Various Artists

There's No Stopping Us Now: The Female Mods’ Forgotten Story

  • Released: 07/02/2025
  • Label: Edsel
  • Genre: Soul

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'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.

Tracklist

Disc 1
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'

Disc 2
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'

Disc 3
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'

Disc 4
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'