One of the pleasures of being part of the Northern Soul scene is being present when an obscure artist finally makes their debut on British soil. 

Little known, even in their own country, people like Rose Batiste are overwhelmed by the adulation they receive.

As they perform on stage they look out over the heaving mass of bodies before them and witness hundreds of people singing along word for word, clapping their hands and stomping their feet.

As more and more rare records emerged, the seemingly endless flow of lost talent used to astonish me, as did their names ; Mamie Galore, Richard Temple, James Bounty, Alexander Patton, Duke Browner etc etc. Who were these people? Their names seemed to add that little bit extra mystique.

But there was always one above the rest and that was Rose Batiste,  and she recorded one of the greatest double siders of all time, 'Hit and run' c/w 'I miss you baby', for Revilot.

The fact that this lady also recorded for Thelma and Ric Tic proves beyond doubt that she was hot property in sixties Detroit.

Here she is pictured with Nigel Flood and Adrian Croasdell.

Notes thanks to David Meikle.