Early Days Of The UK Soul Scene - 1967-1972 West Yorkshire Dave Box and Howard Taylor met for the first time at the Crystal Bowl Social Club in nearby Castleford. This venue ran regular dance nights and had special nights when major acts were booked to appear: Zoot Money, Long John Baldry, Georgie Fame, and occasionally soul bands from the USA. Junior Walker & The Allstars, when on tour in the UK, appeared at the Crystal Bowl quite regularly. Most of these events were very successful.

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i love stories like that has anyone got any old pics of then and could post up on here , col

Hi Dave/Val, Remember the Crystal Bowl.and Normy days as if they were yesterday,40 years onnnnnnnnnn,[great nights]

Just started going to a few venues,Drax on Boxing day,but i am working away for the Wilton night.

Will try to get to the next one.or the Canal Tavern

Merry Xmas Bob [lead singer]

Ok Col, just for you!!!

Glad you enjoyed the story

Normy Baths

Normy Baths Poster - hand painted

Howard Taylor & Dave Box - Hey Col, I'm the good looking one on the right

Baths Group - Includes John Hosler AKA JOHNO. John's always at the Wilton

Pontefract Temptations

Dave Skidmore & Falk - Dave still goes to Wilton, sits in the over 60's corner

Anybody got any more? Pictures or comments.........

Hi Dave/Val, Remember the Crystal Bowl.and Normy days as if they were yesterday,40 years onnnnnnnnnn,[great nights]

Just started going to a few venues,Drax on Boxing day,but i am working away for the Wilton night.

Will try to get to the next one.or the Canal Tavern

Merry Xmas Bob [lead singer]

Hi Bob

Any chance of you coming to the reunion night on the 29th January at Pontefract Conservative Club

Have a great Christmas

Dave & Val

;0) days ho nights then merry christmas will try and make the 29th work permitting atb johno

Do you still have any copies of the cd Boxy? I'd love one if you do. Let me know how much it would be and postage etc

JO

hi pete stringfellow played the black cat(bluessingers) the mojo was his main club where he played what were to become northern soul classics as he had a contact in chicago sending all the then latest soul recordsfrom 1965 to 1968 and all the singers such as stevie wonder ,ike and tina turner,miracles and around a 100 morebig soul names,these records that he played such as looking for you and all willie mitchells releases in 1966 became the basis of northern soul collections, some 5 years after the mojo was shut down by sheffield council after several large scale drug raids. the marquee was on wardour street in london and it was also a soul club /dance hall but tended to have the posh kids going there when i was a member. in65.p.s. tinned chicken was a niter i went to twice and my mate married a lass from there in 69, regards roggert-sheffield

it is good to see it all printed up.

it refresher's the memory

it is also good to see bobby 33 is back on the floor.

the old man

Great stuff Dave : many thanks for posting .

I have fond memories of both The Tin Chicken and Normanton Baths . I lived in Leeds at the time of the venues going , and we were lucky , as we usually had the luxury of travelling with mates in a car one of them owned , a Triumph Herald . On the odd occasions when when our driver could not make it ( shift work at Barnbow tank factory ) , we made the journey by public transport . Which , despite both towns being relatively near to Leeds , took a lifetime to get there , but the reward always outweighed the effort .


Malc

hi pete stringfellow played the black cat(bluessingers) the mojo was his main club where he played what were to become northern soul classics as he had a contact in chicago sending all the then latest soul recordsfrom 1965 to 1968 and all the singers such as stevie wonder ,ike and tina turner,miracles and around a 100 morebig soul names,these records that he played such as looking for you and all willie mitchells releases in 1966 became the basis of northern soul collections, some 5 years after the mojo was shut down by sheffield council after several large scale drug raids. the marquee was on wardour street in london and it was also a soul club /dance hall but tended to have the posh kids going there when i was a member. in65.p.s. tinned chicken was a niter i went to twice and my mate married a lass from there in 69, regards roggert-sheffield

Hi Roggert

Hope you enjoyed the article.

Yes I think you're right about Pete Stringfellow, my memory is not has good as it was, must be that age thingy.

Yes I'm sure Pete was at the Mojo Sheffield, not the Marquee, when he brought his road show to the Crystal Bowl

It would be nice to get some comments from Pete himself, but I don't think there's much chance of that!!

As someone else has mentioned, Pete Stringfellow ran the Mojo Club in Sheffield - NOT the Marquee. How could someone get that SO wrong if they went there?

He also did some gigs at the Place in Wakefield after the Mojo closed, and THAT was the place to go to back then.

The Tin Chicken was NOT called the TINNED Chicken, and Normanton Baths was more like 1970 than 1967.

If we are gonna nostalgise, can we at least check the facts?

normy soul night thats nights not allnighter started 67 nighter started in the seventy fact regards johno

The inclusion of Newby & Johnson "Sweet Happiness" dates the "lost tape" as 1970 at the earliest. To say all that stuff was occuring in Normanton in 67 is just wishful thinking

Ok Col, just for you!!!

Glad you enjoyed the story

Normy Baths

Normy Baths Poster - hand painted

Howard Taylor & Dave Box - Hey Col, I'm the good looking one on the right

Baths Group - Includes John Hosler AKA JOHNO. John's always at the Wilton

Pontefract Temptations

Dave Skidmore & Falk - Dave still goes to Wilton, sits in the over 60's corner

Anybody got any more? Pictures or comments.........

Hi Dave / Val,

Brilliant, Ref the Pontefract Temptations, is that Rob Sinnet and John Edwards? Plus nice to see the photo with Pete and Mick, my memory is poor but did you not run two other venues in Normanton?

Regards Jimmy Welsh.

Hello Jimmy

Long time no see,How yer doing? I had a drink with your keith,Coll Bradley and Toc just before Xmas.Did you get to the Torch reunion?Still see Edd, although he has been ill recently.Might see you at one of Boxy's venues.

Happy New Year Jimmy to you and the family.

Bob Synnott

Hello Jimmy

Long time no see,How yer doing? I had a drink with your keith,Coll Bradley and Toc just before Xmas.Did you get to the Torch reunion?Still see Edd, although he has been ill recently.Might see you at one of Boxy's venues.

Happy New Year Jimmy to you and the family.

Bob Synnott

Rob,

I have sent you an email, those were the days!

Regards Jimmy Welsh.

Hi Dave

This brought back many memories for me, thank you. Although I moved to Manchester in '69, I went to the Baths before then and also, as it gained a reputation for spinning Rare Soul I went a few times around '72. Over the years in Manifesto magazine etc I've tried to keep memories of the West Yorkshire Soul scene alive - The Bee Gee, Hernies, The Place, Bin Lid, Tin Chicken, Spinning Disc, Lord Jim's, Mojo etc so it's great to see this post. If anyone is interested there is a Tin Chicken flyer on www.groovesvilleusa.com/blog

Hi Dave

This brought back many memories for me, thank you. Although I moved to Manchester in '69, I went to the Baths before then and also, as it gained a reputation for spinning Rare Soul I went a few times around '72. Over the years in Manifesto magazine etc I've tried to keep memories of the West Yorkshire Soul scene alive - The Bee Gee, Hernies, The Place, Bin Lid, Tin Chicken, Spinning Disc, Lord Jim's, Mojo etc so it's great to see this post. If anyone is interested there is a Tin Chicken flyer on www.groovesvilleusa.com/blog

Hi Kieth

Great times! Can you make the Reunion in Pontefract - 29th January?

It would be great to have a chat. Your old friend Steve Welcer will be there and lots of others from way back when...

I read your articles in Manifesto and have done quite a lot of A&R work and stuff myself, with Grapevine/Soulscape on Chicago Artists.

I'm currently co- promoter of The Wilton Allnighter, now in it's 18th year.

Glad you liked the Normy Baths article. You need to hear the CD.

Best

Dave

Dave & Val

Great read, I am confused by the comments by "soash", if the Normy Baths ran form 1967 to 1972 and the comments on the lost tape, surley he must realise 1970 is between the 67 & 72, or is this what they call a senior momment or "soash grapes". I wish you every success the Norny Baths reunion.

Regards

PS Johno has not altered much has he

I'm always fascinated by recollections of these early years and how our scene developed being around at the time.

The fact that soul music was thriving in similar venues up and down the country against all the odds was amazing. No or very little exposure on radio or TV, the mainstream pop being dominated by the Beatles et al, no internet and the lack of mobility of the average person.

Still we knew when we heard those early records we just had to dance, never thought though that it could last a lifetime!

There are many things that make this scene so special, our history being one, thanks for sharing your early memories.

Murgs

Hi Dave/Val, Remember the Crystal Bowl.and Normy days as if they were yesterday,40 years onnnnnnnnnn,[great nights]

Just started going to a few venues,Drax on Boxing day,but i am working away for the Wilton night.

Will try to get to the next one.or the Canal Tavern

Merry Xmas Bob [lead singer]

my mum used to go in this crystal bowl in 1966 she used to meet my dad david owens there he is my dad and am trying to find him

On 27/12/2010 at 19:36, soash said:

The inclusion of Newby & Johnson "Sweet Happiness" dates the "lost tape" as 1970 at the earliest. To say all that stuff was occuring in Normanton in 67 is just wishful thinking

On 03/01/2014 at 16:13, trudie thomas said:

this was taken in the crystal bowl 1966 jean thomas on the right pam speed on the left 

The inclusion of Newby & Johnson "Sweet Happiness" dates the "lost tape" as 1970 at the earliest. To say all that stuff was occuring in Normanton in 67 is just wishful thinking

sincere apologies for the fact that there were established events in Yorkshire which predate wigan where everybody knows is where it all began ,

ps cant get any emoticons on .

Hi Guys,

 

Just surfin' the soul scene when I came up this. I'm a old (very) Crystal Bowl attendee you may remember me as JAMMIE, I used to go to

the Bowl with Roy Hicks and his sister Margaret, its great to read some of the comments on here about he 'Bowl.

I keep telling her indoors (on the pic) how great it was.

 

Fantastic times had, especially when Junior Walker and the All Stars actually did a  gig at the Bowl, the Carlton Street and Albion Street were rammed.

My personal 'high' was when Wynder K Frogg made an ACTUAL appearance ( see below)

Great, great times and disappointments, especially when the acts booked by Ken Dougherty never turned up and we were left with the stand-ins, the

Screen.

 

Its good to see the photo of Howard Taylor who DJ'd at the Bowl.

 

I've just rekindled my love for soul in the last fe years, attending Drax, Eggborough and the Crescent club in York, so much so that we've booked a weeks holiday at Soul In the Sun in Tenerife, where I've got 3 DJ spots

 

With regard to the lady who is looking for her father, I knew a Dave Owens who was big pal of Terry Egan, he was a very, very smart turned out guy, who

if my memory is correct was also something of a good amateur boxer

 

Will be at Drax tomorrow, you not miss me crap dancer with white hair 

 

dave