HEART OF SOUL By Declan Donnelly

Well here it is, another instalment from your travelling soul fan. When I wrote the first one of these articles, with the wonderfully titled, "New York - A City With Soul! I din't quite think I would be doing too many follow ups. However, Time, as the man said has proved me wrong. One of the most fascinating things about the Northern Soul Scene for me, is its endurance. From way back to its origins in the 60's where it developed out of R&B, morphed into "soul" music with the development of the Motown sound. And then became an underground scene where the music played was a world away from the average teenbeat, heavy rock of the 60's. It is to Dave Godin, journalist and columnist for Blues & Soul, looking to describe the form of music that was then being played in the dance halls of the North, coined the memorable title, "Northern Soul".

According to Dave Godin, he did not invent Northern Soul. He merely thought up the words
to describe the difference between the music currently enjoyed in the North of Britain and
the drift he perceived to be occurring in the south toward the more commercial form of US
Soul and R&B that occurred in the late 60's. Dave Godin was a journalist and columnist
for both Blues and Soul and Black Music. Both magazines were extremely popular in the
heyday of Northern Soul. Featuring as they did updates on all the favourite black artists of
the period. Plus of course there was that legendary debate between Dave Godin and his
fellow Black Music columnist, Tony Cummings. This all centred on Cummings'
article in Black Music of January 1975, entitled, "Northern Soul Revisited". The article
denigrated theDJ's and music policy at Wigan Casino, and lauded the music played at the
Blackpool Mecca, by one Ian Levine and his fellow DJ's. Ah the memories of it all! But back
to the story.

The love of this type of music for some then became the pursuit of the Holy Grail, to discover records that were underplayed, never been played or totally unheard of. The voyages of discovery taken by some of those intrepid souls would of course lead to America. First and foremost where it really all began. Here independent labels abounded trying to record that one hit that would be picked up by the major record companies and turn an unknown recording artist into an instant overnight sernsation with a hit record. Sadly, for all those that may have discovered that one big hit, there were hundreds more that didn't. Our good fortune is that has been well recorded and documented over the years. Collectors of this genre of music and those who still love to either listen or dance to it, cover the globe. Such is the enduring fascination and love of this style of music.
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Which leads me on to the purpose of this feature regarding the longevity of the Northern scene and the global interest it still sparks. First, it is interesting to note that an actual film of the years covering Wigan Casino has recently been released entitled "Soul Boy". I hear it has been premiered at Stoke on Trent, but has yet to be released Nationally. I have seen a few clips and the music is certainly authentic; listen to one clip featuring Gloria Jones and "Tainted Love", to the backdrop of the handclapping during the vocal breaks, was an absolute copy of how the crowd at Wigan Casino would react. Quite amazing. Anyway, on first impression the movie looks good. So go check it out. Perhaps you can leave some feedback in our guestbook.

For anyone who read the first article regarding New York you may recall I featured an article on the record stores of New York. Without doubt the last decade has seen a huge reduction in these types of outlets. You can blame it on the economy, the fact you can get downloads, DVD's, CD's you name it, vinyl is no longer king. All these factors have had a hand in reducing the availability of vinyl. Not true you might say; what about ebay? What about private dealers working from home selling records obtained at car boot sales or wherever? I have no problem with purchasing records from either source. I have had to buy from ebay and private dealers in order to get the records I want. But in buying from these sources it is the mystique that is missing in actually being able to lay your hands on that particular record yourself through your own endeavour.

When Emma Lazarus penned thoses famous words, now mounted at the foot of the Statue of Liberty, "Bring me your poor, your huddled masses, yearning to be free.." I doubt that she added "and your record collectors"! Over the years the exodus of the rare, not so rare and easily obtained has seen one way traffic to the UK and beyond. However, you might remember that earlier in this article I mentioned those intrepid adventurers who actually travelled to the States in order to find those elusive records, of recent years I count myself lucky to have been able to undertake that journey myself. Although I am only following in well worn footsteps of many other collectors and definitely not carving out any path that hasn't been well trod before. For me it is about walking into a record store anywhere in the States and savouring the fact that perhaps just perhaps ....!

It is therefore my pleasure to introduce the readers of this soul site to one, Bob Noguera. Bob is your actual native New Yorker. Having been born and brought up in the Bronx, one of the five boroughs comprising New York City. On a recent visit to New York I visited Bob at his record store, STRIDER RECORDS, 22, Jones Street, New York. I asked him about his introduction to music and importantly for us, how he got into owning a record store.

" It was 1974, I was still at school and living in the Bronx. I used to travel down to Greenwich Village in Manhatten. A friend who ran a record store in the Village asked whether I would look after another record store that he was setting up. The type of music he was into was mainly 50's and 60's." Bob identified this record store to me as the House of Oldies, which still exists to this day on Carmine Street in Greenwich Village just around the corner from Jones Street. Suffice to say Bob was later approached by another friend to help him set up and run another record store. Bob takes up the story. " The store was going to be called FARFELS, this was named after a cartoon character, a dog, that was popular at the time in the Nestle chocolate commercials. I guess he asked me to help him because I was into all the current music, punk rock, new wave. Of course my tastes have developed since that period!".

" In early 1979 I started at another store, this was called STRIDER and was located at 29, Cornelia Street, this lasted about 3 years and then I moved to Bleecker Street in the village where I had some memorable years. I finally moved to my current location in 1992. I asked Bob if during all those years selling records he had any brushes or dealings with celebrities along the way. Bob told me, " I knew John Belushi of the Blues Brothers fame. I was a real big fan of his. He lived around the corner on Morton Street and he would often drop in to pick up anything by way of soul music. He would also bring in Dan Ackroyd at times and look through the boxes of soul I had for sale. One time he invited me over to his duplex in which he had a studio. This was absolutely great. At the time there was a bar called the Blues Brothers that existed over on Hudson and Dominic Street, in Soho, which is South of the Village. The juke box there used to contain the soul records he bought from me. I used to mark up the small cards that denoted the records on the juke box. For doing this he gave me two tickets to to see the Allman Brothers a southern rock band.

Those were great times and John was a great guy. I thought a lot of him."
I mentioned to Bob that one of my favourite all time movies is the Blues Brothers,
can you ever think of anything more spectacular than the scene in which John Belushi back
flips his way down the aisle of James Brown's Church . Brilliant.
 
 

  Bob looking through the current edition of John
  Manship's Rare Soul Guide

Bob has run and owned record stores for over 30 years and is still going strong. I am sure by now that some of you, if not all who read this script will wonder just what the heck a photograph, at the top of this review, of one of the most famous bands of the 60s and beyond is doing gracing these pages. The Beatles are actually photographed walking across Abbey Road in North West, London. The photograph was taken just outside their Apple studios. You may be aware that the Abbey Road still attracts thousands of tourists who wish to be photographed in what has now become an iconic location. I mention this as in talking with Bob, the subject of roads came up; as it does in conversations about records! ! Anyway, Bob then enlightened me to the fact that the picture below of another famous singer songwriter was actually taken in Jones Street .

As the album declares the artist is none other than Bob Dylan.
He was not yet 22 when he recorded this album on the Columbia label, it was released
in May of 1962. In the photograph Dylan is featured with his then
current girlfriend. Bob assures me that Jones Street is also visited by many Dylan fans seeking to
capture perhaps the spirit and innocence of an earlier era. If you ever do get the chance to visit Bob as
I have been able to do on a number of occasions; Greenwich Village is an ideal place to explore. It
retains that quirky and bohemian feel to it and is ideal if you have had enough of the rush, bustle and
expense of 5th Avenue! I can recommend any number of small restaurants that abound in the village.
The Trattoria on Bleecker and Carmine Street serves great food at very reasonable prices. Bob and I
 and our respective girlfriend and wife have spent many a pleasant time in the Blind Tiger pub on the
corner of Jones and Bleecker. You will always get a warm welcome, there is a fantastic range of ales
on sale and they serve excellent bar meals. What more do you want! On a final note I could not resist
my own take on the Bob Dylan photograph opposite ( courtesy of Bob Noguera).
 

  That's all for now, I hope you enjoyed reading this. If
  you ever get to NYC look Bob up. He will be pleased to
  see you. And remember, even if you read this and your
  your not a soul fan, Bob has thousands of other records
  to suit all tastes. Happy collecting!