n 1980 the Mod scene in Melbourne was really taking off. We had our own nightclub "Kommotion" at the Prince Alfred in Richmond. Our numbers were growing. We had Mod singles to play by bands like Secret Affair and Purple hearts. We had the ska bands and then along came Dexys. And Geno. Geno was a big hit in Australia. But to a lot of people, it was a novelty hit. For us, it was a back door into Northern soul and Stax and more soul. Especially through the track, Seven Days is Too Long, a Northern Soul Anthem. It basically got everyone digging a little bit deeper into those record crates at the fairs and markets. I began exploring the Northern Soul scene. Up until then, I hadn't realised that those nights at the Highland Room at the Mecca in Blackpool back in the mid-seventies were already on their way to becoming legendary. Little Murders started dropping soul covers into the setlist. Songs like "Right Back Where We Started From" by Maxine Nightingale and Stand by Me.
Blue-eyed soul Kevin Rowland called it. And it was great. Beginning with Burn It Down and the sound of a radio being tuned in (with snatches of Sex Pistols and Deep purple) we would listen to the album in one go. It was a record everyone I knew was getting into. 1980 was turning out to be a brilliant year.
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