Today's Memory Tape is all about the love of music. Sometims it's just good to stand back from it all and just enjoy the artistry聽of sound and emotion. And that's exactly what today's Memory Taper, Luke Bushnell-Wye,聽has done. Why not follow him and send your story and tracklist to: lauren.6music@bbc.co.uk.
And here here's Luke in his own words:
"Northern Soul, eh? Hoooooo boy. I could fill an hour of my favourite Northern Soul bangers far too easily, and in fact I probably will when I get home tonight. Also, it鈥檚 really it great to run to.
I first discovered Northern Soul when I spotted a couple of CDs on offer. I realised that I didn't know what made it its own genre, and as someone who generally considers himself clued upon music - my mother is a music teacher - this lack of knowledge excited me. So, I guess you could say it was a pursuit of knowledge. As for this list of favourites in particular, this has come about simply by me adding all of these eighty odd tracks from the compilations onto my running playlist on my phone. The driving beats make running much more energetic and enjoyable, and so the favourites have come from that.
In the earliest days of me compiling these tracks I was still living with my aunt and uncle in Bognor and commuting to Brighton every day, meaning I was up early enough to hear Chris Hawkins' show on 6, at which time he was still doing a daily Northern Soul banger.
There are mixtapes I have emotional attachments to - my 'long-distance relationship' one, for example - but this isn't one of them. This is just a nice fun playlist of my favourite soul tunes that I often use to bounce around my flat to whilst I'm cooking, cleaning, or running along the seafront. It's good music for doing stuff to.
The tape just reminds I feel like it will remind me of Brighton forever. The entire genre will. I discovered it not long after I got a job there, and I listen to it most whilst running between Hove and Brighton along the seafront. It鈥檚 the perfect example of music reminding you of a location. I also played it a lot from my phone whilst at my cousin's wedding earlier in the year, so it'll remind me of that for a long time. The whole family was down and we rented a farmhouse with lots of houses for each family around it, was a great weekend.
And if you ever spot someone adding little steps and leaps off the kerbs as they run along the seafront wearing a Brighton Handball Club t shirt, chances are it鈥檚 me listening to Northern Soul and being unable to keep the exuberance out of my stride."
Luke
For The Love of Northern Soul
1) Dana Valery - You Don't Know Where Your Interest Lies
My absolute favourite Northern Soul track. A cover of a Simon & Garfunkel track from Bookends by an Italian artist, this could be just about the best cover ever. The definition of a Northern Soul stomper, all wrapped up in a delicious minor key. I sincerely hope I'm not the only person to suggest this, because if the people need to know about one track today, it's this one.
2) Gloria Jones 鈥� Tainted Love
The marker against which all others tracks of this era are measured.
3) Larry Williams and Johnny "Guitar" Watson - Too Late
Such a wonderfully dismissive breakup song, and worth playing if only for the lyric "I don't need some woman to help me starve to death/Can you dig it?" Also, HIS MIDDLE NAME IS GUITAR.
4) Bobbi Lynn - Earthquake
For the moment the high tempo chorus kicks in and you realise it's going to be a stomper, and also because I like to imagine its a one-up response to Landslide by Tony Clarke. Even though it probably isn't.
5) Judy Street - What
That chorus. Phwoar.
6) Shirley Ellis - Soul Time
Incredible track from someone more famous for her novelty Clapping Song, perhaps, and also the source of THAT sample for Go! Team fans.
7) The Carstairs - He Who Picks A Rose
Some impressive howling in the chorus, and also prompts the important question: Just what is a 'carstair', anyway?
