DO YOU REALLY WANT TO GO TO JAIL ? ……….. TAKE A LOOK AT THIS FOOTAGE AND DECIDE FOR YOURSELVES
More interactive documentary footage from behind prison bars . Certainly not here in the UK for sure as our prison system appears to be more of a holiday camp system !!! Would our UK inmates survive in this hardened environment ?….. I do not think so somehow …!!!!!!
…HERE AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION ON DISPLAY AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL WE TOUCH UPON A GREAT MANY SENSITIVE AND TABOO SUBJECT MATTERS …… SUCH AS THE HISTORY OF RACISM , THE KU KLUX KLAN AND OTHER NOTORIOUS AND ALLEGEDLY EVIL GANGLAND MOVEMENTS DISTURBING AND IN OUR VIEW HISTORICAL AND PRESENT DAY SUBJECT MATTERS THAT NO OTHER VISITOR ATTRACTION DARE COVER .
WE ALSO TOUCH UPON AND EXHIBIT A GREAT DEAL OF OTHER TRUE CRIME MATERIAL AS WELL AS SLEAZE, SCANDAL AND THE BIZARRE …..AND NOT FORGETTING OUR THOUGHT PROVOKING AND DISTURBING NAZI HOLOCAUST COLLECTION .
RONNIE BIGGS POLICE MUGSHOT 
Ronald Arthur “Ronnie” Biggs is an English criminal, known for his role in the Great Train Robbery of 1963, for his escape from prison in 1965, for living as a fugitive for 36 years and for his various publicity stunts while in exile
16TH JULY 2013 – RONNIE BIGGS WITH ANDY JONES FROM THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION
ABOVE ARE A FEW PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN DURING A RECENT PRIVATE VISIT WITH RONNIE BIGGS AT HIS NURSING HOME RETREAT ( 16TH JULY 2013 ) . CERTAINLY ON FORM DURING THE VISIT AND ENJOYING THE GREAT BRITISH SUNSHINE !!
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VARIOUS PICTORIAL SLIDESHOW, VIDEO FOOTAGE, PICTURES AND NEWSPAPER REPORTS COVERING THE PRESS CONFERENCE FOR RONNIE BIGGS’S NEW AUTOBIOGRAPHY BOOK LAUNCH “ODD MAN OUT: THE LAST STRAW” HELD AT THE SHOREDITCH HOUSE , LONDON ON THE 17TH NOVEMBER 2011 . THE EVENT WAS ATTENDED BY MANY PHOTOGRAPHERS AND JOURNALISTS EAGER TO ASK RONNIE LOTS OF QUESTIONS DESPITE HIS CLEAR DISABILITY IN BEING UNABLE TO VOICE HIS ANSWERS . RELIANT SOLEY ON HIS SON MIKE AND HIS SPELLBOARD
RONNIE BIGGS …THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBER USING HIS SPELLBOARD AT HIS BOOK LAUNCH … NOW ON DISPLAY AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL ALONG WITH VARIOUS OTHER GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY MEMORABILIA ITEMS .
THE SPELLBOARD USED BY RONNIE BIGGS AT HIS BOOK LAUNCH AND NOW ON DISPLAY AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION HERE AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL
RONNIE BIGGS WITH AJ BACKSTAGE AT HIS BOOK LAUNCH PRESS CALL .
ALSO PICTURED HERE WITH HIS SPELLBOARD USED BY HIM DURING THE DAY AND NOW ON DISPLAY AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION HERE AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL
RONNIE BIGGS SAT WITH AJ DURING PRESS CALL , PICTURED HERE LOOKING AT HIMSELF PICTURED WITHIN THE LITTLEDEAN JAIL TOURISM LEAFLET.
A J CHATTING TO LEGENDARY DJ (AND SON OF BLUES GUITARIST LEGEND JOHN MAYALL) GAZ MAYALL AKA GAZ’S ROCKIN BLUES
OUR … CRIME THROUGH TIME @ LITTLEDEAN JAIL FACEBOOK ADMIN JULES SEEN HERE LOOKING AS IF HE’S JUST ABOUT TO CLOBBER RONNIE BIGGS AT THE BOOK LAUNCH …
Ronnie Biggs said he would be remembered as Britain’s “loveable rogue” as he made an appearance in public. The 82-year-old Great Train Robber said he was proud of his achievements, despite remorse for his crimes.
Unable to physically speak after several strokes, Biggs responded to questions at a press event to publicise his book, Odd Man Out: The Last Straw by pointing to a word and letter board. Asked how the country perceived him, he spelled out “loveable rogue”.
His son, Michael, speaking on his behalf at the east London event, said Biggs had no regrets about voluntarily returning from Brazil in 2001 to face justice for the 1963 robbery.
He had been working on the book since he was released from jail on compassionate grounds in 2009, the family said.
Biggs is unable to walk or talk. His son described how he developed a life-threatening chest infection every three or four weeks. “This is probably the first and last time he is holding a press conference.”
Launching his book, Biggs expressed sorrow over the fate of Jack Mills, the driver of the robbed mail train, who died in 1970 having never made a full recovery after being coshed. But when asked whether any proceeds from the book would go to Mills’s family, the ex-fugitive’s son said: “That has not been discussed yet.”
The book updates Biggs’s 1994 autobiography and has chapters covering his return to the UK, his time in prison, his release on compassionate grounds and his life since.
He Biggs first suffered a stroke in 1998 and has been admitted to hospital several times since returning to Britain.
Biggs was a member of a gang that made off with £2.6m from a Glasgow to London mail train. He was sentenced to 30 years, but escaped from Wandsworth prison, south London, in a furniture van 15 months later and spent more than 30 years on the run, living in Spain, Australia and Brazil. Biggs says in the book that he is a “very different man to the one who went on the run from HMP Wandsworth back in July 1965”. “Not only are there many, many more miles on the clock, but also there is the damage done to my body and soul by the strokes and other health problems that should have killed me already; and may have already done so by the time you get around to reading this,” he writes.
“I lay no claim to having been a perfect man who has led a faultless life, and never have, but I am a better man for the experiences of the past 50 years, a period in which I spent over three-quarters of my life trying to honestly maintain my family and myself as best I could.
“It has been said by those who don’t know me – and who have never met me – that I have no regrets, but that simply isn’t true. I have always regretted the hurt I caused by my actions, and especially to my own family and friends.”
BELOW SHOWS PICTURE FROM PORTUGESE NEWSPAPER WHICH ALSO SHOWS OUR JULES (ADMIN) IN ACTION …..THE LARGER THAN LIFE (OR THE OTHER SNAPPERS) CHARACTER SEEN HERE ON THE FRONT ROW
HERE IS A MORE COMPREHENSIVE LOOK, UPDATED PICTORIAL GALLERY AND SLIDESHOW INSIGHT INTO VARIOUS ORIGINAL AND INDEED PRESENT DAY NORTHERN SOUL MEMORABILIA AND EPHEMERA HERE . DISPLAYED ALONGSIDE AND COMPLIMENTING THE UK’S ONLY QUADROPHENIA COLLECTION HERE AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL. A MUST SEE VISITOR ATTRACTION IN IT’S OWN RIGHT FOR ALL QUADROPHENIA FILM FANS, MODS, SCOOTER BOYS AND GIRLS AND NORTHERN SOUL SCENE FANS, ETC.ETC.
IT INCLUDES VARIOUS ORIGINAL NORTHERN SOUL CLUB PATCHES, PATCHED SPORTS BAGS, VINYL RECORDS, CLOTHING, SIGNED PHOTOGRAPHS OF VARIOUS NORTHERN SOUL AND TAMLA MOTOWN ARTISTS, ORIGINAL WIGAN CASINO ARTWORK, TICKETS, FLYERS AND POSTERS, ETC.ETC.
A FASCINATING AND INTRIGUING INSIGHT INTO WHAT MANY CLAIMED WAS A HIGHLY DRUG FUELLED UNDERGROUND YOUTH CULTURE THAT TOOK THE UK BY STORM DURING THE 1970’S – EARLY 1980’S .
MANY OF THE FOUNDING VENUES WERE CLOSED DOWN BY POLICE AND LICENSING AUTHORITIES DURING THEIR HEYDAYS ….. ALLEGEDLY AS A RESULT OF THE ILLEGAL DRUG ABUSE AND DRUG DEALERS THAT FREQUENTED MANY OF THE ESTABLISHED NORTHERN SOUL VENUES THROUGHOUT THE UK.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT LITTLEDEAN JAIL AND IT’S MANY DIVERSE COLLECTIONS PLEASE TAKE TIME TO VISIT THE OFFICIAL FACEBOOK PAGE AT
https://www.facebook.com/pages/CRIME-THROUGH-TIME-LITTLEDEAN-JAIL/116250718410355
ABOVE IS A BRIEF PICTORIAL SLIDESHOW INSIGHT INTO THE INCREASINGLY GROWING NORTHERN SOUL EXHIBITION AREA HERE AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL ….. ENTITLED ” A TASTE OF NORTHERN SOUL DOWN HERE IN THE SOUTH OF ENGLAND”
KEEP THE FAITH …… HERE AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL
A ONE TIME OBSCURE AND UNDERGROUND CLUB CULTURE THROUGHOUT THE UK THAT SOON CROSSED OVER INTO THE COMMERCIALIZED MAINSTREAM MUSIC INDUSTRY SUCH AS TAMLA MOTOWN ETC…
NORTHERN SOUL HAS BEEN POPULAR IN THE UK SINCE THE 1960’S AND CONTINUES TO BE THE FOCUS OF MANY TIMELESS REVIVALS THROUGHOUT THE UK TO THIS DAY … NOW FEATURED HERE AT THE JAIL ALONGSIDE THE EQUALLY POPULAR QUADROPHENIA COLLECTION .
| Northern soul | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | Soul Rhythm and blues Gospel |
| Cultural origins | Northern England |
| Typical instruments | Strings Horns Guitar Vocals |
| Mainstream popularity | From late 1960s onwards |
| Derivative forms | Modern soul, Madchester,Mod revival |
| Other topics | |
| Motown Records, Mod subculture, Skinhead | |
Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged from the British mod scene, initially in northern England in the late 1960s. Northern soul mainly consists of a particular style of black American soul music based on the heavy beat and fast tempo of the mid-1960s Tamla Motown sound. The northern soul movement, however, generally eschews Motown or Motown-influenced music that has met with significant mainstream success. The recordings most prized by enthusiasts of the genre are usually by lesser-known artists, and were initially released only in limited numbers, often by small regional United States labels such as Ric-Tic and Golden World (Detroit), Mirwood (Los Angeles) and Shout and Okeh (New York/Chicago).
Northern soul is also associated with particular dance styles and fashions that grew out of the underground rhythm & soul scene of the late 1960s, at venues such as the Twisted Wheel in Manchester. This scene (and the associated dances and fashions) quickly spread to other UK dancehalls andnightclubs like the Catacombs (Wolverhampton), the Highland Rooms at Blackpool Mecca, Golden Torch (Stoke-on-Trent), and Wigan Casino. As the favoured beat became more uptempo and frantic, by the early 1970s, northern soul dancing became more athletic, somewhat resembling the later dance styles of disco and break dancing. Featuring spins, flips, karate kicks and backdrops, club dancing styles were often inspired by the stage performances of touring American soul acts such as Little Anthony & The Imperials and Jackie Wilson.
During the Northern soul scene’s initial years in the late 1960s and early 1970s, popular Northern Soul records were usually not recent releases, and generally dated from the mid-1960s. This meant that the movement was sustained (and “new” recordings added to playlists) by prominent DJs discovering rare and previously overlooked records. Later on, certain clubs and DJs began to move away from the 1960s Motown sound and began to play newer releases with a more contemporary sound.
[edit]HistoryPhotograph of a sew-on patch featuring the clenched fist symbol adopted by the northern soul movement
The phrase northern soul emanated from the record shop Soul City in Covent Garden, London, which was run by journalist Dave Godin.[1] It was first publicly used in Godin’s weekly column in Blues and Soul magazine in June 1970.[2] In a 2002 interview with Chris Hunt of Mojo magazine, Godin said he had first come up with the term in 1968, to help employees at Soul City differentiate the more modern funkier sounds from the smoother, Motown-influenced soul of a few years earlier. With contemporary black music evolving into what would eventually become known as funk, to differentiate the tastes of the die-hard soul-lovers of the north, whose musical preferences seemed to have stalled somewhere in that classic mid-’60s era of Motown-sounding black American dance, Godin referred to their requests as ‘Northern Soul’:
I had started to notice that northern football fans who were in London to follow their team were coming into the store to buy records, but they weren’t interested in the latest developments in the black American chart. I devised the name as a shorthand sales term. It was just to say ‘if you’ve got customers from the north, don’t waste time playing them records currently in the U.S. black chart, just play them what they like – ‘Northern Soul’.[3]
The venue most commonly associated with the early development of the northern soul scene was the Twisted Wheel in Manchester and the Room at The Top in Wigan. The club began in the early 1950s as a beatnik coffee bar called The Left Wing, but in early 1963, the run-down premises were leased by two Manchester businessmen (Ivor and Phil Abadi) and turned into a music venue.[4] Initially the Twisted Wheel mainly hosted live music on the weekends andDisc Only nights during the week. Starting in September 1963, the Abadi brothers promoted all-night parties at the venue on Saturday nights, with a mixture of live and recorded music. DJ Roger Eagle, a collector of imported American soul, jazz and rhythm and blues, was booked around this time, and the club’s reputation as a place to hear and dance to the latest American R&B music began to grow.
Throughout the mid-1960s, the Twisted Wheel became the focus of Manchester’s emerging mod scene, with a music policy that reflected Eagle’s eclectic tastes in soul and jazz, and featuring live performances by British beat musicians and American R&B stars. Gradually, the music policy became less eclectic and shifted heavily towards fast-paced soul, in response to the demands of the growing crowds of amphetamine-fuelled dancers who flocked to the all-nighters. Dismayed at the change in music policy and the frequent drug raids by the police, Eagle quit the club in 1966
Commemorative sew-on patch similar to those worn by Twisted Wheel members.
By 1968 the reputation of the Twisted Wheel and the type of music being played there had grown nationwide.Soul fans were traveling from all over the United Kingdom to attend the Saturday all-nighters, with resident ‘All Niter’ DJ Bob Dee compiling & supervising [5] the playlist and utilising the newly developed slip-cueing technique to spin the vinyl between 1968 and the club’s eventual closure in 1971 .[6] [7] After attending one of the venue’s all-nighters in November 1970, Godin wrote: “…it is without doubt the highest and finest I have seen outside of the USA… never thought I’d live to see the day where people could so relate the rhythmic content of Soul music to bodily movement to such a skilled degree!”[8] The venue’s owners had successfully been able to fill the vacancy left by Eagle with a growing roster of specialist soul DJs.
The Twisted Wheel gained a reputation as a drug haven, and under pressure from the police and other authorities, the club closed in January 1971. However, by the late 1960s, the popularity of the music and lifestyle associated with the club had spread further across the north and midlands of England, and a number of new venues had begun to host soul all-nighters. These included the King Mojo in Sheffield, The Catacombs in Wolverhampton, Room at the Top in Wigan and Va Va’s in Bolton.
Commemorative sew-on patch similar to those worn by Golden Torch members.
Northern soul reached the peak of its popularity in the mid to late 1970s.[9] At this time, there were soul clubs in virtually every major town in the midlands and the north of England.[10] The three venues regarded as the most important in this decade were the Golden Torch in Tunstall, Stoke (1971 to 1972), Blackpool Mecca (1971 to 1979) and Wigan Casino (1973 to 1981).
Although Wigan Casino is now the most well known, the best attended northern soul all-night venue at the beginning of the decade was the Golden Torch, where regular Friday night soul “all-nighters” began in late 1970. Chris Burton, the owner, stated that in 1972, the club had a membership of 12,500, and 62,000 separate customer visits.[11] Despite its popularity, the club closed down due to licensing problems in March, 1972 and attention switched to soul nights at Blackpool Mecca’s Highland Room, which had started hosting rare soul nights in late 1971.
Commemorative sew-on patch similar to those designed by Russ Winstanley and sold at the Wigan Casino.
Wigan Casino began its weekly soul all-nighters in September 1973.[12] Wigan Casino had a much larger capacity than many competing venues and ran its events from 2am until 8am. There was a regular roster of DJs, including the promoter Russ Winstanley. By 1976, the club boasted a membership of 100,000 people, and in 1978, was voted the world’s number one discotheque by the American magazine Billboard.[13] This was during the heyday of the Studio 54 nightclub in New York City. By the late 1970s, the club had its own spin-off record label, Casino Classics.[14]
By this time, Wigan Casino was coming under criticism from many soul fans. Contemporary black American soul was changing with the advent of funk, disco and jazz-funk, and the supply of recordings with the fast-paced northern soul sound began to dwindle rapidly. Wigan Casino DJs resorted to playing any kind of record that matched the correct tempo.[15] Also, the club was subjected to heavy media coverage and began to attract many otherwise uninterested people whom the soul purists did not approve of.[16]
Blackpool Mecca was popular throughout the 1970s, although the venue never hosted all-nighters. The regular Saturday night events began at 8pm and finished at 2am, and initially, some dancers would begin their evenings at Blackpool Mecca and then transfer to Wigan Casino. In 1974, the music policy at Blackpool Mecca sharply diverged from Wigan Casino’s, with the regular DJs Ian Levine and Colin Curtis including newly released US soul in their sets. Whilst the tempo was similar to the earlier Motown Records-style recordings, this shift in emphasis heralded a slightly different style of northern soul dancing and dress styles at Blackpool Mecca and created a schism in the northern soul movement between Wigan Casino’s traditionalists and Blackpool Mecca’s wider approach, which accepted the more contemporary sounds of Philly soul, early disco and funk.
Other major northern soul venues in the 1970s include The Catacombs in Wolverhampton, Va Va’s in Bolton, the ‘Talk of The North’ all-nighters at The Pier and Winter Gardens in Cleethorpes, Tiffany’s in Coalville, Samantha’s in Sheffield, Neil Rushton‘s ‘Heart of England’ soul club all-dayers at The Ritz in Manchester and the Nottingham Palais.[17] As the 1970s progressed, the northern soul scene expanded even further nationally. There was a notable scene in the east of England with all-nighters at the St. Ivo Centre in St. Ives, the Phoenix Soul club at the Wirrina Stadium in Peterborough and the Howard Mallett in Cambridge.[18] Other towns with notable northern soul venues at this time included Kettering, Coventry, Bournemouth, Southampton and Bristol.[19]
When Wigan Casino closed in 1981, many believed that the northern soul scene was on the verge of disintegrating. However, the 1970s mod revival, the thriving scooterboy subculture and the acid jazzmovement produced a new wave of fans. The popularity of the music was further bolstered in the 1980s by a wave of reissues and compilation albums from small British independent record labels. Many of these labels were set up by DJs and collectors who had been part of the original northern soul scene. The 1980s — often dismissed as a low period for northern soul by those who had left the scene in the 1970s — featured almost 100 new venues in places as diverse as Bradford, London, Peterborough, Leighton Buzzard, Whitchurch, Coventry and Leicester. Pre-eminent among the 1980s venues were Stafford‘s Top of the World and London‘s 100 Club.
Today there are regular northern soul events in various parts of the United Kingdom, such as The Nightshift Club all-nighters at the Bisley Pavilion in Surrey and the Prestatyn Weekender in North Wales.[20] In an August 2008 article in The Times, broadcaster Terry Christian argued that northern soul was undergoing a distinct revival in the late 2000s.[21] Christian cited the popularity of regular revivals of Twisted Wheel soul all-nighters at the original venue (in Whitworth Street, Manchester) plus the Beat Boutique northern soul all-nighters at the Ruby Lounge and MMUnion in Manchester. Many of those who ceased their involvement in the late 1970s have now returned to the scene and regularly participate in such events.[22][23] As of 2009, Paul O’Grady has included a Northern Soul Triple in his weekly BBC Radio 2 show. He plays three northern soul hits, often at the request of his listeners.[24]
The northern soul soul movement has inspired the movie Soulboy (2010), directed by Shimmy Marcus, and at least one novel: Do I Love You? (2008) by Paul McDonald[25][26] [27] In June 2010, theatre director Fiona Laird wrote and directed Keeping the Faith, a musical based on the Wigan Casino scene and featuring northern soul music. It was staged at the Central School of Speech and Drama’s Webber Douglas Studio, with a revival at the same venue in September 2010.
Photograph of the original release (left) and a re-issue copy (right) of Gloria Jones‘ Tainted Love
In the book Last Night A DJ Saved My Life: the history of the DJ, the authors describe northern soul as “a genre built from failures”, stating: “…Northern Soul was the music made by hundreds of singers and bands who were copying the Detroit sound of Motown pop. Most of the records were complete failures in their own time and place… but in northern England from the end of the 1960s through to its heyday in the middle 1970s, were exhumed and exalted.”[28]
The music style most associated with northern soul is the heavy, syncopated beat and fast tempo of mid-1960s Motown Records, which was usually combined with soulful vocals. These types of records, which suited the athletic dancing that was prevalent, became known on the scene as stompers.[29] Notable examples include Tony Clarke’s “Landslide” (popularised by Ian Levine at Blackpool Mecca)[30] and Gloria Jones’ “Tainted Love” (purchased by Richard Searling on a trip to the United States in 1973 and popularised at Va Va’s in Bolton, and later, Wigan Casino).[31] According to northern soul DJ Ady Croadsell, viewed retrospectively, the earliest recording to possess this style was the 1965 single “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)” by The Four Tops, although that record was never popular in the northern soul scene because it was too mainstream.[32]
Other related music styles also gained acceptance in the northern soul scene. Slower, less-danceable soul records were often played, such as Barbara Mills’ “Queen Of Fools” (popular in 1972 at the Golden Torch)[33] and The Mob’s “I Dig Everything About You”.[34] Every all-nighter at Wigan Casino ended with the playing of three well-known northern soul songs with a particular going home theme. These came to be known as the “3 before 8” and were: “Time Will Pass You By” by Tobi Legend, “Long After Tonight Is Over” by Jimmy Radcliffe, and “I’m On My Way” by Dean Parrish.[35]Commercial pop songs that matched the up-tempo beat of the stompers were also played at some venues, including The Ron Grainer Orchestra’s instrumental “Theme From Joe 90” at Wigan Casino[36] and The Just Brothers’ surf-guitar song “Sliced Tomatoes” at Blackpool Mecca.[37]
As the scene developed in the mid and late 1970s, the more contemporary and rhythmically sophisticated sounds of disco and Philly Soul became accepted at certain venues following its adoption at Blackpool Mecca. This style is typified musically by the O’Jays‘ “I Love Music” (UK #13, January 1976), which gained popularity prior to its commercial release at Blackpool Mecca in late 1975. The record that initially popularised this change is usually cited as The Carstair’s “It Really Hurts Me Girl” (Red Coach), a record initially released late in 1973 on promotional copies – but quickly withdrawn due to lack of interest from American Radio stations.[38] The hostility towards any contemporary music style from northern soul traditionalists at Wigan Casino led to the creation of the spin-off modern soul movement in the early 1980s.
As venues such as the Twisted Wheel evolved into northern soul clubs in the late 1960s and the dancers increasingly demanded newly discovered sounds, DJs began to acquire and play rare and often deleted US releases that had not gained even a release in the UK.”[39] These records were sometimes obtained through specialist importers or, in some cases, by DJs visiting the US and purchasing old warehouse stock.[40] Some records were so rare that only a handful of copies were known to exist, so northern soul DJs and clubs became associated with particular records that were almost exclusively on their own playlists. Many of the original artists and musicians remained unaware of their new-found popularity for many years.[41]
As the scene increased in popularity, a network of UK record dealers emerged who were able to acquire further copies of the original vinyl and supply them to fans at prices commensurate with their rarity and desirability.[42] Later on, a number of UK record labels were able to capitalise on the booming popularity of northern soul and negotiate licenses for certain popular records from the copyright holders and reissue them as new 45s or compilation LPs. Amongst these labels were Casino Classics, PYE Disco Demand, Inferno, Kent Modern and Goldmine.[43][44]
The notoriety of DJs on the northern soul scene was enhanced by the possession of rare records, but exclusivity was not enough on its own, and the records had to conform to a certain musical style and gain acceptance on the dance floor.[45] Frank Wilson‘s “Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)” has been rated the rarest and most valuable northern soul single.[46]
Many songs from the 1960s that were revived on the northern soul scene were reissued by their original labels and became UK top 40 hits in the 1970s. These include The Tams‘ 1964 recording “Hey Girl Don’t Bother Me” (UK #1, July 1971) – which was popularized by Midlands DJ Carl Dene –The Fascinations‘ 1966 single “Girls Are Out To Get You” (UK #32, 1971), The Newbeats‘ 1965 American hit “Run Baby Run” (UK #10, Oct 1971), Bobby Hebb‘s “Love Love Love” which was originally the B-side of his 1966 U.S. #1 “Sunny” (UK #32 August 1972), Robert Knight‘s “Love On A Mountain Top” of 1968 (UK #10, November 1973), and R. Dean Taylor’s “There’s A Ghost In My House” from 1967 (UK #3, May 1974).
Another song which became a favorite and highly collectible record from the northern soul scene was “Try To Think What Your Doing” by Court Davis, a Philadelphia based artist who recorded on the East Coast label during the late ’60’s and early ’70’s.
The northern soul scene also spawned many lesser chart hits, including Al Wilson‘s 1967 cut “The Snake” (UK #41 in 1975), Dobie Gray‘s “Out On The Floor” (UK #42, September 1975) and Little Anthony & The Imperials‘ “Better Use Your Head” (UK #42 July 1976).
A variety of recordings were made later in the 1970s that were specifically aimed at the northern soul scene, which also went on to become UK top 40 hits. These included: The Exciters’ “Reaching For The Best” (UK #31, October 1975), L.J Johnson’s “Your Magic Put A Spell On Me” (UK #27, February 1976),[47] Tommy Hunt’s “Loving On The Losing Side” (UK #28, August 1976) and “Footsee” by Wigan’s Chosen Few (UK #9, January 1975).[48]
“Goodbye Nothing To Say”, by the white British group The Javells, was identified by Dave McAleer of Pye’s Disco Demand label as having an authentic northern soul feel. McAleer gave a white label promotional copy to Russ Winstanley (a Wigan Casino DJ and promoter), and the tune became popular amongst the dancers at the venue. Disco Demand then released the song as a 45 RPM single, reaching UK #26 in November 1974. To promote the single on BBC’s Top Of The Pops, the performer was accompanied by two Wigan Casino dancers.[49]
In 2000, Wigan Casino DJ Kev Roberts compiled The Northern Soul Top 500, which was based on a survey of northern soul fans.[50] The top ten songs were: “Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)” by Frank Wilson, “Out on the Floor” by Dobie Gray, “You Didn’t Say a Word” by Yvonne Baker, “The Snake” by Al Wilson, “Long After Tonight is Over” by Jimmy Radcliffe, “Seven Day Lover” by James Fountain, “You Don’t Love Me” by Epitome of Sound, “Looking for You” by Garnet Mimms, “If That’s What You Wanted” by Frankie Beverly & the Butlers, and “Seven Days Too Long” by Chuck Wood.
African American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos performed their Black Powersalute at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City
A large proportion of northern soul’s original audience came from within the 1960s mod subculture. In the late 1960s, when some mods started to embrace freakbeat andpsychedelic rock, other mods – especially those in northern England – stuck to the original mod soundtrack of soul and Blue Beat. From the latter category, two strands emerged: skinheads and the northern soul scene.
Early northern soul fashion included strong elements of the classic mod style, such as button-down Ben Sherman shirts, blazers with centre vents and unusual numbers of buttons, Trickers and brogue shoes and shrink-to-fit Levi’s jeans.[51] Some non-mod items, such as bowling shirts, were also popular. Later, northern soul dancers started to wear light and loose-fitting clothing for reasons of practicality. This included high-waisted, baggy Oxford trousers and sports vests. These were often covered with sew-on badges representing soul club memberships.
The clenched fist symbol that has become associated with the northern soul movement (frequently depicted on sew-on patches) emanates from the Black Power civil rights movement of the 1960s in the United States. The symbol is related to the salute given by African-American athletes at the 1968 Olympic games in Mexico City.[52]On his visit to the Twisted Wheel in 1971, Dave Godin recalled that “…very many young fellows wore black “right on now” racing gloves … between records one would hear the occasional cry of “Right on now!” or see a clenched gloved fist rise over the tops of the heads of the dancers!”[53]
In 2007, Andrew Wilson (lecturer in criminology at the University of Sheffield) published the extensively researched sociological study Northern Soul: Music, drugs and subcultural identity. This work details in some depth the lifestyles associated with the Northern soul scene and the extensive use of Amphetamines (otherwise known asspeed) by many involved. Wilson argues that, whilst a significant proportion did not use drugs, drug usage was heavily ingrained in the fast-paced culture of the northern soul scene and contributed to participants’ ability to stay up all-night dancing. Many clubs and events were closed down or refused licences due to concerns of local authorities that soul nights attracted drug dealers and users.[54] Roger Eagle, DJ at the Twisted Wheel club in Manchester, cited Amphetamine usage amongst participants as his reason for quitting the club in 1967. Of the regular attendees he said, “All they wanted was fast-tempo black dance music… [but they were] too blocked on amphetamines to articulate exactly which Jackie Wilson record they wanted me to play.”[55]
The northern soul movement is cited by many as being a significant step towards the creation of contemporary club culture and of the superstar DJ culture of the 2000s.[56] Two of the most notable DJs from the original northern soul era are Russ Winstanley and Ian Levine. As in contemporary club culture, northern soul DJs built up a following based on satisfying the crowd’s desires for music that they could not hear anywhere else. The competitiveness between DJs to unearth ‘in-demand’ sounds led them to cover up the labels on their records, giving rise to the modern white label pressing. Many argue that northern soul was instrumental in creating a network of clubs, DJs, record collectors and dealers in the UK, and was the first music scene to provide the British charts with records that sold entirely on the strength of club play.[57]
A technique employed by northern soul DJs in common with their later counterparts was the sequencing of records to create euphoric highs and lows for the crowd. Many of the DJ personalities and their followers involved in the original northern soul movement went on to become important figures in the house and dance music scenes.[58] Notable among these are Mike Pickering, who introduced house music to The Haçienda in Manchester in the 1980s, the influential DJ Colin Curtis, Neil Rushton the A&R manager of the House music record label Kool Kat Music and the dance record producers Pete Waterman, Johnathan Woodliffe, Ian Dewhirst and Ian Levine.
Northern soul has influenced several notable musicians. Terry Christian — in his 2008 article about northern soul for The Times — wrote, “There’s an instant credibility for any artist or brand associated with a scene that has always been wild, free and grassroots.”[59] Soft Cell had chart success with covers of two popular northern soul songs, “Tainted Love” (originally recorded by Gloria Jones) and “What?” (originally recorded by Judy Street). Soft Cell member Dave Ball used to occasionally attend soul nights at Blackpool Mecca and Wigan Casino.[60] Moloko‘s video for “Familiar Feeling” is set against a northern soul backdrop and was directed by Elaine Constantine, a longstanding northern soul enthusiast. The video was choreographed by DJ Keb Darge, who rose to prominence at the Stafford Top Of The World all-nighters in the 1980s.[61]
London based rapper turned soul crooner, Plan B’s second album The Defamation Of Strickland Banks displayed a very significant Northern Soul influence. [62][63] [64]The single Stay Too Long featured Northern Soul style dance moves such as spins, flips and backdrops. The Album sleeve also featured “Plan B sew-on patches”.
HERE IS A PICTORIAL SLIDESHOW INSIGHT INTO THE OUTBUILDING (BOTH INSIDE AND OUT) HERE AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL THAT HOUSES THE UK’S ONLY QUADROPHENIA COLLECTION ALONG WITH VARIOUS ADD-ONS…… INCLUDING A TASTE OF NORTHERN SOUL DOWN HERE IN THE SOUTH OF ENGLAND EXHIBITION AND 1960’S REVISITED.
WE ALSO FEATURE SKA , TWO-TONE,REGGAE, RUDE BOYS, RUDE GIRLS, SCOOTER BOYS AND GIRLS , MODS AND ROCKERS, ETC THUS PROVIDING AN INTRIGUING INSIGHT INTO YOUTH AND CLUB CULTURE OF THE 1970’S -1980’S
THE EXHIBITION AREAS ARE CRAMMED FULL FROM FLOOR TO CEILING WITH THE UK’S LARGEST PRIVATE COLLECTIONS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC .
HERE AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL …. WE TOUCH UPON A GREAT MANY TRUE CRIME, TABOO AND FROWNED UPON SUBJECT MATTERS THAT NO OTHER VISITOR ATTRACTIONS DARE COVER .
THIS INCLUDES FOOTBALL HOOLIGANISM, GANGLAND, MAFIA, AND MUCH,MUCH MORE .
FOR THE PURPOSES OF CLARITY PLEASE NOTE…. THAT A.J AND THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION HAVE NO AFFILIATION OR LINKS TO ANY ALLEGED NOTORIOUS MOVEMENTS ……. SIMPLY HAS A UNIQUE ,VERY PRIVATE, CONFIDENTIAL AND UNACCESSIBLE TO OTHERS TELEPHONE DIRECTORY FOR THE SOLE BENEFIT TO THE JAIL…. TO A GREAT MANY PERSONS THAT HAVE KINDLY AND PERSONALLY CONTRIBUTED EXHIBIT MATERIAL FOR THE DISPLAYS HERE AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL (FOR WHICH WE ARE ETERNALLY GRATEFUL )
BELOW THE IMAGES HERE SEE FOR YOURSELVES SOME INTERACTIVE MACINTYRE UNDERCOVER CHELSEA HEADHUNTERS FOOTAGE . (VERY VERY BRAVE ….. MANY SAY FOOLISH UNDERCOVER REPORTING – TO SAY THE VERY LEAST??)
Attack: Donal MacIntyre leaves court
Former undercover reporter Donal MacIntyre and his wife were viciously attacked by a father and daughter in a bar brawl after drinkers turned on him for helping to convict Chelsea football hooligans, a court heard yesterday.
The TV journalist had visited the bar with wife Ameera De La Rose – who was suffering a brain tumour – when other drinkers noticed him.
They started to berate him for his part in a conviction of Jason Mariner – a football hooligan who was exposed in his programme ‘MacIntyre Undercover’.
James Wild allegedly attacked MacIntyre to seek revenge for Mariner’s conviction and in a scuffle outside the venue, also struck De La Rose, bruising her arms.
MacIntyre was knocked unconscious.
Wild’s 25-year-old daughter Caley is charged with assaulting the journalist in the scuffle on June 17, 2009.
MacIntyre said the attack was linked to the prosecution of the notorious Chelsea Headhunters gang.
In 1999, he filmed them planning an attack on rival fans after posing as a drug-dealing Ulster loyalist to infiltrate the gang.
His exposé led to the convictions of five men the following year.
MacIntyre, 44, told a jury at Guildford Crown Court that he had visited the Cloud Nine Bar in East Molesey, Surrey, following an evening where he attended two charity events in London with his family.
He had taken his wife, 33, for a quiet drink ahead of a scan she was due to undergo the following morning.
MacIntyre said on his entrance into the wine bar he had noticed a group of men at the bar and had feared they might have recognised him.
Revenge attack: Donal MacIntyre and wife Ameera at a charity event for Great Ormond Street on the night of the assault
He told the jury: ‘We were sitting discussing the scan and her fears about it and this man came over who was part of the group. It seemed the rest of the men were fanning out behind him.
‘This one man came up and said “you grass, you snitch, you put my mate Jimmy in jail”, or words to that effect.
‘It was highly aggressive and very much in my face. I have been in situations before where I have had a threat of violence.
‘It was shouted very aggressively, it was clear and audible to anyone in these surroundings. They would have heard the name Jason Mariner’.
MacIntyre said his wife became upset that the man, who was unnamed in court, was berating him and started to cry.
‘She was distressed enough as it was and now she was with her husband and facing verbal abuse on what was supposed to be a very calming moment between us,’ he said.
Football hooligan Jason Marriner was filmed for MacIntyre Undercover in 1999His wife left the table and went to the toilet, followed soon after by MacIntyre.
He told the jury: ‘I stopped at a group of guys there and I said “give me a hard time if you want but my wife’s got a brain tumour”. It wasn’t a threat, this was a desperate time.
‘I said ‘she’s got a scan tomorrow and she’s really distressed, give us a break.
‘I said give us a break and he didn’t. I followed her into the bathroom and she was in a corner in tears.’
MacIntyre said he saw at least two girls in the bathroom, one of whom, Miss Wild, is alleged to have asked him why the men in the bar were shouting at him.
‘She said “is it because you put someone in jail?” I said I was trying to comfort Ameera at the time.
‘She said “well you deserve it then, don’t you?”‘
Mr MacIntyre left the bathroom and walked back into the bar. When Mrs MacIntyre came out the couple tried to leave the bar but were followed by the group of men, including Wild.
Mr MacIntyre said: ‘They came up to where I was, they were intent on starting a fight. One said “you bastard, I’m going to have you.”
‘I was trying to defend myself and was aware Ameera was behind me’.
In the brawl that ensued MacIntyre was pushed to the ground and set upon by the group, with Wild striking his wife in the scuffle.
In addition to being knocked unconscious, Mr MacIntyre also received a black eye while his wife’s arms were badly bruised.
He was then approached by Miss Wild who told him not to hit her boyfriend.
He said: ‘It was clear she was going to come up and hit me.’
Demonstrating how he covered his face, he added: ‘I was aware I didn’t want to give any indication that there was any aggression from me.
‘There could be no suggestion that I had invited anything like that and she punched me, I don?t recall it being hard or serious but she did, she hit me.’
Wild, who lives in Malaga, Spain but also has a home in Blacksproud Lane East, Lightwater, Surrey , and Caley Wild of Peregrine Road, Sunbury, deny all charges.
The trial continues.
HERE AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL WE FEATURE AND TOUCH UPON THE EXPLOITS OF BRITAIN’S MOST INFAMOUS AND NOTORIOUS DRUG SMUGGLER , HOWARD MARKS BETTER KNOWN AS MR NICE…
BELOW IS A SIX PART VIDEO FEATURING SOME OF HIS EXPLOITS .
MR NICE- HOWARD MARKS PICTURED HERE WITH SHAUN RYDER FROM THE HAPPY MONDAYS .
TWO OF A KIND….. SOME WOULD SAY !!!
FOOTAGE OF HOWARD MARKS INTERVIEWING SHAUN RYDER ……… WELL WORTH A WORTH A LOOK …..
BELOW ARE SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF SHAUN RYDER IN BRITAIN’S TV SHOW …”I’M A CELEBRITY GET ME OUT OF HERE” BACK IN 2010.
HERE IS A FILM TRAILER FOR HOWARD MARK’S …. MR NICE FILM STARRING RHYS IFANS .AS WELL AS A FILM CAST LIST OF OTHERS WHO ALSO STAR IN THE FILM .
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
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Rhys Ifans | … |
Howard Marks
|
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Chloë Sevigny | … |
Judy Marks
|
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David Thewlis | … |
Jim McCann
|
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Elsa Pataky | … |
Ilze
|
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Crispin Glover | … |
Ernie Combs
|
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Andrew Tiernan | … |
Alan Marcuson
|
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Omid Djalili | … |
Saleem Malik
|
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Jack Huston | … |
Graham Plinston
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Ania Sowinski | … |
Mandy
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Jamie Harris | … |
Patrick Lane
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Christian McKay | … |
Hamilton McMillan
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Kinsey Packard | … |
Patti Hayes
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Ken Russell | … |
Russell Miegs
|
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Craig Stevenson | … |
Webster
|
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Luis Tosar | … |
Lovato
|
Smoking role: Rhys Ifans plays Howard Marks in Mr NiceRhys Ifans looks very relaxed. He’s sitting by the pool just down the coast from Malaga, on the Costa del Sol, in his shorts and an open shirt, tall drink in one hand, long blazing reefer in the other. He’s not, contrary to first impressions, indulging in a hedonistic holiday. The 42-year-old Welsh actor is, believe it or not, hard at work; he’s midway through production on the big-screen adaptation of Mr Nice, the autobiography of fellow Welshman Howard Marks, the Oxbridge-educated valley boy, one-time cannabis smuggler and now full-time folk hero.
‘This feels kind of right, sitting here, playing Howard,’ begins Ifans, once his sitting-in-the-sun scene is done, drink and spliff put aside as hair and make-up people fuss around him. ‘I met Howard 13 years ago when he came out of prison, at a Super Furry Animals gig in Pontypridd.’
This was after Ifans’s active involvement in the band and before the publication of Marks’s best-selling 1996 book (Super Furry Animals put Marks’s image on the cover of their debut album, Fuzzy Logic, which was released in the same year as Marks’s autobiography). ‘We kind of made a verbal agreement there and then,’ continues Ifans, ‘that if ever there was a film to be made of Howard‘s life, I’d play him. At the time, I hadn’t really acted all that much, so it was a bit of a pipe dream.’ He pauses. ‘If you’ll excuse the expression.’
More than a decade later and that film is unfolding in southern Spain, with Ifans in situ as the lead and Chloë Sevigny and David Thewlis providing able support. The little-known Bernard Rose, who released Candyman 18 years ago, directs, telling a story that sifts through the key moments in Marks’s life, skittering through his early years – bad at sport, good at lessons, bullied – to his arrival at Oxford University.
Once enrolled, his education does indeed become ‘higher’, as he’s seduced into the world of marijuana and acid, and then into smuggling. He becomes bolder, falling in with IRA man Jim McCann (played by a delightfully frenetic Thewlis) and together they import copious amounts of resin into Britain. As the money floods in, Marks becomes bolder still and the authorities become suspicious, tracking the smuggler, his young wife (Sevigny) and their family. Once the US DEA becomes involved, his card is marked.
Forty-three aliases, 89 phone lines and 25 registered companies later, Marks has spent seven years behind bars in the US and is now a hero to many liberally minded folk. ‘Yeah, he’s been a hero of mine,’ notes Ifans, once his band of polishers and preeners finally moves away. ‘Actually, he turned up on set a couple of weeks ago and he had video footage of our actual first meeting. You can see us talking away and shaking hands, like doing the deal! He’s a really good friend of mine.’
Is it difficult playing a close friend, I wonder. ‘On paper, you’d think it would be,’ says Ifans. ‘If it was another mate it might be different but with Howard, I wanted him on set. He brings such joy and energy. There’s no vanity to Howard, so he’s not an intimidating presence. Everyone on the crew has fallen in love with him.’
While Marks is no longer a wanted man, and his smuggling days are over, he’s not changed his outlook. He remains as quick-witted as ever, according to Ifans: ‘He’s stoned. He’s still smoking.
He comes along and seems really amused by the film. It’s a real stoney thing watching your whole life pass before you… without drowning.’
The actor recalls a moment when shooting a scene in which Marks fakes his own kidnapping from his parents’ house in Wales. ‘He came down on set and the actors who were playing his mum and dad were there,’ says Ifans. ‘I said to Howard: “Was that a bit weird?” and he said: “Oh yeah, watching your own kidnapping, it’s really f***ing weird. But it’s even weirder when you fancy your mum.”’
As Ifans is called back to set, he picks up his drink and reefer. Has he ever smoked with Marks, I ask as he saunters off – after all, when in Rome? ‘You might think it would be rude not to,’ smiles Ifans. ‘Although, of course, I didn’t inhale.’
Mr Nice is in cinemas from Friday.
THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION .... HERE AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL, FOREST OF DEAN , GLOUCESTERSHIRE, UK 
