Issue 63 digital edition

The Quintessential info provider for the Soul Survivor ISSUE 63 - 1st April 2016 - 31st May 2016

IN THE STONE ISSUE

Dedicated to Maurice White Dec 19, 1941 — Feb 3, 2016

NEWS, REVIEWS AND INTERVIEWS

Jeffrey Daniel (Shalamar), Chris Amoo (The Real Thing), Cleveland Anderson, Hornsman and Lonnie (PASADENAS) Liston Smith FEATURING:Coyote HAMMISH SEECLOCHAN PAUL CLARK, PAUL ALEXANDER, DEWHIRSTWhite AND plus an extensive tribute toIAN Maurice STEVE CAESAR (WIGAN DANCE CHAMPION 1974) as the special Roll Call Of Fame.

Tribute to David Bowie The Young Soul Rebel Rebel Page 26

thesoulsurvivorsmagazine.co.uk 8th January 1947, Brixton,- 10th January, 2016, Manhattan,

WHAT’S INSIDE? 3 JEFFREY DANIEL speaks to Fitzroy 8 EXTRA EXTRA!

Greetings, Soul Survivors

“This Time” like Funk Deluxe was in it’s preparation stage exactly 10 years ago The Soul Survivors Magazine “Pipe Line” as a people’s lifeof being launched in the July 2006 Bruce Johnson 12 CHRIS AMOO

edition before the official 10t style fanzine. So this issue marks the penultimate speaks to Fitzroy On reflection, I’ve always felt h anniversary celebratory issue for June-July 2016. pro wha t’s included in the final procesud of each addition because of the end result of 18 RECORD REVIEWS rears its head, no matter how s. Often the twist and turns of unpredictability ch you have prepared to com 22 MAURICE WHITE TRIBUTE You ultimately end up with a “Demu bat that factor. er

by Fitzroy “This Is This” (fantastic record) Hunter” Robert D’Nero inspired LOT W classic cards you have been dealt. So scenario in dealing with making the best of the 24 MAURICE WHITE TRIBUTES this bi-monthly “This Is This” me an accolade of spiritual entitie edition features for by others cover. Maurice’s legacy is param s for EWF’s Maurice White who graces the front oun t as an example of sharing 28 MIRA PARKES

universal when it comes to his artistry, that will last eterna what is integrally Soul Survivors Balkan & rs in the bus plus yea lly beyond his 50 iness. Jeffrey Daniel, no strange Worldwide correspondent r to the magazine, speaks about Shalamar’s staying pow er since 1977 as they embark on their UK tour 30 MAURICE WHITE TRIBUTES in April. Next up the lead singer of the unsung Fab Four from Merseyside’s L8 dist rict , no, not the Beatles, The Real Thing’s by others Chris Amoo. Having spoken wit his brother Eddie, who was h 32 CLEVELAND ANDERSON early 1960’s about 5 years inbacthe UK’s first teenage boy band The Chants in the k, I spe ak with Chris reg ing following speaks to Fitzroy brothers footsteps. He certain in his ly answered a few questions ard me abo ut the lack of ack 32 LONNIE LISTON SMITH nowledgement The Real Thing that had been bugging have achieved, so that was a good tick box for me. Las speaks to Fitzroy Dj close friend, mentor andtly but by no means least I speak with my longtime Per 40 REVIEW OF MICHAEL mo re musical connections than theivalian neighbour Cleveland Anderson who has classic Connect 4 gam JACKON’S JOURNEY FROM ed “Roll Call Of an extend Fame” dedicated to the late Mae. All I can say is there is MOTOWN TO OFF THE

and consigliere of EWF and it urice White co-founder really is an “All Bout Love” ode WALL BY SPIKE LEE contribution as a universal hum to “Reece” for his ani tarian. There are two films rev issue one being the Spike Lee iewed in this 42 EVENT REVIEWS The Wall” and a film co-starr documentary on MJ’s journey from Motown to “Off ing Ear DVD. Both films give an insight th, Wind & Fire you should try and get on 44 CROSSWORD

crea tive is quite a juggling act tointo how balancing making money and being Word Up 12 follow. The new interactive web Peniston “Finally” officially ope n so please visit www.thesoulsurvivsite is like CC 46 WHAT’S GOING ON? co.uk. We also have two copies of the fab disco boogie album by Kimorsmagazine. give away so make sure you ent & Buran to er and counting till “We’re Almost the competition. Minus one magazine edition All adverts are placed in good faith and The Soul There” like MJ with the 10th ann iversary edition.

Survivors take no responsibility for any issues arising Enjoy... Fitzroy from the use of those who have advertised.

10 DARRELL’S FUNK BOX

All dates are correct at time of going to print – please check with venue or promoter if unsure.

All rights reserved 2008 - 2016 © The Soul Survivors Magazine It is essential to note that all artwork, adverts and listings must be confirmed and sent in to fitzroy@ thesoulsurvivorsmagazine.co.uk before Tuesday 3rd May in order to meet the graphic designer and print 3 week preparation. This will ensure that the magazine for June and July is ready and out on the street ahead of 1st June2016.

Thanks in advance.

The Soul Survivors Magazine Page 2 - Issue 63 Team!

Thank you All the intervie Mira Parkes our new Officialwees for taking the time out to share you stories, (Jeffrey Daniel), Sinbad PhguraSoul Survivors Balkan Correspondent, Craig Brown for the Shalamar photos, Colin Louie Vega album launch) and Williams (Phonica Ann for your amazing camera wor a B (Chris Amoo, Alex O’Neal & Mario Biondi) k.

Sca rbu tts Printers, Ayshea (graphic designer) KFP Enterprise, Kre & web (Crossword),to all the contrib8iv 4ce Media, Darrell S (Funkbox), David Moran uto rs to the Maurice White extended Roll Fame, Ronniee (Hand2Hand) Call Of Jason and Ian Soulprovyder (Fly all the advertisers. er pack distributors) The Soul Survivors Suite 013, 986 Garratt Lane , Tooting Broadway, London SW1 7 0ND Mobile: 07956 312931 Ema il: oy@thesoulsurvivorsmag azine.co.uk C fitzroy.facey C Fitzroytheofitzr MSoulSurvivors1 www. riginalsoulsurvivor C TheSoulSurvivors thesoulsurvivorsm

agazine.co.uk

“In 1999/2000 Howard and I decided to get Shalamar back together and we asked Jodie to come along with us but she was very adamant not to be part of Shalamar. Her solo career was important to her and I respected and supported her decision.”

JEFFREY DANIEL (of Shalamar) Approaching 40 years and one of the original surviving members of the Solar Records plexus group Shalamar, Jeffrey Daniel is still that young “Pop A Long Kid” in a mature body and state of mind. With his co-starring Shalamar and Friends performing partners Howard Hewitt and Carolyn Griffey, they are about to embark on a national tour in April 2016 promising a “Night To Remember” for sure. We had a catch up just to remind you of some of those “Sweeter As The Days Go By” memorabilia moments ahead of their pending UK dates. thesoulsurvivorsmagazine.co.uk

You’ve been involved in Shalamar the live group since 1977, so almost 40 years down the line how do you, despite some personnel changes, reflect on the group still going today?

We just continue to try and get it right. The first lead vocalist who sang on “Uptown Festival” was Gary Mumford, who was much older than Jodie and myself. He wasn’t keen on touring. I actually asked Howard Hewitt to join at the same time I asked Gerald Brown to join but Howard had other commitments. I was warned that Gerald was a handful but meeting him I thought he was cool. Inevitably Gerald Brown left us during a promotional tour without saying goodbye and went back to LA. I called Howard again and this time he was available, so the line up of Howard Hewitt, Jodie Watley and myself is the real line up of Shalamar. By the time Howard joined us, “Second Time Around” “Over & Over” and those hits in between were the ones that shaped Shalamar. We fell out with the record company, Jodie followed me but Howard stayed on. In 1999/2000 Howard and I decided to get Shalamar back together and we asked Jodie to come along with us but she was very adamant not to be part of Shalamar. Her solo career was important to her and I respected and supported her decision. When Howard and I got together it didn’t make as much sense because we didn’t have that female balance in the line up that the public was used to. Carolyn Giffrey wanted Jodie to come back to the group and felt uncomfortable at first, taking the female lead reluctantly. Now after not wanting to be part of the original line up, Jodie has started her own Shalamar, which is really strange. How does that work when Howard and myself being the primary lead vocalists, are not involved? I don’t want to say anything bad about Jodie, but it’s about letting the public decide if they want to see her Shalamar or see us. I’m very proud of Shalamar when it had myself Howard and Jodie, and I’m also proud of the line up now including Carolyn because she gives it a nice texture that has evolved.

I saw you guys in Bristol with the current line up for Soul Train team.

Darrell and I Dj’d for you at the 02 in Oxford last year. It’s impressive that people still come so enthusiastically to see you knowing all the words to the popular sing-along tracks and you never tire of performing them. On this upcoming tour in April are you performing in areas other than where you have performed before?

We went to some of those places in the 1980’s but we haven’t been to a lot of them since that period. Some of the audience were 19 when they last saw us and are now in their 50’s. Many come to the concerts with album covers not cd’s for us to sign. There was a guy who was a former policeman who came down specifically to see us with his albums. It’s like a reunion when we perform and with that energy we get from the audience it’s overwhelming sometimes.

Towards the end of last year we lost some heavyweight artists including Natalie Cole and Nicholas Caldwell of The Whispers who you would have worked closely with being part of the Solar family. How did his passing impact on you?

For me personally Nick Caldwell is a very very dear person. When we used to tour with The Whispers I just used to watch this guy. He was the biggest guy on the stage but the lightest on his feet. And even though his beard covered most of his face when he flashed that smile, it made his teeth so much whiter. I used to be in awe watching him dance specifically as his movement was so remarkable. You never heard of any dramas with him, he was never in a bad mood, he was such an honourable and respected person who had a high level of integrity. I just pray for his soul and celebrate knowing him and for the life that he led as being part of The Whispers.

At the moment you’re in Nigeria, how’s life over there?

It’s one of the greatest places to be and it’s my mother country.

I’ve lived in America, the UK, and Japan but I felt that I should experience the motherland Africa. The people are very hospitable, and the country is coming up in the world. I know the presidents, governors and dignitaries and can call them up, which I couldn’t do in the other places I’ve lived. Being part of the population here is a rewarding experience.

Are you working with the community?

Yes sir. It’s not just about the music, it’s about the society and helping the infrastructure and implementing things. As a foreigner to be contributing to help the people I am so honoured.

You’re coming back to the UK in April for a mini or major tour, depending on how you look at it. You’re all individually doing various things so how are you preparing for this?

We are touring throughout the whole of April and people are coming out to hear the hits, and that’s what we are going to give them. The rest of what we do is the icing on the cake as we throw in a few tributes and Carolyn performs a new tune. People have taken to Shalamar and say we are the soundtrack to their lives.

Page 4 - Issue 63

That’s really nice to hear. Did you ever meet David Bowie?

Good question, I’m doing a David Bowie tribute in the forthcoming concerts. I didn’t know him one on one but the biggest compliment I got in the 1980’s was during my time at the musical Starlight Express. Some media paper like Smash Hits wrote that I was like the black David Bowie because of my fashion sense and the things I was doing. He inspired me because of his image changes with each project and themes from Ziggy Stardust, to Diamond Dogs to Young Americans. He was always evolving and influential, if you look at my image during the 1980’s I wasn’t just strictly a soul boy.

Yeah, especially during Starlight Express when you were Elecktra with your hairstyle as that character. (Jeffery: “Exactly.”)

Lastly Maurice White…

Aaaahh…ahhhhh.. Wow that’s a great loss too. His influence, oh my god those hits are just timeless and everlasting. “September”, “Boogie Wonderland”, “After The Love Has Gone” we could go on and on. Those records were the soundtrack to my life dancing on Soul Train to going on tour with them getting to know Maurice, Verdine White, Philip Bailey and Al McKay. The latter actually played on some Shalamar songs. They are a powerhouse of a band with the horns, the arrangements and the songs. My gosh 300 years from now people will still be listening to those songs.

Maurice White has contributed so heavily to the world of music.

religion the science and Egyptology. There was more to him than music and he was a producer, songwriter singer and one of the very few Kalimba players, he was awesome with that finger harp.

Yeah he was truly a pioneer with that instrument and otherwise.

What’s happening with Shalamar recording wise, as I’ve not heard anything since “Don’t Let Go” a few years back?

“Don’t Let Go” was something Carolyn put together and it’s not an official Shalamar cut. But we are working with Leon Sylvers and I don’t want to build too much expectation, but something is in the works. People want to hear the hits but we are happy to do something that represents our fans who love the Shalamar sound and integrity. There is no rush as it’s not how fast but how right we do it.

Did you ever get private moments with him?

Thanks and see you in April

Of course, he was a very quietly spoken and humble person. He was every deep. If you look at the album covers with the world

Thanks Fitzroy and stay blessed.

Page 6 - Issue 63

thesoulsurvivorsmagazine.co.uk

Extra Extra!

READ ALL ABOUT IT...

OUR ETHOS IS ONE LIFE SO LET’S HAVE FUN! Essex Soul Party is an soul event that takes place in and around Essex. A quality night with that little something extra to guarantee you have a fun night out. The events are tailored as a dinner, show and dance at a great price and targets the mature over 30’s lovers of soul and good grooves. The Essex soul scene is by far one of the largest in the country and has been since the good old days of the Goldmine in Canvey Island. The people of Essex really do appreciate the music scene on the whole and always come out in full force to have a great time.

ESP was born a few years ago. The home of the brand is at The Royal Tiger a 5 star food and hygiene certified restaurant. They serve the best Thai and Indian cuisine in Essex. ESP have hosted many nights with class acts such as Omar Lye Fook, Georgie B of the former Second Image and The Drifters to name a few. The events always sell out as this exclusive venue seats only 200. We are so looking

forward to the next event on Bank Holiday May 29th 2016 where the Soul Machine JD Fitzgerald meets the Dj legend himself Fitzroy The Original Soul Survivor of the Soul Survivors Magazine. Tickets are now on sale at just £30.00 limited £20.00 early bird tickets for Dinner, Show and Dance, which includes a champagne reception on arrival. For more info log onto www.facebook.com/espnights or call 07950 880 410

By Entertainment Correspondent Dark Kent

Brand new website ...and we love it!

Greetings here is a little notice to nudge you to visit the brand new interactive Soul Survivor Magazine website. Unfortunately the previous one was hacked twice a few months ago, so we’ve had a holding page in the meantime awaiting for this new one to be built.

So moving forward in celebrating our 10th anniversary in July 2016, we’ve had the site modified so that it’s more interactive with new features for you to manoeuvre around easily. You can sign up for membership/subscription or purchase copies of desired previous issues, via the shop cart, You can also keep up to date with the regularly updated blog, record review and jukebox icons, as well as upload events if you are a promoter with a price list to give you guidance. We also have history page on the almost 10 year documentation of the magazine with a brief synopsis of what’s in each of the previous 62 issues and a “Thank You Thank You” page from those who have expressed their support for the magazine. There is also calendar so you can see what’s happening in the music world if you wanna “Shake Your Pant’s” like Cameo and T shirts cards, artwork and music merchandise will available in the future so watch this space. So please visit the ‘Info provider for the soul survivors” new website and explore till your hearts content.

Thanks for your patience in the absence of a functioning website. Fitzroy

www.thesoulsurvivorsmagazine.co.uk Also available on the App Store and Google Play.

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Eddie Amoo

Dave Smith Ray Lake

CHRIS AMOO of The Real Thing

“Doing Opportunity Knocks it was more Britain’s Got Talent than X Factor because a yodeler beat us”

Chris Amoo

Apart from the renowned Liverpool Fab Four, The Beatles there is another Fantastic4 super hero group of the 1970’s a Nina Simone “Young Gifted & Black” Afro British vocal group from that area that deserve recognition. They are still going strong as a threesome and still pack out an auditorium with middle aged women regressing back 40 years to their teenage beginnings.

The Real Thing’s velvet voice of much distinction Chris Amoo could be regarded as the UK’s Teddy Pendergrass with a voice that melts like hot butter on toast. I spoke 5 years ago with his elder brother Eddie but promoting their new DVD and CD from their live shows, Chris explains how The Real Thing can still “Boogie Down” and get funky now.

How was life from your perspective being the younger brother of Eddie who was already a pre-teenage superstar and what’s the age difference between you both?

There is actually 8 years between us. I was still at school when The Chants were famous and it actually instilled in me what I wanted to do. I was very much influenced by my brother Eddie seeing him in the newspapers and on TV nothing was going to stop me from pursuing my dream. As I got older Eddie started to take an interest in how I was progressing which was great. He’d teach me my first notes playing on the guitar and the piano, and this developed to me writing songs. Even though I was just plunking three or four notes on the piano, I was writing songs and Eddie encouraged this in me.

Apart from your brother being an influence what was grabbing your attention in the charts?

The first record I ever physically bought was ‘It’s Growing” By The Temptations. I was very influenced by the whole Motown sound.

When I was about 13 I was in a group and we were singing The Four Tops songs.

So what year was that first record purchase?

Oh come on Fitz! (Fitzroy laughs) I must have been 14 as I was born in 1952 so around 1966. I vividly remember it and its stuck with me so I can tell you this story today. We never actually saw them, as it Page 12 - Issue 63

was The Beatles that dominated the TV back then. The first time I saw The Temptations and The Jackson 5 it was unbelievable.

Now that you’ve said that, what was your perspective in coming across this music via the radio and not being able to see the artist? Especially in the early Motown years where they would put white faces on the front covers, so how did you equate they were black?

I knew because it was different in my time than when Eddie grew up as a teenager. By then Motown had put an end to that nonsense.

In the old days in order for an R&B song to get any exposure it would be covered by a white artist. The advent of Motown changed that because Motown was the vehicle. So in my time I knew who the artists were. We would go to the record shops where they had listening booths. On all the walls they had the photos of the black artists. My brother Eddie used to bring a lot of records into the house all of which had black faces on. When Eddie was growing up you wouldn’t know if they were black or white.

So how did you come together in 1972 to form the Sophisticated Soul Brothers?

I met Dave Smith when I was still at school. His brother was a friend of Eddie’s best friend before Eddie was in The Chants. We are a big family community in L8 Liverpool and everybody knows each other. We tried to emulate The Chants who were a big deal being seen on TV’s “Jukebox Jury” and being played on the radio. We

started to take it a bit more seriously as we realised that this was what we were going to do. We listened to records and found our range sonically. As we started getting better we started meeting and singing every single night with hairbrushes as microphones.

We practised for weeks and eventually learned how to harmonise then we started playing at school dances. We got ourselves an agent who handled a lot of the white bands and eventually graduated from The Sophisticate Soul Brothers to becoming Vocal Perfection.

What’s interesting is that The Temptations who recorded the very first record that I bought actually changed our vision. Tony Hall our manager bought us tickets to see them in Manchester live and we went in as one band and came out as another. So they definitely had the most impact on us.

dictate what would be recorded and then he would present it to the record company as opposed to the other way round. Eddie played “Vicious Circle”, “Plastic Man” and “Daddy Dear” to them and Tony loved the songs. After doing Opportunity Knocks we needed a single very quickly hence “Vicious Circle”.

What was it that impacted on you so greatly?

It was more Britain’s Got Talent than X Factor because a yodeler beat us. It was wonderful Fitzroy because we were on television man. We were walking down in Liverpool City Centre and everyone recognised us. That’s how big the show was. We were no longer doing little clubs but playing all over the country for quite good money. Opportunity Knocks changed everything for us as we could now sustain ourselves professionally. We did Top Of The Pops performing “Plastic Man” that then went into the top 50. Had we made it big at the time of Opportunity Knocks I believe we wouldn’t have been able to sustain it creatively because were not ready.

Our perception of a vocal group was three background vocalists doing a little routine behind a lead vocalist upfront. When we saw The Temptations, it was the first time we saw five microphones as opposed to two, one for the lead and one for the background vocalists. So now we saw five lead singers all with their own microphones coming off a boom stand on arms and this was so visual to us. They would also change microphones with a little bit of flair theatrics. So the next day we started rehearsing how we’d seen them do it, so it was a new way of us presenting ourselves on stage and no one else was doing this.

How did you find that whole experience of going onto Opportunity Knocks, meeting Hughie Green and experiencing what was for its time the X Factor and Britain’s Got Talents platform?

I was 10 years old in 1974 and remember watching Opportunity Knocks and I’m trying to think back but were there ever any other black acts on Opportunity Knocks?

No, not that I can remember as there weren’t any other acts apart from The Chants who were more on the cabaret scene. Maybe a few years later groups like Sweet Sensation and Heatwave who we used to see all the time. We got beaten by a yodeler.

What song did you sing on Opportunity Knocks?

RAY LAKE, DAVID SMITH, KENNY DAVIS & CHRIS AMOO AS VOCAL PERFECRTION BEFORE THEY BECAME THE REAL THING How did the recording of “Vicious Circle” come around?

As Vocal Perfection we hadn’t made any records till we met our manager Tony Hall. We were just doing local gigs and then we landed doing Opportunity Knocks. The evening before Opportunity Knocks Tony thought it would be best if we changed our name to The Real Thing. His view being that we were setting ourselves up with a name like Vocal Perfection because perfection we were not vocally.

That’s when we did our first record “Vicious Circle”.

I’ve actually got that on Bell records. (Chris: ‘Wow.”) That was a record you presented to Tony Hall that Eddie had written.

Yeah, although Eddie and myself were now writing together, Eddie had written things before. I was tapping into his material as nothing was happening with The Chants. Eddie wasn’t with us then so I introduced Tony to Eddie. In those days someone like Tony could

“Grazing In The Grass” by Friends Of Distinction (Fitzroy: I’ve got a version of that by Hugh Masakela.”) Yes, brilliant version, Hugh’s version went to number one in America.

So now after Opportunity Knocks and being recognised in your local area you work with David Essex.

That was our second career phase. We were recording some licenced records and Jeff Wayne came into the office and said he needed some backing vocals for adverts he was making for Cadburys chocolate. I’m sure it was actually The Chant’s he was looking for.

Don’t quote me on that, but we went and did the session. Jeff Wayne loved our sound and myself as a lead singer so I started singing lead for Lloyds, TSB and Cadburys adverts. If he wanted harmonies we did Wrigley’s Spearmint Gums and things like that as a group. It was a great thing for us getting extra money for doing session work.

That’s how we met David Essex because Jeff was producing him.

David fell in love with our rawness and freshness. He felt we were unspoilt and were not trying to emulate the Americans. We were now writing and doing our own material in a show and David loved that about us. He took us to America with him and we met some fantastic musicians during that time. thesoulsurvivorsmagazine.co.uk

CHRIS AMOO, RAY LAKE, DAVID ESSEX & DAVE SMITH Was this his period of “Lamplight” and “Rock On”?

It was just after the “Hold Me Close” album. We did three Top Of The Pops with him, “Rolling Stone” and “Nightclubbing” songs, plus we did TV shows and gigs at Earls Court.

When I spoke with Eddie he shared how you had a brief encounter with the school of hard knocks missing out on Jeff Wayne’s “War Of The Worlds” and record company politics which didn’t deter you. What’s you memory of coming across “You To Me Are Everything” which was a departure from what you had done before?

That was Eddie’s reaction, my first reaction was “Let’s get the thing signed up, as this is a hit”. Tony and me looked at each other and it was something that hit me instantly. I’d say it was signed sealed and delivered on my side before I even met with the rest of the group later that evening. Everybody knew it was a great pop song and yes it was a departure from what we were writing which was some pretty heavy stuff at the time. We were performing on stage and papers like Melody Maker and NME used to review the show which was different to what everyone else was doing. When we actually recorded it I thought that the demo was better than ours but when it was finished the result is now history.

I’m not sure if you’ve seen the previous issue where I spoke with Patrick

Page 14 - Issue 63

Adams. He spoke of doing a version of “You To Me Are Everything” that was rushed out before Ken Gold could get a distribution deal with a big advance. I’ve heard that version as I have many others including Frankie Valli’s awful version, but there is a good one by Samona Cooke. After The Chants, The Real Thing were the next pioneering black vocal group to be successful and potentially conquer America, so were you aware of the politics that prevented, in my view, why you were not taken so seriously in America?

There were politics that stopped the record but I’m not too sure if that version is quite correct but I could be wrong. What I was told was that when we recorded “You To Me” with Pye over in the UK all of a sudden all of the companies around the world wanted to release the record. Once we had signed our deal with Pye, all the other companies decided to rush putting a version out. At the time there were 3 versions of “You To Me” in the charts and we we’re told that within 24 hours of our release Frankie Valli’s was done. Once the record was recorded Ken Gold, as the writer, would have had nothing to do with anything after that as it’s then in the hands of the record company. Tony Hall, our lawyer and a real high-powered USA lawyer, would have had to deal with those who wanted the record. Once it’s out anyone can record it. That definitely stopped “You To Me” going higher with the airplay and sales splitting. The same thing almost happened with “Can You Feel The Force” because we were told the wrong version went out and it killed the progress of

the record but how true that is, I don’t know. One thing I’m sure of is that politics stopped both records because you can’t tell me “You To Me” and “Can You Feel The Force” weren’t strong enough.

Definitely. This is my penultimate question. Did you guys ever get to do Soul Train in America?

No, we only did the English version of Soul Train and that was second time around.

This is why I ask the question. Apparently the first UK artist to have performed on Soul Train was Elton John and then David Bowie. So I have to ask myself how does The Real Thing have a number one hit with “You To Me” and not appear on Soul Train? It does not make logical sense to me.

how you lived. With songs like “Stanhope Street” and “Children Of The Ghetto”, years later, I got to take my hat off to you for reflecting what was happening in the UK. In the USA early Roy Ayers, Gil Scott Heron and Curtis Mayfield were speaking about the social economics and politics of the time which is hard hitting with their plight deriving directly from slavery. You can tell there is depth and reality in the “4 from 8” album.

David Essex advised you to tone that down as advised by your brother Eddie because he feared how the record companies and audience would deal with that. How did you deal with that and what or who decided that Ray Lake would do the lead vocal on “Children Of The Ghetto”?

David Essex loved that element of us but he was very astute in his commercial foresight. He advised us in a nice way knowing we had success with three hit records, “You To Me”, “You Never Know What You’re Missing” and “Can’t Get By Without You”. David knew about our conscious side because we used to sing it live when we toured with him on stage. He said we had to be careful because the fans who had bought our hits would find that too deep. He said they wanted to hear the happy go lucky pop dance records they had bought and knew. How we dealt with that was to mix a section of records that we really believed in with some sophisticated pop songs. Back then on an album, we’d look to get two pop songs amongst the material, we wanted to feature to show what we could really do. In a way we got it very very wrong as the fans certainly didn’t want to hear “Children Of The Ghetto” and “4 from 8”. However the media loved it as we had front page spreads in publications like Melody Maker. We were very stubborn and took the risk. We had a fantastic manager who believed in us so we could be ourselves. Although we may have lost sales it gave us a bit of longevity. The funny thing is that those who didn’t appreciate it then appreciate it moreso now because they love us and want to hear more than the recognised hits. In answer as to why Ray Lake was chosen to do “Children Of The Ghetto” that was because his voice suited the song. When you have a group it has a tenor a bass and a soprano. When we got an MJ song Ray would sing it, and if we sung a Teddy P song Dave or myself would sing it. Initially when we did “Children Of The Ghetto” in our show Eddie wasn’t in the group and Ray who had a voice like Smokey Robinson would do the high voices. When Eddie joined he would then share the high notes with Ray.

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Yes, well we were told that a lot of records companies were fighting for the track which made us, as youngsters, feel special and that Marty would get us the best deal. The fact is that all the other companies started banging it out as well.

When you listen back to the finished track, it had something quintessentially British about it but it had that element that would capture the American audience. Moving on to your voice, you have quite a high pitched speaking voice compared to your singing voice. You had that smooth gravel-esq that Teddy Pendergrass had and no other UK singer had that quality. Eddie told me he over heard a voice and upon entering a room he realised it was you. At what point did you realise that you had a voice of distinction?

I didn’t realise until after “You To Me”.

People started recognising my voice.

Some voices are great voices but they are one of ten thousand voices. But I do understand what you mean because a lot of Americans have said a similar thing over the years. The first time I realised I was a lead singer was when we did a demo and we were all singing a song around a piano. The writer for some reason separated us and asked us individually to sing. When he heard my voice he said he wanted me to do the lead. I modelled myself on the OJay’s Eddie Levert primarily and Teddy Pendergrass. Eddie’s got that gravel and smoothness and that his tone which I love to this day.

Apart from “You To Me”, you have “You Never Know What You’re Missing” but for me there is something about “I Can’t Get By Without You.” That’s my favourite out of the pop songs and when we spoke to Tony it was the one we wanted to release. I like it more than “You To Me” that I enjoyed signing.

Taking about the “4 from 8” album, being black myself and seeing a reflection of my own image doing something positive and being recognised for it, especially being young at that time in the 1970’s was very empowering. Seeing Michael Jackson and The Jackson 5 from the USA is one thing but to see a UK act make a concept album reflecting

What’s very poignant currently is that we just lost Maurice White of EWF and when I think of that song there is an Earth Wind & Fire essence to that song especially with the lyric ‘Keep You Head To The Sky’. I think it was important that you got the balance between making commercial hits and providing something for your immediate community of people.

Ultimately that became the B-side of “Can You Feel The Force”. Speaking of “Can You Feel The Force”, I loved the energy of that record and it was the very first 12-inch I bought. I know it had a link with Star Wars and you got to do Top Of The Pops even with that blip you mentioned that went out in America. thesoulsurvivorsmagazine.co.uk

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Page 16 - Issue 63

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Record Reviews This issues selection is liquorice all sort mixture of tasty musical morsels. There are four vintage reissues on CD, five freedom jazz dance encounters of the varied kind and a psychedelic jazz rock fusion album. There’s a classic anthology and an annual 3 CD comp from Expansions on offer plus a novel old meets new school independent album with a twist. Last but not least we review two singles from a quintet of UK pioneers and single remixed by some remixers to look out for. Enjoy Fitzroy

Things Gonna Get Better Street Funk And Jazz Grooves 1970-1977 (BGP) This album is quite a miss mash of black R&B, soul, funk, early disco, blues and jazzy music dichotomy during the late 1970’s.

Early indications of a far departure from the more psychedelia of P Funk, Funkadelic sound infectiously raw and sublime instrumental “A Joyful Piece”. Early rap and ad-libbing is the remit of Oliver Sain’s “St Louis Breakdown” funky breakbeat inclusion. “Does Of Soul” from 1973 sounds like advanced mid 70’s disco and in contrast Idris Mohammad’s “I’m A Believer” with a very soulful female lead has hints of late 1950 early 1960s doo wop arrangements. There’s a 7 inch edit of Lonnie Liston Smith’s esoteric “Give Peace A Chance” that’s followed with an equally mystic trumpet and swirling moog synthesised “Skull Session” by Oliver Nelson. Check out the very sensual breathy vocals on “Mucho Macho” and in his true dramatic style Pretty Purdie excels on “Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get”. There are at least two obscure socially conscious cuts “Chains Black & Blues” and an out of key vocally and instrumentation wise ‘What’s The Matter With The World’. Should find some quality beats in this selection of twenty.

P&P Funk & Rap Anthology Compiled By Bill Brewster (Harmless) I have mixed views about this triple pack P&P release as there is at times no rhyme nor reason in the running order of this very versatile catalogue. That aside, although not all of it is to my personal liking, it does show the diversity that the respected P&P label hosted. With its comprehensive sleeve notes and artwork, written and complied by Bill Brewster it’s a weird at times and wonderful at others collection of the P&P subsidiaries Heavenly Star, Golden Flamingo, Sound Of New York and Queen Constance label siblings.

CD 1 opens with the classic Queen Yahna sweet disco boogie “Ain’t It Time” followed by two crazy rock and soul number’s “Black Ice” and “I’ve Been Working”. Between Eddie Owen and Florence Miller their songs have that Northern Soul fans flavour, whereas and Ella Hamilton throwbacks to that doo wop James Brown “Prisoner Of Love” power ballad era on “Here’s To You” . Much of the P&P catalogue that I know of has something uncouth or slightly sonically left of the right, in their recordings and productions but in an innocent but unconsciously unfashionable manner. Scott Davis Movements “Apple Jack” disco hustle groove typifies this. The most rough rugged and raw dirt gritted funk bomb has to be The Sentimental Souls “It’s Party Time With Getting In The Groove Pt 2 (Original 7” Mix)”. Smokie Brooks social messaged “Long Time Ago” should not be overlooked by the way.

There is pure brilliance showcased on The Foster Jackson Group familiar “Feel The Spirit” and finishing CD 1, I’m enamoured by Margie Lomax’s mid tempo boogie fest “God’s Greatest Gift To Man Is Woman” . CD 2 and 3 concentrate predominantly on the merge between boogie hip-hop and rap.

Some of the dated rapping sounds corny now because the lyrics at times are rehashed from The Sugar Hill Gang’s initial impact on party rap. Sherod “Schoolin”, Margo’s Kool Out Crew “Death Rap” and Sweet G “Boogie Feeling Rap” for me have the better consistent vocal flows.

There are different rappers Including Spooning G and Scoopy using Cloud Ones “Patti Duke” rhythm . Using The Rhythm Heritage’s “Theme from S.W.A.T” bass groove with occasional bongo breaks, Mistafide’s 11 minutes “Equidity Funk” ends CD 2 nicely. CD 3 is probably like Carlsberg the best consistent CD with the very funky uptempo “Roller Rink Funk” and a P funk influenced “Big Foot Boogie”. “This Is The Way To Break” is brilliant remnant of Run DMC’s “Sucker MC” and Little Starski “Gangster Rock” has a tasty instrumental groove with some ad libs. To close Little Scotty “Shout At The Disco” is a funky driven 4 floor groove which has a great break beat halfway through.

Page 18 - Issue 63

Chaka Khan What Cha Gonna Do For Me (BBR) BBR release one of Chaka’s finest early 1980’s albums with a least 5 silver surfing bullets on there and 3 bonus cuts. It features various elements of Chaka’s dynamic range and musical tapestry. There are three covers. The first a Beatles classic “We Can Work It Out” and the second titled cut “What Cha Gonna Do For Me” written by The Average White Band’s Hamish Stuart.

Track three is the boogie bullet “I Know You I Live You” with a reprise and a bonus remix included from her 1989 remix album.

The third encounter of the cover kind is a brilliant rendition of Dizzy Gillespie’s “Nights In Tunisia” actually featuring Dizzy Gillespie. In the vein of her early Rufus, I’ve always loved “Any Old Sunday”. Alternative funkiness can be heard on “We Got Each Other” and the Stardust classics’s inspiration “Fate” is one not to sleep on. As bonus two B sides single cuts “Only Once” and “Lover’s Touch” showcase Chaka’s classy primal screaming octaves .

Kim And Buran Orbita (Nang) In the 1970’s just before and after the advent of “Star Wars” there was a futuristic space boogie disco sound that was championed by a few outfits like Magic Fly and Mandre that resonated with the club sonics of that period. Kim And Buran have regressed quite successfully in 2016 making that formular sound hip today. Strap on your seat belts for the albums take off with “Delayed Flight” taking you on an East To West “Voyage”, which incidentally is the title of track number four. Exploring jazz, soul, disco and electronic dimensions the awesome foursome have got it spot on with this predominantly instrumental album. Out of the 15 stand out cuts are “Breeze”, “Jet Disco”, “Taxi”, 80’s electro boogie “Modern Music” with vocoder at the ready. Good response on my “21st Century Intergalactic Black 2 Da Future Show” so get on this space boogie ship and “Glide” like Pleasure.

Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band (Big Crown Records) This is one of those random guilty pleasures that arrives from somewhere in the outer hemisphere.

Multi instrumentalist from Germany Bjorn Wagner founder of the Mighty Mocambos was inspired from a visit to Trinidad and Tobago with the steel pans. So with crisp hip-hop drum break beats amongst the 16 cuts, are several classic hip-hop funk RNB, reggae and electro covers. These including 50 Cent’s “Pimp”, The Chakackas “Jungle Fever”, Dennis Coffeys’ “Scorpio”, Faith Evan’s “Love Like This” and Cat Stevens’s fabulous “Was Dog A Doughnut”, John Holts “Police In a Helicopter” and Hi Tek “Round & Round”.

He manages to capture the 70’s feeling with “Port Of Spain Hustle” and “Goodbye Feeling” and retain some melodiousness on “14 Laventille Road March”. If your looking for something different of the version excursion kind, you need look no further than this.

Nomade Orquestra (Far Out) This is certainly an acquired taste for those who have a very experimental ear. These guys from a an inspired Chic B side classic “Sao Paulo” in Brazil, weave a musical web of varied influences. It mixes up jazz, funk, reggae ,dub, rock and fusion with abstract proportions. Many of the tracks start of with a steady groove then without notice, go off on a 45 degree right angle with some pretty intense rock guitar solos. Some of the lesser obscure and straight funkier cuts include the latin salsa interchanging “Samurai”, a hammond organ and drum rim tapping “Sonhos De Tóquio” and a vocal ad-libbed funky horned “Bedum”. One of the Marmite tracks on the album is “Morning Birds” with an enchanting flute and marimba solo that goes awol briefly at the halfway mark into an impromptu on the ears rock guitar solo. There is an 11 minute slow and journalistic “Venus” instrumental sounding very ambient and in contrast an uptempo rhythmic ska meets latin percussive “A Vida Vem Em Ondas”. Curious as to how this one will be received.

Eshe Escoffrey - Reazon (iTunes Amazon Emusic) Eshe one of the gospel singing sisters family group The Escoffrey’s who sang “Look Whose Loving Me” on Atlantic, is sounding exceptionally good on her forthcoming debut solo single “Reazon”. She has for over 2 decades hiding in the background but comes to the forefront for 2016. It’s a mixture of world music African rhythms, ambient yet subtle drum and bass with a touch of spiritual soul. Eshe’s esoteric vocals and mystical vibes go on an inspiring rampage altering her octaves throughout the compositions 5 minutes of enjoyment. “Reazon” was released 19th December 2015 on Re-beat and is digitally distributed worldwide via iTunes, Amazon and Emusic. It’s producer is Phil Walters aka Simon Templa who‘ll be responsible for the forthcoming soul version to appear on Eshe’s forthcoming EP “Life Live Be Here”. Bringing her music to the masses with the force of mother nature and the universal language of soul sonic vibrations, Eshe gives you a “Reazon” to tap into that realm.

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Kleeer Get Tough The Kleeer Anthology 1978-1985 (BBR) This takes me “Back To School” like Bunny Wailer in 1978 freaking out in the school premises with the killer bass line and the strings of “Keep Your Body Working”, on repeat in my disco boogiefied mind. This anthology does capture a majority of the Kleeer catalogue minus a few I would have personally included. Naturally singles of the first album “Keep Your Body Working”, “Tonight’s The Night” and “I Love To Dance” are on here. I’m most pleased that the silent album sleeper, the sophisticated mellow boogie bullet “Happy Me” from the debut album’s is included . Also on CD 1 are the two major tracks off the second album “Winners” and the astral travelling “Open Your Mind”. Showing Kleeer’s diversity I was always partial to the rollocking funk boogie groove of “Get Tough” and the funk rocker “De Kleeer Ting”. Wayne Dickson who complied this opens on CD 2 with a favourite of mine, so much so I have the 7 inch, 12 inch with instrumental and album versions of “Taste The Music”. My question to you Wayne, with a smile I may add is, how could you leave off “I Shall Get Over” Wayne? This certainly journeys through Kleeer’s evolution of change as the years roll on, so by the 4th “Get Ready” album in 1982 their sound becomes slightly more psychedelic. There is a touch of ‘punk funk’ on the 12 inch cut of “She Loves Me” featuring Rick James on synths. By this time Woody Cunningham’s lead vocals are now a prominent feature and evident more so on the “Intimate Connection” album. With the exception of the funky “Break”, “Next Time It’s For Real”, the vocoder voiced “Tonight”, The inspiring “Go For It” and “You Did It Again” represent the mid 80’s moog classic 6th album. Kleeer’s final lucky 7th album showcases them embracing electro funk further, finishing of with “Take Your Heart Away”, my album fave “Never Cry Again” and a mellower “Lay Ya Down EZ”. Interviews with the remaining co founders Paul Crutchfield and Richard Lee document the east coast “Kleeer Ting” ethos with a heartfelt tribute to Woody Cunningham and Norman Durham who passed a year apart a few years ago. This certainly is a “Get Tough” anthology to have in your collection.

Thats The Way Of The World Starring Harvey Keitel & Earth, Wind & Fire as (The Group) DVD Considering the soundtrack achieved triple platinum sales, a number one R&B album of 1975 and third best pop selling album, the film flopped more than the popular athletic one named after Dick Fosbury. I spy with my cynical eye that the film nose dived because it really exposed how much the idea of “freedom and equality via the American Dream”, was really a smoke screen for it being America’s reality in the music industry nightmare. Harvey Keitel plays Buckmaster a cool Caucasian as a street wise edged, ears to the ground of the perfect sound record producer. He does however naively work for a scrupulous syndicated corporate music label. His vision is to make the locals talent of black musicians “The Group” played by Earth, Wind & Fire, a national crossover act, without selling out their integrity and natural essence of making good music.

The film shows the high flying ruthless head of the label juggling to keep his immediate boss an Italian Mafia mogul’s, content to continue his licence to print money payola and jukebox operations active. The discrimination and racism is blatant in how the Italian’s flexed their visible and invisible muscle, and would rather cater to the white audience with second rate “poop music”, from an all American clean living imaged talentless white act “The Pages”. This is preferred to the indigenous talent of the real “Shining Star” “black artists “The Group “ with no regard whatsoever for their welfare. The main “Reason’ being that the record company had them under a legally binding recording contract. Buckmaster (Harvey Keitel) is also under contract and is riddled with a not so “Happy Feelin’” to be working with “The Pages”, and realises he is compromised, and in one way or another he is damed whatever he does.

The film is quite fast moving so don’t blink or you’ll miss some of the subtle key turning points of the films outcome. This film does examine lots of dubious elements of control and legal documents, very much in the way America thrived during those hedonistic activities at the height of the “Africano” Slave trade. There is no disparage, if you check out the similarity. The human trafficking of an artist being regarded as personal property with legal papers to do as you wish exploiting their labour, is nothing less than swapping the cotton fields for the music industry arena. The ruthlessness means that Buckmaster is faced with succumbing to his bosses blackmailing demands, into shelving “The Group” to push the Pages into the global music stratosphere.

All the subliminal hurdles faced by the, more talent in one little finger, super band, “The Group”, are not even remotely visible for the no talent in all three bodies combined of “The Pages”. Velour “The Pages” ambitious female vocalist sets her amorous sights on young Buckmaster, who himself can “See The Light” of an opportunity in embracing her flirtatious prowess towards him. He’s tried to appeal to a few he respects better senses on what is right from wrong ethically and within the industry, but Buckmaster is now “Yearnin’, Learnin” and debating at the same time, how not to lose his integrity for what he has worked hard to preserve. Realising “Thats The Way Of The World “ he lives in, will Buckmaster sacrifices everything in his “All About Love” for the music plan to remain an honest man and take control of his and “The Group’s” destiny? It’s a very insightful film, that’s poignant in so many ways regarding the legacy of Maurice White and Earth, Wind & Fire, who just naturally play themselves. There is some very cool and intelligent piece of acting skills coming from Harvey Keitel and great production and direction from Sig Shore (Superfly fame). Written and inspired by the soundtrack song titles done in the Spirit of EWF. Page 20 - Issue 63

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MAURICE WHITE

The loss of JB & MJ in the past decade did, at the time of the announcement of their departure, impact me personally, moving me to tears and I’m not going to lie, I couldn’t stop myself. Many other soul survivors have gone since to join the creator’s orchestra and I’ve been saddened by that too. But although on this occasion I didn’t shed tears, losing Maurice White impacted on me in a more solemn and bittersweet way. He was more than a supreme human being and more of a universal huMANitarian. His life and purpose was certainly written “In The Stone” by the ancestors.

Marvin Gaye, Barry White, Teddy Pendergrass, Larry Blackmon and Charlie Wilson all like the JB’s classic started off as the ‘Funky Drummer’ at the back holding down and driving the groove, before they stepped to the fore front as lead vocalists and band leaders. Amongst that illustrious collective Maurice White ticked those boxes with an abundance of universal mental, physical, and spiritual connotations. Born under the astrological Sagittarius sign in December 1941, Maurice hails from the southern parts of Memphis Tennessee and relocated to Illinois as a teenager. I’m certain that the weather man could not have forecasted that ‘Reece’ as he was fondly referred to, would bring his musical gales of Chicago’s Windy City, to collide with two other natural elements and create the “Shining Star” musical legacy we know now as Earth, Wind & Fire.

Maurice attended The Conservatory Of Music and by the mid 1960’s he became a session drummer at Chess Records. Maurice was a member with some other Chess studio musicians of The Jazzmen around 1962 who later became The Pharaohs. Horn members of that group Don Myrick and Louis Sattersfield would in the next decade reunite with Maurice as part of Earth, Wind & Fire’s Pheonix Horns ensemble. Maurice worked with John Coltrane, Etta James, Muddy Walters, Howlin’ Wolf and played on Fontella Bass’s big hit “Rescue Me”.

Around 1966 Maurice replaced drummer Red Holt in Ramsey Lewis’s Trio, a residency he held for over three years, and the start of a future ongoing collaboration he would have with Ramsey. Maurice played on Ramsey’s Page 22 - Issue 63

classic “Wade In Water” ,“Le Fleur” and a cover of Herbie Hancock’s “Maiden Voyage”, the latter two both featuring vocalist the late Minnie Ripperton and the late Charles Stepney on production. Maurice during his time with Ramsey Lewis made several trips to the Middle East and became submerged in studying the ambience of Egyptology, astrology and the mystical sciences. With this newfound spiritual vocation Maurice also discovers an ancient African finger harp namely the Kalimba, that becomes a signature feature in musical philosophy from here on in. He introduces this enchanting instrument on Ramsey Lewis’s 1969 recording from the “Another Voyage” album a funky instrumental called “Uhuru”.

Maurice leaves The Ramsey Lewis Trio around 1969 and with future Earth, Wind & Fire member Wade Flemons and Don Whitehead forms The Salty Peppers. Recording two funky 7 inches “Uh Huh Yeah” “LaLaLa” and slow tempo “Your Love Is Life” on Capitol Records, these recordings certainly “Fan The Fire” of what is to come in the next chapter of Maurice’s “Moment of Truth”. This would be his consummate creation and branding of his super group Earth, Wind & Fire. As an African American what Maurice White achieves next, is not only historical but something beyond any infinite “Power” imaginable. Especially at a time when black music was finding its voice and acceptance in popular commercialised music. Lest we forget that this slightly pre dates Marvin Gayes’s seminal “What’s Going On” album, and with Maurice’s vision of universal peace love and unity ethos via his new outfit Earth, Wind &

Fire, they signed a two Warner Brother album deal in 1970.

EWF was now an evolvement of The Salty Peppers retaining the original members Wade Flemons and Don Whitehead, with Maurice’s brother Verdine White and female vocalist Sherry Scott as part of the new personnel. The first of the two albums the self titled Earth, Wind & Fire is incredibly funky with “C’mon Children”, “Moment Of Truth”, “Bad Tune” and “Love Is Life” showcasing the vocal arrangements, harmonies and phrasing we affiliate with an EWF sound. Maurice shared an apartment block in Chigago with future Black Jazz Records husband and wife jazz duo Doug and Jean Carn, and invites them both to perform as credited on EWF’s second album “The Need Of Love”. The album experiments with the esoteric fusion of jazz, soul, funk and spiritual messages as exampled on “Energy” that became the EWF musical formula. Around that same period Earth, Wind & Fire make history as the first African American group to do a film score for Melvin Van Peebles pioneering independent Blaxploitation movie “Sweetbacks Baddass Song” on Stax Records.

With CBS expanding it’s black music catalogue with the Gamble & Huff PIR capture, in 1972 EWF secure a new featured line up of a young saxophonist Ronnie Laws, percussionist’s Ralph Johnson and Philip Bailey, and new vocalist Jessica Cleaves, on the debut with “Last Days And Times”. I discovered this truly brilliant album in 1980 and luckily possess its longest cut “Power” on a 7-inch. Left handed guitarist Al McKay joins the group on the “Heads To The Sky” album and Maurice is now multitasking singing, playing the drums, the Kalimba and producing the group. Jessica Cleaves leaves the group but an old adversary Charles Stepney is an associated producer on the inspiring “Open Your Eyes” album, which spawned singles “Mighty Mighty” and the deep and spiritual “Devotion”. “That’s The Way Of The World” was a groundbreaking album not only for it’s musicality and spiritual sonics, it was a sound track for the film of the same name film, where EWF practically play themselves co-starring with Harvey Keitel. Another record breaking first the soundtrack enters the billboard single and album charts. “Shining Star”, “Reasons” and “See The Light” showcase the albums magnificence. Their live double album “Gratitude” brilliantly hides “A New World Symphony” and studio cut “Sunshine”.

EWF were now in the mid to late 1970’s renowned for their funky soul and jazz-fusion as well as their superb ballads. What must be commended is the level of Maurice White’s vision with the introduction to the Pheonix Horn section on the faultless 1977 “All N All” album. They were the fiercest horn section in the business and elevated EWF’s sound right up until 1983 on the “Powerline” album. Maurice’s was now stamping his Egyptology teachings universally to transcend to the world via the intriguing, captivating artwork and Hieroglyphs on his album artwork, a genius move in spreading his humanitarian consciousness. The EWF stage shows were unprecedented and magnificent with the aid of magician David Copperfield, lavished costumes and dazzling effects, that truly were a spectacle defying logic. EWF also had a million selling hit covering the Beatles “Got To Get You Into My Life” from the “Sargent Peppers” Soundtrack.

Such is the magnificence of Maurice White, his inspiration has touched so many artists whom I’ve spoken with in The Soul Survivor’s Magazine. Charlie Wilson’s Gap Band “Yearning For Your Love”, Cameo’s “Feel Me”, three from The Bar Kays “Open Up Your Heart” and “Say

It Through Love” (“As One” album) and “Shine”, New York City Band’s “Together”, Benny Golson’s “Always Dancing to The Music’s”, Alfredo De La Fest’s “Canto Del Corazon de la Fe”, and Leroy Burgess wrote Dazzle’s “Reaching”, all inspired by the EWF sound. We know all the hits but lest we forget that Maurice wrote for mentored and produced, Deniece Williams, The Emotions, Deodato and Barbara Streisand. He produced and co wrote material with his former band leader Ramsey Lewis’s “Sun Goddess” and “Salongo” albums featuring “Hot Dawgit”, “Sun Goddess”, “Brazilica” and “Slick”. There were many splinter tentacles from the EWF camp with Philip Bailey Larry Dunn, Al McKay and The Pheonix Horns, being involved with acts like FreeLife, Ren Woods, Dee Dee Bridgewater, The Jacksons and Phil Collins. Maurice’s music has been sampled and covered by too many to mention artists, plus he has counselled many including Larry Blackmon who sought his advice on surviving within the music industry. Louie Vega said he was blessed to do a dance remix their celebrated ballad “Can’t Hide Love”. Blaze did two tracks on their “Spiritually Speaking” 2002 album, an uptempo “Breathe” and a mid tempo universal messaged “One World”, plus Josh Milan also did the most amazing extended remix of EWF’s “Fantasy”.

I’m proud to say that the opening track on my 2013 “Sounds Of Universal Love” album on Expansions was EWF’s aptly titled “Love Music”.

“All N All” Maurice White, we “Celebrate” the fact that “You’re A Winner”, a “Star” and one “Slick” dude with that enigmatic smile “On Ya Face”, who truly could “See The Light” with a vision of “Beauty”. Your “Devotion” shows that you “Can’t Hide Love” of oneself when it transcends beyond the “Fantasy” of your intelligent “Magic Mind”. Thank you for helping so many millions of people to “Getaway” from the “Departure” of “Feelin’ Blue” or “Runnin’” away from the “Evil” that roams.

You helped to “Raise” everyones “Spirit” so the likes of “You & I” and all who have been touched with the “Yearnin’ Learnin’” frequency could dance with a “Happy Feelin’” and smiling “Faces” in “Boogie Wonderland” albeit in, “Brazilica”, “Zanzibar”, “Africano” under the “Kalimba Tree” or on planet “Jupiter”. The “Electric Universe” the solar system and most certainly planet earth, will “Be Ever Wonderful” with your eternal blessed presence, full of “Energy” as you always with integrity managed to “Keep Your Head To The Sky” with that “All About Love” ethos.

It’s the “Reason” why you were here, to speak the “Moment Of Truth” through the “Power” of music.

“That’s The Way Of The World” you created Maurice, that we the EWF appreciators live in, one that teaches how you can “Help Somebody” still in “This World Today” by constantly always creating a “Bad Tune”. So thank you because “I Am” personally grateful with plenty of undying “Gratitude” for the “Last Days And Times” you shared spiritually, and for that ray of “Sunshine” you brought back with you from your Egyptology journeys visiting the “Sun Goddess”. You are an anomaly Maurice in universally spreading your “New World Symphony” sonics naturally, when you simply went to write, produce, perform, or “Singasong”. Maurice White RISP Rest In Spiritual Peace.!!

thesoulsurvivorsmagazine.co.uk

Maurice White Tributes Here, from a few fellow Knights and Knightess’s from the Sound table are some words of wisdom inspired by the spiritual enlightenment they’ve been touched with via the late Maurice White.

SHERRY SCOTT (FIRST LADY FEMALE VOCALIST OF EARTH WIND & FIRE)

I moved from Chicago in 1969 to Los Angeles and received a phone call from my friend saxophonist John Klemmer who also moved from Chicago to L.A. I received a call from Maurice White and he wanted to fly me back to Chicago to be a part of a band he was starting. While in Chicago he met a black astrologer named Mr. Black who did Maurice’s astrological chart; he was a Sagittarius. As his chart was completed both air and water were dominant in the chart and this was the birth of the group name Earth, Wind & Fire. Group members were: Maurice White, Wade Flemons, Verdine White, Don Whitehead and Phillard Williams. I am thankful to Maurice White for bringing me into such an awesome opportunity and to be a part of the musical magic that was created for many years and will live on forever. I pray for all the EWF family and continue to be blessed by all those who are the keepers of the flame! Peace and Love.

JEAN CARNE (PIR FIRST LADY AND MOTHER OF THE FUTURE VOCAL GODDESS)

Among the many who have Blessed me by serving as mentors, teachers and models of excellence, Maurice White was the first to travel up the stairs and knock on our door at the Landmark Apt/hotel in Hollywood.

After saying “I heard the voice of an angel and followed the sound to your door”. (Ironically, the same thing was said by Joe Zawinul when Doug opened that same door). Maurice introduced himself to me and through Doug Carn, invited me to join EWF in the studio on the recording of their first two albums on Warner Bros. Reece’s spiritual presence will remain with me in perpetuity. I shall be eternally grateful to Maurice for the lessons, the secrets, the advice, the friendship and my first recording sessions. Heaven has received a gentle giant who elevated world consciousness through music that awed, entertained, spread love and remains the soundtrack of our lives. Eternal and much deserved rest in paradise, my forever friend... Maurice White.

RAMSEY LEWIS SPEAKING WITH JAZZ FM

Maurice was a staff musician at Chess Producing Company. Back in the day record companies had staff orchestra and producers and Maurcie White was a staff drummer. So I saw him walking around the halls of Chess Records for about three years. He was a very quietly spoken humble person. We’d say hello to each other. It came to the time for me to have to switch both my bass player and drummer and I thought of Maurice because I’d heard him play. I asked him to join the trio and he said “Yes, off course.” He joined the trio and then after a couple of years he quietly told me “Ramsey I think I’m going to form my own group and go to California in 6 or 8 months. I just wanted you to know.” After Maurice formed his group and put out “That’s The Way Of The World”, he was recording in New York City and called me saying he had a tune for me. He said it was more of an instrumental song and that they had been doing a lot of vocals, so they were not going to use the song. He said they were going California but that he would come and recorded it with us in Chicago, so we went into the studio and recorded for three days. The song we recorded was “Hot Dawgit”. We were almost ready to pack up and leave the studio and Maurice said “Ahh how could I forget, there is this other song that you can do a solo on because the melody is only 12 bars long. Everybody can solo on it and we’ll just have fun.” and you can put it on as an extra track on the album, as you already have your hit “Hot Dawgit”. We did just that and “Hot Dawgit” came out as a single and stayed on radio for about 10 days, two people bought copies my mother and my sister. But the album was selling like hot cakes because people were coming to the store asking for the album that had “Sun Goddess” on it. God bless Maurice White, I love him to this day.

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LARRY BLACKMON

Maurice White, as a singer, songwriter, producer, performer and spiritual being, had an unbelievable influence on me as a young singer and songwriter. I learned to play the Kalimba and Timbales because of him. I tried to write songs with meaning and weight, like he did. I even had the joy of meeting him once, back in the day. Earth Wind and Fire, more than any other group, (my very first concert, by the way) propelled us in new directions and musical explorations as young cats, riding in cars and vans, and later in our first, converted Greyhound bus, from club to club, paying what was universally known as “dues”. Rest In eternal peace, Maurice, and may the peace of your quiet passing lend comfort to your family and loved ones.

PATRICK ADAMS

Like many creative giants from the ‘Golden Era’ of Black music, Maurice White was like the midnight sky, always in the background supporting the stars. From studio session drummer many hit records through Ramsey Lewis to the Emotions to Earth Wind & Fire, his genius and influence will leave a long lasting mark on all that follows.

AL MCKAY FROM SOUL SURVIVORS ISSUE 43 2011

Maurice was very creative and he had lots of chop. He could spend all day in the studio and that was needed with this music which wasn’t complicated but different from everything else at the time. As a singer he was an innovator.

LEROY JACKSON BURGESS/ FEBRUARY 22ND, 2016

THE VISION OF MAURICE WHITE WAS AMONGST THE MOST POWERFUL STATEMENTS OF BLACK EMPOWERMENT EVER MADE; from the astounding Egyptian artwork, the deeply jazz-infused R&B compositions and arrangements, to the uplifting and inspirational lyrical content contained on each album, his work always made me feel strong, important and capable as an African American man. At a time when I (and the world) needed it most, “Keep Your Head To The Sky”, “Shining Star”, “That’s The Way Of The World”, “Sing A Song” and so MANY songs were specifically geared to lift the spirit of our people (and all people) into a realm of self-appreciation that we’d been denied in earlier times.

I heard the message in his music and it lifted me into the self I was to become. No awards, no accolades, no words can fully capture the profound impact of how much he meant to all of us. Like Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and so many others, Maurice made it clear through his work that LIFE meant something. Something deeper and larger than most of us thought at the time. We heard him loud and clear and it made a difference, to me and to many. For this, I can never thank him enough. It is impossible to understate Maurice’s influence upon me personally, as an artist, composer, arranger/producer etc. I was an avid student of his always superior work and gleaned so much from his example. It is evident in much of my work. “Think” by Aleem and “Reaching” by Dazzle are prime examples of this. I truly thank GOD for sharing his angel, Maurice with me and the world. Rest in peace, brother Maurice. You have truly earned those wings.

LENNY WILLIAMS VOCALIST AND EX FRONT MAN FOR TOWER OF POWER

I first met Maurice White in 1973. We were appearing on a show together in Hollywood. He was very polite and generous with his time. His song writing was excellent. He always had a smile on his face when we interacted.

LOUIE VEGA (MAW, NUYORICAN SOUL, ELEMENTS OF LIFE)

Maurice White. Where do I begin? My childhood, up in the Bronx at the block parties hearing “Sun Goddess”, “Brazilian Rhyme”, “Getaway”, & “Power” in the streets and on the boom boxes WBLS with Frankie Crocker on air playing “Keep Your Head To The Sky”, “Fantasy”, “September”, “Can’t Hide Love”, “Reasons”, “Sing A Song” and so many more masterpieces created by the MUSICAL ICON AND VISIONARY of our time Maurice White. Who would think that 30 years later I would work on one of his masterful creations along with my partner Kenny Dope We (Masters At Work) were lucky enough to be commissioned to remix “Can’t Hide Love” by Earth, Wind, & Fire which enabled a soul ballad to be played at dance clubs with thousands of people singing the ‘aaaaaahs’ in the song, the classic one of a kind genius horns which worked perfectly on our groove by the greatest horn sections of all time EWF. Now this was one of the top Masters At Work remixes for us, just to be on the same record label as Earth Wind & Fire and together with the genius Maurice White, it was a dream that became reality.

Maurice White will always live through our music as he is a huge inspiration for Masters At Work, Nuyorican Soul, Elements Of Life, and the Vega Family. Maurice White you are A SHINING STAR FOR US ALL!!!! thesoulsurvivorsmagazine.co.uk

BLUEY FROM SOUL SURVIVORS ISSUE 18 2009

Seeing Earth, Wind & Fire opening for Santana, I already knew from the age of five that mine would be a musicians life. I left Hammersmith Odeon knowing that there would be no distraction in fulfilling my destiny.

JOSH MILAN FROM SOUL SURVIVORS ISSUE 33 2001

For me Earth, Wind and Fire’s music was never the sound of one person and that’s what I love. Although Maurice was the producer, the sound of the music wasn’t just Maurice’s. It was a culmination of Larry Dunn, Al McKay, Verdine White, and the entire EW&F band that made it work. They had a synergy that touched the entire planet. And they sang about beautiful things, and positive messages. Most people want to feel good, and EW&F knew exactly how to make you feel good. Artist and producers, like myself, want their music to do what EW&F’s music did for the world. So we listen to every note, and every lyric. Their music is timeless.

RALPH JOHNSON FROM SOUL SURVIVORS ISSUE 51 2014

I know Maurice hasn’t obviously been involved in the live element anymore but is he is still a director of Earth Wind & Fire. Does that make sense? He hasn’t been a part of the touring band for almost 20 years or longer but anytime we do an Earth, Wind & Fire song, Maurice is a part of it as he is the conceptualizer the founder co-writer of the band.

We have been successful for over 25 years keeping the brand in tact and lifting the integrity of it and upholding what we started out. We’ve been touring longer without him than with him. So the 40 years is not only a testament to his work as the founding father but ours over the past 20 to uphold that legacy.

JOCELYN BROWN Hi I’m Jocelyn Brown. I’m going to talk to you a little bit about EW&F with Maurice White and what it meant for me in my life when they came out and brought themselves to the front for the people themselves, back in the days of the hippies. They all kind of played in that area of music that allowed you to spiritually pace out and come back to a better space of consciousness. The words and the music all entertained into a better way and a better day. It allowed me as an artist to remember that there is freedom and salvation in music because you can find all of those kind of things there and EWF for me more so. Maurice as the head of it all who created everything allowed us to know how to let go, let the hemisphere, as it was called at that time, to take control, to be of good cheer and good spirit in response to everything. For me in this business what Maurice meant was to continue with good positive efforts within the truth. Remember what Earth, Wind and Fire meant they are elements of life, so I’m still here.

PATRICE RUSHEN FROM SOUL SURVIVORS ISSUE 30 2011

I was influenced by Earth, Wind and Fire who played at my high school prom in spring 1972 and straight after “Mighty Mighty” blew up out of control which was fantastic. So I’ve known them for a long time especially Maurice with his leadership but also Verdine, Ralph and Philip. They are so dynamic in their desire for excellence.

CHARLIE WILSON ON SINGING “YEARNING FOR YOUR LOVE” FROM SOUL SURVIVORS ISSUE 31 2011

Now I loved Earth, Wind and Fire who were in a class of their own and especially loved how Maurice White phrased things, which is why the record is sung that way with more emphasis.

Page 26 - Issue 63

MARC MAC (4HERO)

There was no shortage of Soul and Funk bands coming out of the US in the 60’s and 70’s, so in order to rise to the top you had to be special, outstanding and be ‘different’. Maurice White’s Earth, Wind & Fire were just that, they were the cream of the crop and the genius of Maurice White was the driving force behind this bands greatness. On a personal note the spirituality embedded in EWF’s music, lyrics and album cover artwork was a guiding influence for me as a record producer and music lover. Maurice will truly be missed but certainly not forgotten.

MARCIA CARR (DJ JOURNALIST FOR MI SOUL RADIO)

It was back in 1992 that I had the good fortune myself to meet Maurice (and his bassist brother Verdine and vocalist songwriter Philip Bailey) in London. I vaguely remember him as a modestly quiet, unassuming and humble character, he was quite witty too.

I’m saddened by the news of the loss of a great and influential man whom I consider a huge inspiring contributor to the evolving time line that is a rich pedigree in the goldmine that is black music. Earth, Wind & Fire have continued performing in recent years such is the demand for one of America’s best musical exports - they have released material without live appearance of Maurice at the shows. He did remain an active bandleader, a clearly gifted songwriter, musician (an uncredited funky drummer), record producer and arranger, who had retired from public performances since the mid nineties - White battled with Parkinson’s Disease for a long time (diagnosed with it in 1980). It was announced by Verdine White that his brother passed away peacefully at 74 years young in LA on 4th February. The entertainment world is left void of an icon who made our hearts sing his many lullabies as we danced to the Karimba strings (the African thumb piano often featured on lots of the band’s work) weaved in as the rooted rhythmic (E W & F signature) sound at discotheques and house parties around the world. As legacies stand the music does not have to stop so “Let’s Groove” on some more in honour of White and E, W & F. We can “Get Away” and enter into “Boogie Wonderland” wherever we as the fans are. After all it’s a good “Reasons” to get in the “Spirit” as he would have liked.

JOHN MORALES, M+M MIX PRODUCTIONS

Maurice White. What can be said that hasn’t been said already? I’m fortunate to have been there in the 70’s I knew him first with the Salty Peppers and when he and EWF first formed and emerged onto the scene you knew they were destined to thrill generations with their energetic soulful music and message. The great thing about great people and music is that even in passing they live forever. For me Maurice is not gone, and will always be here. His music has insured that that will not happen.

COLIN WILLIAMS OFFICIAL SOUTHPORT AND (SUNCEBEAT PHOTOGRAPHER AND HUGE EWF FAN)

Maurice White of legendary super band Earth, Wind & Fire passed away on 3rd Feb 2016. Few could have imaged what the band Maurice formed with a handful of friends would become, one of the world’s greatest musical bands and sit at the top of a pedestal with few peers. He initially found his musical feet with the Ramsey Lewis trio in 1963 as a session drummer but eventually moved on to set up Earth, Wind in Fire (EWF) in the late sixties. He soon invited his brother Verdine to join and the EWF journey began in earnest with Maurice as bandleader and producer of much of the work.

Who can forget classics including “Lets Groove”, “September” and “Shining Star” as examples of Maurice White magic? A list of EWF transformational music works would span many pages. Maurice was sadly diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and stopped touring in the mid 1990s but the band continued on keeping the visually and audibility spellbinding EWF experience alive (I was fortunate to see them two years ago at the Royal Albert Hall). Thankfully Maurice’s legacy is safe as not only is the musical library of Earth, Wind and Fire endless, with Verdine White at the helm plus Philip Bailey & Ralph Johnson still involved, the band will continue to hypnotise audiences both old and new across the world. Maurice White, may you rest well with the knowledge you have left a musical mark that will never ever be erased.

DEZ PARKES (ALL ROUND MUSICOLOGIST AND JEDI KNIGHT OF THE SOUND TABLE)

What can I say other than Maurice (aka Reese) White was an inspiration and guiding light for his people, a true master of his craft. Thank you Maurice White for trying to teach us who we are in this universe through your album covers and lyrics. I remember 1974 upstairs at Ronnie Scotts the DJ Sant’e dropping “Fair But So Uncool” for the first time. He had to rewind the tune because the whole club was smoothing and grooving, it was electric. My admiration was such that I named my son Maurice which by the way is a Moorish name that means “dark skinned”. Thank you Maurice White for your spiritual guidance, knowledge and musical genius, may you rest in eternal peace. thesoulsurvivorsmagazine.co.uk

Mira Parkes

The Official Soul Survivors Balkan and Worldwide Correspondent.

Serbia, the country of magical beauty, deep history and mistaken identity. The country of many contradictions. This is the story of a generation that grew up during the 90s, in the time of sanctions, starvation, wars, bombings and total cultural and spiritual degradations.

That degradation lasts to this day. But this is not a sad pathetic observation, but a story about the beauty and power of souls that is not sold for a piece of bread.

One of these souls belong to a man who grew up on the streets of Belgrade, a man who, in his youth, fell in love with music. Playing trombone helps him to live his dream through music by creating an international career and great connections with other cultures thanks to Reggae music. Despite the bad times he is a respected role model of older and younger generations in Serbia. This is a story about the Serbian-Jamaican-English connection and a man named Nemanja Kojic aka Hornsman Coyote, a man who played with some of Jamaica’s greats artists.

in Roots, Prince Far I, Keith Hudson and Ras Michael. Those are just a few that musically inspired me. Rasta culture has a strong influence in my life from what I eat, how I love and treat the world around me. Also, on the other side I have a punk rock background.

That’s where my guitar playing came from.

You’ve had links with some of the best known production studios and you also have links with some well known names such as Max Cavalera,

Who is Hornsman Coyote?

A brother with the trombone from Belgrade Serbia, who can sing a bit and play guitar. A musician and music lover. Looking for the peaceful way always.

What inspired you to devote your life to Reggae music?

It was in the late 80s when I heard Burning Spear horns and for the first time I felt that spiritual power. I was 14 years old then and I could see distant landscapes listening to Burning Spear. My imagination went far with those notes.

In 1995 I played trombone for Serbian reggae pioneers the Del Arno Band. We had a show with Misty in Roots in Slovenia. After I saw Misty live that was when my reggae journey started.

Which influences made you what you are now, as a person and as an artist?

I was always looking for spirituality in music, no matter what the genre.

I chose Roots reggae because it’s a house of good spirits. No one inspired me to be myself, but I love artists like Misty Page 28 - Issue 63

Max Romeo and Lee “Scratch” Perry. Is there anybody else you would like to mention?

Yes, I was lucky to meet Daniel Boyle (Rolling Lion Studio), who invited me to play on both the Lee “Scratch” Perry album, Back on the controls from 2014 that was nominated for a Grammy and on the upcoming Max Romeo (Horror Zone) album due for release in may 2016. I always love to mention Rej Forte (Jah Works UK), Bunnigton Judah and Jerry Lions as the first people I ever worked with. Recording and touring with Jah Mason was also a blessing.

I’ve just released my first official album in UK called ROARING BRASS, produced and released by Roots HITEK (London) and we will be touring in Europe this summer promoting the album soundsystemwize.

Have you ever been to Jamaica?

No I haven’t but I know many Jamaicans. I can’t afford to go as a tourist anywhere. I travel only if I have a booking. The only place I’ve been as tourist was Ethiopia. So I suppose JA is next. I would love to feel the studio vibes and work with elders and youths, see places like Alpha boys school. I hope to do that soon.

You also work with your two Serbian bands “Eyesburn” and “Hornsman Coyote & Soulcraft”.

Yes. That’s my family and best friends over here. Eyesburn is a reggae influenced rock crossover band and we will be celebrating 22 years of existence this year. Hornsman Coyote and Soulcraft is my seven-piece roots reggae band. We are releasing our new album “SAFE PLANET” in late march worldwide. Both bands are working full time.

What are your hopes and aspirations as an artist in the future and are there any greater opportunities for Serbian-Jamaican-English connections?

I wish more peace and love for us all. More overstanding, more connections and international works for I & I singers and players of instruments. Let Jah lead the way. Guidance

“I was 14 years old then and I could see distant landscapes listening to Burning Spear. My imagination went far with those notes.”

Big up to my greatest supporters, my son and husband, Vuk and Dez Parkes. Endless love.

thesoulsurvivorsmagazine.co.uk

Maurice White Tributes Here, from a few fellow Knights and Knightess’s from the Sound table are some words of wisdom inspired by the spiritual enlightenment they’ve been touched with via the late Maurice White.

KENNY WELLINGTON TRUMPETER AN CO FOUNDER OF BEGGAR & CO

The music Maurice White wrote arranged and produced with his many great collaborators is among the best of all time, the pinnacle, the Everest many of us have aspired to for many years and still can’t get there. His musical vision was amazing and he has left us with such a legacy, music that will be treasured forever. Maurice White, EWF, giants of music, the best.

COLIN BARLETT AKA DJ BIGGER (LUXURY SOUL WEEKENDER & MI SOUL)

Of course Maurice White gave us some of the most amazing music from our genre. But I think the biggest tribute I can pay to this iconic star is this, in a day and age where Rock music became so dominant Maurice White made Earth, Wind & Fire our genres first true super group. By making them so visual as well as musically amazing live and playing live at full blown stadia across the world. They could stand side by side and toe to toe with the likes of Queen, ELO etc and more than hold their own both crowd wise, visually and performance wise. Such a sad loss RIP Maurice ASH SELECTOR (SOUL SHACK & SOLAR RADIO)

Born in Memphis in 1941, No words can express the impact Maurice White has made on music lovers around the globe throughout his lifetime and this will continue after his passing on 3rd Feb 2016. I’ve never seen as many tribute shows on Radio stations around the world ever! Maurice spent many years as a drummer for the likes of The Impressions, The Dells, Etta James, Ramsey Lewis & Booker T amongst many others. Deciding to form his own group Maurice hired a local band that included his younger brother Verdine, Maurice founded the Salty Peppers and later changed the name to Earth, Wind & Fire after the elements of the earth. E W & F appealed to a broader cross-section of the listening public going on to bridge the gap between black & white musical tastes worldwide. As a group of jazz musicians, they played soul, funk, gospel, blues, jazz, rock and dance music but appealed to pop music culture. E W & F became a household name and gave many of us the soundtrack to our lives. Under Maurice’s leadership they brought us innovative recordings and exciting, live shows. Earth, Wind & Fire promoted universal harmony. Maurice produced several artists including The Emotions & Deniece Williams, Barbra Streisand and Jennifer Holliday. Maurice White created a musical library that has stood the test of time & blessed our ears for which we will always be truly thankful. Rest in eternal Peace.

RICHARD SEARLING LUXURY SOUL WEEKENDER/ SOLAR RADIO

Regarding Maurice White, I’d like to focus on his prowess as a session drummer for Chess records in the 1960s. I’d just ask you to take a listen to tracks like “Wear It On Our Face” by The Dells, The Kittens “Ain’t No More Room” or the monumental “Landslide” by Tony Clarke and you see and hear what I mean!

Page 30 - Issue 63

thesoulsurvivorsmagazine.co.uk

Tell us about growing up in our old manor Perivale as a 60’s child and what were your musical influences that led to you becoming a Dj?

“So around 1978 early 79 the first person to invite me up north was Alex Lowes (Southport Weekender) to Newcastle.

I literally stopped traffic back then when they saw a black man probably for the first time it would seem”

Cleveland Anderson This one is deep, as I have travelled on the path a few footsteps behind this west London Perivalian soul survivor.

His journey is an inspiring one for many reasons. Not only did he mentor me in subliminal ways, being a 5 minute away music fan and neighbourhood boy from the Perivale hood, but I at times at his side witnessed his perseverance in overcoming the many hurdles thrown in his strive to reach the finish line. It’s unique because Cleveland Anderson was the adjoining line between the north and south of Watford gap divide, at a time when there was a distinct disparage in the late 1970’s to mid 1980’s. From Dj-ing at his local community centre less than 400 yards from his home, to being an under aged club Dj at Cheeky Pete’’s in Richmond and 100 Club in London’s Oxford Street, Cleveland’s legacy links up a few, previously known to the masses, unconnected dots. Read on and you’ll get educated from someone who was once known as “The Preacher”.

Page 32 - Issue 63

Perivale was like a little village when we came here from Cricklewood and it was very posh with women wearing white gloves as I remember. There weren’t any black people bar maybe one other family when we arrived in the area. Eventually other black families like the Kerr’s and Mullings’s family came along. Perivale was one of those places that most of us ended up being soul boys.

I got into the music from my 8 year older brother Devon, who used to go to Global Village and Tottenham Royal. He used to come back with this amazing music on 7-inch vinyl. This was Kool & The Gang, Fatback and James Brown so it was very funky music that he liked.

I remember the albums with the images of the artists in their freaky outfits and Afros, and it mesmerised me. The album covers were as visual as listening to the music, so it was like a magnet to me. I used to listen to his records and eventually they became my records.

There was also a disco side running parallel with the funk at the time and I found myself verging towards the lush strings of disco.

What period we talking here?

1973-76. I was getting into things like The Johnny Davis Orchestra “The Magic Is You” and I fancied myself as bit of a dancer. All of us Perivale boys had a passion for dancing and people like Kenton Kerr and Patrick Ruddock were really good dancers. We used to get a dance move probably seen at Crackers or somewhere similar, and perfect it so we could drop the same move the following week, or make up our own dance moves to bust them at a club. That’s how it was and often you’d only do that move once because you didn’t want anyone to copy them. I used to go to 100 Club and Crackers afternoon sessions on Fridays and Saturdays where the dancing was serious, as I was too young for the evening sessions. At 100 club there were younger kids than us, sometimes as young as 6 or 7 who could embarrass us with their moves.

How is it that children of that age were able to be in the club?

As long as the venue wasn’t selling hard liqueur any age could go as some of the parents used to bring their kids. But those little kids could dance and shuffle at 100 Club. I saw many a big man get embarrassed by kids age 6 and 7.

The next upgrade for me was going to Crackers in Wardour Street.

I remember there were three rockabilly bouncers with long hair, wearing light brown sheep skin coats on the door. These were the men you’d first come into contact with as you approached the venue, with your heart beating because you’ve got false ID and your desperate to get in with your mates. Some of us would get in and some wouldn’t’. Being small I got knocked back a few times and there was no worse feeling than seeing your mates get in without you saying “See ya later Cleve”. It was a big thing to get into Crackers and just because you got in one week didn’t mean you’d get in the next, and that added to the excitement. Crackers was a small dingy place, hot and sweaty but the music was good. I caught bits of Mark Roman before Nicky Price took over and then George Power arrived in 1976. Everybody could dance, the women were amazing dancers but you had to be of a certain standard. It was one of the few places

that black people could go. The amount of good music I heard there like Fever “Don’t You Want Me”, Munich Machine “Get On The Funk Train”, Jo Bisso “Play Me Suite” and Alec R Costandinos “Romeo & Juliet” were proper dancers grooves you’d only hear at Crackers.

You wouldn’t hear this music on Robbie Vincent’s or Greg Edwards’ radio shows and sometimes you wouldn’t hear it at the club again and this would drive you nuts. You had to go back to Crackers in the hope of hearing these tunes. Some of these records took up the whole side of an LP and were about 10-15 minutes long. These big Crackers tunes were different to Lacy Lady’s. I’m not knocking the club for the music, but the music at Crackers was proper black grooves. I fondly remember paying 30p to get into Crackers and with the ticket you’d get sausage and chips in the basket. As a black man if you pulled a girl in clubs back then, you had to be so discreet and arrange to meet the girl later. She’d leave the club 30 minutes before the end and wait down the road away from the club, and you’d meet her after for a secret rendezvous. As a soul boy you had to be quick on your toes because sometimes with the white boys coming out of the clubs and pubs, having had a tank full, things could get nasty. The racial climate was tense to say the least.

Who were the dancers that you remember?

Crackers was very competitive and I always remember Horace Carter, Mohammed, Peter Francis and Trevor Shakes. I remember vividly one incident with Horace who hadn’t been to Crackers for a few weeks. You would notice if he or Mohammed wasn’t there as they were like super stars. The dancers were as big as the Dj’s and in some ways bigger, so it was a big deal. Anyway Horace hadn’t been for a few weeks and suddenly walked in with this blond girl on his arm. He walks on to the floor and breaks out into some serious dancing, that I’ll never forget. He was in his element as the floor cleared for his routine. He totally mashed up the floor and he obviously had a point to prove, because when he finished he just picked up his bag and walked out the door with his woman. It was like something out of the movies, and as a young kid I was in awe of the dancers. This was long before John Travolta. This made me want to become a dancer perfecting moves borrowed from the likes of Mohammed or Peter Francis. Other good clubs included Sutton Scamps, Countdown and one of the top clubs in London was the Hopbine with DJ Andy Rogers in Wembley playing things like Mass Production “Welcome To My World Of Merry Music”, where I met Tommy Mack who could do his thing on the dance floor.

How did the Dj kick in?

It kicked in around 1975 to 76 before I even left high school. I was Dj-ing at both the Perivale Scout Hut and The Community Centre at the top of my road. I had the music so everyone used to say “Call Cleveland to play”. I cut my teeth around the age of 14-15 doing an under 16’s school disco’s at my high school, Faraday. I was playing James Brown “BodyHeat” and funky grooves like that. My first actual club was Cheeky Pete’s in Richmond with Steve Walsh on a Tuesday or Thursday around 1976-77 and alternatively George Power on a Monday at Cheeky’s. Then I started doing the 100 Club where Greg Edwards was resident and Ronnie L was the main Dj, my God did Ronnie know his music! I wasn’t quite old enough to be really playing in a nightclub so I did the afternoon

session. At Cheeky Pete’s I had to be off the decks by 8.30-9 pm and the club finished at 11, which was relative at the time as a late night. I progressed to doing the Slough all niters and the Isle Of Wight Weekenders, which eventually took me up north, as London was going through a bit of a lull for me. So around 1978 early 79 the first person to invite me up north was Alex Lowes (Southport Weekender) to Newcastle. I literally stopped traffic back then when they saw a black man probably for the first time it would seem.

I played up there a few times in a nice club with a 400 strong crowd. Then a year or so on between 1979-1980 Richard Searling invited me to play at The Ritz and Tiffanys in Manchester and Redmill.

I take my hat off to Richard as they were great events. I always remember the Ritz in Manchester because of the vibrating dance floor and I’ve never felt anything like it since. First time I went up there I took a coach of people from London which seemed like it took days to get there. I was on the bill with Dj’s Colin Curtis, Shaun Williams, Mike Shaft, Paul Dixon and Funky Jonathan.

At the time it was a big thing that we came from London travelling in such droves because that hadn’t happened before. It was unheard of coming out of your manor from the south of the UK unless it was for football maybe Arsenal or Spurs v Man United. People started hearing about these ventures so it grew from one coach to two and around 1981-82 early electro had started to kick in. Things like “ET Boogie” were being played up north first. (Fitzroy “Before Electric Ballroom in Camden?”) Yeah without a doubt. I remember back then the black guys had the Grace Jones haircut, the fashion was different and the sound was different. London had become a bit jaded for me that is why I travelled up north so I was hearing “Walking In Sunshine” being played about a year before it reached London. Now people may contest what I say here but once I got the taste of that flavour we didn’t want to rave in London any more.

So this was around the time when Greg Wilson was playing?

Yeah that was the name I meant to add, how could I forget Greg Wilson? There were certain things that started up north musically that weren’t being played in London. So when I played up there I could get away with some different things but you had to know what they liked. For me the Ritz in Manchester signified a whole new era and sound, again the vibration went right through your body. I started taking coaches to Maxi Millions in Birmingham, Powerhouse in Nottingham, Snobs in Leicester and Scotland all dayers. We used to meet religiously every week Sunday 10 am at Alperton Station going all over the country. (Fitzroy: “Yep I remember them so well.”) People started coming from up north to down south also and the soul scene developed more so.

Backtracking slightly a few years back to the late 70’s you also worked in the same circles of the Funk Mafia?

Yeah working with Chris Brown, Steve Walsh, Allan Sullivan, Steve Hodges and Chris Britton. I was definitely one of the first black Dj’s without a doubt out of a few to do that circuit. There was also Pepe and Owen Washington plus Greg Edwards who was on the radio. thesoulsurvivorsmagazine.co.uk

You had a bit of an alarming experience with a female and a George Benson record I seem to remember?

MIKE SHAFT

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HEWAN CLARKE

I’d say you could count all the known black Dj’s on one hand.

There were others for sure but they weren’t known then as being a profile Dj. It was really hard breaking through because the scenes promoter’s and clubs feared hiring a black Dj and bringing a black crowd, and they were not ready for that. We were often given bum nights like Mondays and Tuesday’s or you may get a Saturday if theirs wasn’t working. But if you established getting a Saturday and something more favourable to them came in you were out. We got fed up of that and sought our own entertainment hence the influx of house parties in the 1980’s. This was nothing new to us as a black community, because our parents were doing that when they first arrived in the 1960’s. We felt like we were being blocked playing in the clubs and it was definitely on lock down with the white English Dj’s, and you had to wait on them to invite you in. As a young black kid you try to get your head around that psyche, because you’re thinking this music comes from my culture and I can’t get in to listen or play it. So people like Richard Searling and Alex Lowes thankfully gave me opportunities, but certain doors were firmly shut, hence me going up north. You may get the occasional token call which is what it felt like, but you took it back then, as something was better than nothing.

How did you end up in Scotland?

I was invited up to Aberdeen by Billy Davidson which is deep Scotland for me. I travelled up by a National Express coach. I still remember that first gig to this day. I also played in Dundee.

This was about 2 years before I lived up there. I was still on my adventure experiencing life outside London and again there were no black people in Aberdeen. I was surprised how much they were into their music as I remember playing The Fresh Band “Come Back Lover” and they were up for it as a non-commercial tune. I was still travelling to Brum and Manchester from London before I eventually relocated to Scotland. Alan Davis who owned some clubs in Scotland in Glasgow, Co Bridge and Paisley invited me to play which I enjoyed, and received a great reception from the people. I had a relationship breakdown at the time so the timing was good for me to relocate. I played at The Paris Complex, The Warehouse, Panama Jacks and Henry Africa’s, where I met Bob Jeffries and Kenny McLoud. Bob and Kenny were the main guys on that circuit in Glasgow which was heaving. I spent a year and half Dj-ing and assisting Davey Walters who ran the club so I learned how to run various aspects of the night.

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God you remember that Fitz! Yeah that was one of my worst experiences in Edinburgh and this girl was just not going to let her gripe go man. This lady asked me for a George Benson record which I had and pulled out to include within my programming. She kept asking aggressively every five minutes for the track and I’d show her I’d pulled it out to play. It was a very weird night from my memory as I’d taken a coach load of black people from Birmingham to Glasgow first and then on to Edinburgh. When we got there I could see that our arrival didn’t go down too well on the faces of the locals once we stepped off the coach. There was a massive divide on the dance floor between the white locals and the travelling black crowd from Brum.

It was already feeling uncomfortable before the incident. By now this persistent girl had annoyed me so much with her racial abuse, that I got indignant and didn’t play it. She approached me at the end whilst all the Birmingham crew were getting back on the coach and I was speaking with Davey Walters. She pointed her finger in my face and almost physically attacked me. The bouncers just stood there observing. All I did was to firmly tell her to get out of my face.

Before you knew it the bouncers bundled me to the floor, locking my arms up my back, roughing me up and it became a big commotion.

Davey who was trying to work out how to avoid this, pleaded with them to let me go which they eventually did. When I got back on the coach and told everyone what happened, all the brothers wanted to get off the coach and sort it out so I had to calm them down. So Edinburgh was a bad experience but all and all I got a good overall reception travelling around and understanding the balance of the commercial and underground areas, both musically and within the racial demographics. I felt that musically I could express myself outside London, so in a way I was always one step ahead of others because of my experience.

Moving on, when you came back from Scotland you were notorious before Biggy running the soul blues house parties in west London.

Yeah that came out of the frustration of us as a black community not being able to get into the clubs. If we did succeed, the music played wasn’t for us anyway. The soul blue’s were a modification of what our parents had already experienced in the same way. So it was a mirror throwback in the 1980’s of what had happened in the 1960’s. Norman Jay, Rudy Ranks and I used to do things with “Good Times” which was his brother Joey Jay’s reggae sound system. Good Times became what it came because it was a wicked reggae system and I was playing on there before Joey’s brother Norman. In fact I was the original “Good Times Dj” and not many will know that.

Joey would be there on the door collecting the money and I would be spinning the music, week in week out. We’d seek out empty properties doing our version of a health and safety check, making sure that the electricity is wired up say on a Monday or Tuesday.

By the Wednesday we decide to have a dance that Saturday night, so we used to cut keys or change the locks and leave milk bottles outside midweek, to make the empty property look like it was lived in. We’d later return to set up on the Saturday night after having printed up a few leaflets to distribute and get 400-500 mix crowd of people turn up partying till 9am the next morning.

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This sounds like the backbone pre cursor to what became the huge illegal acid house raves in the fields and outdoor establishments that are now legal festivals. How did you get around the whole thing with the police?

At first the police bought into the spin that we were having a birthday party, asking us to turn the music down which we would oblige to.

Once they went we turned it back up. Soon they realised that this was actually a business enterprise, so we used to use a different house every week. It grew to the point that I’d be doing one in West London and Alistair Rappattack would do one maybe in Ladbroke Grove. This was ours for Afro Caribbean black people being able to enjoy ourselves in a comfortable environment. This was happening in lots of areas where the black community shared the same issue.

You could have a smoke a drink, a dance, and what was better, listen to the music we wanted to hear all night till 9am the next morning. A whole new movement came out of that scene playing music that had previously been untouched or forgotten about like Jeffree “Mr Fix It”, “Loves Gonna Last” along side new things like Active Force “Give Me Your Love” and Midnight Star “Curious”. This made the ambience unique and you wouldn’t know some of this music was old. Things like Dennis Edwards “Don’t Look Any Further” and Fatback “I Found Loving” as commercial as they became as club hits and radio friendly favourites, all those came out of the Soul Blues parties. You can imagine the next-door neighbour with his slippers and pipe, mug of coffee, just grabbing the remote to watch Match Of The Day. Then all of a sudden he hears this thundering noise coming through his walls. When I look back doing what I did, I ask myself how would I feel with convoys of cars parking outside people arriving and this is would be till 9am on a Sunday morning?

It’s as inconsiderate as you can get but I can only laugh about it now.

was bubbling. In Jan 1987, you start the Tom Tom Club at Barbarella’s in Greenford with me as a resident.

Yeah, gosh you’re nudging my brain here and we were playing that mixture you described earlier, Eric B & Rakim “I Know You Got Soul”, Adonis “No Way Back” and all the rare groove funk and soul like Voices Of East Harlem “Wanted Dead Or Alive” or The Vibrettes “Humpty Dump”.

I was buying Eric B & Rakim with Adonis and Ten City all at the same time and around that time Jasper The Vinyl Junkie was doing this also at The Cricketers in Chertsey on a Sunday afternoon late evening session.

Yeah those were the days where we used to go to Chertsey and fly leaflets all over Slough and them home counties trying to capture people to come to Tom Tom. Around 1988 you started hosting The Tom Tom at African Centre.

Yeah wow, I brought Leroy Burgess over for the first time as no one was really bringing PA’s over back then. That had a great line up with Paul Anderson, Bobby & Steve, Dez Parkes, and yourself. The three or four dates I did there were great. You all had individuality Dj wise and that’s what’s missing today. Back then you didn’t need to look to the front to see who was playing, you’d know if Paul Anderson was playing without breaking your neck to see whose on the decks.

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Alongside that on the pirate radio you were active in the early to mid 80’s?

Yeah I was on Jive in Luton and my first was station was on Horizon with Chris Stuart and CJ Carlos. I also did JFM and LWR and what made this era exciting was that it was illegal. We used to have to do a “watch out” for the DTI and the police before you actually did a show. We are talking high rise flats in Peckham, cold weather and I wasn’t driving, so travelling on the night bus, carrying record bags were part of the remit. Some of the studios were located in abysmal places. Sometimes you’d have to walk over wobbly planks to get to premises, and having to swerve about 3 hungry and salivating Alsatian dogs in the process. I remember Chris Stuart at Horizon was very dedicated and influential in helping to build the London soul scene. The standard of music was high and legal radio stations like Capital were threatened, because for the first time commercial advertising was being broadcast on pirates. The government stepped in threatening to fine the commercial businesses for advertising on pirate radio, that’s how much of a threat pirates stations were back then. I also did Time, Starpoint and Solar radio back then, and guests shows on legal stations Radio London and Capitol Radio.

Once again this was at a time when black Dj’s were still not featuring on that platform in abundance. Obviously that changed when Kiss and Choice became legal in 1990.

By the mid to late 80’s around 85-86 that whole underground warehouse scene was now emerging and that underground “rare groove” period Page 36 - Issue 63

Yeah true. Now you mention Paul, remember the time when, although we were Dj-ing we still used to go out clubbing to places like Legends on Old Burlington Street to see Paul Anderson in the early 1990’s and it was the only place to be on a Thursday?

Yeah man Paul had it all there. The thing about Paul, Dez Parkes, Trevor Shakes, yourself and me included, we all came from the dance floor and that counts for a lot. We were motivated from the dance floor but I don’t feel that from the DJ’s now, with many who look like they are just standing there showboating. I used to go to Paul Anderson’s parties and he would be multitasking taking money on the door, doing the bar and dancing as well as Dj-ing. We also embraced the stuff that came before us like Motown and Stax before we hit the clubs. So when I look at the afore mentioned those for me are the true Dj’s. (Fitzroy: “Thanks for including me in that line up I’m chuffed.”)

You got into some music production with Phil Fearon at Production House.

Oh God yeah, your memory is good Fitzroy. I was brought in as a label manager and we had Jazz & The Brothers Grimm, Dice and Baby D on the label. I started my producing there with Baby D doing a cover of Coffee’s “Casanova”. I thank Phil Fearon for giving me the opportunity in 1989. Not many Dj’s were producing back then apart from Danny D and Kid Batchelor in the UK, plus David Morales and Frankie Knuckles in the USA. Then your own label the Tom Tom Club. You did covers of “Get On The

Funk Train” and “Crystal World” as “New World” with Marc Mac and Dego (4Hero), plus “The Bottle” and your own choice Lucihia “Love Bug”.

Yeah that came up as an extension from doing the club and it was an opportunity to make the music I loved and re create that sound.

We later did “Keep On Smiling” picked up by XL Records by Black Masses which did very well. Then there was a gap period before we came out with “Wonderful Person” featuring Julie Evanaika on lead vocals from White City. Julie had a very pure and unique voice that gets under your skin. She did such a great performance on it and I think she was one great UK singers, but she didn’t realise her full potential. I knew when we recorded it that this was special but I was met with resistance when I played it to loads of distributors who repeatedly said the vocals were ‘too good’. That I could not comprehend and that totally disillusioned me.

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I distinctly remember us walking down Jordan Road in Perivale one day and seeing you look almost broken with disbelief, that no one in the UK for some unexplained reason would touch “Wonderful Person”. It was a brilliant recording so it made no sense.

Curtis Mayfield’s “You Are, You Are”, inspired that song and we used the main hook.

Was it the Curtis or Linda vocal that inspired you?

To read a previous Candi Staton interview click on this link

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It was Linda’s version, and as you know I love my disco strings. So lyrically I changed it from the original but I knew that people who knew that music would love it and it ought to transcend to others who didn’t. I shared the publishing with Curtis. We got in touch and I sent him the version and he loved it and gave it his blessing. Anyway one day I got a call from Louie Vega out of the blue asking me to sign the track. Now Pete Tong and London Records couldn’t make up their mind if they wanted it or not, so with all that indecision, we gave it to Louie because we knew he appreciated it. Pete Tong was disappointed but he was too slow in deciding.

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Louie Vega told me in our first interview a few years back that Tony Humphries was playing it at Zanzibar and Louie lost his mind upon hearing it hence the phone call.

The label also recorded “My Heavenly Stars” and covered “My Love Don’t Come Easy”, “Love Ballad” and “Our Time Is Coming” before Roy Ayers & MAW did their version.

You’ve always been behind the scenes working A&R with Omar.

Yes I did his song “Mr Postman”, worked with Paul Hardcastle on “19” and also was a radio and club plugger for Carroll Thompson and many others on the reggae scene. I worked with S&G Records with reggae singers like Delroy Pinnock and Cleveland Watkiss before he went over to the jazz scene. That reggae influence came from our background and my mum listening to reggae on a Sunday as well as her loving her Millie Jackson so there was always that rich mixture.

So you go from dancer to Dj, promoter, A&R producer, and record label owner to being an agent. How did you start the agency?

I’ve worked for Chrysalis, Jet Star and many artists behind the

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What Charlie Parker record was it you heard?

It was called “Just Friends” from “Charlie Parker With Strings”, they use to call him Bird cause he was just flying through the air and he was phenomenal.

How do you move from working with jazz vocal giants Betty Carter and Joe Williams to relocating to New York and becoming one of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers?

Lonnie Liston Smith It was truly a pleasure to share the same humble space of the astral traveling Lonnie Liston Smith, an icon who has influenced so many with not just “Expansions” but countless other songs filled with love peace and unity. He has been headhunted by some heavyweight giants including Roland Raashan Kirk, Art Blakey, Pharoah Sanders and Miles Davis as well as introducing bassist supremo Marcus Miller to the recording world. For the best part of 50 years he’s been twinkling our ears with some of the most sublime vocal and instrumental compositions and taking us like one of his titles on a “Journey Into Love” with his ideas and “Visions Of A New World” with his “Cosmic Funk” and music full of “Exotic Mysteries”..a true soul survivor!!

How expanded was your mind from a very early age in West Virginia with your father being a member of The Harmonizing Four who sang at the late president Roosevelt’s funeral and with people like Sam Cooke frequenting your home?

It was a great experience with my father and the Harmonizing Four.

He had a beautiful tenor voice and played a four string guitar. Both my brothers Ray and Donald inherited my fathers tenor voice with me only being able to do the bass part. There was music from day one with all these gospel groups coming through town and mum doing all the cooking. Back then they had gospel festivals like we have the jazz ones, so Sam Cooke and The Soulsters would often pass through. My dad although he was primarily gospel also appreciated all types of great music.

What was it about Charlie Parker, John Coltrane,Mile Davis, Art Tatum and Oscar Peterson that captivated you so much?

Before that I was singing in doo wop bands on the street corners and also played in R&B bands. Then I heard Charlie Parker and though what in the world is that because he was playing all this improvised jazz. Thats when I decided I knew what I wanted to do and started searching. I came across Miles, Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, Fats Waller then Duke Ellington and Count Basie. Also the Jazzy Philharmonics would be on tour and I’d get to see them in Richmond at the Moss Theatre in person.

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After I finished high school in Richmond I went to Morgan State University in Baltimore which had a great jazz scene and Gary Bartz was born there also. We got together and started jazz sessions jamming together and Gary’s father had a club called North End Lounge. So we’d get to see people like Ethel Innis and years later we became Betty Carter’s back up band when she came to Baltimore.

When I got to New York I worked with Betty and started getting known hence Joe Williams asked me to be his musical director. I later got a call to work with Art Blakey and Chuck Mangione is on the trumpet.

By now you were coming through the ranks with another up and coming soloist Gary Batz and James Mtume was he around that time?

Mtume was much later and we met at a place you’d have loved in Brooklyn New York called The East. It had brothers and sisters in there eating vegetarian food and the audience brought their own percussion instruments. Mtume was a part of that so thats how we met and worked together with Miles Davis.

You were approached by drummer Max Roach and record two albums with Roland Rahsaan Kirk .

“Please Don’t Cry Beautiful Edith” and “Here Comes The Whistle Man” were the two albums. Rahsaan was interesting because he played three horns simultaneously and had a nose flute. Working with Max he really was a master drummer experimenting with time and thats not easy as most of the time we playing with four four, three four or six four bars. I could manage five four but then Max was into seven four and nine four.

How did Pharoah Sanders realise your potential in the late 60’s and choose to work with you after having served under the late great John Coltrane?

I heard him with John Coltrane and thought wow as he was playing two or three notes simultaneously which worked but you not suppose to be able to do that. At the time I only played the grand piano and wanted to use more than my ten fingers to create more sound. So I started using my elbows and Pharoah noticed that difference about me like I did him on the horn. Then we heard Leon Thomas yodeling and eventually all got together. We didn’t rehearse that much, we just played and expanded.

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Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown To Off The Wall movie by Spike Lee Give Spike Lee an opportunity to “Do The Right Thing” and document the African American “History” of the music child prodigy genius Michael Jackson, what do you think the results going to be?

Well as a self confessed fan of someone who I often publicly refer to as my first iconic hero before James Brown namely MJ, I found myself regressing vividly back to 1979 the release year of his epic debut solo album on Sony “Off The Wall”. I was 15 at high school and remember going on a school trip to Paris staying in a youth hostel with my school chums. The hostel had a jukebox full of the cheesy popular pop songs to the distain of us who liked our soul and disco music. However its saving grace in not getting a kicking was us pumping plenty of 1 Franc coins into it, because the one song that represented us was Michael Jackson’s “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough”. This documentary depicts Michael’s journey from leaving the successful home comforts of Motown to the embracing label of family entertainment Sony Records. The interviews with many who were around him on the periphery and up close and personal, give a smidgen of an incite into how creative his mind and determination was from his pre-teenage years.

Many including his mother Katherine and Valerie Simpson hint of how Michael had the old soul spirit beyond his young and tender years as though he’d been here on earth before. Spike Lee manages to do some great synergy merging old classic footage from different eras. Listening to Quest Love articulate and analyse various interpretations of Michaels insight and impact on making music, is interestingly depicted. The various footage of Michael in particular and his brothers dancing is spell bounding. His father Joe declared how Michael could watch someone dance once and replicate it with his own twist. Amongst the accolades from Gene Kelly and Sammy Davis Junior it’s the tap dancing routine with the now Afro centric Nicholas Brothers in that particular 1977 clip, that shows his amazing versatility. Michael influenced NBA basketball player Kobe Bryant, ballet dancer Misty Copeland and actress / choreographer Rosie Perez who all pay homage to the Gary Indiana “Dancin’ Machine”.

There is something very endearing watching the innocent pre adolescent Michael when he is speaking at various points very seriously about his goals. Michael speaks of admiring Duke Ellington, Count Basie and George Gershwin and how he wishes to transcend his music to various countries and continents. He does this with that enigmatic and child like smile he possesses talking about his desired ambition and keenness, to observe and learn amongst his peers.

He intensely watched Stevie Wonder, Gamble & Huff and mentor Berry Gordy in the studio as they manoeuvred the various aspects of recording. It was interesting watching footage of him embracing and frequenting the Studio 54 disco in New York and how that clearly impacted on him making the seminal “Off The Wall”.

Michael had his battles even back then at Sony who clearly were not sure how to market him. The film shows that Sony hit making machines Gamble & Huff and the late Maurice White were initially Page 40 - Issue 63

favoured to work with Michael over the so called ‘too jazzy’ Quincy Jones. Michael fought for Quincy to get the job and the result without him would have been unimaginable.

Now with the freedom to write and produce unlike the restrictions he had at Motown, Michael’s “Off The Wall’ gets an eternal 10 out of 10 at least, for the 10 brilliant, historical and diverse recordings that album celebrates. Testament sound bites from Stevie Wonder, Greg Phillinganes, Quincy Jones and Louis Johnson, Marlon and Jackie Jackson re the making of that album, generates the prophetic mind of what Michael Jackson was aiming for.

The lack of accolades for “Off The Wall” is questionable. Was it due to the industry assuming the aspiring soloist Michael to be somewhat of a washed up gimmick (a perception taken from his days with the Jacksons and being depicted as a cartoon character persona)? Or was it Sony’s inability to market their first black up and coming prince of pop to a predominantly Caucasian audience?

Moreover consider the advent of the blatant racist backlash of ‘The disco sucks’ phenomenon happening one month before “Off The Wall” was released! Nile Rogers expressed to me personally the devastating effects of the ‘hero to zero’ overnight decline of the Chic Organisation further evidenced by other artists such as James Brown disappearing into the disco wilderness. So it is an enormous testament for the post ‘disco sucks’ offering of Michael’s “Off The Wall” which is renowned to this day as a ground-breaking album.

There is a breakdown practically of each song from various music pundits in understanding the psyche of “Off The Wall” the pre cursor to the mammoth concept follow up album “Thriller”. The significance however of “Off The Wall” is that Michael wrote three songs plus the album embraced various elements of African sonics, soul R&B, funk, disco latin jazz and early hip-hop (check out his beat box beginning of “Working Day & Night”. With compositions the bearing hallmarks of Rod Temperton, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Carole Bayer Sager to Louis Johnson, George Duke and Patti Austin, this was an anomaly that gave the template in how to make a consummate album. With 10 strong chart busting songs on it and every single song was worthy of being an A side single, who had achieved that before “Off The Wall?”. The album sold 6 million and won various R&B awards and only one Grammy for “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough”. Many felt this was unfair due to the lack of acceptance by the commercial entities and corporate enterprises. MJ vowed that would never happen to him again. The documentary is compelling and I guarantee most of you will dig out your copy of the album and will be dancing spinning on a six pence, sing like you’re in the shower and screaming “Owwwwwww, Eee Hee, Uhhh Aah or Whooooooah” after watching this. It was released 26th Feb and the album has been re released so make sure you see have someone to “Rock With You’ when you do sorry I “Cant Help It” but go off on a tangent when I talk about MJ.

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LOUIE VEGA’S ALBUM LAUNCH BY COLIN WILLIAMS 7th March 2016, Phonica Louie Vega and Moises Montoya stopped in to Phonica Records London for the 28 songs album launch. I am away at Uni but had to take the long trip back down to London and back again to catch the two hours of magic. And my was it magic. Louie, Tony Momrelle, Tosca, a surprise vocal rendition from the legendary Jocelyn Brown, truly a spellbinding evening. A few photos to make you smile (still not myself so didn’t move around much) but what a night. “Better than any rave or club night”. If you haven’t bought the album yet (and I cant believe I am still saying its only “£8.99) you need to get involved. Simply wonderful. And some of the exclusives he played last night means there are even more Louie Vega blinders waiting in the wings in the coming months. Looks like another great year ahead for soulful house music. Colin W @ creatingwinners https://itunes. apple.com/…/louie-vega-starring…/id1082446173

MARIO BIONDI

Event Reviews

14th March 2016, Under The Bridge, Chelsea This is the kind of last minute.com call I like to get to spin at a gig, especially at one of my fave London venues (albeit at Stamford Bridge being a COYS fan) Under The Bridge SW6. This gig was sold out on a Monday school night and was amazingly attended, with people travelling from the homes counties and as far and wide as Gloucestershire. I enjoyed digging out and spinning between 7pm-9pm some Eddie Jefferson, Gil Scott Heron, EWF, Marlena Shaw, Gabin feat. Dee Dee Bridgewater and Charles Earland esq “Jazzamataz” grooves, and must say thanks for the kind words from all who commented. The venue was packed by 8.30pm and Mario came on as planned at 9pm, with a blistering 19 song scheduled show. This really was his audience as I watched so many lip-synching to every lyric and to his entire repertoire. Mario went from his classic “Rio” to an interesting rendition of The Commodore’s “Nightshift”. Much of his material was on the uptempo disco and soulful vibe with a few ballads’s thrown in. After serenading the audience with “Love Is The Temple” and his version of Boz Scaggz’s “Lowdown” minus Chaka, he covered a fave Temps classic of mine “My Girl”. His band were very polished and unified and during a Mario quick Gok Wan costume change makeover, they performed Kool & The Gang’s “Funky Stuff”. Mario was very engaging with his audience delivering “What Have You Done?”, “All Of My Life” and “Shine On”. His finale was his main anthem “This Is What You Are” for the eager anticipating adulating fans in the venue. Mario took a bow and did a meet and greet with his audience and was clearly pleased with the reception he was given. Sir Bob Geldof, please remind me again why you don’t like Monday’s? Great evening!!

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ALEXANDER O’NEAL 13th and 14th February 2016, XOYO, Old Street N1 This gig was reallocated from the Jazz Cafe and rescheduled to happen at XOYO a nice downstairs basement venue on Valentines weekend. I’d Dj’d for Alexander O’Neal at Jazz Cafe back in 1998 which was fairly commercial, so I was apprehensive of how these two dates would transpire. I’m glad that I was able to drop some Change “You Are My Number One”, Hi Gloss “I’m Totally Yours” and Inner Life “Moment Of My Life” to an appreciative crowd who were nodding their heads to some music they clearly didn’t know. That put a smile on my face. I’ve got to say both nights were packed and ‘purple funky’ with Billy Osborne on the drums holding those groove together. Alex entertained the audience with his wit and charm and belted out his classics in a way I’d never expected to hear. “Innocence”, “What’s Missing” (my fave), “Fake” and even “Criticised” sound amazing with a live band. His trademark love ballad “If You Were Hear Tonight” brought back memories of how sensual that record was in the 1980’s, and his duet with the very talented female vocalist on “Saturday Love” was well received by the audience. Both nights were nice and atmospheric and when Mr O’Neal comes up to you personally shakes your hand and says “Great job on the Dj-ing” you’ve got to understand that I can tell you that, it’s no “Hearsay” (he did that too by the way!!

FATBACK BAND 6th February 2016, Nell’s Jazz & Blues West Kensington One of my favourite east coast of America bands The Fatback Band were in town 6th February at Nell’s Jazz & Blues in West Kensington, so I was keen, like The Munich Machine to “Get On The Funk Train” and see them.

Calvin Francis had them rocking on the dance floor with his mix of underground and commercial balanced 70’s and 80’s. Roy Marsh, (aka Roy The Roach of Quaff Records back in the day) managed to pull in a good crowd who were getting ready for some of Fatback “Tasty Jam” soul food. Their leader Bill Curtis is in his 80’s and has so much charismatic energy as he galvanises the band to “Put The Funk On You”. The group performed so many of my staple Fatback choices including “Njia Walk”, “Groovy Kind Of Day”, “Let The Drums Speak”, “Snake”, “Wicki Wacki”, “Keep On Steppin’” and “Is This The Future?” morphing into a reggae version interpolating Bob Marley’s “Get Up Stand Up”. The more commercial hits “I Found Loving” and “Bus Stop” with the Nell’s crowd trying to keep up with the “four to the left and four to the back” instructions, clearly went down well. Fatback also threw in “Backstroking”, “I Like Girls” and their early rap classic “King Tim III. I met with Bill Curtis backstage to present him with an award, the very first that Fatback have ever won, from our 2013 Soul Survivor Award ceremony. We have been speaking and trying to arrange for him to get it so now he finally has it. Great night and I did the “Street Dance” in the club like I was back in the 1970’s and truly did “Boogie With The Fatback”.

SOUL EXPRESSIONS 30th January 2016, Flava Bar, Stevenage A very decent way to end the January blues on a high was with my visit to Soul Expression Promotions night on the 30th at the Flava Bar in Stevenage.

John Palma has a way of pulling in a friendly and receptive crowd at a quality venue. Kudos to the Dj’s on the night as there was equilibrium for the more commercial music anthem loving audience and those of us who also like to hear and dance to those tunes less rarely heard but so enjoyed when we do. With plenty of smiling faces, good grooves and dance moves going on, I am sure John’s events will continue to aim to please so like Arnie “I will be back!” Anna B

thesoulsurvivorsmagazine.co.uk

By Soul Survivor David Moran

12 !

Word Up

Across 1 Grammy award winner sang romantic duets with Regina Belle, Roberta Flack, Minnie Riperton and Natalie Cole (5,6)

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14 Chicago R&B balladeer Donell Jones was in the _ _ _ _ (4)

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13 Marvin crooned you sure love to do this (4)

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9 Harold Melvin's was open, while Oscar Perry's was wide open (4)

12 Clarence Lewis _ _ _ _ _ asked "What Can I Do (When My Thrill Is Gone)" (5)

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15 _ _ You Dont Know Me By Now (2) 16 Billy Paul and Mrs Jones? (2) 17 UK based Goldsmith was Dreaming in 1988 (4) 18 Stax Dave's buddy (3) 19 Tommy Navarro's mid tempo weepy Wigan classic "_ _ _ _ _ _ My Life Away" (1,5) 20 Wigan Casino 78 stomper by the Anderson Brothers "I Can _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _" (3,3,6,3) 21 Sounds like a funky assassin by Reggae funkmasters See-I "Soul _ _ _ _ _ _" (3,3)

25 Inititially Mr Morton, keyboard wizard from the Big Easy (1,1) 26 Otis repeated this five times in his sad song (2) 27 Hal Jepsen's killer jazz funk surfing track film "_ _ _ _ for yourself" (1,3) 29 This 50s R&B queen Brown sang "Teardrops from My Eyes" (4) 30 Muppet sounding French house Mr who had Soul (5) 31 Gangsta rap ensemble from Compton have an attitude (1,1,1)

23 It's "Hard _ _ _ To Like You", trilled the O'Jays (3)

32 Gladys just kept singing _ _ and _ _ (2,2)

24 Al Wilson wanted to show and this (4)

34 Go Now or Try To Leave Me If You Can, all the same to this Stax legend (6,5)

Page 44 - Issue 63

Down 2 This King needs a toast as her love has come down (6,9) 3 In the universe Bobby Womack was this according to Damon Alman (7,3)

16 You couldn't touch this Hammer (1,1) 19 Stevland Hardaway Judkins ensured us "_ ____ _____ Stand For It" (1,4,5) 22 Initially this hip hop Prince sang Shawty Throw It Up (1,1)

4 Phyllis Hyman expressing her intent to "You" (4,2,5,4)

28 These were so loose they were hangin on a string (4)

5 Usher being affirmative (4)

33 Initially Buchana wanted to "Bang That Thang" (1,1)

6 The South Shore Commission and UHF heading in the right direction (2,3,5,5) 7 TLC's relation to scrubs (2) 8 Gap Band founder and Snoop Dogg kin (7,6) 10 Impressions thought it was bound to happen (6,2,5)

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Page 46 - Issue 63

Sunday 3rd April Far Out Sunday Sessions Weekly at Ronnie Scotts London W.1 (see advert)

Bank Holiday Sunday 29th May Essex Soul Party Dinner Show Dance Spring @ The Royal Tiger Restaurant Southend Road, Rettendon Common, Chelmsford CM3 8EE 7pm-2am DJ’s DJ Fitzgerald & Fitzroy (Soul Survivors) (see advert)

Saturday 30th April Soul Expressions presents Shakatak @ The Forum Banqueting Suite Danstre Stevenage Herts SG1 1EJ, DJ’s Frostie Original, Mick Foster, Sunday 29th May Roy Ayers & Lonnie Rob James, Les Knott, David Brace AKA DJ Liston Smith @ Ashford School, Ashford Kent Dabs and guest DJ’s Soul Master Tee & Smurfy TN24 (see advert) Edwards £2 (see advert) www.soulpower-radio.com

JUNE

MAY Shalamar (see advert) Tickets www.shalamar.info/info/tickets 1st Belfast The SSE Arena Sunday 1st May Soulnation Spring Affair, Lakeside Country Club, Frimley (see advert) Sunday 1st May Soul Power Radio Allayer Twins Sail Wharf, Poole, BH15 1 HX 2 rooms of music 2pm till midnight tickets £15 Sunday 1st May Soul Cartel A Luxury Bank Holiday Special Event Fitzroy (Soul Survivors), Warren J, DJ Lowrider, Soulful Sista, Soulboy Ryan Peake, DJ Raheem @ Bolton Whites Hotel & Events Macron Stadium Bolton BL6 6SF Tickets £20 (see advert on page) Sunday 1st May Soul Train Bank Holiday @ SWX 15 Nelson Street, Bristol BS1 2JY £10-15 Resident SoulTrain DJ’s see advert

Friday 3rd June Do It To The Music presents Raw Silk 9pm-late, Bojangles Bar & Restaurant 1 Old Church Road Chingford, E4 6ST £10 DJ’s playing Funk Soul and Soulful house Freaky Reidy and Fitzroy(Soul Survivors) (see advert) Saturday 15th June Candy Station @ Under the Bridge, Stamford Bridge, Fulham Road, London SW6 1HS. DJ Fitzroy (Soul Survivors) (see advert) Saturday 18th June Bev Knight plus guest @ Westhanger Castle Stone St Hythe CT21 4 HX all day event doors open 3pm DJ’s DJ Munro, AClass, Bigger, Nigel Bee, and Fitzroy Soul Survivors (see advert) Saturday 25th June Summer Soulstice @ OE’s Memorial Playing Fields, Mays Lane, Barnet EN5 2AG 11am-11pm, Live acts Kenny Thomas, Natasha Watts, Vivenne McKone And a host full of DJ’ in 3 music arena’s including Fitzroy (Soul Survivors) (see advert)

Fitzroy’s DJ Dates 1st April

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Streatham Soul Club, White Lion, Streatham SW16 Funky Nation Ronnie Scotts W.1 Shalamar, 02 Forum, Kentish Town Soul Cartel Luxury Bank Holiday Special Event Bolton Soul In The Algarve Alvor Portugal Funky Nation Ronnie Scotts W.1 Ibiza Soul 4 Punti Ariba Ibiza ESP Royal Tiger Chelmsford Essex Raw Silk @ Bojangles, Chingford Essex” SSW Carlisle Candy Staton, Under The Bridge, SW6 Bev Knight, Westhanger Castle Hythe Kent Summer Soulstice Barnet EN5 Raw Silk Bojangles Chingford Essex Margate Soul Festival, Margate

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