Soul Sam is 80!

Soul Sam has just celebrated his 80th birthday (on 10 Aug 2021) with a birthday bash thrown for him at the legendary Canal Tavern in Thorne on Saturday (7 Aug).

Soul Sam aka Martin Barnfather, (he got his nickname from his mobile disco setup called 'Sam's Soul Sounds') is a stalwart DJ on the UK Northern Soul scene. He is from Overton (near Wrexham) North Wales and was a school teacher (English & History I believe) at Maelor School, Penley, who began DJing at The Scene club in London in the early 60s.

He played in the early days at Wigan Casino but for some reason(?) didn't last and moved on to residencies at Cleethorpes (Pier & Winter Gardens) and St. Ives in the mid 70s. Unlike many of the big DJs of the time, he appeared up and down the country and still does to this day. Some have questioned many of his musical choices but he is undeniable enthusiastic and has unearthed far too many sounds now regarded as classics to count.

We wish Sam many happy returns and long may he continue discovering new tunes to share with us.

I've attached a live stream of a show recorded just a few weeks ago on 10 Jul 2021.

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At around 25 minutes in he plays three of his favourite tunes from three decades 60s, 70s & 80s. The first is Del-Larks "Job Opening" (1967) (incidentally there is a great story about Sammy Campbell (aka Tyrone Ashley) and the record on SolidHitSoul), from the 70s Joseph Webster "My Love Is So Strong" and finally from 1982, which he states is his favourite of all time, The Mark IV "If You Can't Tell Me Something Good". Not far off £25 grand's worth of vinyl right there with Del-Larks weighing in at around £10k, Joseph Webster £11k and The Mark IV not far short of £4k.

By coincidence this has turned into a tribute to two Sam's as here's a belated tribute to Sammy Campbell of The Del Larks who passed away almost a year ago on 26 Aug 2020 aged 79. He is joined in the performance below by the only other surviving member (at the time) Ron Taylor (who passed in 2016). The remaining original member was Ray Davis (who was also a member of Parliament) who died in 2005. I think you'll agree that this is a tremendous live performance of the song 41 years after it was originally recorded!

Live @ Prestatyn Weekender March 2008