[another] u.k t.v documentry soul nation tues17th-c4

[DISCODISK]

starts tuesday 17th june,3 1 hour shows presented by trevor nelson channel 4 11.10 p.m
part 1 northern soul/wigan casino

[DISCODISK]

Soul Nation
DJ Trevor Nelson takes us on a personal journey of Soul

Channel 4
Tuesday 17 June 11.10pm

Soul Nation


You Know You Got Soul

In this three-part series, DJ Trevor Nelson takes us on a personal journey, mining his own past as well as 50 years of underground culture, to present his take on how Soul has influenced Britain, and how Britain has in turn contributed to the history of R&B.

In the first programme, Trevor explores how Britain first fell in love with R&B - much to the dismay of the authorities - and how white kids fought to keep it alive through the 70s Northern Soul scene.

But it was in London that British soul was truly born. Trevor meets many of the stars from this unique and exciting time – Hi-Tension, India Irie, Norman Jay and Imagination’s Lee John, the people who helped create a new era in British music.

Programme two
describes Jazz Funk and the Southern Soul underground, a scene that produced the first wave of UK soul stars in the early 80s and the warehouse stars (most notably Soul II Soul) at the end of the decade.

Trevor talks to pivotal figures such as Jazzy B, Robert Elms, Mick Hucknall and Pete Waterman – and reflects on how an illegal network of pirate radio stations and warehouse parties was responsible for keeping black music alive in Britain until its eventual crossover ten years ago.

In the final programme, Trevor charts British Soul’s move to dominate the mainstream in the 1990s: the new record labels, the first million pound contracts, the false dawn of Nu Soul, the rebirth of pirate radio and British R&B’s emerging identity as UK Garage.

In conversation with stars such as Ms Dynamite, Craig David and So Solid Crew he explores how, thanks to the dance revolution of the last 15 years, British urban music is now the sound of multicultural Britain made flesh
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oh no another mick hucknull moment :o lets pray hes had a bath :lol:

[jazz_pilgrim]

Cheers for the info!

I'll try and catch it tonight - if I can.

:D

[shockadelica]

Did anyone watch it? The bits with Trevor Nelson felt completely irrelevant to the actual programme!

[SandraDee]

I didn't like how Omar bitched about Pete Waterman saying 'what does he know about soul?' For your info Mr.Omar, Pete was playing soul music in discos when you were in nappies so dont criticise when u dont know the facts.(oo, I'm so forceful at times :roll: )

[Forrrce]

I noted with interest that in the first program, Nelson raved about Loose Ends taking America by storm and how great this was for British soul. He forgot to mention that their first three (distinctively British) singles flopped completely and they only achieved success when they teamed up with Philadelphia's Nick Martinelli!
I think the series has been pretty disasterous so far - it's simply a vehicle for Nelson to backslap his mates and it's rather disappointing to think that our main exports have been Soul 2 Soul, Imagination, Sade and Loose Ends (OK, they were fun, except Soul 2 Soul who were pretty awful for the most part - and no doubt the Brand New Heavies will get a mention soon) - all pretty commercial and lightweight.
Nelson's obvious bias and lack of worth as a presenter (what an ego) also conspire against the show, sadly.

[DISCODISK]

I noted with interest that in the first program, Nelson raved about Loose Ends taking America by storm and how great this was for British soul. He forgot to mention that their first three (distinctively British) singles flopped completely and they only achieved success when they teamed up with Philadelphia's Nick Martinelli!
I think the series has been pretty disasterous so far - it's simply a vehicle for Nelson to backslap his mates and it's rather disappointing to think that our main exports have been Soul 2 Soul, Imagination, Sade and Loose Ends (OK, they were fun, except Soul 2 Soul who were pretty awful for the most part - and no doubt the Brand New Heavies will get a mention soon) - all pretty commercial and lightweight.
Nelson's obvious bias and lack of worth as a presenter (what an ego) also conspire against the show, sadly.

spot on FORRRCE loose ends hardly took america by storm they went through some scary **** with audiences that were less than pleased at what they were witnessing,guns were even pulled at one gig,youre dead right about trev backslapping his mates funny how soul to soul have a greatest hits comp out right now :roll:
trev admits the 80s was his decade as in the 70s he was either too young or he was getting knocked back from clubs he seems a bit bitter about it.
i didnt understand why he drove to wigan from london to visit the site of the casino and expressed his dissapointment,just WHAT did he expect to find :roll: then we were treated to the same old STAGED 77 footage,granada must have offered them the outakes that were more realistic, hey not much footage does exist but i have over 5 hours of original footage taken from various docs over the years so something better could have been used,i found the southern footage interesting was trying to spot jazz :lol: but it did confirm something for me,i never went to caister i didnt like the sound of it any club with the d.j shouting the first person to the stage with a pair of red knickers wins a prize is just not for me,but then if that footage is as unreal as the northern part im getting it wrong.then it really took a downturn cue mick[soul boy]hucknull who MURDERS soul songs then even worse robert[mr soul] elms pleeeeze :o
but what amused me were the two girls on the seafront bench who wernt exactly there for the music what i want to know from JAZZ PILGRIM is.......ya didnt did ya :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[QUINNY]

Anything made for a TV audience is gonna be....... I thought it was interesting that the Jazz Funk movement was dismissed in 10 seconds flat as middle class white boys music.
What i thought was most bizarre was the soundtrack, going as it did from 'Dancing In Outer Space' to 'Mr. Big Stuff' was it and then onto something else completely different. Just no cohesion there I fear.

[Forrrce]

...So, I guess that's it, then! Final episode - and what a treat...So Soiled (sic) Crew and a slew of 'ya get me's top off Trevor Nelson's utopian Soul Nation. Let's face it - as far as black music goes, the UK has always been a lot better at appreciating (and imitating) than originating. I don't personally like jungle, hardcore or UK garage so their importance is of no consequence to me whatsoever. Fair play to those involved - if they're doing well, I'm pleased for them...just as long as I don't have to listen to them too. Maybe soul/dance/hip hop-based product is at the height of its popularity in the UK, but then you probably could say the same for the US and doubtless other parts of the globe.

While I won't nit-pick too much about this rather patchy and unfocused history, I did wonder why he constantly threw up racial divisions in each show. I knew him personally when he worked in a shoe shop in Hackney, an impoversihed but lively borough with a large black community. He was quite well known as a DJ at the time with his 'Madhatters' sound system and would later embark on a pirate radio career, making the connections which got him were he is at present.

Anyway...looking back, it seems people were less afraid to speak their minds in the '70s and sure, things were a little different then. The more affluent suburbs were predominatly white - so the white, suburban soul-boy would go to white, suburban clubs. The redneck attitude encountered by the more adventurous, inner-city dwelling black youth is a lot less evident now than then, a fact Trevor didn't balance his observations with. Not only that, he didn't acknowledge, in his own words, the unifying properties of club culture (in his time) and that the black economy alone could only support black music to a certain degree, but it wouldn't get anywhere near Top Of The Pops. Were it kept at street level and excluded all other sections of society, he wouldn't be on TV, showing off his BMW jeep and telling us how big UK black music is.

[QUINNY]

I found the two shows I did tune into, were kinda vacuous. Just a lot of talking heads.
The black angle was rather overdone and these programmes would have done nothing to bring us all together or show how 'Soul' has crossed the racial divide. It was all largely one way traffic. However, there was a passing nod to it in last night's show when they were discussing Jungle. This last show did appear to be a bit like 'look how well I've done' with all the shots of him lording it, in his gleaming beamer, but at least a little honesty came forth from some of the women punters that were interviewed, who admitted that they were gold digging as much as anything.
What amazed me both times, were his references to clubs that were pivotal in one scene or another and his admission that he didn't ever go to them. Duh!!!! Why the admission?

[buckaroo]

Anything made for a TV audience is gonna be....... I thought it was interesting that the Jazz Funk movement was dismissed in 10 seconds flat as middle class white boys music.
...

:evil:
That programme made my blood boil...And at the same time, I had to laugh to meself. It was so darned inaccurate, it's a wonder it was ever transmitted. Did they have any researchers on the show or what?
FYI Mr. Malteser Head, Soul II Soul were not the first Black British act to make it big in the US, neither was Loose Ends - as much as I love Carl and co. Junior Giscombe won a Soultrain award way way back in 1983 for his big hit 'Mama Used To Say.' He was even sampled by rappers like Warren G about a dozen years back. Also, what about the major influence of Light of the World on the scene. Hi - Tension appeared on the show for all of 5 minutes from what I saw. "...It was a London scene..." he says. How would he know, as he admitted that he didn't even go to the clubs at the time.

If you think I'm pissed off click here http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/Opinion.html and scroll down to ...united soul nation / divided soul nation...