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Category: Ady Croasdell

I first became interested in black American music through my dad’s 78s of Paul Robeson, Fats Waller and the Ink Spots. An interest in rural blues developed throughout the early 60s and from there I found John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf. The need to attract girlfriends led me to soul music, as there weren’t many lookers into country blues. It was the standard Stax/Motown/Geno route that so many late 60s mods took. In 1969 I fell by chance into an “Old Soul” all-nighter and things were never the same again. I fell in love with the music that was later to be named Northern Soul by journalist Dave Godin and listened to it, collected it, talked about it and danced to it for the next ten years. A degree in International Relations at University College, London only served to give me more time for my hobby and a job on a singles record stall on Soho’s Rupert Street market set me up as a rare record dealer for the next ten years. In 1974 I sold up my hard-won collection of UK Tamla and rare soul items to finance my first record-buying trip to the USA. The trip was a success and I made 20+ over the next dozen years. In 1979 my favourite soul club folded and necessity caused me to start the 6Ts Rhythm ‘N’ Soul Club with friend and fellow enthusiast Randy Cozens. That club is still running today at London’s 100 Club and is the longest-running Northern Soul night ever (and the longest-running club night). A DJing career was forced upon me around this time and I have DJed all around the UK, Europe and even the USA.

  • Ady Croasdell

    Ady Croasdell

    Finding The First Copy

    Kenny Carter

    It’s a bitterly cold February ‘94 and I’m in New York City attempting to persuade Tony Middleton to come to Cleethorpes, one of north east Lincolnshire’s premier hot spots, to sing to his UK fans at our inaugural Northern Soul weekender. While I’m there I decide to pop in on Paul Williams, an old friend who used to buy Jackie Moore imports off me in 1974 when I was a West End barrow boy. He had worked his way up in the music business and was then a Vice President at the mighty RCA Records situated on 1540 Broadway, NYC.

    Paul knows my passion for all things Northern from those early 70s days and I had already faxed him with a list of what I consider to be the classiest 60s soul acts on his label. When we meet up on the 30 somethingth floor of this legendary building, I’m invited into a rather (definitely, by Kent standards!) opulent office, and after catching up on each other’s news and record company gossip, I am presented with a complete list of the recordings made at RCA by the acts I have queried Paul about.

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  • Ady Croasdell

    Ady Croasdell

    Finding The First Copy

    It was sad to hear of the passing of Tony Middleton this week. It immediately brought back memories of our first Cleethorpes weekender in 1993. Here’s a photo of that trip and the sleevenotes reminscence from the Cleethorpes CD. L to R Tony, Brad Comer, me, Mary Love on the fire escape at Ace Records, Harlesden.

    “There’s nothing like meeting and striking up a relationship with an act to get their full co-operation. I was given Tony Middleton’s number by soul sleuth Andy Rix, and was keen to get him on the first Cleethorpes Northern Soul weekender show as he was quite unknown as a live artist back then. He had a very strong Northern Soul recording history that would sound great live and hopefully draw in the customers. I was due to visit the States on a record-buying mission about six months before the show and arranged to meet up with Tony in a rather swanky Swedish restaurant that he had picked out. I immediately felt out of my depth when he turned up in a sharp suit and a leggy Swedish blonde, who evidently owned and hosted the joint, came up and greeted him as a personal friend.

    The prices didn’t make me feel any more at ease and the conversation was rather one-sided with Tony regaling me with all his achievements as a singer, actor and general man of the world. We got on well though and I think I probably upped my meagre offer for his fee just to save face: I really didn’t think he would go for it. However, he kindly said he would perform at our inaugural event because he liked me and it would be fun, even if the money was below his usual radar. I was extremely grateful and having got his word was happy to pay the sizeable bill and even throw in a tip to the Greta Garbo figure.

    When Tony arrived in England, he was an easy-going and down to earth fellow who spent a memorable night out with myself, soul fan and DJ Val Palmer and a very colourful American punk rocker called Mike Spencer from the Cannibals group, who Tony teased by telling him that his Harlem gang used to kick Mike’s hoodlum friends’ asses all around Central Park.

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  • Ady Croasdell

    Ady Croasdell

    Finding The First Copy

    Gettin’ To Me

    In the mid-90s when I wandered into Vinyl Experience a second-hand collectors’ shop on Hanway Street in London’s West End, for the first time in a few weeks and while I was checking out the various specialist collectors boxes that they kept behind the counter, I noticed about 50 sealed cardboard boxes under the LP racks. On asking the shop owner what they were he said, “Oh that’s the remnants of the Carlin collection we got a few months ago”. “What’s that all about then?” I ventured. It turned out that this famous music publishing company had decided to throw out all its old demos and samples as surplus to requirements. Mark Hayward, the shop’s owner, had snapped up the massive collection which included demos and acetates from every major popular music act of the 50s, 60s and 70s, including Elvis, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie etc. etc. etc.

    After turning luminous green with envy, I realised that Mark knew which were the obviously rare soul records (as did everyone with the advent of Record Collector magazine), but, as he was sketchy on the more obscure items and ignorant of US labels altogether, a bit of damage limitation was in order.

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  • Ady Croasdell

    Ady Croasdell

    Finding The First Copy

    The 6Ts Rhythm and Soul Society was co-founded in August 1979 by Randy Cozens and Ady Croasdell. The first dance was held in a function room called Henri’s at the Bedford Head pub in Maiden Lane in London’s Covent Garden. The first night was a great success with soul records, dancing, carousing and debauchery.

    ​One more equally splendid night was held there before the management rebuilt the pub and kicked us out. ​By then we had a solid following and with the help of one of the first club mailing lists that we had established, sent out slightly amusing newsletters before each dance and got the crowd to follow us to our next venue. At this stage, Ian Clark’s graphics for the newsletter and membership card were very much a part of the set-up.

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  • Andy RixShrine

    Andy RixShrine

    The Rarest Soul Label Vol.2

    The story of Shrine Records, from its creation to demise, was told in Volume One. As promised Volume Two will look at those who contributed to the creation of the Shrine sound and the songs that have captured the attention of 60s Soul fans all over the world.

    The story of Shrine Records, from its creation to demise, was told in Volume One. As promised Volume Two will look at those who contributed to the creation of the Shrine sound and the songs that have captured the attention of 60s Soul fans all over the world.

    Assembling the team
    Eddie Singleton, Raynoma ‘Miss Ray’ Gordy and, her half-brother, Stanley ‘Mike’ Ossman were the nucleus of the company. It was always their intention to surround themselves with individuals who had the potential, and talent to achieve, if given the opportunity. These gifted souls were to become the backbone of Shrine Records.

    Harold E Bass was already an established member of the team moving down to D C with Mike in the spring of 1965. Harry had grown up in New York and met Eddie whilst singing in a group called The Toreadors. Impressed with their vocal talent, Eddie signed the group, to his new enterprise, Keith Records in 1962, where they released two singles as The Matadors. Fellow group member Richard Tenryck was to become one of the most respected arrangers in New York; as Richard Tee, his name was to be associated with many of the greats over the next four decades.

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  • Ady Croasdell

    Ady Croasdell

    Finding The First Copy

    GWP Records

    I had visited Jerry Purcell in the 80s when he had an office in Manhattan and, while asking him about Debbie Taylor and the Persians, of which he had very little knowledge, could not stop my eyes wandering over to some old metal filing cabinets, intrigued by what might be hidden inside. The conversation did not get as far as “Can I just delve through your files for half an hour?” so they remained untouched by British hands. Twenty years on, I was contacted at Ace by Mr Purcell’s office who indicated that they were ready to make a deal to license their masters to Europe; the previous meeting had held us in good stead. A trip to New York was duly arranged but by then GWP was virtually dormant. Most of the publishing had lapsed and Jerry had relocated his office to his home in Bayside. There I met Ed Bland, a charming musician and arranger who had done the early work for the GWP label who, as Jerry’s right hand man, had been entrusted to organise the deal. After surveying the fascinating looking tape cache I caught site of one old filing cabinet and asked Ed what was in there. “Oh just old music sheets, record samples and contracts”, “Could I look?”, “Sure”. I pulled open a drawer and found that the container was a treasure trove of records and acetates. The company had filed their samples fastidiously and in between the cardboard dividers could be found four demos and two issues of September Jones’ 45, five issues of the Dynamics’ ‘I Need Your Love’, a Kenny Carter single in a German pic cover, Willie Kendrick’s ‘Change Your Ways’ plus many more vinyl singles: but oh, the acetates.

    GWP Records

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