Hold on to your vinyl because we’re zooming back to 1969, and after the run up to Christmas this year of 2025, it was a healthy one to retreat to. Like so many, the wretched flu caught up with me (the cough was wicked), while other members of my family tested positive for Covid. It was a miserable time but in true country spirit, we pulled up our Bridget Jones and got on with it – for Christmas Day at least! Thank you so much for the thoughtful notes and texts which without a doubt encouraged our recovery. January has always been a rough month for me health-wise and I had hoped the chain would be broken by now. Alas, not so. Could be worse.
So, back to January 1969 when Martha and the Vandellas hit the UK top fifty with “Dancing In The Street”; when Marv Johnson’s “I’ll Pick A Rose For My Rose” was a top ten UK hit, and Marvin Gaye raced to the top of the UK listing with “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”. There were of course other notable chart entries from the forty singles issued on the Tamla Motown label, but to list them all would fill this MS and then some!
According to Terry Wilson in his Tamla Motown – The Stories Behind The UK Singles, twenty-six singles made the top forty; ten hit the top ten and one hit the top. Among them of course, was Diana Ross and the Supremes’ final single together “Someday We’ll Be Together”, but it was only in later years that we discovered neither Mary nor Cindy were included, a trend that had covered many of their previous singles and album tracks.
I, for one, felt deceived by Motown who had, at the time, I moaned, sold goods fraudulently. In time the reasoning was understandable, yet session singers like the dear Andantes, or Maxine and Julia Waters and Merry Clayton shouldn’t have been denied their public identity. I’d also like to add to this list Blinky, Edna Wright and Gloria Jones who were also among the uncredited background singers, and whose voices can be heard on A-list artists’ records.
Thirty-nine albums were also released over here, with “Diana Ross and the Supremes Join The Temptations”, Tammi Terrell’s “Irresistible”, “The Fantastic Four”, Gladys Knight & the Pips’ “Silk ‘N’ Soul”, Edwin Starr’s “25 Miles”, and The Isley Brothers’ “Behind A Painted Smile”, among them.
On the downside, The Marvelettes disbanded, and Funk brother Benny Benjamin died from substance abuse, and Shorty Long and his friend, Oscar Williams, drowned when their little boat capsized off Sandwich Island, Ontario.
The first seeds for Motown Ad Astra were sown back in January 1969 and that was by accident. Jackie Lee, one of the secretaries, wrote in TCB: “It was after the second Motown party that a few of the individual fan club secretaries (across the UK) expressed the desire to move to London. Well, we spent most of our time there anyway. Whilst discussing moving, the question arose of what would happen about the fan clubs. As Gerry, Lynne, Sharon and myself would be living under one roof, with Phil and Pete as near as possible, it seemed ridiculous to keep on with separate clubs. So some ‘bright spark’ suggested uniting them.”
The idea was mulled over several times but I don’t recall anybody actually suggesting making the first move. After remaining dormant for a few months, the subject reared its head again. We needed to do this. So each of us found a job in the city (I landed one with EMI Records – yay) and during a day trip to Ealing a suitable apartment was chosen and deposit paid. There was no turning back. We told Dave Godin of our plans right from the start, and he helped us gain permission from Motown and EMI to merge the existing individual clubs into one, and to represent those artists who hadn’t previously got one. It was a win-win situation for them and us.
Then we needed a club name. Many suggestions were thrown in, and thrown out again. Jackie wrote something like this: “We spent a few hours sitting in a hotel room thinking up the most unoriginal names anyone could possibly imagine. Then the same ‘bright spark’ came up with ‘Motown Ad Astra – Motown To The Stars. ‘ After establishing the name was Latin and not French, MAA was unanimously agreed upon. (Why there was so much interest in the name’s origin remains a mystery) and lo and behold, we all headed for London by the September.
The new club should have officially opened in January 1970, but word got out and we were pressed to open up almost immediately. A first magazine was hurriedly posted off to existing club members, and within a few weeks the membership had doubled – then trebled.” As the membership continued to expand, representatives around the UK were recruited, plus a solitary soul in Holland who rose to the challenge.
As a parting note, Jackie ended with, “MAA was a big gamble for us, but so far things have worked out well. Financially we’ve had our troubles. Despite what people are led to believe MAA is voluntary, and not subsidised by anyone – not even EMI.” Credit where credit was due though, we were on the US mailing list for albums and singles until we could no longer afford the import duty, while EMI were generous with their records, photos, etc. We made money were we could. For example we sold black pens with Motown Ad Astra printed in gold letters on them for 1s each, or three for 2s. 6d.
The whole experience was great fun on so many levels – we were promoting the artists we loved and some we would later meet – but it was also damned hard work. As anyone who has been in the same position can testify, running a fan club was all consuming and could take over your life. I used to type up the magazines: that was the easy bit because then the pages needed to be stapled together, enveloped and posted. Didn’t enjoy that so much.
One particular upside I remember was when a single arrived from the US before we were due to go to work, Diana Ross’ “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”. I recall we were late for work that morning! Despite Diana’s original apprehension at recording a cover of Marvin and Tammi’s original, once she had heard the remake, she was smitten. The single was positively the most amazing, inspiring, joyful sound I’d ever heard at that point, and the way Ashford & Simpson broke down the song from spoken word, into a simmering melody before building it into a gospel/soul crescendo, was quite remarkable.
Apparently, Berry Gordy disliked the song’s spoken word introduction, preferring it to start with the chorus. However, he quickly changed his mind when certain radio DJs edited the promotional six minute version by half and included in it the spoken word section! And the rest, as they say, is recording history. Plus, it has to be said, the Motown boss wasn’t always right.
Obviously not every single released in America would get a British outing. To this end, the London office tended to stick with those acts that sold, with Stevie Wonder, Martha and the Vandellas, Diana Ross and the Supremes, among them. Every now and then, the office would take a chance on a release. The Honest Men’s “Cherie”, Paul Petersen’s “Little Bit For Sandy” and The Lewis Sisters’ “You Need Me” immediately spring to mind.
Others would be included on compilations, much to the delight of the growing legions of Motown fans over here. Erm, take “Motown Memories Volume 3” for instance, a collector’s dream with artists like “(I Guess There’s) No Love” (Mable John), “Breadwinner” (Sammy Ward), “Buttered Popcorn” (The Vows) and others from Amos Milburn. Shorty Long, Gino Parks, and The Darnells. I doubt this series sold in any great numbers but it certainly went a long way to plug the gap between the US and UK. On the other hand, the “Motown Chartbusters” series was at the time the most successful in sales and music. Doesn’t mention of this bring back that innovative silver cover on Volume 3? And wasn’t the track listing just wonderful?
And finally, in this TCB magazine I’m talking about, a petition was being sponsored by the Club and EMI to bring Marvin Gaye to London to appear at London’s Talk Of The Town. As he didn’t, I can only assume the petition didn’t work.
With 2026, I feel there’s an exciting year ahead and it’s another adventure for us all to enjoy. And even if it’s not that exciting to the outside world, we can make it so by talking Motown. I very much look forward to your company, and once again, appreciate more than you’ll know, your kind words when I was poorly.
With love
Sharon
