Soulbot - The Soul Encyclopedia

Welcome to Soulbot, probably the largest Soul Music Information Database on the web. This site is a labour of love - of Soul and the Blues and formative bands of the sixties. There are recollections of seeing wonderful stars such as Sonny Boy Williamson II, Jimmy Reed, Alexis Korner and Edwin Starr who regularly appeared in backstreet clubs and cellars in cities such as Manchester and London and gave us an experience that has never been forgotten. We are also working on a new section which brings in all the modern day artists who are heavily influenced by the original greats.

It is our aim to have entries on every single artist whose music was played during the early to mid sixties at the soul clubs which began the movement now known as Northern Soul.

Some of the stars of this soul and blues database have now passed away, some tragically and others peacefully. Some still survive and perform, often recapturing the magic that drew us to them in the first place - William Bell for instance and even Little Richard (`I'm 72 years old and I'm still beauuuuutiful!').

Soulbot is idiosyncratic, partial and sometimes might be annoying - but there we are. We hope it gives you a taste of the blues and a love of soul and an insight into the formative years of the soul movement. If it only gives you the desire to discover more before these memories fade away then it will be a job well done..

Beverley Knight

Beverley Knight has got to be one of Britain's greatest Soul artists. She embraces the original greats such as Aretha Franklin and Sam Cooke and in her latest album showcases some well selected tracks to cover, bringing her own style and personality. There's not a single track we didn't like.

Her new album Soul brings back great tunes such as 'fairplay', 'one more try' and 'always and forever'. A superb artist and a great album to get your hands on.

At The Twisted Wheel & Blue Note Club

Many of these stars were seen in the legendary Manchester Soul and Blues club The Twisted Wheel run by the Abadi brothers, Ivor and pipe smoking Jack. Rare American imports were played both at the Wheel and the now virtually forgotten Blue Note Club, Manchester which was run by possibly the coolest club manager ever, John Fogel. Both these clubs became the birthplace of what later became known as Northern Soul. One of the recurring themes of Soulbot is the debt that is owed to the DJ Roger Eagle who worked at both the Twisted Wheel and The Blue Note Club in Manchester. His influence on the popularity of black music in the UK is often unsung but should never be underestimated. Years before it became known, Roger was importing American blues, R and B and Soul singles and albums and playing them in Manchester for the first time. Many of these tracks were subsequently rediscovered and claimed by later soul movements as their own.

Double Book Feature

To kick off what we hope will build to be a great Soul book section to SoulBot we thought we'd do a double book feature.

The connection between these books is the second discusses the efforts and routes taken in publishing Manchester Wheelers and importantly explores the truth behind self publishing and how to approach it.

Manchester Wheelers

A great blast from the past, a brilliant read on the Manchester Soul scene explosion in the 60s, the mod culture in Manchester and of course the stories behind Northern Soul.

The author puts it as "The secret story of the Twisted Wheel Club Manchester: where Northern Soul began." And he's right, it seem sonly the ones who were there at the clubs like the Twisted Wheel really know how Northern Soul all kicked off, and the records which drove it all.

An excellent read, which we highly recommended.

A must have for any Northern Soul enthusiast.

Manchester Wheelers Sample Chapters and Purchase here

BookKit

This in a sense is a very important follow on from Manchester Wheelers, at least for those of you trying to publish your own books.

Its a book for any one trying to self publish in fact, a great book form the perspective of an author falling into all the usual "traps", experimenting with different methods and finding the tools out there to succeed in a tough industry.

It's broken into several sections, firstly it looks at the experience in publishing Manchester Wheelers and the traps fallen into.

Secondly it looks at how to self publish the right way, and finally it looks to the internet as a powerful tool to self promote your own book, demonstrating the best SEO practices and most cost effective solutions.

For anyone considering the usual approaches of finding a publisher, going through Amazon, new fads of group funded publishing or just going at it alone, make sure you pick up this book first. It will save you a lot of time and heartache.

It's so fresh off the press the pages are still warm, and as such exclusive to SoulBot for the next few weeks until its official launch, so contact us here