Welcome to the inagurial issue of our new magazine 'N. Soul'. What an amazing few months it has been for the UK Soul scene since I last put pen to paper.
Birmigham Hilton
Another fantastic weekend from the guys at Jazz FM & Smooth FM took place over May 28th - 30th headline act Bobby Womack performed a fantastic although shorter than hoped set and Nu-Soul heroes Impromp2 built on their successful P.A at Blackburn's K.G.H in January with a fantastic live set along with their full backing band.
Once again the weekender set the standard for true soul music with five fantastic rooms in use over the weekend.
The next weekender takes place over the weekend of January 7th 2005 at the Blackpool Hilton and offers Modern soul enthusiasts a fantastic way to start the new year. Once again 5 rooms will be in use throughout the weekend covering the whole soul spectrum from 60's connoisseurs, classic cross over soul, Philadelphia soul, soulful dance and up-front new releases from an un-rivaled team of DJs.
Add to that the fact that three of the most in demand live acts from the U.S are now confirmed. Glenn Jones will be putting in a welcome appearance performing all his legendary sides from his days at R.C.A and Jive records. Phil Perry is making a swift return to these shores after his well received appearance at the recent Prestatyn weekender and also live on stage will be the fantastic Howard Hewett performing sides such as 'Heaven Sent' and 'This Love is Forever'.
More details will follow in the next issue but for booking information check out www.smoothfm.com or www.jazzfm.com or call 01253 623434.
Smooth FM
Nearly nine years has passed since Jazz FM 100.4 was launched in the North West and provided the region with a fantastic blend of smooth jazz and the best in new and old soul music, it's fair to say along with Richard Searling's show Jazz FM was one of the big reasons why the rare soul scene became so popular once again in the North West throughout the 90's.
The Guardian media group purchased Jazz FM early last year and decided that a new name and new format was needed to build on the success Jazz FM had produced.
The re-launch of the station as 'Smooth FM' took place in March and so far things look good with even more soul content added to the station. Richard's show is still there as are other fantastic shows with the likes of Andy Peebles, Dave Lincoln etc still providing the region with great music.
Unfortunately as one new station begins another one ends, Soul 24-7 who provided Digital and Internet radio listeners with some fantastic soul music has come to an end after nearly three years due to a lack of funding. Although the station is no longer in operation there is hope in the future that the station will be re-launched under a new banner.
East Coast soul trip 2006
After the success of this years trip to the West Coast and Los Angeles KRL are currently finalising plans for the next promotion on the East Coast for late April 2006. Three hundred soul fans from the UK made the trip across to the U.S to meet up with well over one hundred legendary acts from producers & musicians to vocalists and groups. Including the likes of Frank Wilson, The Olympics, Billy Griffin, The Magnificents, the list is endless. Along with that a large number of American soul fans joined the UK contingenet over the week to sample the magic of the Northern Soul scene.
The event surpassed all expectations of the travelling fans, acts and Iam sure those of the promoters, but they are promising that the next event will be bigger and better. An un-enviable task but one Iam sure they are up to. For more information and constant up-dates check out: www.goldsoul.co.uk or check out: www.seanlivesey.com/news.html More details will follow in our next issue.
Motown hits our screens
After the success of N.B.C's 1999 mini-series portraying the career of The Temptations the network is now finnalising plans for a 12 part series depicting the rise and fall of Motown through Berry Gordy. Plans are a little sketchy at this time but an estimated screening date is some time in early 2006.
As with everything else you will be able to keep up with the latest news at: www.seanlivesey.com ...
New releases
As stated in our last issue the latest Motown release will be The Temptations 60th album 'Legacy' (formerly 'Impeccable'). Two tracks from that album have been in circulation among UK & US DJ's namely 'Fifty Fifty Love' and 'Somethin Special' the latter currently being championed by Richard Searling. The album also features drummer Steve Harvey after his fantastic work with Impromp2.
To take a listen to both tracks or to read a full review of the album on-line checkout my website: www.seanlivesey.com, For info on purchasing the album etc check out: www.cduniverse.com .
Also coming from Motown is Stevie Wonder's latest album thought to be his first in over nine years for more info check out www.motown.com.
Expansion have released their latest compilation namely 'New Soul Heaven' featuring fantastic tracks from the likes of Patrice Rushen and Emerald Jade.
For Northern Soul fans the new album from Warners 'Sock it to em Soul' compiled by Richard Searling is proving a best seller featuring some of the best 60's club classics including tracks from the likes of Rex Garvin, William Bell, Joe Tex etc.
Dome records
Staying with new releases Dome records are back with their latest offering, following on from the successful release of Dennis Taylor's new album earlier this year. Rashann Patterson's longly anticipated new album 'After Hours' was released in March and features many great tracks such as 'The best', 'Burnin', 'The one for me' and the in-demand 'So hot' make this one of the most in-demand albums of the year.
Rosie Gaines is back at the fore-front of soul music with her latest album 'You Gave Me Freedom' also on Dome. The former Motown lady is at her best on this album and as with Rashan Patterson's new album you can get more information on ordering etc by visiting: www.domerecords.co.uk