Supreme victory for Motown fans

Two British Tamla Motown fans have won a 10-year battle to persuade record giant Polygram to open their vaults and release an album of rare tracks.

Chris King and Jim Stewart refused to take no for answer from the owners of the Motown catalogue and are now celebrating the release of This Is Northern Soul. It features 24 rarely-heard tracks from legendary singers from the mid-60s like Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight (left), Frank Wilson and even Motown's backing group the Andantes. Mr Stewart, 50, a CD supplier from Swanley, Kent, and Mr King, a DJ from Nottingham, hope to sell 12,000 copies of the compilation to ensure a second album is commissioned.