Springfield Allnighter

I'd been eagerly awaiting this night ever since last years event ( which for personal reasons I had to miss ... but as it was my 'local team' from the hallowed basement on tour I soon caught up with them back on Oxford St. ) and before I knew it a year had flown by and the weekend had arrived.

It was just like the 'old days' when you travelled the length of the country just to see a select band of dj's in order to hear a selection of sounds that you wouldn't hear elsewhere , and with Colin Law , Alan Kitchener , Roger Banks and Dean Anderson on the bill the small matter of an eight hour round trip seemed like a small price to pay in order to get a proper all-nighter fix .

( My apologies for missing Dean's set as I was involved in a lengthy battle with the finest burger , chips and onion rings at the time ... )

The venue is superb , very plush , great food and plenty of rooms for those 'elderly' folk who need a day to recover before heading home after the excesses.

Obvious highlights for me were Colin and Kitch whose selections were outstanding as expected , ( the Soul Dynamics and Alice Clark made the trip worthwhile on their own) and Roger who never fails to play an unexpected set of goodies .

   7:15pm to 4:30am was plenty for my legs so after a few goodbyes it was time to toddle off back down the M6/A14 for another four hours to home in Suffolk via Ely to drop off my travelling companion.

Was great to catch up with friends old and new in very comfortable surroundings ( apart from the very soggy smoking area which all but ruined my soles , something other than deep carpet/astroturf might be more suited to the rather damp Welsh climate .... )

In a similar vein to last years Va Va Voom all-dayer this will probably be the event of the year for me , though the next Va Va Voom do in March and September's 40th anniversary 100 Club will be very much up there no doubt.

All said and done it's great to know that there are still a few promoters out there that can deliver the goods in spades and Andy has done a great job of carrying on where Pete left off , can't wait to see what he puts together for the next one .

With a bit of luck I should be fully recovered from the weekend's adventure in time for the next 100 Club ... 

P.S. Big thanks to Karl for remembering the 45 ...