Soul of Sue: UK Sue Story 3 / Various

Guy Stevens,the man who offered so much to the UK music industry, and more importantly the UK music fan, was immortalized by Mick Jones and Joe Strummer in 1981, the year of his death, in a song that showed tender regard for his maverick genius, whose unique production skills had brought out the best of them on the album London Calling. 2004 was the year in which Guy was at last recognized rather than forgotten, and in this respect it is apt that our final volume of the UK Sue Records label story, The Soul Of Sue, should appear in the same month that the 25th Anniversary of London Calling, Stevens' most notable mainstream success, was being celebrated. Yet, while rock fans fawn over that fine album, we would argue that Guy Stevens made his greatest contribution to music a decade or so earlier, at the helm of the first modern soul label in the UK, Island's Sue Records subsidiary.

In the first two volumes released on our Ace label we saw how Stevens' expertise in rock 'n' roll and rhythm and blues had led him to an influential deejaying slot at the Scene club in Ham Yard; and working for various record companies, advising them what to do with the US records from labels such as Chess and Excello. We then learnt how Island's Chris Blackwell employed him to run the UK Sue label that had been set up to release Charlie and Inez Foxx's Mockingbird. Guy used his knowledge to turn the label into a haven for all sorts of records released from his myriad of contacts at labels across the US. In the process he would have the first club-based record label, responding to what was popular there, and specifically working scams to draw club success in. In this respect he was both setting the mark for all future labels in this field, and also became in his own right a precursor of the celebrity club DJ. On top of this his records provided the source material for many of London's R&B groups, and he suggested tunes they should cover.

Our first two volumes consist of a Sue's Greatest Hits story, and a look at the wealth of blues and rock 'n' roll that was introduced to the UK's music fan by the label. Volume 3 concentrates on Sue's amazing soul records. In the mid-60s soul was the new sound of black America, a cutting edge sort of thing, and while labels such as London and Stateside also released soul records, Guy's knowledge was deep enough to bring out some fantastic recordings, both on 45 and across an incredible range of LPs such as Soul 66, and Dr Soul that are now very difficult to find.

On this CD we go from the well-known: records that were in effect broken by Sue's persistence such as Hurt By Love, Night Train and Harlem Shuffle, through to all shades of soul. To me, seeing a mix that goes from OV Wright on past Jackie Day, taking in the Lamp Sisters, Bobby Bland and the Kelly Brothers shows some serious dedication to the music. And while we're about it, who can resist some screaming monsters as the Anglos (definitively not Steve Winwood, whatever anyone tells you), or the sheer beauty of Baby Washington's I Can't Wait Until I See My Baby's Face. So if you need further proof of what a wonder Sue Records is, or if you just feel it's right to complete the trilogy this is the one for you.

Dean Rudland, Ace Records