[REMOVE ADS]




Results 1 to 14 of 14
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Posts
    169
    Rep Power
    115

    Motown and the royal family

    As I reflect in these sad days I remember there are many connections between HRH The Queen, the British royal family and Motown. The Supremes & Diana separately appeared on several Royal Variety shows and were presented to The Queen. Marvin was a favourite of Princess Margeret [[even though nerves caused him to climb out of a bathroom window to avoid performing for her!). Of the army of other Motown artists who have performed in the UK does anyone know of any other connections to the royal family?

    An interesting if debatable article:

    Royal Family helped the Supremes and Motown Records become global sensations | Royal | News | Express.co.uk

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2016
    Posts
    710
    Rep Power
    211
    I would say by 1968 The Supremes and other Motown performers were probably pretty well known by the British folks, lol......

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    9,279
    Rep Power
    519
    The Jackson 5 did a Royal Variety Performance in 1972.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Posts
    892
    Rep Power
    146
    I saw a picture of The Jackson 5 being greeted by the Queen. Also a video of a grown Michael with Princess Diana.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    3,983
    Rep Power
    351
    Diana Ross performed at the Queen's Jubilee Celebrations this year.

  6. #6
    [King] Charles was pretty enamoured of the Three Degrees. Not Motown, but worthy of note. In the UK it was the pirate radio stations that really popularised Motown over here. That and the fanatical adherence of the "Mods" to all black American Music.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    3,646
    Rep Power
    317
    Quote Originally Posted by Ed H View Post
    [King] Charles was pretty enamoured of the Three Degrees. Not Motown, but worthy of note. In the UK it was the pirate radio stations that really popularised Motown over here. That and the fanatical adherence of the "Mods" to all black American Music.
    I remember a pirate radio station called Radio Luxemburg that I used to listen to when I was in Germany in the sixties. I think it used to broadcast off ships near the UK. I was so thankful for that station and their constant playing of Motown. On days when it would not come through, I had to revert back to listening to AFN Radio and their easy listening type music

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    16,025
    Rep Power
    352
    I'm not from the UK but I would think it was the Northern Soul movement from the 60's that really made many of these artist popular...and still popular today, especially the lesser known artists here in the States. I could be wrong though.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Posts
    6,823
    Rep Power
    256
    Quote Originally Posted by ms_m View Post
    I'm not from the UK but I would think it was the Northern Soul movement from the 60's that really made many of these artist popular...and still popular today, especially the lesser known artists here in the States. I could be wrong though.
    I agree ms_m.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    16,025
    Rep Power
    352
    back atcha TomatoTom

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    981
    Rep Power
    201
    Motown was even more important in England than in the United States.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    3,983
    Rep Power
    351
    Us/We English love our Motown [[and our Northern Soul).

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    2,749
    Rep Power
    211
    Quote Originally Posted by milven View Post
    I remember a pirate radio station called Radio Luxemburg that I used to listen to when I was in Germany in the sixties. I think it used to broadcast off ships near the UK. I was so thankful for that station and their constant playing of Motown. On days when it would not come through, I had to revert back to listening to AFN Radio and their easy listening type music
    Luxembourg was not a pirate station, and as the name suggests broadcast from Luxembourg in Europe. It was famous for its fading out, fading in reception here in Britain. Here in the North it was Radio Caroline North that I listened to. Now that was a pirate station, broadcasting from a ship moored just off the Isle of Man. Its adventurous playlist was the soundtrack to my youth

  14. #14
    Thought I might expand on the popularity of Motown in the UK. In the early '60s, it was Radio Luxembourg and some American Forces overseas radio stations broadcasting in Germany that you could pick up occasionally depending on weather conditions. I think I was about 11, in 1963 when I got a transistor radio that I could listen to under the bed covers. I have no idea why to this day, but I was instantly addicted to what broadly I would call black American music. I refused to listen to anything else. Of course though, all the top UK bands at that time made cover versions of blues and R&B records [[notably the Rolling Stones - the fist album I ever bought was their first album and was almost completely covers of classic R&B tracks). As the years progressed, the UK "Mod" movement became popularised over the UK. This really meant smart clothes, scooters, Motown and Soul and girls. The pirate radio stations became part of the expansion of Motown and other soul music or you could go and listen to the latest releases in record shops. Sadly, just as I was old enough to go to live events, the music scene in the South of England changed for the worse, with psychedelic and disco taking over in popular culture. From then on it was left up to our Northern compatriots to keep the flame alive, hence, Northern Soul".
    Last edited by Ed H; 01-31-2023 at 06:48 PM.

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

[REMOVE ADS]

Ralph Terrana
MODERATOR

Welcome to Soulful Detroit! Kindly Consider Turning Off Your Ad BlockingX
Soulful Detroit is a free service that relies on revenue from ad display [regrettably] and donations. We notice that you are using an ad-blocking program that prevents us from earning revenue during your visit.
Ads are REMOVED for Members who donate to Soulful Detroit. [You must be logged in for ads to disappear]
DONATE HERE »
And have Ads removed.