Clifton Hall Rotherham March 26th 1982 - 

Fabulous!

Just listened to both parts.

Such a Great nighter, way ahead of its time.

Thank you for posting.

Sean

Can't remember what the first track is?

Got it now. Available anywhere? - Bill Brandon-Space Age Lover

Edited June 7, 200916 yr by Tony Turner

This is great stuff.....thanks for posting......this night is slightly before my time all nighter wise, and never made in to Clifton Hall though it was still going when I started going to all nighters.

Don't want to detract from the thread, so if someone wants to move this then fine, but on a subject I've touched on before and just find fascinating.................if the NS traditionalists at the time accepted the 70's/80's stuff then (and I know that not not all did), why do those same people shun soulful dance now? What was/is the difference? Surely the sound of these records back then was as far removed from the traditional sound as the step to "soulful dance" is now. What's the difference between Allan Harris and The Muthafunkaz soul content wise? If it was "ahead of its time".....that's a compliment isn't it?......but to some who found this a great thing back then, soulful dance (and I MEAN soulful) is like the anti-christ!! I find this absolutely fascinating............sorry if that's anoraky!!!

Hope I've made that clear!

Cheers,

Mark R

This is great stuff.....thanks for posting......this night is slightly before my time all nighter wise, and never made in to Clifton Hall though it was still going when I started going to all nighters.

Don't want to detract from the thread, so if someone wants to move this then fine, but on a subject I've touched on before and just find fascinating.................if the NS traditionalists at the time accepted the 70's/80's stuff then (and I know that not not all did), why do those same people shun soulful dance now? What was/is the difference? Surely the sound of these records back then was as far removed from the traditional sound as the step to "soulful dance" is now. What's the difference between Allan Harris and The Muthafunkaz soul content wise? If it was "ahead of its time".....that's a compliment isn't it?......but to some who found this a great thing back then, soulful dance (and I MEAN soulful) is like the anti-christ!! I find this absolutely fascinating............sorry if that's anoraky!!!

Hope I've made that clear!

Cheers,

I went to wigan and the modern stuff was played there ie over the top etc it carried on being played at rotherham and stafford

and also morcombe pier have a listen to the refosoul clip for 1980 gary rushbrook and see what you think cheers murph

This is great stuff.....thanks for posting......this night is slightly before my time all nighter wise, and never made in to Clifton Hall though it was still going when I started going to all nighters.

Don't want to detract from the thread, so if someone wants to move this then fine, but on a subject I've touched on before and just find fascinating.................if the NS traditionalists at the time accepted the 70's/80's stuff then (and I know that not not all did), why do those same people shun soulful dance now? What was/is the difference? Surely the sound of these records back then was as far removed from the traditional sound as the step to "soulful dance" is now. What's the difference between Allan Harris and The Muthafunkaz soul content wise? If it was "ahead of its time".....that's a compliment isn't it?......but to some who found this a great thing back then, soulful dance (and I MEAN soulful) is like the anti-christ!! I find this absolutely fascinating............sorry if that's anoraky!!!

Hope I've made that clear!

Cheers,

Mark R

There aint any Mark..........we're still out there & on the whole speaking for myself still collecting, dancing & when asked DJing soulful dance music from across the decades.........i am into NS always have been, always will be, but to me it emcompasses far more than 6ts, it always has.......i dance, collect & DJ 6ts thru to tomorrow, if its got the Xfactor then its got me !!!.

Top soundfile BTW, takes me back to a far simpler time........were if it was good ya danced, regardless .

I want a Nighter that mixes the whole lot up in one room again pse .

Russ

There aint any Mark..........we're still out there & on the whole speaking for myself still collecting, dancing & when asked DJing soulful dance music from across the decades.........i am into NS always have been, always will be, but to me it emcompasses far more than 6ts, it always has.......i dance, collect & DJ 6ts thru to tomorrow, if its got the Xfactor then its got me !!!.

Top soundfile BTW, takes me back to a far simpler time........were if it was good ya danced, regardless .

I want a Nighter that mixes the whole lot up in one room again pse .

Russ

Me too ! good call

Jayne.x.

There aint any Mark..........we're still out there & on the whole speaking for myself still collecting, dancing & when asked DJing soulful dance music from across the decades.........i am into NS always have been, always will be, but to me it emcompasses far more than 6ts, it always has.......i dance, collect & DJ 6ts thru to tomorrow, if its got the Xfactor then its got me !!!.

Top soundfile BTW, takes me back to a far simpler time........were if it was good ya danced, regardless .

I want a Nighter that mixes the whole lot up in one room again pse .

Russ

+1

Hope I don't upset anyone and definitely don't mean to but I went to CH a couple of times and Cleethorpes Winter Gardens (and Sheff Tiffanies) at about the same time I used to sit and wait for the few 60's they'd play to come on before I'd dance (narrow mindedly). Still enjoyed the events but with the exception of a few 70's-present day sounds have never evoked the passion in me that 60's do. That's not to say stuff played then (and now) was/is bad - its just not my cup of tea. Wasn't long before the likes of Benny Troy etc was in my box (hypocritical b*****d that I am) lol

Must say though, that Clifton Hall was a fab venue with a great atmosphere - very big if I remember rightly.

Hope I don't upset anyone and definitely don't mean to but I went to CH a couple of times and Cleethorpes Winter Gardens (and Sheff Tiffanies) at about the same time I used to sit and wait for the few 60's they'd play to come on before I'd dance (narrow mindedly). Still enjoyed the events but with the exception of a few 70's-present day sounds have never evoked the passion in me that 60's do. That's not to say stuff played then (and now) was/is bad - its just not my cup of tea. Wasn't long before the likes of Benny Troy etc was in my box (hypocritical b*****d that I am) lol

Must say though, that Clifton Hall was a fab venue with a great atmosphere - very big if I remember rightly.

Steve it sounds like i'm from your era mate.I used to do exactly the same as you at clifton Hall.I went from 1983 and used to wait for the majority of 70s tracks to finish and jump up when the late casino R.Searling spins would come on.However nowadays i have come to love the uptempo 70s Clifton Hall,Cleggy winter gardens monsters and half of my record box contains them.Clifton was a fantastic venue one of the best ever no doubt

There aint any Mark..........we're still out there & on the whole speaking for myself still collecting, dancing & when asked DJing soulful dance music from across the decades.........i am into NS always have been, always will be, but to me it emcompasses far more than 6ts, it always has.......i dance, collect & DJ 6ts thru to tomorrow, if its got the Xfactor then its got me !!!.

Top soundfile BTW, takes me back to a far simpler time........were if it was good ya danced, regardless .

I want a Nighter that mixes the whole lot up in one room again pse .

Russ

Nice. If only we could bottle that x-factor?

Re the old - new chestnut though i would argue that technology and production can very often act as an obsticle to finding that soulful feeling one can get from a track. Thats not to say that im anti experimentation, far from it, but for me i have found it much harder to find many of the later, flashier produced songs that flick my switch. Of course they are there but they are even more diamonds in the rough than the under produced, bare your soul, just have to get this song out there kind of music which typifies the majority of 60's Northern.

Did that make any sense at all?

M

How chrystal clear is this . Sounds better from this source than it did on the nights . Lovin' the cover ups. Stopped taping after Wigan / St Ives for some reason, probabaly thought I was too cool for school by then. Nothing I have is a s clear as this tho'.

Brilliant.

I sold Richard a tape in the Clifton hall toilets,i wonder if he still as it

I sold Richard a tape in the Clifton hall toilets,i wonder if he still as it

Could that statement not be misinterpreted somewhat Ken?

Could that statement not be misinterpreted somewhat Ken?

No

i would argue that technology and production can very often act as an obsticle to finding that soulful feeling one can get from a track. Thats not to say that im anti experimentation, far from it, but for me i have found it much harder to find many of the later, flashier produced songs that flick my switch. Of course they are there but they are even more diamonds in the rough than the under produced, bare your soul, just have to get this song out there kind of music which typifies the majority of 60's Northern.

Did that make any sense at all?

M

Lots.

You made your point superbly.

(and I'm known in some quarters as a 'Modern' soul DJ.)

Sean

Edited June 8, 200916 yr by Sean Hampsey

We used to go regularlly, late '80 to '81, on Fridays, and even though the line up was with a few exceptions as we would have the following night at Wigan, it was a real breath of fresh air we made a point not to miss.

The atmosphere was far less stressful, and that lounge made for a great place to relax, ok things did later tighten' up, mirrors above toilet cubicles etc...etc...but it was as the result of events.

Loved the "modern" stuff it just seemed to get a better chance, with not being restricted to two or at best three short time slots during the night, it was great for our Wolvo modern trailblazers to be with as many like minded folk.

Of course the big 60's stuff was also played to keep the Stoke lads happy,(Jeff, Atlas Bob etc...) with Pokes Mad Dog and the Pups c/u going big.

Preston Street Dancers, whistles banners 'n' all, did a few heads at first, but added to the atmosphere, lets be fair.

Great times, we still often recall with true affection, almost 30 years on.

Harpo.....on behalf of all who were there from the West Mids

This is great stuff.....thanks for posting......this night is slightly before my time all nighter wise, and never made in to Clifton Hall though it was still going when I started going to all nighters.

Don't want to detract from the thread, so if someone wants to move this then fine, but on a subject I've touched on before and just find fascinating.................if the NS traditionalists at the time accepted the 70's/80's stuff then (and I know that not not all did), why do those same people shun soulful dance now? What was/is the difference? Surely the sound of these records back then was as far removed from the traditional sound as the step to "soulful dance" is now. What's the difference between Allan Harris and The Muthafunkaz soul content wise? If it was "ahead of its time".....that's a compliment isn't it?......but to some who found this a great thing back then, soulful dance (and I MEAN soulful) is like the anti-christ!! I find this absolutely fascinating............sorry if that's anoraky!!!

Hope I've made that clear!

Cheers,

Mark R

No apology required, Mark.

Fascinates me too, particularly as I saw it all develop, evolve and regress before my eyes.

At that point (Clifton Hall days) the scene was truly progressive - playing a mix of old and underplayed, new, newly discovered and recent US product (Soul Music) just as it always had done throughout its history. Fortunately, by then, the just plain 'Bad Northern' and 'Pop Slop' element had been almost completely exorcised from the playlists, with the accent being on continuing progress and soulful quality.

However, by the mid 90's certain sectors decided it would be a good idea to turn the clock back a few decades!

Now I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that the 60's was the finest decade for Soul music, but I felt that there were still good releases coming through in the 70's & 80's that deserved exposure in the ONE room and that these were things which still had appeal for 'Northern' tastebuds.

We did our best to keep it on track (despite the '60's Mafia' backlash) and kept on picking out the newer tunes that still had 'Northern' appeal. For me the real threat was the 'Modern Scene' going off on its own - which, sadly, it eventually did.

But to bring that forward to this century, the sad truth is... the quality just isn't there 'en masse' these days (IMO) and hasn't been for over 10 years - Most of the 'Soulful Dance' around is far more 'dance' than it is TRULY soulful.

I was only saying to Martin Dixon (Cunnie) last night, that I'm quite appalled by much of the tripe that some try to pass off as Soul music these days. For me a lot of this so called 'Soul' that gets played is almost as bad an experience to my ears as listening to Russ and Co at the Casino playing the Gary Lewis and Brian Hylands etc. A far too casual, lazy and easy approach... "Hey... it sounds a bit like Soul... and you can dance like fook to it - so that'll do".

FFS Give me the real vocals... the Johnny Taylor's, the Randy Brown's, Lenny William's, Bobby Womack's, J. Blackfoot's, Carl Simms, Andre Lee's, Shirley Brown's, Anthony Hamilton's please. Most of what I hear these days from the so called 'Soulful' house fraternity just doesn't measure up. In recent times you've got to look REALLY hard to find the true gems and I'm afraid many DJ's (it seems ) just don't have the resources or ears to know the difference between an Omar Cunningham and a Mario Bondi!

Your post has given me an opportunity to speak out on this subject, Mark - (and I'm not counting you in there, cos I know you have history... and an ear) - but I can well see why the 'Northern' crowd don't latch on too readily to some of the tosh which is promoted as 'Soul Music' nowadays.

Fact is - Most of it just aint!

Sean

PS: I quite like Muthafunkaz- but, lets be honest... we're not talkin Darrell Banks here are we.

Edited June 8, 200916 yr by Sean Hampsey

this is great, thanks for posting

i cut my all niter teeth at clifton hall , although id been to wigan a couple of times its clifton hall that i still remember best . i remember catching the bus home to halifax and getting a northern soul education from the likes of Gibby , Brocky , Chris Alderson Ady harley and a few more who slip my mind whos knowlege was way abouth mine . it was good being to young to be embaressed about asking who sang what or how mutch that cost , now if i hear a record i dont know i feel embaressed asking lol , this is bringing back fond memmories and like the song says " cant get over these memmories "

Great times, we still often recall with true affection, almost 30 years on.

Now thats scary when you put it like that mate

Could that statement not be misinterpreted somewhat Ken?

allsorts bought and sold in them dark recesses!

Fabulous!

Just listened to both parts.

Such a Great nighter, way ahead of its time.

Thank you for posting.

Sean

Dead right Sean, So many great progressive tunes played at the time and some that have now been re-discovered and played to the masses, Who probably missed them the first time around !!! Typical examples - Tyrone Barklay - Man of Value, Daybreak - I Need Love, etc... Remember selling lots of those and tons more like 'em at the time.

Best..... Dave Raistrick.

absolutley great venue.. used to love it there ...frikin great dance floor and it was massive

It also had many great soul nights midweek and followed on from the Assembly rooms soul nights that bred many hundreds of soul fans.

Great memories.

Ed

Thanks for posting that..

Fond memory of Clifton hall as me a few others were just finding our feet on the scene..

cheers

Steve

It also had many great soul nights midweek and followed on from the Assembly rooms soul nights that bred many hundreds of soul fans.

Great memories.

Ed

Remember them both well Tues & Thurs.Windmill on Sun after KGB Allnighter (What happened to Derek Sheldon,

as a Rotherham lad I remember these times so well.... loved "The Windmill" sunday nights.... great crowd ......and yes, .... the assembly rooms, Is that still there ? .. KGB, Samanthas ,...Tiffanys... Baileys etc etc.. Clifton Hall was superb ! (not forgeting the "dragon" at Dinnington eh Sean )

Steve Croft , Ajax ..... I live in notts now but was was talking to Smiggy the other month at "magna"... no one seems to know what happened to Derek ??

Pete KTF

Edited August 22, 200915 yr by casper

as a Rotherham lad I remember these times so well.... loved "The Windmill" sunday nights.... great crowd ......and yes, .... the assembly rooms, Is that still there ? .. KGB, Samanthas ,...Tiffanys... Baileys etc etc.. Clifton Hall was superb ! (not forgeting the "dragon" at Dinnington eh Sean )

Steve Croft , Ajax ..... I live in notts now but was was talking to Smiggy the other month at "magna"... no one seems to know what happened to Derek ??

Pete KTF

It must be 25 years plus since Derek Sheldon sold his collection , and turned his back on the scene .

Someone told me a while ago that he was at a wedding they attended , but he kept himself to himself .

Malc Burton

Edited August 22, 200915 yr by Malc Burton