stai visitando "un raggio di soul", il sito...slightly unfair to the northern scene
EBONY SOUNDS
Ancora articoli di David Cole, ed ancora le argute ed irriverenti polemiche giovanili di uno dei più conosciuti appassionati di soul d'Oltremanica E' l'ideale seguito dell'articolo precedente ( "Sound of Soul" )
GUILTY, GULLIBLE AND GORMLESS ( September 1978 )
Having been accused in the past of being slightly unfair to the "northern" scene, we have tried desperately to avoid knocking it of late. However, the latest little gem to be raised in certain dance halls north of Watford could not be allowed to be uncommented upon.
In the mid-sixties, Doris Troy recorded a superb outing for Calla entitled " Iıll Do Anything ". Released in this country on Cameo-Parkway, it was to enjoy at least two further reissues, on Toast and Contempo. Each occasion it grazed the pop charts, undoubtedly drawing attention of the ever-eager cover version market.
In 1969, Polydor-UK rashly signed the (then) popular British dee-jay, Tony Blackburn, to a recording contract. Blackburn, possessor of a voice of outstanding mediocrity, started his pop-world career as a vocalist with a Bournemouth band. He actually recorded ( would you believe? ) an entire album for Polydor, including a version of " Iıll Do Anything ". The album stayed on record shop shelves, gathering dust.
Now, for some strange reason totally alien to the minds of ourselves, several dee-jays predominantly on the northern scene, consider it necessary to "cover up" many of what they claim to be their personally-discovered sounds. The idea is apparently not to deceive the listener/punter - no? - but to retain the exclusivity of a record often so dire that no one in his or her right mind would wish to bother finding out the true source in any case.
A current example is a northern hit entitled " Everythingıs Tears ", credited to one Florence DeVore, claiming to be some American obscurity from those halcyon days of stompers but really an old British CBS recording by [Ms.] Barry St. John, " Everything I Touch Turns To Tears ".
The whole principle of cover-ups has always been distasteful to us. Soul music, at least good soul music - and, in the minds of the dee-jays involved, their delights ARE good - should be shared by as wide an audience as possible, not retained by an elite few. We have always been excited to share a "discovery" with our readers.
For example, long before Clint Eastwoodıs film "Play Misty For Me" brought Roberta Flack to a wide audience, we were heralding her a future superstar. We no more thought of calling her Joanna Black than we would of referring to Helen Shapiro as Rose Battiste. ( And, oh yes, that has happened too ! )
But back to Tony Blackburn, horrible though that may be.
A northern dee-day, obviously starved of the ability to discover oldies of any merit - and there are still plenty lurking in the vaults of several US companies - came across Blackburnıs Polydor album and, doubtless recalling the former success of Doris Troyıs original, began spinning Blackburnıs "I'll Do Anything", covered-up under the name of "American" Lenny Gamble.
The zombie set to whom this dee-jay would seem to cater, anxious to dance to anything provided (a) it sounds as though it was recorded in a bathroom and/or (b) no one else has heard of it and/or (c) it gets through frequently drug blocked minds, thought it such a wow that a fellow dee-jay persuaded Polydor - who had forgotten the existence of the album - to lease the disc for release as a 45.
Eventually, it turned up as the flipside to an equally misnamed "classic", viz a version of Marvin Gayeıs "Little Darlin' (I Need You)" by the Flirtations. Despite being quoted as unaware the record had been issued, Tony Blackburn, via his radio programme, gave extensive airplay to the Flirtations' disc. Fellow dee-jays, perhaps more curious about flipsides ( or more prone to something akin to nepotism ) began spinning the "Lenny Gamble" cut. Within days the real identity of Lenny Gamble became an open secret and, as if the likelihood of the disc making the national pop charts was not bad enough, pundits on the northern scene actually started buying t-shirts boasting " I Know Who Lenny Gamble Is ".
Letıs look at the heading of this article then !
Guilty : Those persons who practise deception to the extent that no doubt they skate incredibly close to the edge of a legal precipice and who, if not operating payola, are certainly using the "old pal's act" to force this record into the pop charts.
Gullible : The punters who are taken in sufficiently to stir the initial interest in the record.
Gormless : Anyone who thought it a disc of any merit in the first place.
However, the second and third categories demonstrate clearly the division in the scene in the north of England. Whilst the majority are returning to soul as we know it - and they are in no way implicated in this article - the minority are going further out on a limb and currently enjoying such "soul" ( sic ) artists as Del Shannon, Jackie Trent, Peggy March and Paul Anka. The sooner this element of the scene drops the idea of even a passing acquaintance with the word "soul" [music], the better.
JUNE - BLACK MUSIC MONTH ( June 1979 )
In the USA, June has been designated "Black Music Month". Not just within the record industry, not just on the whim of the media - but officially !
On the instigation of the Black Music Association of America, which has recently celebrated its first anniversary, President Carter decided to make the announcement official ( to coincide, "Billboard" magazineıs June 9 issue will contain a special report ).
Whatever you may think about the politics or statesman-like worth of President Carter, could you see such a move happening here ?
With the extreme right-wing, almost National Front, government Britain recently inherited, the idea of an official "Black Music Month" here can only be mere fantasy but surely it shoulds not be beyond the bounds of the UK record industry to emulate is US counterpart ?
Black music, emaciated though the discos may have made it, currently accounts for a greater proportion of record sales than ever before and, thus, there is a ready made opportunity to thank those who have been so busy lining the pockets of the industry for many years. So what are British record companies doing to mark the event ? Bugger all, it appears !
Not one British record company has, to date, even bothered to acknowledge the [US] event. Predominantly black companies such as Motown and Salsoul continue to assault our ears with ultra-commercial "splat" whilst withholding genuine roots music from within their catalogue and CBS give us endless permutations of disco dross from the Prelude catalogue whilst ignoring recent US smashes from Tyrone Davis and the Manhattans.
It could reasonably be argued that a "Black Music Month" in Britain should focus predominantly on reggae material. Okay, we make no secret that we donıt care much for reggae ourselves but even we would welcome at least something to mark the black culture.
What is the problem here [in the UK] then ?
The problem is that the UK industry has yet to be taken seriously and, until it can be done so, it must take ITSELF seriously. UK companies seem only to be in touch with reality - their own! - when it comes to raising prices; at other times they are content to turn out fodder of such crass proportions that must surely exist solely to keep Radio One alive.
Deals are made with US licensors and "bottom of the barrel" material is pulped out, while the cream - which always rises to the top - is left across the pond. Occasionally a "freak" cut is issued, becomes a hit and, guiltily - almost shamefacedly - the UK company resolves no folow-ups, no more releases or, conversely, over-saturisation ( e.g. repeating tracks on successive albums, deterring rather than attracting regular record buyers ).
The potential for black music is enormous. More and more established artists are turned to disco material and, in the main, elevating the standard of disco product. Meanwhile, "disco" is the password to record industry success. Logically, therefore, UK companies and black music should be coming together to the mutual benefit of both.
So why arenıt they? Are there sinister government pressures to eliminate the influence of black product? We would like to think not and it would be dangerously over-biased of us to believe otherwise. (Incidentally, National Front manifestos have consistently promised abolition of access to "jungle music" (sic).)
The conclusion is that the average executive in the UK record industry is grossly ignorant and out of touch - a conclusion consistently reached by ourselves. June is "Black Music Month" in America. It is too late to repeat the event here but, if the "Rumpelstiltskins" in Britain wake up in time, perhaps we can attempt to emulate a small portion of the US counterpart next year .
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