Suede & Brett Anderson

One of my musical regrets is never having seen Suede Live. At the beginning I loved Animal Nitrate and Brett Anderson's voice but didn't care too much for the whole saviour of British rock n roll image that the music press surrounded the band with in the lead up to the Brit pop era. So in my usual way of attempting to be cool and ignore what the mainstream press like I tried hard to ignore them although I was always intrigued by Brett Anderson's pose and David Bowie influenced vocals

A few years later I heard the single New Generation and thought that it was superb. But timing is everything in life. I had two small kids to look after and gig going wasn't a priority and living in the North East means bands don't always come here. By the time the kids were a bit older and I had more time, the band had split up.

I was tidying up in the front room yesterday and picking CDs up off the floor and I came across the Brett Anderson's and Bernard Butler's reunion band The Tears 2005 CD Here Come The Tears . Curious, as I haven't played it in years, I popped it into the Bose and was absolutely blown away by the album.To be honest it's like a lost Suede CD and it is very good.

In particular I loved this track. It's loud, it gets under your skin and makes you want to be young, in love and in London. It reminded me of being young and in love and in London. It's one of those songs that makes you glad to be alive and fills you with energy and desire.

Lovers- The Tears

Musical Regrets- Northern Soul

One on my musical  regrets is never going to Wigan Casino or Blackpool Mecca ballroom when I had the chance and was  a student in Manchester in the late Seventies early Eighties.

 

I came to Northern Soul relatively late. Growing up in the Sixties and Seventies Motown was on the radio a lot  and later even Tony Blackburn kept the soul flame burning on his post Radio 1 shows on GLR. Growing up I ‘d seen the crossover hits mimed along to on TOTP but it took The Jam and the track Non Stop Dancing on their first album to really stimulate my interest in Northern Soul.

 

If there were any all nighters in my Hertfordshire market town home I never heard of them them and  anyway by the time The Jam came along  there seemed to be just so much new and exciting music to listen to  I didn’t have  a chance to pursue a new found interest in obscure-  and  at the time ,I thought, uncool, music, seduced as I was by other  Weller, Foxton Buckler songs  and The Clash and reggae and all the stuff John Peel played.

I got into the Mod Revival   through '79 and early 1980  after being blown away by the music and images on The Jam's All Mod Cons album and  so I kept an interest in Motown and Northern Soul.

In reality though it wasn’t until  1983 and the move  back down to the South and  into London and  where I discovered all the pirate stations playing soul music,  that I started to research Northern Soul in detail.  Compilation albums were easy to get hold of (still are).Some of the sound quality was (is) naff as most were(are) analogue recordings straight from the 7" vinyl and some of the songs are so poor they really do deserve to be obscure. 

But some of the songs are the epitome of good quality honest no nonsense dance music and  if you play some of them loud, really loud I defy you to not want to perform some daring moves in your living room. Or even just tap your feet.

 

This is one of my favourites.   A classic northern soul voice and sound.

 

In Your Spare Time- Cindy Scott