There's No Stopping Us Now: The Female Mods' Forgotten Story' - a title that pays homage to one of The Supremes' many infectious floorfillers - is a celebration of the inspirational women singers and groups who provided a brilliant and timeless soundtrack to an exciting moment in British pop culture.
Bringing together the queens of Motown and Stax, classy chanteuses from around the world, and some homegrown dancefloor divas, these 98 songs on four discs were not only a key component of the enduring Mod scene, but many of the performers, musicians, songwriters and producers were the audible and visible representation of a way of life that publicist Pete Meaden described as "clean living under difficult circumstances".
The origins of the male Mod style are well documented but female Mods were too often relegated to a supporting role, which makes the work of these singers, and musicians, plus the actresses, artists, designers, media figures, models and writers of the time all the more pioneering.
Of course, female singers had been successful prior to the Mod era (among those included here, the great Dinah Washington made her recording debut in '44) but to add some context, in 2023 - some sixty years after the original flowering of Mod - nine of the 16 UK No. 1 singles were performed by or featured female artists. That compares to none of the 17 chart toppers in 1963.
The inspiration for this new collection came from the book Ready Steady Girls: The Female Mods' Forgotten Story, first published in 2016 as a (quickly sold out) compendium of first-hand accounts by girls and young women drawn to the Mod way of life in the first half of the '60s, or the revival at the end of the following decade.
In 2024 that book is being made available once again, and we have the opportunity to create a fitting musical companion piece to that volume's striking and original words and images.
This stylishly packaged four disc set features female artists who went on to become household names (including a surprising number who found fame as actors), some one-hit wonders, a few acts who only found their audience years later, and a selection of deeper cuts that should get nodding approval from the Mod cognoscenti of either sex. The extensive sleeve notes provide a track-by-track commentary, with informative details of the singer and the song.
TRACK LISTING
CD1:
1. Aretha Franklin - Respect
2. Erma Franklin - Big Boss Man
3. Doris Troy - You'd Better Stop
4. Dusty Springfield - Can I Get A Witness
5. Martha & The Vandellas - Nowhere To Run
6. Dinah Washington Soulville
7. Carla Thomas - Something Good (Is Going To Happen To You)
8. Inez & Charlie Foxx - My Momma Told Me
9. Thelma Jones - Stronger
10. Etta James - I'm So Glad (I Found Love In You)
11. Betty Everett - I've Got A Claim On You
12. P.P. Arnold - If You See What I Mean
13. Billie Davis & The LeRoys - Whatcha Gonna Do
14. The Exciters - Do-Wah-Diddy Diddy
15. Lydia Marcelle - It's Not Like You
16. Brenda Holloway - When I'm Gone
17. Maxine Brown - One Step At A Time
18. Mary Love - Think It Over Baby
19. Nina Simone - I Put A Spell On You
20. The Cake - You Can Have Him
21. Lesley Gore - California Nights
22. Sharon Tandy - Love Makes The World Go Round
23. Mary Wells - What's Easy For Two Is So Hard For One
24. The Velvelettes - These Things Will Keep Me Loving You
25. The Supremes - Stop! In The Name Of Love
CD2:
1. Ketty Lester - Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid
2. Helen Shapiro - Fever
3. Dionne Warwick - Another Night
4. Cilla Black With George Martin's Orchestra - I've Been Wrong Before
5. Julie Driscoll - I Know You Love Me Not
6. Nancy Wilson - Where Does That Leave Me?
7. Baby Washington - That's How Heartaches Are Made
8. Barbara Lewis - Baby I'm Yours
9. Dee Dee Sharp - My Best Friend's Man
10. Timi Yuro - You Can Have Him
11. Patti LaBelle & The Blue Belles - You Forgot How To Love
12. Sonny & Cher - Little Man
13. Ernestine Anderson - Keep An Eye Out For Love
14. Joy Marshall - The More I See You
15. Nico - I'm Not Sayin'
16. Julie Felix - I've Got Nothing But Time
17. Barbara Lynn - You'll Lose A Good Thing
18. Kim Weston - A Little More Love
19. Bettye Swann - Make Me Yours
20. Tammi Terrell - Come On And See Me
21. Jackie Ross - New Lover
22. The Toys - A Lover's Concerto
23. The Shirelles - Too Much Of A Good Thing
24. Kathy Kirby - You're The One
CD3:
1. Lesley Gore - You Don't Own Me
2. Dodie West - Goin' Out Of My Head
3. Kiki Dee - (You Don't Know) How Glad I Am
4. Gillian Hills - Look At Them
5. Francoise Hardy - All Over The World
6. Twiggy - Beautiful Dreams
7. The Honeycombs - That's The Way
8. Dick & Dee Dee - Thou Shalt Not Steal
9. Glenda Collins - Baby It Hurts
10. Dana Gillespie - Pay You Back With Interest
11. Louise Cordett - Two Lovers
12. Sandie Shaw - Girl Don't Come
13. Petula Clark - I Know A Place
14. Lulu - Can't Hear You No More
15. Susan Maughan - Call On Me
16. The Caravelles - New York
17. Julie Grant - Can't Get You Out Of My Mind
18. The Shangri-Las - Right Now And Not Later
19. The Dixie Cups - People Say
20. The McKinleys - Sweet And Tender Romance
21. The Orchids - I've Got That Feeling
22. The Breakaways - He Doesn't Love Me
23. Polly Perkins - The Girls Are At It Again
24. Miss X - Christine
CD4:
1. The Chiffons - One Fine Day
2. The Ronettes - Baby I Love You
3. Little Eva - Keep Your Hands Off My Baby
4. The Crystals - I Wonder
5. Candy And The Kisses - Keep On Searchin'
6. The Ad-Libs - The Boy From New York City
7. The Soul Sisters - Good Time Tonight
8. Brenda Lee - What'd I Say?
9. Goldie & The Gingerbreads - Please Please
10. Millie - Sweet William
11. Derrick And Patsy - Troubles
12. Norma Tanega - Bread
13. Irma Thomas - Break-a-way
14. The Shondells - My Love
15. The Sapphires - Evil One
16. Madelaine Bell - I Really Got Carried Away
17. Elkie Brooks - Something's Got A Hold On Me
18. Cleo Laine - Don't You Pass Me By
19. Aretha Franklin - Baby I Love You
20. Sugar Pie DeSanto - I Don’t Wanna Fuss
21. Fontella Bass - Recovery
22. Dee Dee Warwick - Worth Every Tear I Cry
23. Sandy Wynns - A Touch Of Venus
24. The Marvelettes - Danger Heartbreak Dead Ahead
25. The Supremes - There's No Stopping Us Now
