this'll be controversial...then again it might not. this county has had its fair share of venues over the years but now its like a ghost town ( or should that be county?). i lambasted the local theatre for touting pubsingers as "motown stars" YES, they had the audacity to claim these karaoke clowns were worth the admission fee as the "resident dj with his feet firmly cemented under the table" quite simply couldnt cut it, doing a whole five hours.....PROBABLY BECAUSE HE DIDNT POSSESS ENOUGH CDS!!.

THAT, MY FRIENDS, is telford for you....dont get me wrong, there are plenty of soulies....its just that here, they are so long in the tooth watching the box that a night out is a timewarp to 1970, handbags in the middle of the floor and full-on commercial motown...that is the sad extent to which this town has sunk and become deprived of a real soul night.

im not a promotor, the financial responsibility is beyond my capacity...i would rather invest in records and dj, but it grates with me that people will settle for being fobbed off with third rate, accoustically ill-equipped singers on the make and exploiting a soul night at that....and the djs and promotors are all in each others pockets......

....actually thats not too dissimilar to whats going on, on the scene anyway...especially in the west-mids.

so...the people who remember soul from way back when haven't got a clue how the scene has moved on in the last 35-40 years. i moved here with my job and to live with my other half, idont regret that at all, its just the lack of whats going on and the sad fact, this town and a large proportion of this county has lost its identity.

ALL ROADS NORTH, SOUTH, EAST AND WEST LEAD OUT OF HERE....

anyone disagree, step up to the lectern or forever hold your peace.

rob.h

Move to Shrewsbury ??

Cheers Paul

its a case of put up or shut up,

moaning aint gonna do any good , ok your not a promoter , are you billy no mates ,

find a venue , get somebody to promote it , do your bit , and start a night of your own and educate those lost soulies, its not gunna be easy , but its not rocket science .

simples

cheers b

its a case of put up or shut up,

moaning aint gonna do any good , ok your not a promoter , are you billy no mates ,

find a venue , get somebody to promote it , do your bit , and start a night of your own and educate those lost soulies, its not gunna be easy , but its not rocket science .

simples

cheers b

st georges cricket club had some great nights think thay still do them

Move to Shrewsbury ??

Cheers Paul

PLENTY OF SOUL IN SHREWSBURY ! WE HAD A PACKER AGAIN AT THE LION

I used to enjoy the Barbel fishing on the Severn, around Bridgnorth

I used to enjoy the Barbel fishing on the Severn, around Bridgnorth

youve got more chance of catching a fish...

sorry, as expressed in "all-nighter issues" i wont put my neck on the chopping block by promoting, BEEN THERE, SEEN IT DONE IT, and again i learnt then who you could count on. ill not put my hard earned money in the pockets of people i know who also know me, know that i want a dj spot but dont have the decency to ask me because the overriding obstacle is "the old pals act". ive done this for nearly 4 decades going to soul nights for the love of the music, paying like anyone else but along the way i started collecting records like everyone else and decided i wanted to dj. so on and off thats been the case, in this day and age you would think with so many gigs it would be like picking fruit off the tree....but there are self appointed gaurdians of the tree and theyve put up selfish fences to stop you getting a bite of the action.

dont tell me to come to shrewsbury and ask me to give you my money, dont shake my hand or introduce yourself then bugger off back to your pals and ask them all to do spots but ignore me or tell me theres a waiting list as long as your arm.....IN SHREWSBURY.....is this the centre of the universe then?.

sorry, st george's c.c........WHAT?....NO DECKS - NO VINYL?......CDS.....ARE YOU HAVING A LAUGH??...i buy cds and play them at home, i buy vinyl because it is THE TRADITIONAL AND ONLY WAY TO EXPERIENCE NORTHERN SOUL IN AN ATMOSPHERIC ARENA.

well, in telford i guess there's me, len cooke and paul cross who would play vinyl whilst the other jokers plsy at being djs and lovers of northern soul. as in "all-nighter issues" these people circulate in their own little bubble never venturing into the frontiers, not getting a grasp of whats new, whats hot and whats not. and as for the closet dwellers who sit in front of the box until the next motown karaoke night is on at "the place" ( not a fish by the way!!) they think northern soul is a word from the khazakstan dictionary.

its a pity kev roberts didnt bring the big soul night out ship into telford's moorings, he would have shook the bloody town by its daisy roots....understand kev's a good friend so its highly likely he scared the crap out of the "chummy" owners/promotors/djs, all sucking up to each other, frieghtened he'd blow them out of the water.

there were, doubtless, big sighs of relief when it didnt happen....me personally?, gutted....same old bloody karoake singers. the only upshot was that the last time THE PLACE advertised MOTOWN STARS in front of these "singers" i gave them a stern warning that they were infringing copywright and id have motown down on them like a ton of bricks...they ran off with their tails between their legs. the only real motwn star this venue has EVER seen is JIMMY RUFFIN in 98....chester riggon?......SORRY, WHAT TMG NUMBER WAS HE ON??

so there you have it....im a west midlander who lives in no mans land, who travels to all points to hear the beautiful noise but when i come back here its like the billboard poster for "alien"....IN SPACE, NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU SCREAM.....and the deafening silence goes on........

rob.h

youve got more chance of catching a fish...

sorry, as expressed in "all-nighter issues" i wont put my neck on the chopping block by promoting, BEEN THERE, SEEN IT DONE IT, and again i learnt then who you could count on. ill not put my hard earned money in the pockets of people i know who also know me, know that i want a dj spot but dont have the decency to ask me because the overriding obstacle is "the old pals act". ive done this for nearly 4 decades going to soul nights for the love of the music, paying like anyone else but along the way i started collecting records like everyone else and decided i wanted to dj. so on and off thats been the case, in this day and age you would think with so many gigs it would be like picking fruit off the tree....but there are self appointed gaurdians of the tree and theyve put up selfish fences to stop you getting a bite of the action.

dont tell me to come to shrewsbury and ask me to give you my money, dont shake my hand or introduce yourself then bugger off back to your pals and ask them all to do spots but ignore me or tell me theres a waiting list as long as your arm.....IN SHREWSBURY.....is this the centre of the universe then?.

sorry, st george's c.c........WHAT?....NO DECKS - NO VINYL?......CDS.....ARE YOU HAVING A LAUGH??...i buy cds and play them at home, i buy vinyl because it is THE TRADITIONAL AND ONLY WAY TO EXPERIENCE NORTHERN SOUL IN AN ATMOSPHERIC ARENA.

well, in telford i guess there's me, len cooke and paul cross who would play vinyl whilst the other jokers plsy at being djs and lovers of northern soul. as in "all-nighter issues" these people circulate in their own little bubble never venturing into the frontiers, not getting a grasp of whats new, whats hot and whats not. and as for the closet dwellers who sit in front of the box until the next motown karaoke night is on at "the place" ( not a fish by the way!!) they think northern soul is a word from the khazakstan dictionary.

its a pity kev roberts didnt bring the big soul night out ship into telford's moorings, he would have shook the bloody town by its daisy roots....understand kev's a good friend so its highly likely he scared the crap out of the "chummy" owners/promotors/djs, all sucking up to each other, frieghtened he'd blow them out of the water.

there were, doubtless, big sighs of relief when it didnt happen....me personally?, gutted....same old bloody karoake singers. the only upshot was that the last time THE PLACE advertised MOTOWN STARS in front of these "singers" i gave them a stern warning that they were infringing copywright and id have motown down on them like a ton of bricks...they ran off with their tails between their legs. the only real motwn star this venue has EVER seen is JIMMY RUFFIN in 98....chester riggon?......SORRY, WHAT TMG NUMBER WAS HE ON??

so there you have it....im a west midlander who lives in no mans land, who travels to all points to hear the beautiful noise but when i come back here its like the billboard poster for "alien"....IN SPACE, NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU SCREAM.....and the deafening silence goes on........

rob.h

i aint saying shrewsbury is anything you are the one slagging of shropshire ?telford as always been known as motown not that there is anything wrong with that at all ,You should know how hard it is in this day and age to keep everyone happy ,you just wont do it ,all you can do is try your best or dont bother ,at the end of the day who are you or me to slag off what other people like or dont like .lighten up a bit mate no one is putting a gun to your head .!