Whats the current state of affairs of the Modern soul scene in England?
For a number of years, the two main centres for modern soul have been London and Manchester. Outside of these, the audience is small. The Portsmouth, Southampton and Brighton areas have recently shown promise and could grow, as could the modern scene in the west midlands (Wolverhampton and Birmingham). New releases have always given the soul scene its vitality, and at the moment we are suffering a bit of a drought. Q: How was Soul Essence this weekend? What went off? A: Not bad, could have been better musically, socially excellent, a few too many record dealers which made it a bit of a convention. The lights stayed on for too long making it dance floor unfriendly. The downbeat lounge was excellent, which made it all worthwhile. Q: Are you or your husband of Asian descent? A: As far as I am aware there is no Asian ancestry on my husband’s side. I think Keith’s ancestors come from the south west of England. There is still a larger number of Woon’s in that area. There is also a large numb
