Vince Everett - I Ain’t Gonna Be Your Low Down Dog No More

Great rockabilly rendition of Piano Red’s I Ain’t Gonna Be Your Low Down Dog No More by Vince Everett (born Marvin Benefield) on ABC Paramount from 1962… Wow, he really turns on the Elvis for this one. Nice. The flipside of this, Sugar Bee is also very, very good.

Yes, it’s upon us once more: Independent Record Store Day and to help celebrate it I thought I’d post up info about my top three independent record shops in London - if you can get to your local record shop this weekend - DO IT! It’s important to keep these hubs of musical culture alive and kicking!

JB’s
36 Hanway Street
London W1T 1UP
Nearest Tube: Tottenham Court Road
+44 (0)20 7436 4063

JB’s is hidden away just off busy Oxford Street – only a few minutes stroll from where I work, making it one of my top record-finding spots. The shop is run by the ever-friendly, hugely knowledgeable Rob and Bill who work tirelessly to ensure it’s stocked with classic and rare blues, rock’n'roll, country, soul, disco, funk, country and rock records (and CDs). I’ve bagged some great 45s and compilation LPs in here.

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Intoxica! Records
231 Portobello Road
London W11 1LT
Nearest Tube: Ladbroke Grove
+44 (0)20 7229 8010
http://www.intoxica.co.uk

This is a really well stocked little shop on the ever-busy Portobello Road. Ground floor has ska, reggae, latin, 60s beat, psyche and rock and pop and downstairs in the basement is a wonderful selection of blues, 60s soul, r’n'b and jazz LPs. Spotted a lovely copy of The Sue Story compilation LP for £50 downstairs. But, as ever, I focused on 45s - and there are boxes and boxes of them behind the counter… An absolute gem of a shop.

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Sounds That Swing
88 Parkway
Camden
London NW1 7AN
Nearest Tube: Camden Town
+44 (0)207 267 4682
http://www.nohitrecords.co.uk

Sounds That Swing used to be a stones-throw from Camden market, hidden away at the far end of Inverness Street in a tiny, cave-like shop choc-full of music from the 50’s and 60’s with loads of vinyl action to be had. However, it has moved to new premises on Parkway just down the road. The new place is smaller and tidier – and still the best place to go in London if you want to shop for 50s and 60s rockabilly and rhythm’n'blues sounds. To see how the old shop used to look - check out Dean Chalkley’s photos taken just before the move in the Record Shop Love section of this site.

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There are more records shops listed in the Record Shop section of the Get Involved site. Happy shopping!

PS - I noticed The Guardian did a piece on Independent Record Store Day - you can read it here: guardian.co.uk/music/2010/apr/16/independent-music-stores-musicians-favourites

Little Robbie - Let Me Out Of The Doghouse

What do I know about Little Robbie? Nothing. And this is the only 45 I’ve ever bought on this New York label too. I love the tune, I love the label design – and I really love the track. It’s the flip-side of I’ve Got Troubles Of My Own (which is also really great) and the year of release is 1964. I think I’m embarking on a dog theme…

Tune in for another “dog” track next week!

Howard Tate - How Come My Bulldog Don’t Bark

This isn’t the first, and probably won’t be the last Howard Tate record I post up - I think he’s got one of the finest soul voices ever recorded. To be fair, this particular track doesn’t show off his vocal ability to the max BUT I absolutely love it all the same. The groove is reminiscent of Tommy Tucker’s High Heel Sneakers - but there’s hammond organ here, a great beat – and Tate’s awesome vocals… Bee-oo-ti-ful!

To hear the last Howard Tate 45 I posted – check the post here.

There is, among the many legends of Get Involved, a tradition of putting on a Get Involved night on the Thursday before the long Easter weekend…

Well, I’m delighted to announce that the fabulous DJ Roxanne Roll (with the best DJ name EVER) has asked me to come and bring some Get Involved vibes to her brilliant Cowbella night over at The Westbury in West London. I’m honoured to be asked and excited about bringing a box of records and a bag of maracas and tambourines to the night where it’s perfectly acceptable to request more cowbell!

Apparently there’s a “wall of cowbell” to play too. Amazing! The fun doesn’t stop till about 2am and you’ll then have four days to recover. Has there ever been a better time to get involved? Er, no, there hasn’t. GET INVOLVED!

There’s a Facebook event page set up here. And if you don’t do Facebook, the deets are thus:

Cowbella!
8.30pm-2am
@ The Westbury
34 Kilburn High Road
London NW6 5UA
view map

The cowbell-playing character above was created by Jeremyville – originally for the July 2006 Get Involved poster. If you want a copy of that (or any other Get Involved poster), you can buy them from Concrete Hermit. Click here for more info about prices and stuff