11. Little AnnDeep Shadows
As far as I can recall, we bought it on the strength of the cover. It’s one of those where you can tell it’s clearly a good record. I love her smoky and husky voice, and the title track of the album is a real masterpiece.
I always really liked Northern Soul. Growing up in London, we got that there was something going on up there, and people from London did go up, but I was only young. I remember reading about it in what I think was Melody Maker, and it just sounded fascinating. It went into detail about the clubs, the rituals, the speed, and I was really attracted to it. The notion of the music they were listening to not being the more polished top-shelf Motown stuff, but the stuff from smaller independent labels, less budget, more rough and ready but with this real pumping heart. I think I was really ready for punk!
