Tami Lynn (Live in Birmingham 1972)

We've Just Begun/Ain't No Sunshine (Since You've Gone) (5:00)

Recorded on the 9th. February 1972 at the La Dolce Vita club, Smallbrook Ringway, Birmingham, UK. We arrived for the late show and the revolving stage (all the rage then) and asked to visit her in her changing rooms. We were using the BBC as extra pull and we got in the club free! My friend at the time was Les Ross from the popular 'Ross & Henry Show' (B.B.C. Radio Birmingham) they were like a radio version of 'Tiz-Was' a children's Saturday Morning TV show. I've held on to the original master tape for so many years and I would like to share it someone for the first time. You can also hear a full edited interview later in the blog.

Listening to her sing I think she must have had a bad love-life at the time, the taunt in her voice makes for a good Southern soul sound. Although when you listen to the interview, Tami is so bubbly (like on acid). For some years 'I'm gonna Run Away From You' had been a popular and a very hard to find UK night club track having been issued on Atco in the US/France and London in the UK in 1965 with little success. It wasn't a Northern track as some writers suggest but a big club tune in late 60's. Though in 1971 it was re-issued in the UK on the Mojo label (via Polydor) and a year later on Contempo with a more up-tempo flip side, although all her good early sides were found on the French EP with a brunette model on the cover! selling for £200 or more these days.

She made the cover of Blues & Soul in June 1971 and a full page review and made her debut in the UK according to the article on the 14th of June at the Scene 2 Club in Scarborough, Yorkshire. Her manager at the time was Harold Batiste who had managed Sam Cook, Sonny & Cher and a few of the TFO label's acts from New Orleans. I recently found her 1972 Cotillion album on http://www.lostin-tyme.blogspot.com/ titled Love Is Here And Now Your Gone and relived all those early days again.

After her UK chart success in 1971 there wasn't enough early material for one LP so along with John Abbey (who had put out the re-issue and wrote for Blues & Soul magazine) they went over to US to record the extra material that made this a nice Southern soul type album although UK buyers would have prefered the earlier fast pace movers, so it didn't sell very well. If you look at the line-up at the Mardi-Gras Club in Liverpool, Tami had great company with Jimmy Lewis, Johnny Johnson & The Bandwagon and The Swinging Soul Machine who had that nice little instrumental track: 'Spooky's Day Off' about that same time.



Interview made on the same evening with Tami (13:00 mins)

The interviewee is the late 'Funky Dunk' (Duncan Finlayson) who knew the most about her (so got the job) and it was broadcast that Sunday afternoon on FRN (Free Radio Nold) and later on BBC Radio Birmingham.