A MODERNIST RESPONSE.

As my journey into the world of all things Mod continues, so my discovery of and passion for music grows. The Modculture website, the Heavy Soul label and fanzine, Start! and Dedicated Follower fanzines, Totally Wired radio, not to mention various groups and pages on social media: these all contribute to my moducation. The amount of music, books, films etc - there aren't enough hours in the day to absorb it all! My tastes in music have always been fairly eclectic, but you can now add Jazz, Acid Jazz, swathes of Rhythm & Blues, sixties girl pop, French music, Soul, Freakbeat and Blues to the equation, plus all the bands associated with the revival since the late seventies, and more recent acts. Barely a week goes by without the postie bringing me more vinyl and cds. So much music, so little time!

Of course, the one name who comes up frequently is the Modfather himself, Paul Weller.  A prominent figure in Mod since his days in The Jam, he has undoubtedly stayed true to the principles of Modernism, particularly the idea that you should always keep moving forward. He has never stood still, often baffling and sometimes alienating fans who want him to stick to one style. Over his 40-odd year career in music Weller has embraced many genres of music, and often made abrupt stylistic changes, the most controversial being splitting up The Jam and forming the very different Style Council. Wellers' rejection official rock music and a power trio for a more continental style echoed his rediscovery of early the Mod musical passions of Jazz , Soul and R&B. The fact that these genres were being revived and reinvigorated in the clubs and in the New Romantic movement of the day helped to rekindle his love of them. His own musical reinvention aside, Weller turned talent scout and promoter, founding his own label: Respond Records. An attempt at starting a contemporary Soul label, he also had a hand in writing, playing on, and producing many of the songs released on the label, the most well known of which were by the vocalist Tracie Young (credited as Tracie! on most of her releases) who had a No.9 hit with "The House That Jack Built", and a further Top 30 entry with "Give It Some Emotion" .  

Tracie had previously appeared on the final Jam single "Beat Surrender!" , as well as the first Style Council release "Speak Like A Child", and would go on to provide backing vocals live and on record. Weller signed several other acts: The Questions, A Craze, The Main T-KO, Dolly Mixtures, Big Sound Authority, and Urban Shakedown, but further chart success eluded the label. Eventually he lost interest and Respond closed in 1985. Until recently i had no idea about Respond or the music, and it seems that the music has never been re-released in any form. Searching for more information on Discogs i came across a label sampler album from 1983 that rounds up most of the early single releases. Featuring some enthusiastic liner notes from P.W. on the back of the sleeve about the artists and the music, it's a pretty decent collection of funk and soul-infused pop music. Tracies' two big hits are included. If the Respond back catalogue were to be put out as a box set of some kind i daresay that Mods and Weller fans would snap it up. But like his Style Council years this short-lived venture seems destined to be overlooked.