THE SOUL GUY

Pat Brady has been producing weekly lists of Rare Soul for 25 years. As a collector, dj and soul journalist, Pat has been involved in Northern/Rare Soul music since 1971 & has appeared at some of the most famous venues in Northern Soul history: Wigan Casino, The Ritz Manchester, Samantha’s Sheffield, Top of the World, Stafford, Parr Hall Warrington, Clifton Hall, Rotherham, Queen’s Hall, Bradford & Leeds Central.

 Pat has appeared at over 1,000 soul events & continues to promote the soul scene through dj-ing at venues such as the Cleethorpes & Prestatyn weekenders. Pat’s knowledge of soul music is widely acknowledged. In the mid-70’s he was responsible for the soul fanzine Talk of the North and for some 20 years he was the rare soul columnist for the nationally distributed Echoes magazine. In addition, Pat has also featured in books, TV programmes & films relating to the Northern Soul scene. As a successful husband and wife team, Pat & Lynne Brady have a worldwide reputation for consistently finding top quality rare soul collectors 45s. In addition to Pat's extensive, high quality rare soul catalogue, Pat Brady Records carries a vast stock of hand picked 70’s & 80’s dance soul 45s, R&B, group harmony soul, deep soul, funk, Tamla Motown, Chicago, Detroit & Philly soul sides, covering the whole spectrum of soul 45’s.

In parts one & two of this interview, Rob Jones talks to Pat about his early experiences on the Northern scene and what led him to become a DJ at the legendary Wigan Casino club. 

Can you tell us how you first got involved in Northern Soul in general and what were the first records you bought?

Like so many people who joined the northern soul scene in the early 70’s, I was influenced by older guys who had gone to clubs such as The Wheel & The Mojo. I had a friend at the time whose elder brother Geoff was a regular club-goer & owned some pretty good British rarities such as The Poets “She blew a good thing”, Willie Mitchell “That drivin’ beat”, Donald Height “Talk of the grapevine” & The Sharpees “Tired of being lonely”. Also, strangely enough for a small Yorkshire town like Ilkley, there was quite a strong
following for Motown & 60’s soul with a couple of the older guys spinning some tunes on a Wednesday at Wells Road Youth Club. I would have been about fourteen then & I can remember eagerly jotting down the sides they were playing such as Robert Parker “Barefootin’”  “Dobie Gray “The In-Crowd”, The Impressions “You’ve been cheatin’”, Bobby Wells “Let’s copp a groove” & The Drifters “Baby what I mean”.

Over the next twelve to eighteen months, I started travelling to all the local clubs that played any kind of 60’s soul or “northern” – The Okeh Club & Buffs Club, both in Keighley & The Hole in the Wall in Bradford, which depending on the crowd played a mixture of Motown & reggae. I had left school at 15 & was doing my City & Guilds at Bradford Tec. So that meant that I could spend lunch beaks trawling through the mass stocks of imports that the legendary Bostock’s record dealers had at Bradford & Leeds markets. There, I found titles such as Spyder Turner’s “I can’t take it anymore”, April Stevens “Wanting you”, The Ethics “Standing in darkness” & my best find of the time, Johnny Sayles “I can’t get enough of your love”.

Things went along apace. At the Sunday night soul sessions at The Cow & Calf in Ilkley I met older guys such as Derek Noble who put me on to John Anderson. John was at that time running Groove City Records in his native Scotland & later that year he moved to Kings Lynn, changed the name of his business & Soul Bowl Records was born. A buoyant construction market & living at home meant that all my disposable income was spent on records & my trips to Kings Lynn as a raw 16 year old gave me a distinct edge when it came to getting the top import sounds on original. I was on my way!

When did you start DJ-ing  and how did your DJ spots at the Casino come about?

I actually started dj-ing (if you can call it that – mis-cuing records & being afraid to speak over the mike) towards the end of ’73. The resident at The Cow & Calf used to let me play a half hour spot on a Sunday night & I would lend him some records to play, as would Derek Noble & quite a few of the guys from Keighley & Skipton. I was keen to play my records for longer so I did a deal with Geoff the manager to let me hire the place mid week. We ran three or four sessions on a Thursday night, which were pretty successful but when a new manager moved in, he was into progressive rock. So that was that. Frank (Ian Dewhurst) & I became big mates & I would go along to Samantha’s with him. Also, I knew John Vincent from the Casino record bar & he knew that I had some pretty good tunes, a spot at the all-nighter in Sheffield was forthcoming & I would get to do the occasional collectors spot at The Cats Whiskers all dayers in Leeds.

Doing Samantha’s was the springboard for doing work for Terry Sampson at The KGB all-nighters is Sheffield, the Bailey’s all-days in Doncaster & Sheffield. This in turn led to being invited to dj at The Unity Hall all-nighters in Wakefield.
Things were really buzzing for me then. I had a regular Monday night slot with Graham Slater at Halifax Tiffanys & guest spots all over the country. My really big break however was when Neil Rushton, who I had known since the Mecca but only on passing terms, rang me up out of the blue. He was in partnership with Frank at the time sourcing rare records in L.A. Frank had told him that I had great originals but when he rang & offered me thirty of the top titles that he’d found & I told him I had every single one it blew him away. On the back of that he offered me a guest spot at The Ritz in Manchester. That was in late ’76 & The Ritz had the ultimate dj line up: Ian Levine, Colin Curtis, Richard Searling, Dave Evison, Pep, so it was a massive gig for an eighteen year old! And luckily I cracked it with the help of the likes of Don Varner, The Twans, Bernie Williams & most of the top oldies of the moment.

The Ritz really worked for me & I remember buying some great unknowns from Soul Bowl & Ian Levine when he sold his collection for the first time circa ’77. Herb Ward “Strange change”, The Inspirations “Your wish is my command”, Danny Woods “You had me fooled”, Just Brothers “Carlena”, The Chandlers “Your love makes me lonely” (courtesy of the late Andy Riding), Pat Lewis “No one to love” (which I got from Neil’s mate Tony Bowd) & George Hobson “Let it be real” spring immediately to mind.

Heading to 1978 & Wigan was under pressure from falling attendances & there seemed to be a clamour amongst the hardcore rare soul fraternity for myself & Soul Sam to join the Casino line-up. I can’t remember the exact date of my first spot at the Casino but I will never forget the first hour, it was unbelievable – the fulfillment of a dream.
Little did I know when I joined the Casino that in two years time the world of Northern Soul was going to crumble with the closure of this legendary venue. My thoughts were summed up by the words of The Del-Reys Incorporated - "Destination unknown".