If you want an idea of the playlist of the club, then you need The Golden Torch on heavyweight vinyl coming soon via Charly Records.
Subtitled ‘the original sound of northern soul, popcorn and R&B’, this is the latest instalment in the Club Soul series from Charly. Previous volumes have included the recent Go Mod! compilation, the Northern Soul All-Dayer and All-Nighter collections and The Wigan Casino 1973 – 81 and The Catacombs 1969 – 74 sets some years back to name a few. You get the idea. Find a classic club, pick out a selection of tracks you would associate with it and package it well. It’s a winning formula.
This time it is the Golden Torch in Stoke-On-Trent, which at its height boasted a 5,000-strong membership and attracted international soul acts including The Drifters, James & Bobby Purify, Ben E. King, J.J. Barnes, Fontella Bass, The Stylistics and Major Lance to its stage.
It closed in 1973 after the council decided against renewing its licence, with the Wigan Casino taking on its title of the leading soul club around. Gone, but definitely forgotten.
This new album was compiled by the late Francis T, Basil, Tim Everett and Joe Boy celebrates its music and its legacy with the tracks you can see below. The album is on 180g vinyl and is available to pre-order now ahead of its 11th October 2019 release date. You can get a copy for £19.99.
Find out more about the album at the Amazon website
Tracklisting:
Side 1
1. The Valentines “Breakaway” ( 02:30 ) – The Valentines
2. Clarence Murray “Don’t Talk Like That” ( 02:28 ) – Clarence Murray
3. The Inspirations “Touch Me, Hold Me, Kiss Me” ( 02:42 ) – The Inspirations
4. Mikki Farrow “Set My Heart At Ease” ( 02:20 ) – Mikki Farrow
5. Roscoe Shelton “Running For My Life” ( 02:28 ) – Roscoe Shelton
6. Gwen Davis “My Man Don’t Think I Know” ( 02:28 ) – Gwen Davis
7. Jerry Fuller “Double Life” ( 03:00 ) – Jerry Fuller
8. The Carlettes “I’m Getting Tired” ( 02:04 ) – The Carletts
Side 2
1. Linda Jones “You Hit Me Like TNT” ( 02:14 ) – Jones, Linda
2. Danny White “Natural Soul Brother” ( 02:28 ) – White, Danny
3. The Van McCoy Strings “Sweet And Easy” ( 02:29 ) – The Van McCoy Strings
4. The Fantastics “Me And You” ( 02:31 ) – Fantastics, The
5. Sidney Barnes “I Hurt The Other Side” ( 02:57 ) – Sidney Barnes
6. Ella Washington “Trying To Make You Love Me” ( 02:30 ) – Ella Washington
7. Joe Simon “No Sad Songs” ( 02:17 ) – Simon, Joe
8. The Du-ettes “Every Beat Of My Heart” ( 02:44 ) – The Du-Ettes
