Went to Brighouse Ritz and Bury Town hall last Friday (Bury for the last 90 mins or so).

Both excellent venues, the difference is, Brighouse has banned the use of Talc on the dance floor, they search holdalls going in and confiscate any talc found. The management say it ruins the dance floor.

The dance floor at Bury was a sea of white powder (Talc of course) making it more like a skating rink than dance floor.

The Longfield Suite also does it's best to stop people using Talc.

If people find it hard to dance on a polished wooden floor, perhaps investing in a pair of decent shoes would help.

I get soooooo pissed off with people who throw down tonnes of talc and dance on it with trainers on. OI, STOP IT YOU'RE MESSING THE DANCE FLOOR UP FOR THE PEOPLE WITH DECENT SHOES ON!!!!!!!

Why can't people buy a pair of leather or suede soled dance shoes instead of ugly 'sneakers'?

the answer to the talc problem is to ban all people wearing trainers from these clubs. Trainers have no place on the northern scene, proper shoes only please.

the answer to the talc problem is to ban all people wearing trainers from these clubs.  Trainers have no place on the northern scene, proper shoes only please.

what utter nonsense.... next you'll be telling us to wear vests and spencers... or would you rather people turned up in a suit and tie... Trainers are the most popular form of footwear in the UK....get over it

Talc was a problem well before Trainers become commonly worn at allnighters.

You tend to find it's people who think they can't dance without talc that are the root of the problem.

Worse still are those who walk up to the dancefloor - throw a load of talc down and then wander off to talk, buy a drink, scratch their arse or whatever....

If you're gonna use talc at least test the dancefloor first... and then put down as much as you need... can't count how many times I've almost gone arse over tit because some idiot has added talk to an already slippy floor...

Cheers,

Joe.

I think maybe Trouble was having a little joke with me there. At Wellingborough on Friday I wore trainers, because the dancefloor is often as slippery as ice. I made the conscious descision to wear trainers for that reason, and they hadnt polished the dancefloor!! It was IMPOSSIBLE to dance on.

I was chatting to Trouble and asked my brother to get some talc so I could have a little dance. Then when Mark put some talc on the floor about a dozen people came over and rubbed their shoes on it. We laughed that by the time Mark had got back to the floor all the talc had been used. LOL.

My own fault for not taking a spare pair of shoes. And to think I once laughed at Trickster polishing the soles of his shoes. Never again.

Sorry Mickey, I couldn't resist;-) Although to be honest there are alot of people who use talc as a fashion item. No matter where they are dancing they chuck down loads of talc in a kind of 'look at me I'm into dancing because I throw down loads of talc' way. Talc is to be used when the floor is damp or sticky, or if someone spills beer. It is NOT to be used on dry clean polished dance floors.

Trainers may be the most popular shoes worn in this country, however Eamonn is the most popular record sold in this country at the moment, it doesn't mean it has a place on northern soul dance floors.

:-O tee hee

But saying all that, my mate Andy wears trainers, and he's a great dancer (champion). But he doesn' throw down loads of talc and mess up the floor for people in leather or suade souled shoes!

Just to add to the talc debate, Don't you just hate it when people are on the dance floor with drinks, This mixed with talc total disaster!

Phil

Just to add to the talc debate, Don't you just hate it when people are on the dance floor with drinks, This mixed with talc total disaster!

Dave Rimmer had the best idea at the Febuary CIS allnighter, he stopped the music and asked everyone with a drink in their hand to kindly leave the dance floor. It worked!!!!

Did anybody else go to the Leighton Buzzard nighter some time in (I'm guessing) 1987 or 88 when the venue was cancelled on the night. We all stood around twiddling our thumbs while Jon Buck tried to come up with an alternative. On the point of drifting away, he suddenly came back and we all headed off to the Blue Circle Cement Works social club. Fantastic on-the-hoof thinking but the whole area was covered in cement dust which got trod in as the night wore on...that, mixed with sweat and condensation meant that by about 5am you were dancing in about a quarter-inch of setting concrete. After that, talc was easy.

Oh yes Dan i remember it well my shoes were ruined and my bag had sat in what appeared to be a cement and water puddle.....yes it was like rock hard concrete on the bottom but they were happy days!!!! ;-) xxx

A couple of people on the list, may remember Snowys self talcing shoes @ Fleetwood a couple of Years ago.

Ian

I remember the Blue circle club. Didnt it have a carpeted floor and the "dancefloor" was about 6 feet square in the middle of the carpet. I remember going to a nighter in Leicester or Coventry at about that time and the dance floor was concrete. No amount of talc would have helped.

You might be talking about the Coventry nighters...first few were in the Cov Leisure Centre and the first three or four of those were in the big room which had a sports-tiled floor...though liberal use of Johnson's did help...very liberal

By the way, I think you're right about the Blue Circle dance floor...I remember going nuts to Gene Toones, spinning off the wood, over some carpet and hitting the wall and then completing the manouevre in reverse (without the spin - by this time it was stagger), missing people and tables in both directions only by some sort of divine providence and rejoining the concrete postage stamp as though nothing had happened.

The worst thing ever has got to be these people that make a big show of putting on their shoes at the side of the dancefloor, tucking their beer towel into their belt then chucking half a carton of talc all over the floor. Then what do they go and do??? Dance like Your Dad at a wedding!!!

The worst thing ever has got to be these people that make a big show of putting on their shoes at the side of the dancefloor, tucking their beer towel into their belt then chucking half a carton of talc all over the floor.  Then what do they go and do???  Dance like Your Dad at a wedding!!!

Jodie,

Most of them will be the same age as your Dad !!!!

Went to rare soul nita on saturday 17th April at Sheridans. Music brill, dj line up mega, dance floor dangerous!

It was so hot in there with no ventilation the dancefloor got wet with condensation.

It got so bad some of us fell over and some just didn't dance.

Fair play though, loads of talc on the floor to soak up the moisture and opening some doors made it loads better. Not complaining, still had a great night.

Just to add to the talc debate, Don't you just hate it when people are on the dance floor with drinks, This mixed with talc total disaster!

Or even worse some inconsiderate bastard with a fag in their mouth (or hand).

I cast my mind back to the early '80s, and distinctly remember Keb Darge used to sometimes dance with a fag in his hand - spins and all!!!

Gene

Ha ha , you're dead right Gene or stuck out of the corner of his mouth LOL

maybe it's my memory playing tricks but while drinks were frowned upon as much

as today, nobody seemed too worried about ciggies years ago ??

Dave G

I wore trainers to the 100 club a while back (not perfect for that notorious surface, but hell i wanted comfort when i walked back to kings cross) well i asked Keb Darge for " The Look On Your Face" which he duly played, desparately i begged a small amount of talc, threw it in front of me, then within a matter of seconds i got cramp in my foot, i beat a retreat to the seats crippled, then proceded to see my talc whisked away by hungry wolves, who all enjoyed Mr Phelps while i contorted like a deranged madman.........