Johnny Wyatt

This Thing Called Love

Kev Roberts recalls 'a defining moment'

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In the Summer of '71, I rapidly saw a change within the Soul boy movement. A lot of 14 year olds who had spent their last 12 months listening to Luxembourg, deciding on which Scooter to save for etc, were acutely aware of the sheer expense of trying to build a credible record collection.

'3 for a quid'

I mean what the heck do I do now with all these Credence, Crosby, Stills, Nash singles? I need The O'Kaysions, Archie Bell, Robert Knight. Still, there's the 3 for a quid box, with a few 'unheards' they'll do nicely as collection builders. Say hello to The Valentinos on Chess, The Parliaments on Golden World, The Visitors on Dakar et al.

OK..Soul it is....and following more trips to Selecta-Disc in Nottingham, a few extra R&B lessons from Sgt. Army Bill Kemp on the AFN Radio network, I was hooked.

'All nighter virgin'

The defining moment from puberty to All nighter virgin, came in September 1972 in the Soul Cellar of the famous Selecta Disc, located at 92, Arkwright St, Nottingham.

A local hero Alan Day was the main stick in the area. A good looking dude, he had the knack of passing the right info to potential up and coming DJ's - such as yours truly.

The track kicked in at around 4 o'clock that afternoon. A thundering Barry White production of stomping vibes, over the top reverb complete with the infectious 'tossin, turnin' hook, saw former Rochelle and the Candles lead JOHNNY WYATT capture the very heart of a young man from Wirksworth, Derbyshire some 6,000 miles from Bob Keene's Bronco label in California.

Clutching my UK President copy, I ran back to the front room at Mum's to unleash my new best friend....JW!

Kev Roberts

Tel; 01909-515150