fplaylist%2F2LSd3evYR8LjpK40cTedEk&h=f196b

Keep the Faith