Ashton Ukrainian Club - Ashton-under-lyne

WOW,WOW,WOW Ashton Ukrainian delivers again big time. In the current economic climate, people voting with their feet yet again!! We aim to provide a top quality night out and last night was truly humbling to see more new attendees, we had a few of our regulars missing, sorry guys you missed a cracker!!

The warm weather meant a few turned up a bit later, so a slow burn , kicked into maybe one of the best we've had and after Phil Dunn opening set, we had a non too shabby early set from Phil Dick rare as you dare, unreleased gems and seldom heard classics meant for a great spot.

Derek Watmough followed and kept the assembled masses moving with some great requests programmed in, Intertains "I need your love" hit the spot!!

Phil Threlfall up next completed a tale of "three Phil's" first up Appointments "I saw you there" well and truly lit the fuse for a monumental spot. Willie Tee "having so much fun" Purple Mundy and so many more.

Tsop Manchester Baz Maleady followed, just when you thought it couldn't get any better? IT DID!!! An absolute master class in selections, presentation and reading the floor, take a bow sir and enjoy the attached video snippet!!

Chris Churm finished the night with the usual quality mix, last record?? They were having non of it Cody Black "Mr Blue" finishing a "you had to be there" occasion!!

Nice to catch up with Martyn Bradley, memories of the great Albrighton sessions and the fastest delivery driver in the North West Debbie Carty delivering the odd rare soul gem as well as Motor Parts!!

Please keep checking back on here for details of our next night, saturday June 17th is the date for your diary!!

Having missed the last two events, it was great to be back with like minded folk ,enjoying what is delivered each month by those spinning their brilliant sets. Last night went so quickly which is testimony to what a varied range was played and enjoyed by the dancers and those partial to sitting and listening to what was being delivered. A big thank you once again to the promoters, Djs and of course the bar staff who keep everyone quenched and happy.

I've not commented on the Ashton Ukrainian Club's Rare Soul Night recently, not because I've not enjoyed it, it's been excellent but didn't have any more superlatives for it. However last Saturday's was so good I felt the need to comment.

Derek and Janet Watmough kindly gave Sandy and me a lift there, we were as usual joined by Paddy. We arrived about 7.35 and there were quite a few in.

At 7.45 the first guest Phil Dick hit the decks with a set of rare soul of the first order. Tracks like the Mello Souls; Ramona Collins' You've Been Cheating; Court Davis' Try To Think What You're Doing; Sidney Barnes' Cheatin' Kind; Honey & The Bees' Dynamite Exploded and many more, quite a few I didn't know. A nice taster for the Cleethorpes weekend.

Quite a hard job to follow Phil but Derek Watmough was up to the job. Among his plays were the Topics' She's So Fine; Arthur Freeman's You Got Me Uptight; Ollie Jackson's Wipe Away The Teardrops; and Rocky Gil & The Bishops' It's Not The End. Lately I've used Shazam to help me note the records played, my memory is not as good as it once was, and it failed to find more of Derek's set than any other DJ that night. There were a lot of records played during the night that were new to me.

At 9.45 Phil Threlfall started his set with I Saw You There by the Appointments following it with the Puzzles' I Need You; Man From Soul; I'm Moanin' by Rose Brooks and I'm Having So Much Fun by Willie Tee; the Magicians' Love, Let's Try Again and Hank Hodge's Eye For An Eye. Phil ended his set with the Purple Mundi's Stop Hurting Me Baby. Phil continued the high standard set by the earlier DJs.

Baz Maleedy was the fourth guest and kept the floor moving with more rare classy soul. The Lovelites' I Don't Want To Cry; Darrell Banks' I'm Knocking On Your Heart (I started dancing to this but had to give up, too long for me these days); Tell Me Baby; What Can I Do by George Kirby; Rudy Love's Sufferin' Wrath; Hayes Cotton's Black Wings Have My Angel; one you don't hear often Joan Baker's Everybody's Talking; Nancy Butts' I Want To Hold Your Hand give an idea of Baz's set, great tunes.

For the last set Chris Churm took over and really kept the floor going with records like She Just Sits There; Drown My Heart; I Need My Baby; Down And Out. He said his last record would be Mr Blue by Cody Black but the crowd demanded more so he actually finished with Ain't Gonna Give You Up by the Volumes.

For me the night flew by, a sign that it had been very enjoyable. It was good to see so many friends there: Carole and Donna; Sue Scott and Les; Joyann; Dave and Maria; Joan Livesey; and others, too many to mention. The Ashton Ukrainian is a friendly club with knowledgeable people, it never lets you down. The guys who run it can be proud; it's a night not to be missed if you are serious about our music.

Once again thanks to the promoters, DJs, and staff of the club; and to all present for making this a great night.