.I WILL PUT MY HAT IN THE RING FIRST. BEST DJ OF ALL TIME ....BUTCH ..FOR HIS GREAT DISCOVERIES AND FANTASTIC MEGA OLDIES....

MORE RECENT. KEITH MONEY FOR HIS GREAT COLLECTION AND FANTASTIC TASTE. NOW YOU PLEASE, WHO AND WHY

soul sam THE BOSS

ahead of the game for years

I agree Butch has broken some fantastic tunes but it has to be Rob Marriot for me.

Rob was so enthusiastic and approachable and his records weren't bad either

So for me, Rob Marriot without doubt

I agree Butch has broken some fantastic tunes but it has to be Rob Marriot for me.

Rob was so enthusiastic and approachable and his records weren't bad either

So for me, Rob Marriot without doubt

I'll pass that onto Rob when I see him Joan, will be good for him to hear.

For me, Searling. In part selfish for the time I was busiest, but also for the quality amidst a tide of mediocre sounds pushing the floor. C90 tape at the ready.

.I WILL PUT MY HAT IN THE RING FIRST. BEST DJ OF ALL TIME ....BUTCH ..FOR HIS GREAT DISCOVERIES AND FANTASTIC MEGA OLDIES....

MORE RECENT. KEITH MONEY FOR HIS GREAT COLLECTION AND FANTASTIC TASTE. NOW YOU PLEASE, WHO AND WHY

Alan Day and Soul Sam at Catacombs, used to love Alan Days introductions, 'And heres another bit of plastic', classic

guy and keb and dve thorley for me, i was literally shocked at the new (to me) 60s tunes that i was hearing, breath of fresh air to my young ears

jason

Never really seen the old DJ's but Soul Sam i have and think he is a great DJ as for today Mick Cooper whenever he DJ's now he does a good job

Only been into the scene for around 7 years and have done a fair bit of travelling and seen quite a few dj's along the way. The best Dj for me and what I mean by best is making me want to dance for the full 1hr/45 minute set would have to be either Karl Heard, Mik Parry, Mace or Hoss. I do like my upfront 60's, soul + funk + Rnb as you can probably tell from my DJ selections. The thing about these dj's which makes them unique to most is there ablity to mix it up from Soul right through to Jazz. They also seem to find new fresh tunes without any compromise on quality. What I would Call Proper DJ's not just people who can afford splash out on big money rare tunes that will get the chin strokers excited. If you were to put them in front of a audience who have no idea of what Soul/Rnb scene is all about and they'll still get the place rocking!

Edited February 16, 201015 yr by callum_64

Daddy, Grand Daddy, Brother, Uncle a legend.

I agree Butch has broken some fantastic tunes but it has to be Rob Marriot for me.

Rob was so enthusiastic and approachable and his records weren't bad either

So for me, Rob Marriot without doubt

I agree with you Joan , Rob was so ahead of his time , if he was on the scene now , even with the records he had back in the early 90's, he would be on top of the game .Like you say , he was such a nice guy as well , which always helps .Of the current DJ's Butch and Keith Money are always worth travelling for , as was Richard Searling back in the day , he must have some records stashed away that would blow a few minds even now ....Best wishes ,Eddie

Not for what was in his box but for his mic work then for me it has to be ---

Martyn Ellis circa 73/74

Only been into the scene for around 7 years and have done a fair bit of travelling and seen quite a few dj's along the way. The best Dj for me and what I mean by best is making me want to dance for the full 1hr/45 minute set would have to be either Karl Heard, Mik Parry, Mace or Hoss. I do like my upfront 60's, soul + funk + Rnb as you can probably tell from my DJ selections. The thing about these dj's which makes them unique to most is there ablity to mix it up from Soul right through to Jazz. They also seem to find new fresh tunes without any compromise on quality. What I would Call Proper DJ's not just people who can afford splash out on big money rare tunes that will get the chin strokers excited. If you were to put them in front of a audience who have no idea of what Soul/Rnb scene is all about and they'll still get the place rocking!

Callum could be young in years and time on the scene but does hit the nail on the head for me with his postings....

I know Butch is a addmirer of Colin Curtis and to a certain degree thinks he does not get the recognition he deserves.

Old: Dave Lee Travis

New: Annie Nightingale

Simon

Ginger taylor...a mix of great taste ,tunes (newies,oldies,etc), and better human!! Love this man! the goodfather of Valencia Northern Soul Club.

I agree Butch has broken some fantastic tunes but it has to be Rob Marriot for me.

Rob was so enthusiastic and approachable and his records weren't bad either

So for me, Rob Marriot without doubt

Right with you there Joan, boundless enthusiasm and great taste, ask him for a tape and it was there the next week.

Kev

Ian clark was my favourite across the board, rare, classic, 60s, 70s but always with great taste.

Number 1........Butch(Way ahead of the others,i mean way ahead...class)

Number 2........Karl Heard(always plays something a bit different)

Number 3........Keith Money(an awesome collection)

Upand coming Ones to watch out for

Bearsy.......passionate about soul,always gives it his best shot

Dr Pickles......as above,improving each time he plays out

Stu Cheetham.......a class act indeed

This is my opinion

Toby

An un-sung hero for me is CLIFF STEEL, followed by Carl Fortnum and Ian Clark , all 3 play something a little off the wall and have superb original collections built up over ,many years and have the DJ skills to rescue the dance floor if needed.

Best all round DJ Rob Smith by miles !!

Rob

Only been into the scene for around 7 years and have done a fair bit of travelling and seen quite a few dj's along the way. The best Dj for me and what I mean by best is making me want to dance for the full 1hr/45 minute set would have to be either Karl Heard, Mik Parry, Mace or Hoss. I do like my upfront 60's, soul + funk + Rnb as you can probably tell from my DJ selections. The thing about these dj's which makes them unique to most is there ablity to mix it up from Soul right through to Jazz. They also seem to find new fresh tunes without any compromise on quality. What I would Call Proper DJ's not just people who can afford splash out on big money rare tunes that will get the chin strokers excited. If you were to put them in front of a audience who have no idea of what Soul/Rnb scene is all about and they'll still get the place rocking!

so they never got there without playing any big or rare tunes then ...... mmm 7 years you say '

Edited February 16, 201015 yr by SOULBOY45

Pretty much agree with all the selections so far:

Then: Richard Searling

Now: Butch, Terry Jones

Others then: Soul Sam, Gary Rushbrooke, Ian Clark, Keb n Guy, Rob Marriot, Carl Fortnum, Gary Spencer, Dave Greet, Pat Brady, Nev Wherry, Robin Salter, Adam, Poke.

Others Now: Karl Heard, Soul Sam, Dave Abbott, Mick H, Mick Smith (best oldies DJ in the country bar non), Ady Croasdell, Stu Cheetham, Andy Taylor, Dean Anderson, Kitch, Andy Dyson, Steve Plum, phewwwwwwwwwww plus more too

Me in my day because I was fucking ace lol

Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Tats & Sean Hampsey combined age 213 but what a set of records

Only been into the scene for around 7 years and have done a fair bit of travelling and seen quite a few dj's along the way. The best Dj for me and what I mean by best is making me want to dance for the full 1hr/45 minute set would have to be either Karl Heard, Mik Parry, Mace or Hoss. I do like my upfront 60's, soul + funk + Rnb as you can probably tell from my DJ selections. The thing about these dj's which makes them unique to most is there ablity to mix it up from Soul right through to Jazz. They also seem to find new fresh tunes without any compromise on quality. What I would Call Proper DJ's not just people who can afford splash out on big money rare tunes that will get the chin strokers excited. If you were to put them in front of a audience who have no idea of what Soul/Rnb scene is all about and they'll still get the place rocking!

Good well thought out post mate

Russ

Tats & Sean Hampsey combined age 213 but what a set of records

Bollox....need to add Sean Hamster to my list deffo

Edited February 16, 201015 yr by Russ Vickers

There are alot of great dj's

But my fav's would have to be........................

Ian G - A man that can fill any dance floor with a great selection of oldies

Pete & Liz - There clubs "For Dancers" was superb & now "Follow Your Heart"......60s Underplayed oldies

Brooksey - Always a superb selection of rare & underplayed with a bit of early R n B

Cressy - Always an interesting selection of oldies & underplayed........I love that Cashmeres-Showstopper

Ian P - My very own Ian.........I know im bias but he is great on the decks & can fill a floor playing, his fav oldies, & a bit of rare & underplayed........The Antellects-Love Slave & The Deadbeats No Second Chance...........my fav's!

Debbie x

Edited February 16, 201015 yr by parkash

1 - Geoff Rudd - always a full floor......nuff said.

2 - Terry Jones - ditto the above,and a good friend.will always tell you the next biggie.

3 - Bob Jeffries - ditto thrice......when Terry retires Bob will be the master !!

Oh and dont forget me little Bolton mate - Dollythered.

so they never got there without playing any big or rare tunes then ...... mmm 7 years you say '

Course they've got big tunes, If you're a dj you need to have big rare tunes IMO. That Little Suzie that KH plays is one of the best records I've ever heard. It's the way they put the records together and build the atmosphere which does it for me.

Not wanting to contradict myself here but I bet if you handed them a 100 box of £20 records they'd still get the dancefloor rocking! Then the £20 records would double if not treble in price , that's how it usually works.

Like I say propr Dj's, they can read the floor like a book!

My tuppence worth..

Mid to late 70's:

Soul Sam - for his passion (until he started playing the wierd stuff like Cartoon Candy Carnival et al)

Richard Searling - for his status

Brian Rae - for his classic MC'ing

Early to mid 80's

Richard Searling - for some awesome tunes

Pat Brady - ditto

Mid to late 80's

Guy & Keb - for their complete disregard of the 'status quo' (and I don't mean that rock band either) & spoiling everyone with the amount of 'new' tunes they played

Mark Bicknell - 'cos he'd be upset if I didn't mention him

Keith Whitson, Jock O'Connor, Colin Law, Alan & Steve Walls, Andy Dennison, Jim Tennant, Mark Linton - for showing us an effin good time ("get up on the floor ya b******s")

Roger Banks - for championing the R&B side of Soul

90's

Dean & Kitch - for carrying on where Guy & Keb left off

Can't really say anything about now 'cos I don't travel often enough to have a valid opinion.

Mick

Edited February 16, 201015 yr by Mick Howard

Me in my day because I was fucking ace lol

Regards - Mark Bicknell.

YOU WERN'T BAD AT ALL MARK......DON'T HAVE TO BE PAST TENSE THOUGH; YOU GOT THE CHOONS

loved this scene for nearly 40 years and have witnessed all of the greats and to be honest levine was sat on a pedestal at the time the cats dj blue max blew him away with tunes ian never knew existed, yet ian pushed the boundries at the mecca especially when opened the second front with what we now call modern/xover.

richard searling became even more of a maestro as wigan came to a close...everyone was trailing in his wake and remember...he was there at the launch of stafford. ive been reliably informed that any notion of records frollicking with gay abandonment in his garage are pure fantasy....he's been to the mountain...why go back again?.

the 100 club and kings hall stoke introduced me to butch, some ten years after stafford, a venue i sadly missed but i would assume that his colloection and statud as a dj had advanced far beyond any other and even now, he's quite possibly, one of only a few privalaged people who can produced from the magicians hat, tunes that no-one has ever heard of or simply dont remember.

love ginger taylor to bits!, the gift of the gab, to me , is a pre-requisite of any djs standing on the scene....any tom,dick or harry can stand on a stage and spin tunes but what really cranks people up and makes them crave to dance is someone telling you how much youre going to like this record....thats enough to invite you to get off your chair. ray also has the knack of taking a tune thats sitting on the fence, wavering between obscurity and popularity, and launching it into stellar orbit.

seen kenny and kieth dj together a few times, kieth seems to have a penchant for tunes that are left-field....very much in the style of an evergreen soul sam...theres a man who has always been out on his own, never obeying the system or following the crowd.

kenny burrell is the king of the big tunes and scotland to boot!, not to be underestimated with semi-knowns and obscurities either as i have witnessed in the big fella's playroom.always loved his sets at the ritz, particularly "rarest of the rare" on may day bank-holiday and rona dancing...superb!.

lots of other hard workers that make this scene so colourful and diverse such as: nige brown, nige grice, pete eccles, julian bentley, baz maleedy, bob hinsley, robbo, flanny, sean chapman, dave rimmer, ade croasdel, mick smith, mick.h etc, loads too numerous to mention but they are all striving to play crackin' tunes and deserve our support.

if you elect someone as a no.1, theyre there to be shot at, thats a burden im sure no one wants....lets face it, there isnt a person on this planet who has every single record that ever existed, and if they did, they'd never be able to play them all...isnt it better to have a myriad of djs all playing different tunes and all of us remarking how good the tunes are?.

no number ones please,....just people wearing their hearts on their sleeves to please us, the dancers, with great music.

rob.h

loved this scene for nearly 40 years and have witnessed all of the greats and to be honest levine was sat on a pedestal at the time the cats dj blue max blew him away with tunes ian never knew existed, yet ian pushed the boundries at the mecca especially when opened the second front with what we now call modern/xover.

richard searling became even more of a maestro as wigan came to a close...everyone was trailing in his wake and remember...he was there at the launch of stafford. ive been reliably informed that any notion of records frollicking with gay abandonment in his garage are pure fantasy....he's been to the mountain...why go back again?.

the 100 club and kings hall stoke introduced me to butch, some ten years after stafford, a venue i sadly missed but i would assume that his colloection and statud as a dj had advanced far beyond any other and even now, he's quite possibly, one of only a few privalaged people who can produced from the magicians hat, tunes that no-one has ever heard of or simply dont remember.

love ginger taylor to bits!, the gift of the gab, to me , is a pre-requisite of any djs standing on the scene....any tom,dick or harry can stand on a stage and spin tunes but what really cranks people up and makes them crave to dance is someone telling you how much youre going to like this record....thats enough to invite you to get off your chair. ray also has the knack of taking a tune thats sitting on the fence, wavering between obscurity and popularity, and launching it into stellar orbit.

seen kenny and kieth dj together a few times, kieth seems to have a penchant for tunes that are left-field....very much in the style of an evergreen soul sam...theres a man who has always been out on his own, never obeying the system or following the crowd.

kenny burrell is the king of the big tunes and scotland to boot!, not to be underestimated with semi-knowns and obscurities either as i have witnessed in the big fella's playroom.always loved his sets at the ritz, particularly "rarest of the rare" on may day bank-holiday and rona dancing...superb!.

lots of other hard workers that make this scene so colourful and diverse such as: nige brown, nige grice, pete eccles, julian bentley, baz maleedy, bob hinsley, robbo, flanny, sean chapman, dave rimmer, ade croasdel, mick smith, mick.h etc, loads too numerous to mention but they are all striving to play crackin' tunes and deserve our support.

if you elect someone as a no.1, theyre there to be shot at, thats a burden im sure no one wants....lets face it, there isnt a person on this planet who has every single record that ever existed, and if they did, they'd never be able to play them all...isnt it better to have a myriad of djs all playing different tunes and all of us remarking how good the tunes are?.

no number ones please,....just people wearing their hearts on their sleeves to please us, the dancers, with great music.

rob.h

Well said Rob.

Mick

:sleep3:enough to drive you to drink , at the end of the day the sheep factor is still around on all levels .joe blogs plays a record no reaction then joe populer plays it and wow . nowt much changes but if it wasant for most of these peeps i would still be suffering back to back oldies i supose

in the old days it was martyn ellis . today i just dont know

Edited February 16, 201015 yr by steptoe

for me it has to be Gary Rushbrooke a hero to me when i started on the scene

There's been some great DJ's but for me the best of all time has to be Butch. He was top in the mid 80's and he's still there. The mid to late 80's/early 90's (after Keb and Guy) no one came close to him with the quality and quantity of new discoveries. Still the same the last ten years or so. Only Andy Dyson in recent years close to him in terms of discoveries. Aside from Guy and Keb, Pat Brady had one of the best sets mid 80's, Kitch and Dean not far behind, Gary Spencer, Carl Fortnum and of course Rob Marriott....and more all playing some top quality 60's newies!! I've beeen spoilt over the years.

for me the man with ALL the sounds is Tony Clark of notts, this man has everything and feel so lucky he is a resident at Orrell soul club

You really like all the ranking stuff over there on the island...?!?

.I WILL PUT MY HAT IN THE RING FIRST. BEST DJ OF ALL TIME ....BUTCH ..FOR HIS GREAT DISCOVERIES AND FANTASTIC MEGA OLDIES....

MORE RECENT. KEITH MONEY FOR HIS GREAT COLLECTION AND FANTASTIC TASTE. NOW YOU PLEASE, WHO AND WHY

Dj mad monkey always does it for me in 2010 !

He is young, enthusiastic, and bananas !

His monkey mix of of quality rare northern soul oldies, underplayed 60s

with rocking RnB and Popcorn - and a dash of funky latin and ska

makes the monkey boy a top boy at the moment !

As for old people who used to collect and DJ .. Gary Spencer used to

do the best tapes 20 years ago for me.

But DJ monkey bollocks is out there NOW !!!

Edited February 17, 201015 yr by mossy

There's been some great DJ's but for me the best of all time has to be Butch. He was top in the mid 80's and he's still there. The mid to late 80's/early 90's (after Keb and Guy) no one came close to him with the quality and quantity of new discoveries. Still the same the last ten years or so. Only Andy Dyson in recent years close to him in terms of discoveries. Aside from Guy and Keb, Pat Brady had one of the best sets mid 80's, Kitch and Dean not far behind, Gary Spencer, Carl Fortnum and of course Rob Marriott....and more all playing some top quality 60's newies!! I've beeen spoilt over the years.

got to agree with you there but at the moment Andy Dyson floats my boat and as done for a while a lot goes to tasted in music IMHO regards johno

Pretty much agree with all the selections so far:

Then: Richard Searling

Now: Butch, Terry Jones

Others then: Soul Sam, Gary Rushbrooke, Ian Clark, Keb n Guy, Rob Marriot, Carl Fortnum, Gary Spencer, Dave Greet, Pat Brady, Nev Wherry, Robin Salter, Adam, Poke.

Others Now: Karl Heard, Soul Sam, Dave Abbott, Mick H, Mick Smith (best oldies DJ in the country bar non), Ady Croasdell, Stu Cheetham, Andy Taylor, Dean Anderson, Kitch, Andy Dyson, Steve Plum, phewwwwwwwwwww plus more too

Ditto - brilliant selection and so true

well i would like to add that Keith Wilcox, Dave Forrest, Nigel F and Martin Stamford get my vote for today. i know all local but i love them all when DJing. that be like my ideal night for local DJ's. of today

got to agree with you there but at the moment Andy Dyson floats my boat and as done for a while a lot goes to tasted in music IMHO regards johno

you could be right Johnno, Andy probably has more recent discoveries. Butch and Andy by far the top two.

Kyp nottingham

You really like all the ranking stuff over there on the island...?!?

Just give it a moment mate, only until everybody has named his and her best buddies

Seriously though, didn`t we had this thread already not that long ago, and before as well, and before that..dejavu...?

If not here`s my pennys worth

OLD: Don`t know ´cause I am too young, maybe Guy, Keb, Dave Thorley, Ian Clarke and Ady ´cause they still turned up the good stuff when it had become difficult (eighties).

NEW: Butch, Andy Dyson

My picks :

Nev Wherry - enthusiasm

Brian Rae - Mr oldies room

Dave Evison - Still loves the scene

Ian Gee - Mr white demo

Gus(newark) - plays some great underplayed oldies

Soul Sam - still discovering and still enjoying it

I also used to love watching martyn ellis leapin around , also still like to see the legend that is Rob smith manning the decks

IAN

.I WILL PUT MY HAT IN THE RING FIRST. BEST DJ OF ALL TIME ....BUTCH ..FOR HIS GREAT DISCOVERIES AND FANTASTIC MEGA OLDIES....

MORE RECENT. KEITH MONEY FOR HIS GREAT COLLECTION AND FANTASTIC TASTE. NOW YOU PLEASE, WHO AND WHY

Ian Levine and Colin Curtis

Streets ahead at the time - they defined the Northern Soul sound - and changed it several times. In addition CC's last hour defined what became the 70's scene.

Mike

old IAN CLARKE....ROB MARRIOTT

NEW ANDY DYSON KARL HERD BUTCH BARRY LOOKER

Andy Dyson - always plays a great set full of tunes I've never heard before that make my hair stand up on end.

Can't comment on the past as I never started on the scene til 1998.

Gordon

Ian Levine and Colin Curtis

Streets ahead at the time - they defined the Northern Soul sound - and changed it several times. In addition CC's last hour defined what became the 70's scene.

Mike

Can't believe it took till post whatever for the best pairing the northern scene as ever know to be posted up.

Blackpool Mecca best northern soul club ever my a mile.

Take a bow Colin and Ian.

Highland Room Forever.

Can't believe it took till post whatever for the best pairing the northern scene as ever know to be posted up.

Blackpool Mecca best northern soul club ever my a mile.

Take a bow Colin and Ian.

Highland Room Forever.

WELL SAID DAVE, THE MOST IMPORTANT DISCOVERIES AT KEY TIME IN MY OPINION. THEY CAME THICK AND FAST. THEN OTHER CLUBS PLAYED EM. YOU HAVE TO GIVE EM THEIR CREDIT ,ESPECIALLY LEVINE.HE WENT ACROSS THE POND AND BROUGHT EM BACK. YES I KNOW PEOPLE HAVE THEIR ISSUES WITH HIM AND HE HAS OR HAD HIS MIGHTIER THAN THOU ATTITUDE BUT HE GOT US TO HEAR THEM MAGIC CHOONS FOR THE FIRST TIME.

WELL SAID DAVE, THE MOST IMPORTANT DISCOVERIES AT KEY TIME IN MY OPINION. THEY CAME THICK AND FAST. THEN OTHER CLUBS PLAYED EM. YOU HAVE TO GIVE EM THEIR CREDIT ,ESPECIALLY LEVINE.HE WENT ACROSS THE POND AND BROUGHT EM BACK. YES I KNOW PEOPLE HAVE THEIR ISSUES WITH HIM AND HE HAS OR HAD HIS MIGHTIER THAN THOU ATTITUDE BUT HE GOT US TO HEAR THEM MAGIC CHOONS FOR THE FIRST TIME.

Jim, I have had my issues with Ian over the years, but it doesn't take away the magic times all those years ago.

I still see Colin on a regular basis and I am glad to say never had any probs with him.

Dave.