We proudly bring you, here on You-Tube, a new song, from our album, "Soul Steppers" - which was released in February 2009. A delectable album of "Modern-Room" style Northern Soul. Classic retro soul, owing more homage to Gamble and Huff and the sound of Philadelphia and the mid 1970s rhythms, than to the usual Sixties style. Midtempo and Uptempo soulful sizzlers to warm the embers of your heart, and take your feet totally out of control. Just as the legendary Blackpool Mecca building gets pulled down, the "Soul Steppers" album shows that they can pull down the building but they can never take away our music. And in this recession, in times of darkness and uncertainty, as the opening track gloriously proclaims - "I know there's better times ahead for us". Onward to a brighter day. Music can lift us and make us forget what the world has to throw at us, and this album is designed to do just that. The album has songs by Rosetta Hightower, Noel McKoy, Odette Adams, Tahira Jumah, Jay Harvey, Pearly Gates, The Flirtations, Janine Johnson, Michael Lloyd Pinq, Kitty Corbin, Judy Duff, The Concentrations, Jimmy James, and a few major surprises. Here, Laverta Lewis sings "Better Times Ahead", the opening track and main theme of the whole album. Laverta Lewis sort of made her debut for us on the "Northern Soul 2008" album with the utterly fabulous "Starry Eyed". Well it's not exactly a debut as such, more like a reunion after twenty two years. Laverta Lewis (real name Debra Brown) recorded with me back in 1986 as the lead singer of the group Dark Secret on the track "Liar Liar Liar", when they were signed to MCA Records - and there she was again with a mid-tempo groover, sounding like a true mid-70s Blackpool Mecca floorfiller with a fine string arrangement. Laverta comes from California and moved over to England in the mid 1980s together with husband Milton Brown. I met Milton through Laverta, and recorded two singles on him in 1986 and 1987 for the Nightmare label. Twenty one tears later we're all reunited. In the interim period, Milton had visited his home in Norfolk Virginia, only to find himself denied re-entry to be back with his wife and kids, a problem that took a long period to sort out, but all's well that ends well, and both husband and wife are back singing with Centre City Records. Laverta is just fabulous, my very own Gladys Knight, so willing, so lovely, so co-operative, and such a warm hearted person, and it makes me proud to have artists of this calibre on Centre City Records. Laverta and I co-wrote this fabulous uplifting song with my long time producing partner Clive Scott. And the, for the first time, was distributed by Wienerworld, who have put out all our Northern Soul DVDs. And remember the whole theme of this special album - "I know there's better times ahead for us".
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Music