Fade Languish

That song doesn't even have a discogs listing, so the vinyl must be uber-rare. It was on Chess, there's a Northern Soul compilation from the 90s kicking around with it on on ebay and stuff. Norman was collecting soul and funk and stuff from a really young age, he said he basically paid release price for pretty much all that stuff though, but yeah, he could probably make that in an hour or less I would guess. He did say he used to get some crazy offers. A few of those big Northern Soul songs apparently only had a handful of copies in existence. He was here for a jazz funk festival in the early 90s, spent several days here, along with UFO. Out of all the people I got to meet or interview along the way, he's one of the ones that stand out the most, he was just incredibly nice, incredibly knowledgeable, and very down to earth.

I remember him saying "you know, I can mix or scratch with the best of them, but sometimes I just like to forget about mixing, and let the songs speak", or something along those lines. He also said to me, "I always listen to requests. Sometimes someone can come up to the decks, and ask for something, and it's the perfect thing for the moment". That stuck with me. I was a mad funk, soul and jazz collector, so I really enjoyed talking to him. It was also when jungle was just starting to break, he was telling me what was going on with that, and said his nephews were mad about it.

Sounds like fun times. I miss mods and stuff.

Walker

I suspected it had turned up on Northern Soul albums after 1989 because it was practically unheard of on the scene prior to then. The NS scene was already dated by that time and to keep it fresh, the most renowned DJs made their names by snapping up unheard of collectibles that really *should* have made it decades earlier. If I recall correctly (but I might be mistaken), there were only demo pressings of the Doug Banks track in existence at that time.

He sounds like an incredibly down to earth guy given the circles he must mix in. Many of the better known House DJs who appeared at my father's (pretty well-known) nightclub in the 90s were arrogant, coke-addled dick-heads. Maybe that says more about the House scene in this part of the world though.

I miss all of the youth sub-cultures visible at that time really. There were so many to identify with (mods, rockers, punks, psychobillies, rude boys/girls, etc., etc.) that you learned a lot if you got sucked into one. That level of diversity just seemed to evaporate in the 90s though.

Fade Languish

That's highly likely, I know that was the case for a few of the NS classics.


Nah, not just your part of the world, it was often par for the course in the house scene over here. Except our greatest house DJ, funnily enough, He's shy and modest as hell. They were the kind of people I looked to as role models, and it really worked for me. It's amazing what you can do with a crowd that knows you, know you're approachable and is on your side. But a lot of my colleagues could be pretty arrogant, and "fuck you, I'm the DJ". Most of the American guys I met were pretty cool about stuff though.

I miss that diversity too. The first club I started going to when I was about 15, because we were a small city, and house hadn't arrived yet, it was the only club that wasn't mainstream, other than the one gay club, with which there was a lot of exchange, and it gathered all the various tribes in one spot. It was amazing. Mods, Punks, all the rest, the real old school b-boys, and it was open 7 nights a week, so a real culture formed there, that was the catalyst for what arrived later with house. Everyone was something unusual.

Out of that one club, came so much talent, so many industry people, because over here, to be into that stuff, meant you really were into it, because you really had to seek out that kind of thing. We basically got our information in snatches, from things like The Face, and there was this one tiny little import store that we used to race each other too to snatch up the tiny shipments of new vinyl. We often had to make or bootleg our own clothes and stuff, which is actually how I started out in the industry. I set up a shop and used to draw up clothes and stuff and get suburban housewives to sew them up, stuff like bondage trousers, strait jackets, all kinds of gear, I'd import stuff from Cavern and places, then started getting the some of the first house oriented fashion and hip hop gear, and that became a focal point for the club scene by day. Some of those people from that club have gone on to do amazing stuff, and a loose collective of us following that set up the first house clubs, the first raves, magazine, etc. I wouldn't trade growing up then for anything. Then in the 90s it started becoming much more homogenous, never to return.

Carthalis

The agree button just doesn't convey how I much agree with this.

Just reminded me of Gatecrasher in Sheffield. Full of acid kids with day glo clothing and painted faces in the early 90's. Now kids like that are no longer welcome from what I last heard. Like everything its all become commercialised, never mind that they got to where they are with the help of kids like that and those that you mention. I think today there is no room for innovation or movements like the punks or the mods. It would soon be capatlised on and made commericial.

I had to laugh walking through Top Shop and River Island at the weekend, its all 80's revival again with flourescent clothing. It was bad enough the first time round. Soon be power dressing and shoulder pads again.

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Walker

Wow, Aussies imported gear from The Cavern?! Me and my pals used to get the train to London and hang around on Carnaby Street for most of the day because The Cavern was like ground zero for the mods. They had everything. Op-art shirts, James jackets, Jam shoes, Princes of Wales checked trousers that actually looked cool and not cut like something your grandfather would wear. Did you import your footwear from Shelley's too?

Ah, memories....

Circle Widdershins

Good morning.



Sod that.......

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Garden Isles Estate
Treasures ~ Jewelry and Accessories

Walker

WAKE UP!







oh and hai!

Circle Widdershins

Don't wanna wake up




Oh hai

Isabeau Imako

My internet is really, really slow.
Did someone else famous die?

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Aaachou!

Walker

They always decrease capacity when I go on holiday, but I think they forgot to increase it again when I got back. Sorry.

Sonja Aeghin

Check this out-found it for one of my privacy walls:

Sonja Aeghin

Yes. Billy Mays, the annoying guy from all those commercials, kicked the bucket over the weekend.

Fade Languish

I used to get Shellys via a store in Sydney, I remember having some of their biker boots, can't remember what else. So much stuff I wish I'd kept at least one of.

Brenda Archer

Thank you, I'm going to start putting money in a jar

Also I have to say I am really enjoying the conversation you and Walker are having. So much that I missed since I spent my younger years in a cave It's cool to learn about how things came about.

Brenda Archer

I vote all sleep depriving things should be banned for a week. I'm so short of sleep I'm on the other side spaced out. Really they should not start the jackhammers until noon.

Brenda Archer

WOW. that is all.

Fade Languish

Thanks I was enjoying the conversation too. I'm fascinated by subculture, have been from a very young age. I've spent much of my life engaged in an informal study of it, I especially love tracing the connections and cross-pollination. I've been talking to my university about incorporating it into a research path for my design degree - the interface between subculture and art/design.

Isabeau Imako

The Jazz Festival is starting tonight, and Stevie Wonder is giving a free outdoor concert. Woot!
It's suppose to rain, but I may go anyway. The cool thing is, Mr. Wonderful suggested
(to the organizers) using a GPS system to guide those who have vision difficulties around
all the festival sites. It indicates all the free street shows, main attractions and sites. Pretty
amazing considering how sprawled out everything is. Yay! for technology.

Fade Languish

Oh wow. I'd stand in the rain to hear Stevie Wonder any day!

Isabeau Imako

Me, too! It's also suppose to thunder, etc. In a way, it will probably be better that way because the crowds can be mind boggling. The rain will disperse the weak, and let me get closer. For the next two weeks, there will be 500 free concerts to check out...

/me happy

Ayu Sura

Some days I just feel like crying.

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"You broke the rules! Now I pull out all your pubic hair!" - Tenacious D

Isabeau Imako

Alfie Demonia

Why is my room the hottest place in the entire house?
Why has my housemate bought scented toilet roll?
Where is my cat?

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Last Fm
Flickr, innit
The world was a mess, but his hair was perfect.

Phoenix Psaltery

I hope he doesn't get electrocuted. We can't afford to lose him now that MJ's gone.

P2

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Five59 Online Graphic Design
Phoenix's Plurk | Phoenix's Flickr| Phoenix's Rarely Updated Blog

Walker

I had no idea they were so international. I just remember them manufacturing every kind of shoe relevant to every youth subculture.

And yeah, I wish I'd kept more stuff from back then too. I've still got some Cavern stuff in the loft, but just a few items which have aged really badly.