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Cover of The Groove Lounge No. 003: The Crossing
Shows / No. 003
Show No. 003 · 30 October 2026

The Crossing

British Soul, 1977–2024 · 59 min
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From Birmingham to Canterbury, British soul didn't copy America — it absorbed it, melted it down, and found something entirely its own.

There's a story about British soul that rarely gets told straight. Not imitation — absorption. A group from Birmingham in 1978 who sounded like they'd grown up on Gamble and Huff. A London trio who actually broke through in America without a gimmick. A voice from Canterbury who sang as if the microphone wasn't on, recording neo-soul before anyone had named it.

Lew Kirton is in here too — British soul with Barbadian roots, which makes it personal for me. Same part of the world my mum came from.

The show ends in 2024, with a voice that knows exactly where it came from. The circle closes. It always does.

— Simone

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Tracklist
  1. DelegationOh Honey0:00
  2. SimoneOn Loose Ends5:26
  3. Loose EndsHanging on a String (Contemplating)5:40
  4. SimoneOn Delegation9:44
  5. DelegationHeartache10:00
  6. SimoneOn Imagination14:02
  7. ImaginationJust an Illusion14:24
  8. SimoneOn Lew Kirton17:59
  9. Lew KirtonDon't Wanna Wait18:14
  10. SimoneOn Maxine Nightingale23:16
  11. Maxine NightingaleLead Me On23:35
  12. SimoneOn The Commodores26:20
  13. The CommodoresZoom26:51
  14. SimoneOn Omar33:05
  15. OmarThere's Nothing Like This33:23
  16. SimoneOn Jalen Ngonda37:10
  17. Jalen NgondaCome Around and Love Me37:38
  18. SimoneOn Change40:26
  19. ChangeHold Tight (Long Version)40:37
  20. SimoneOn Ingram45:32
  21. IngramWith You45:49
  22. SimoneOn Atlantic Starr50:19
  23. Atlantic StarrYou50:47
  24. SimoneOn Chrisette Michele54:21
  25. Chrisette MicheleHome54:48
Full tracklist on Mixcloud.
From the show
“Omar, from Canterbury, released There's Nothing Like This in 1990, and it sounded like it had been recorded in a bedroom in America in 1972.”
Simone
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