Another staple of my “oldies” / “soul” dj sets is this slice of juicy goodness called, um, “Sliced Tomatoes” by the Just Brothers. Originally released in 1965, “Sliced Tomatoes” combines the twang of surf with the stomp of soul, and this video adds some straight up silliness.

To most, this will be instantly recognizable as the bedrock of Fatboy Slim’s smash “Rockafeller Skank.” And in fairness to the fat boy, he didn’t do much except add some beats and some choice vocal samples. As was the case with much of the music known as ‘Big Beat’. Remember that genre? Ah, those were the days!

I just hope that these Brothers got paid.

Trawling through YouTube one night, I stumbled across this ace video for the track, produced at some point in the 90s by the British Northern Soul dj and Hi-NRG producer, Ian Levine. I don’t know if this video was deliberately designed to make you laugh, but it does, and the Brothers seem to be having a great ole time of it.

But one question, above all else, sticks in the head. This is a twangy soul record. So where is the guitar player?!

Levine says this, in the video description:

The Just Brothers were Frank and Jimmy Bryant, and drummer A.J. Sparks. Living and recording in Detroit, their huge Northern Soul anthem, “Sliced Tomatoes” was almost an accidental throw away B side instrumental. I was the first DJ to ever play this record. When I started at Blackpool Mecca in late 1971, a very very young Tony Rounce picked up the single on Music Merchant and brought it up to me to play at The Mecca. At first everyone was sceptical, because it was quite different to the usual Northern Soul sound, and almost broke the norm, but then went on to become such an anthem that, many years later, Fatboy Slim sampled it for his huge hit, “Rockefeller Skank”. Jimmy Bryant died many years ago, but Frank and A.J. very accurately recreated their classic for us for our award winning documentary, “The Strange World Of Northern Soul”.

This video is a fitting tribute. Twang on, Just Brothers! 

The Just Brothers “Sliced Tomatoes”

 
One of the great things about djing “oldies” music sets is being able to dig out obscure gems like this, a 1968 non-hit for the girl group The Flirtations, that has gone on to be regarded as one of the touchstone records of the Northern Soul movement.

Northern Soul is/was a revival of obscure and forgotten 60s soul music that happened in the North of England in the mid-1970s. What sets Northern Soul apart from other kinds of soul (Southern Soul anyone?!) is the dance-ability of the tracks, which are usually up tempo and with prominent drums (expect lots hand clapping, which the audience can partake in.) All night dancing was the major motivation behind Northern Soul, and key to the success of renowned clubs like the Blackpool Mecca and the Twisted Wheel in Manchester.

The Flirtations were three women from South Carolina who moved to the UK in the late 60s to record for the Deram label. Unfortunately, none of their records were major hits, even though history has looked on some of them very kindly indeed. Like many from the Northern Soul scene, they moved into making Hi-NRG in the early 80s, cementing the connection between the Northern Soul dance floor of the 70s and the burgeoning gay scene of the next decade. “Nothing But A Heartache” is perhaps their “signature” tune, and is crying out for use in a Quentin Tarantino or Spike Lee film. It simply oozes DRAMA.

I never knew this video existed until very recently, and it’s a beauty. SImple and elegant, and set in a ruined abbey, be prepared for multiple replays of this wonderful track: