I don't know how many people turned out at Brighton in the south east this weekend, but Fridays attendance at Sally Reynolds and Rod Walker's 'Soul in the South' Niter in Bournemouth poses a serious question. Is there any future or desire for Niters in the area stretching from Portsmouth to Bournemouth? Sally and Rod flogged their guts out to stage this Niter and have been battling to establish a regular one in the South for the last couple of years. This was a well-advertised, well organised Niter with a terrific nine-strong DJ line up in a perfectly sized venue(for a small 150-300 Niter) and if this one could only attract the 70 or so souls that tuned up, it is hard to imagine what you would have to do to stage a well supported event of the same nature in the region.

Following problems with their previous venue and political issues with The Railway Club, home of a regular Bournemouth Soul night, Sally and Rod continued their efforts and found 'The Spire', a nightclub built into an old Church close to Bournemouth town centre. With a smaller downstairs Cellar room and a comfortable atmospheric main room upstairs, I know they had great hopes that their quest was finally over. Utilising personal contacts built up over 30 years on the scene, Soulsource and Facebook, they set about advertising. Here is where the first major question arises. On Facebook, 71 people stated that they were definetly attending this event. This in the three week build up to the date. A further 193 stated that they were 'maybe attending'. Even acknowledging the propensity for people to register on FB sites simply for the hell of it, those figures - along with the fact that some people would be bringing partners etc and some people do not even look at Facebook - surely gave Sally and Rod a reasonable expectaion that a half decent crowd would materlialise. Again, ignoring crossover aspects between the 'Defos' and 'maybes', numerically it means about 193 people all supposedly spontaneously decided to give it a miss in the end for whatever reasons. What the hell do as many as193 people (Northern Soul fans at that...) press a button like that for if they think there is not a reasonable chance of them arrving? Doing the promoters who are laying out hard earned cash and perhaps losing a bundle of it - a lot of favours arent they?

Secondly the geographical question, threw up more interesting and perhaps worrying conclusions. In Southampton, twenty odd miles from Bournemouth there is the regular Soul Shoes Bishopstoke Soul Night, Southampton Soul Club's own numerous Soul nights at different venues and the Peoples Choice mod-flavoured events. Hundreds of punters attend these events. More recently a new 60s Soul saturday night event at the city's Soul Cellar has been announced and I believe is starting shortly. There is a tradition of Southampton Soul fans travelling and supporting Bournemouth Soul events going back to the mid-70s. Southampton has a solid hard core of Northern Soul fans who have frequented the major niters on the scene over the years and four or five months ago a Charity Soul and Motown night for Ex-Yate and Wigan face, Kev Coombes saw over 300 people turn out. With that in mind, it beggars belief that only one person from Southampton attended this event and that he was a Promoter putting leaflets for his own gigs on tables. (Not counting myself and Roger Saint being we travelled from Banbury and London). One person for a Niter with a DJ line up like this? What not even 5 of those 300 could be tempted to share a car down? In Bournemouth itself there are three regular local Soul nights. Bournemouth Pier, Bournemouth University and The Railway Club. All three of these could fairly be classed as reasonably long running venues. So how is it that hardly anybody from Bournemouth stepped through the door? How is it that the promoters of those other Soul nights were notable by their virtual non-attendance at a Niter in the town in which they all promote Northern Soul? Sally and Rod have attended events ran by all of them but if you cannot depend on getting a couple of dozen people through the door from the host town which hosts three of its own regular Soul nights, what hope is there? The vast majority of us who did go were old friends of their's whom had travelled a considerable distance to be there. The no-show from Bournemouth Soul fans was absolutely baffling to me. People can point out that Friday is not the traditional Niter night, but hey, if 70 odd people can travel from outside the area, then that argument goes out of the window. (Well done to the Banbury Mini Bus.) If anything, the Friday could have given people an extra day to recover before work and more time overall with their family over the weekend.

Musically, this was a quality night. Consistently high standard spots from all the DJ's, great records, great people (the promoters and the people who did turn up) and even under the circumstances everybody tried to have a good night. If even another 50 (out of the 193???) or so people had been interested in a Northern Soul All-Niter in the South, this would have been a cracking little do and the basis would have been laid for a future regular event. Thanks to Leon Brown who did a second spot of classy Northern oldies which was right up my personal street but as said, the music was quality in both rooms all night. The ultimate sadness came when the management decided that due to the poor attendance they were going to close the club at 4.30, this when the assembled souls inside were trying to make the best of it and it was pissing with rain outside. I have known Sally Reynolds a very, very long time and to say she looked heartbroken (crossed with furious) was understating it. Sal, bless you girl, you are one of the hardcore stalwarts of the southern Northern scene going back to the 70s and in a commitment sense, you and Rod were badly let down by Soul fans in the region. It might be little consolation Sal, but you know you were there with a bunch of good friends on Friday.

So with all that in mind, what hope is left for a regular All-Nighter across this region in the future? Very little I would have thought. I cannot imagine anybody else being brave enough to take it on after this and that is a sad development. I can't speak for Sally and Rod, if they were to have another go, I would try to be there but you could not blame them at all if after this they call it a day. Maybe people down here are getting too old and lazy. Maybe they are spoilt by all the various Soul nights. Maybe they really don't enjoy Niters anymore. Whatever the reasons, I am minded of an essay by one of the DJs from Saturday night. In his book 'A-Z of Northern Soul' , Dave Rimmer wrote a piece on Niters and how- eventwise - they encapsulate the true heart of the scene. Dave concluded that when the day comes when people do not wish to attend Niters, then that will be the end of the real Northern Soul Scene in this country. I think Dave was right. Northern Soul without Niters is like Fish without chips. Even a good Soul Night is a pale imitation/replacement for a good Niter. At sometime in the future I suppose it might become inevitable that there will be no more Northern Soul All-Niters anywhere in the UK. Well, after Fridays non-show from the region's Soul fans it looks like that day might have arrived for the South already.

Edited August 14, 201113 yr by rich chorley

Top post.

I hope not.

Edited August 14, 201113 yr by ken

I come from Bournemouth and my own personal choice is nighters northward. The Bournemouth soul nights haven't been that well attended for a very long time. I prefer to travel up north as the 'feel' of the nighter is all together different - for me anyway. I agree, Bournemouth isn't going to stage a nighter, attracting massive numbers, on a regular basis. It's not necessarily a bad thing though is it? There's plenty of fantastic nighters in this country - too many really

In answer to the first question about this being the end, I don't think there was ever sufficent demand to start.

I have been very reluctant to get involved in these sort of discussions for fear of upsetting people, but I've now reached a point where I no longer care.

Bournemouth in my opinion will never hold a successful allnighter, I've said as much in the past on Soulgirls old site (Southernsoul). Geographically it's too far away from the hotbed of allnighters, in other words Up North! Also the travelling involved for regular night-goers from up-north, would be horrendous with no direct motorway access, not forgetting the expensive fuel prices at this moment in time. I saw in the lookback thread that there was a minibus arranged, but how many would have gone if there hadn't been a minibus? Some, none or all?

As for the other promoters, events in the Bournemouth/Southampton area. If they don't wish to attend another event, that's their choice. Also as for the attendees of these events, perhaps they aren't nighter-goers, they actually just prefer an evening out. Let alone the impression that I get of there being two seperate scenes down there. I have a belief that the Soul Shoes (Southampton) & The Pier / Belvedere Hotel (Bournemouth) would be classed by many as Oldies events, whereas The Railway Club & The Uni (Bournemouth) & Southampton Soul Club (inc. Ghetto Soul) are attempting to be more rare and underplayed. So aiming for different crowds. Having only ever attended Soul Shoes once and none of the others, I am basing the following on lookbacks that I read on here, I would say that the better attended events down there are the Oldies events. So inturn these people aren't going to be looking forward to attending a allnighter of rare and underplayed soul.

As for this particular nighter (this is going to come across as having a dig, but is not intended that way), under the Soul In The South banner there has now been 2 allnighters finish early and 1 cancelled altogether. Some of those who attended the first one which finished early may have been deterred from attending future events for fear of it happening again. I'm going to disregard the Facebook promotion as I haven't really seen it (I may have even put myself down as one of the maybes). As for the thread on here, if you took away the number of posts from the promoters and deejays, there was probably not much more than half a dozen from those who'd be classed as punters. How many times have events on here been mentioned as "not to be missed" "something different" "can't wait" or generally being hyped up only for the event not being able to live upto that hype? We've all attended events like that, but then when the lookbacks come along there's either no mention of the night at all or completely different description of events. The lookbacks for this allnighter shows a group of friends who made the most of their night out, but yet again within those posts no mention of poor attendance. I haven't read anything about playlists, dancefloor, venue or even reasonable drink prices, not one mention of all it needs is more people in and it could really take off! Nothing that makes me think "F**k me, that sounds like the sort of place I want to go to!" All I ever seem to read about nowadays is bloody cakes and sweets!

As for Rod and Sallie (whom I've never met), my advice would be don't bother trying to put another one on (not in Bournemouth anyway), just go out and attend the events you enjoy and where you know your friends will be. Life's too short.

It is true to say we were very disappointed with the level of local support, but the 70+ travellers, all serious allnighter regulars, made the night for us.

As Richard said, there were loads of people in the south who regularly used to travel to allnighters, perhaps they have just all hung up their dancing shoes and called it a day!!! But there are people down here who "profess to be into the scene", maybe some of them are just not up for an allnighter. What we have found though is that there are some who want to embrace the allnighter culture and hear the records that they don't usually hear at the existing soul nites.

It's the easy option to go for an oldies allnighter which would pull in the masses. But that has never been our aim. We have always strived to create something different on the south coast. But at the end of the day, there were 90% travellers and 10% local. Where do we go from here? Who knows.

Sorry Rich,

BUT, I live in Bedfordshire, and, with the greatest respect, why would anyone from up North, relative to Bornmouth that is?, travel South for a Northern Soul niter?, to qaulify that we used to travel up north, regularly, to Torch, Mecca, Catacombs etc from Luton.

Retrospectiveley, it would appear there is not the NS following in Hampshire (?) required to make your chosen venue a going concern, AND, to ALL those who implied they would attend......it's your loss and dont winge at a later date about there being no soul venues in the Bornmouth area.

Edited August 14, 201113 yr by DanDare

In answer to the first question about this being the end, I don't think there was ever sufficent demand to start.

I have been very reluctant to get involved in these sort of discussions for fear of upsetting people, but I've now reached a point where I no longer care.

Bournemouth in my opinion will never hold a successful allnighter, I've said as much in the past on Soulgirls old site (Southernsoul). Geographically it's too far away from the hotbed of allnighters, in other words Up North! Also the travelling involved for regular night-goers from up-north, would be horrendous with no direct motorway access, not forgetting the expensive fuel prices at this moment in time. I saw in the lookback thread that there was a minibus arranged, but how many would have gone if there hadn't been a minibus? Some, none or all?

As for the other promoters, events in the Bournemouth/Southampton area. If they don't wish to attend another event, that's their choice. Also as for the attendees of these events, perhaps they aren't nighter-goers, they actually just prefer an evening out. Let alone the impression that I get of there being two seperate scenes down there. I have a belief that the Soul Shoes (Southampton) & The Pier / Belvedere Hotel (Bournemouth) would be classed by many as Oldies events, whereas The Railway Club & The Uni (Bournemouth) & Southampton Soul Club (inc. Ghetto Soul) are attempting to be more rare and underplayed. So aiming for different crowds. Having only ever attended Soul Shoes once and none of the others, I am basing the following on lookbacks that I read on here, I would say that the better attended events down there are the Oldies events. So inturn these people aren't going to be looking forward to attending a allnighter of rare and underplayed soul.

As for this particular nighter (this is going to come across as having a dig, but is not intended that way), under the Soul In The South banner there has now been 2 allnighters finish early and 1 cancelled altogether. Some of those who attended the first one which finished early may have been deterred from attending future events for fear of it happening again. I'm going to disregard the Facebook promotion as I haven't really seen it (I may have even put myself down as one of the maybes). As for the thread on here, if you took away the number of posts from the promoters and deejays, there was probably not much more than half a dozen from those who'd be classed as punters. How many times have events on here been mentioned as "not to be missed" "something different" "can't wait" or generally being hyped up only for the event not being able to live upto that hype? We've all attended events like that, but then when the lookbacks come along there's either no mention of the night at all or completely different description of events. The lookbacks for this allnighter shows a group of friends who made the most of their night out, but yet again within those posts no mention of poor attendance. I haven't read anything about playlists, dancefloor, venue or even reasonable drink prices, not one mention of all it needs is more people in and it could really take off! Nothing that makes me think "F**k me, that sounds like the sort of place I want to go to!" All I ever seem to read about nowadays is bloody cakes and sweets!

As for Rod and Sallie (whom I've never met), my advice would be don't bother trying to put another one on (not in Bournemouth anyway), just go out and attend the events you enjoy and where you know your friends will be. Life's too short.

I thought I'd try and answer yours questions as you only voiced your opinion and rather than the usual being shot down, I thought you made some valid points that warrented an answer...

I organised one of the minibuses...we were going anyway and my usual 8 seater was full (non of those were DJs), so we went for a minibus and as we had extra spaces, we let Westy & Rimmer on board too...

So, in our case it wasn't just DJs who were supporting, we hadn't been before and fancied and trip southwards.

I even commented that the drive down for us was a pleasure in comparison to driving northward on a Friday night on the M6.

I can't answer about bar prices because I don't drink...it's only ever been about the music & dancing for me, both of which I enjoyed...

The dancefloor was a put together one, which we knew in advance, so took our chances and it never fell apart...

I didn't see any mention of sweets (maybe that's where they went wrong)...

Plus I don't know Rod & Sallie well, so not just trying to defend friends.

Would I go again, yes I think I would. Altho defo not in that venue because the mangement weren't professional...

Would I go again, yes I think I would. Altho defo not in that venue because the mangement weren't professional...

although i never went....this cant be used as any kind of excuse as the first one at a different venue closed early too

moldie

ps..im often up in the midlands or beyond and never saw rod or sallie at any of the venues i attended or any of their flyers either

they have tried there best with great line ups of djs and moved venue but to no avail

they must be congratulated on there fine efforts but now must make a major decision..carry on or give up

the old opera house niters had around 300 plus at each event but only around 50% were soulies...the rest were handbaggers out for a late drink

why would ppl travel all the way down south for a niter when they can stay localish and have one and know for sure it will be open for the hours stated on the flyer

great post ian...well written and with no hidden agenda....see you soon

moldie

pps...maybe the end for bournemouth but not for the south.....isnt brighton niter very well attended....its always said to be a packer...sell out etc

Edited August 15, 201113 yr by Guest

I come from Bournemouth and my own personal choice is nighters northward. The Bournemouth soul nights haven't been that well attended for a very long time. I prefer to travel up north as the 'feel' of the nighter is all together different - for me anyway. I agree, Bournemouth isn't going to stage a nighter, attracting massive numbers, on a regular basis. It's not necessarily a bad thing though is it? There's plenty of fantastic nighters in this country - too many really

I dont think anybody ever imagined a 'massive' Niter and they most certainly do not have to be massive to be good - , but it has to be said if a geographical area that size and stretching up to winchester/Newbury etc can't attract 150 people then it is a little sad. To risk repeating my own - and Sallie's point - there did used to be a lot of people from the south who would travel for Niters and the idea of having one on the South(West) Coast, which would not involve travelling hundreds of miles seemed to be a good one originally. Perhaps it is just is that people down here are getting too old for it and prefer a night out that ends early and with virtually 100 per cent oldies. This was an attempt to stage an event which would put some vitality and spark back into the scene down here and clearly there had seemed to be an amount of people who 'maybe' liked that idea. Why they all 'maybe' liked it and then decided it was not for them is beyond me. A shame.

The lookbacks for this allnighter shows a group of friends who made the most of their night out, but yet again within those posts no mention of poor attendance. I haven't read anything about playlists, dancefloor

Mine did

I come from Bournemouth and my own personal choice is nighters northward. The Bournemouth soul nights haven't been that well attended for a very long time. I prefer to travel up north as the 'feel' of the nighter is all together different - for me anyway. I agree, Bournemouth isn't going to stage a nighter, attracting massive numbers, on a regular basis. It's not necessarily a bad thing though is it? There's plenty of fantastic nighters in this country - too many really

I dont think anybody ever imagined a 'massive' Niter and they most certainly do not have to be massive to be good - , but it has to be said if a geographical area that size and stretching up to winchester/Newbury etc can't attract 150 people then it is a little sad. To risk repeating my own - and Sallie's point - there did used to be a lot of people from the south who would travel for Niters and the idea of having one on the South(West) Coast, which would not involve travelling hundreds of miles seemed to be a good one originally. Perhaps it is just is that people down here are getting too old for it and prefer a night out that ends early and with virtually 100 per cent oldies. This was an attempt to stage an event which would put some vitality and spark back into the scene down here and clearly there had seemed to be an amount of people who 'maybe' liked that idea. Why they all 'maybe' liked it and then decided it was not for them is beyond me. A shame.

Would I go again, yes I think I would. Altho defo not in that venue because the mangement weren't professional...

although i never went....this cant be used as any kind of excuse as the first one at a different venue closed early too

moldie

ps..im often up in the midlands or beyond and never saw rod or sallie at any of the venues i attended or any of their flyers either

they have tried there best with great line ups of djs and moved venue but to no avail

they must be congratulated on there fine efforts but now must make a major decision..carry on or give up

the old opera house niters had around 300 plus at each event but only around 50% were soulies...the rest were handbaggers out for a late drink

why would ppl travel all the way down south for a niter when they can stay localish and have one and know for sure it will be open for the hours stated on the flyer

great post ian...well written and with no hidden agenda....see you soon

moldie

pps...maybe the end for bournemouth but not for the south.....isnt brighton niter very well attended....its always said to be a packer...sell out etc

Again Ian, I don't think they were ever imaginging that there would be people travelling down from up north. This was a Niter for those in the South and South West. I have to say mate, I have not been out much this year but I went to the Worcester Niter earlier this year and Rod and Sallie were there! Also over the years they have been all over the place, I mean going right back to the 70s, not the 90s. You and I both know there are hundreds of Soul fans in the geographical area concerned and there is no getting away from it, it is simply a little sad that people could not have come together down here to help create one decent small sized Niter with good DJ line ups and a sense of energy. I know a lot of people who still live in Bournemouth who had this been 20 years ago would all have been out for an All-Niter in their town, had it been Northern, Jazz Funk or whatever type of Soul format but none of those faces appeared. (And I really do think age has come into that, they are just not up for it anymore). Personally myself I would rather see one Niter every couple of months with 200 people at it and new sounds, lots of varying DJ's than 8 or nine Soul nights in the same time, that all finsh at one or two, are quite often heavily dominated by stale oldies, not even classy, underplayed and to be quite frank can be a little depressing. I think it would have been great if people still had the inclination and energy and if Karen says that the Soul nights in Bournemouth have not been well attended for a long time, then perhaps that in itself might have suggested something new needed to be tried. If they are not well attended and a small niter fails, then maybe it really is saying that a lot of people have had enough down here.

As for Brighton, thats the South East and a different kettle of fish. Hopefully it was packed down there

In answer to the first question about this being the end, I don't think there was ever sufficent demand to start.

I have been very reluctant to get involved in these sort of discussions for fear of upsetting people, but I've now reached a point where I no longer care.

Bournemouth in my opinion will never hold a successful allnighter, I've said as much in the past on Soulgirls old site (Southernsoul). Geographically it's too far away from the hotbed of allnighters, in other words Up North! Also the travelling involved for regular night-goers from up-north, would be horrendous with no direct motorway access, not forgetting the expensive fuel prices at this moment in time. I saw in the lookback thread that there was a minibus arranged, but how many would have gone if there hadn't been a minibus? Some, none or all?

As for the other promoters, events in the Bournemouth/Southampton area. If they don't wish to attend another event, that's their choice. Also as for the attendees of these events, perhaps they aren't nighter-goers, they actually just prefer an evening out. Let alone the impression that I get of there being two seperate scenes down there. I have a belief that the Soul Shoes (Southampton) & The Pier / Belvedere Hotel (Bournemouth) would be classed by many as Oldies events, whereas The Railway Club & The Uni (Bournemouth) & Southampton Soul Club (inc. Ghetto Soul) are attempting to be more rare and underplayed. So aiming for different crowds. Having only ever attended Soul Shoes once and none of the others, I am basing the following on lookbacks that I read on here, I would say that the better attended events down there are the Oldies events. So inturn these people aren't going to be looking forward to attending a allnighter of rare and underplayed soul.

As for this particular nighter (this is going to come across as having a dig, but is not intended that way), under the Soul In The South banner there has now been 2 allnighters finish early and 1 cancelled altogether. Some of those who attended the first one which finished early may have been deterred from attending future events for fear of it happening again. I'm going to disregard the Facebook promotion as I haven't really seen it (I may have even put myself down as one of the maybes). As for the thread on here, if you took away the number of posts from the promoters and deejays, there was probably not much more than half a dozen from those who'd be classed as punters. How many times have events on here been mentioned as "not to be missed" "something different" "can't wait" or generally being hyped up only for the event not being able to live upto that hype? We've all attended events like that, but then when the lookbacks come along there's either no mention of the night at all or completely different description of events. The lookbacks for this allnighter shows a group of friends who made the most of their night out, but yet again within those posts no mention of poor attendance. I haven't read anything about playlists, dancefloor, venue or even reasonable drink prices, not one mention of all it needs is more people in and it could really take off! Nothing that makes me think "F**k me, that sounds like the sort of place I want to go to!" All I ever seem to read about nowadays is bloody cakes and sweets!

As for Rod and Sallie (whom I've never met), my advice would be don't bother trying to put another one on (not in Bournemouth anyway), just go out and attend the events you enjoy and where you know your friends will be. Life's too short.

Yes, it is their choice. Just a shame so many people 'maybe' fancied it but then decided it against. Because the music and the DJ line up was of a different quality than anything you'll see or hear at any of the Soul Nights that both you and I have mentioned. Unlike you I have been to many Soul nights in this area and I can vouch for that. Which really says, people down here are now simply satisfied with settling for a night out and a few beers and a few records. Which also says, given Karen's comments about dwindling attendances, that it is a slowly dying scene. As for ignoring the 193 'maybe's' question on FB, I just find that a particularly interesting phenomenon. Myself I never press any buttons unless I am almost certainly attending something. Strange.

i went to the first night and had a great time BUT it did take me 2 1/2 hours from bristol!...personaly this means an overnight stay (driving back on twisty a roads after no sleep would be suicide for me) which puts the price up and its been a busy summer so have had to pick and choose...friday night with no motorway is a nightmare to be honest...i can get upto the gloucester niters on a friday in 3/4 hour and can get to stoke in less than 2...i think this may be part of it...cant speak about the south coast scene but if you add to that the recession...those locals who prefer just oldies...the locals who ARE just oldies.. its gonna be hard work and sadly maybe not worth tryin

its not just alnighters though...martin pilnock worked hard with a soul night in weston and we expected more than the 106 who attended ...enough for a great night but not enough to break even...1 person from weston there i believe...martin will try again on oct 14th but if it doesnt work that will be one more great venue that will probably never hold another soul night

its sad to hear when promoters have worked hard and nights have to close but we all know there are too many nights on,especially in a recession so 'thats life i guess'

dean

First of all I would like to say that I was disappointed for both Sallie and Rod who i know put a tremendous amount of work into this event. I could not make this one but went to the previous two. Can relate to some of the comments re locals and facebook. As a general point, I am getting feedback from various promoters and friends around the country that a lot of their locals seem to prefer to travel elsewhere than support local events. You may say " Why is that?" . Can only maybe put it down to Jealousy and/or hoping it would fail for selfish reasons as one of the maybe reasons. Of course people got a choice of where they go to but it is odd that with the number of soulies in the likes of the South coast for example that they not supported the nighter in the numbers that should arguably..

Regarding facebook. I think in the main that maybes should not be taken into account. Think a lot of people put maybe as a nice way to say No. Am sure that a lot of people want to keep their options open but In my opinion numbers ticking that box should not be given a lot of weight. Not sure why people who say they are coming and then know they are not leave it on the events page, rather than amend their entry. I did indicate I was attending but another social event came up that I had to attend. I duly posted on the allnighter events page to that affect. As a promoter i can share the frustrations in believing that you are going to have a great numbers only to be disappointed. So on balance Facebook is not such a great indicator IMO.

Not sure about the value of Soulsource events as not all soulies use it. Agree in the main lots of the posts are from DJ's or folk who are best mates with the promoters. Saying that, i think one should expect DJ's who are on the bill should post. Thats surely good manners and think that we would expect them to do that.

One of the issues is that there are so many people out there with their own agenda.

Once again Sallie and Rod I was disappointed for you but sounds like that you had a good night all the same. Am sorry to have missed it. Good luck for the future in which ever direction you decide to go.

Best regards

Mike.

Edited August 15, 201113 yr by Mike E

First of all I would like to say that I was disappointed for both Sallie and Rod who i know put a tremendous amount of work into this event. I could not make this one but went to the previous two. Can relate to some of the comments re locals and facebook. As a general point, I am getting feedback from various promoters and friends around the country that a lot of their locals seem to prefer to travel elsewhere than support local events. You may say " Why is that?" . Can only maybe put it down to Jealousy and/or hoping it would fail for selfish reasons as one of the maybe reasons. Of course people got a choice of where they go to but it is odd that with the number of soulies in the likes of the South coast for example that they not supported the nighter in the numbers that they did.

Regarding facebook. I think in the main that maybes should not be taken into account. Think a lot of people put maybe as a nice way to say No. Am sure that a lot of people want to keep their options open but In my opinion numbers ticking that box should not be given a lot of weight. Not sure why people who say they are coming and then know they are not leave it on the events page, rather than amend their entry. I did indicate I was attending but another social event came up that I had to attend. I duly posted on the allnighter events page to that affect. As a promoter i can share the frustrations in believing that you are going to have a great numbers only to be disappointed. So on balance Facebook is not such a great indicator IMO.

Not sure about the value of Soulsource events as not all soulies use it. Agree in the main lots of the posts are from DJ's or folk who are best mates with the promoters. Saying that, i think one should expect DJ's who are on the bill should post. Thats surely good manners and think that we would expect them to do that.

One of the issues is that there are so many people out there with their own agenda.

Once again Sallie and Rod I was disappointed for you but sounds like that you had a good night all the same. Am sorry to have missed it. Good luck for the future in which ever direction you decide to go.

Bets regards

Mike.

Locals not supporting local nights is nothing new.But i think people are becoming more discerning as to where they spend their money.Some venue's and line ups, do look attractive a month before..but nearer the time with a big choice of where to go,people change their minds.

Facebook has been mentioned as not a good indicator to attendances,in fact,no better an indicator than SS.Then why have so many appear to have taken their "soul" to FB?

Shame for the promoters of Bournemouth,as all the hard work seems to have been overshadowed by a low attendance.

How about a playlist on here...or have i got to go on FB....?

Edited August 15, 201113 yr by KevH

Sallie and Rod have promoted the events they have put on all over the place up and down the country, I.M.O. I believe the music policy kept people away, not many in Bmth area like the rare and underplayed as well as there being 2 other events locals like to attend.. Soul Shoes and the Annual Brighton Allnighter. We have attended a lot of different venues over the last 6 months to a year, for example the week before The Belvedere in Bournemouth was packed, the music policy is across the board and a fair bit of modern, It just seems that is what folks down here like ... I thoroughly enjoyed the previous allnighter Sallie and Rod put on, locals came to that, but a fair few left early around 2, was is because it was a nighter or because they found the main floor too rare and unknown to them? Gave my apologies to why I didn't attend this event, family has to come first!

All the best

Rach

i went to the first night and had a great time BUT it did take me 2 1/2 hours from bristol!...personaly this means an overnight stay (driving back on twisty a roads after no sleep would be suicide for me) which puts the price up and its been a busy summer so have had to pick and choose...friday night with no motorway is a nightmare to be honest...i can get upto the gloucester niters on a friday in 3/4 hour and can get to stoke in less than 2...i think this may be part of it...cant speak about the south coast scene but if you add to that the recession...those locals who prefer just oldies...the locals who ARE just oldies.. its gonna be hard work and sadly maybe not worth tryin

its not just alnighters though...martin pilnock worked hard with a soul night in weston and we expected more than the 106 who attended ...enough for a great night but not enough to break even...1 person from weston there i believe...martin will try again on oct 14th but if it doesnt work that will be one more great venue that will probably never hold another soul night

its sad to hear when promoters have worked hard and nights have to close but we all know there are too many nights on,especially in a recession so 'thats life i guess'

dean

Yes, a lot of people from the area concerned know that journey well - we had to make it to the Yate niters from the south! But I think you are right, it might not be worth trying seeing as so many people cannot be bothered for whatever reason.

Edited August 15, 201113 yr by rich chorley

I think the music policy thought above is a valid one. I know the Pier has a good attendance for what to my ears are utterly awful records commonly found on Supermarket compilations. The other events who's music policy is more progressive (think that's the term people use) struggle to call in approx 50+ paying guests.

I don't live in Bournemouth now, so don't care as much as I did about what goes on there. Instead, I travel to where I know I'm going to have a good time with people who share the same musical tastes as I do.

I think the music policy thought above is a valid one. I know the Pier has a good attendance for what to my ears are utterly awful records commonly found on Supermarket compilations. The other events who's music policy is more progressive (think that's the term people use) struggle to call in approx 50+ paying guests.

I don't live in Bournemouth now, so don't care as much as I did about what goes on there. Instead, I travel to where I know I'm going to have a good time with people who share the same musical tastes as I do.

Nail on head Karen

In answer to the first question about this being the end, I don't think there was ever sufficent demand to start.

The same thing happened at Peterbourough LEL. Poor Russ Holly put so much work into it. It had a really 'Top All-nighter' line up ( I think ten 'Big name' D.J's) But sadly, only about 70 people turned out for it. I said to him afterwards that I had a feeling that was going to happen. In todays 'Flooded' market, it's hard for any event, let alone one that's slightly out of the way.

It's best to attend, let someone else have the headache of promoting.

All the best,

Len.

The same thing happened at Peterbourough LEL. Poor Russ Holly put so much work into it. It had a really 'Top All-nighter' line up ( I think ten 'Big name' D.J's) But sadly, only about 70 people turned out for it. I said to him afterwards that I had a feeling that was going to happen. In todays 'Flooded' market, it's hard for any event, let alone one that's slightly out of the way.

It's best to attend, let someone else have the headache of promoting.

All the best,

Len.

I really liked LEL, russ and Gibber did a great job, the problem's the same as always though Lenny, and it doesn't matter how you dress it up, there's not enough people who want that style of music. If you take Karen as an example, she will drive literally hundreds of miles to hear something she wants to hear, but she just can't be everywhere, so if a similar event is on somewhere (similar in it says we're not same old same old) she can't be in two places at once, one of them will miss out, sad but true.

Good post Rich but this isn't a problem just in the South regardless what people say. The Wilton has struggled in recent times with attendances. Fantastic venue, one of the best in the country IMO, decent line up every time and good mixture of music and styles. It has a very large catchment area yet time after time we fail to see any of the local soulies, even those within an hours drive with the attendance made up mostly of travellers. You only see many of them when a free badge is given away at the anniversary. It's the same with other venues too.

Fridays does have some part to play with many working Saturdays, work late Friday, many work away all week so to bugger off to a niter and then be tired all weekend isn't fair on the family.

Ask yourselves these questions-

How many people in the entire UK are there, that go out on a regular basis and want to hear, rare/underplayed/progressive or whatever you want to call it?

How many people attend events simply because their mates will be there, and the music is secondry?

How many Dj's are there on "The Scene" who you would travel 50 miles+ to go and listen/dance to?

How many people are at events simply because they want a spot there at a future date?

How many events are there where you can go and enjoy/dance to the majority of the music played in the night?

Answer those questions honestly, and you start to realise why so many events fail to get the numbers in.

Locals not supporting local nights is nothing new.But i think people are becoming more discerning as to where they spend their money.Some venue's and line ups, do look attractive a month before..but nearer the time with a big choice of where to go,people change their minds.

Facebook has been mentioned as not a good indicator to attendances,in fact,no better an indicator than SS.Then why have so many appear to have taken their "soul" to FB?

Shame for the promoters of Bournemouth,as all the hard work seems to have been overshadowed by a low attendance.

How about a playlist on here...or have i got to go on FB....?

Here is some of the stuff i played in my first set in room 1 Kev

Tyrone / you make me suffer

Otis Clay / Three is a crowd

Sterling Magee / Keep on

Toni and the showmen / Try my love

Mark putney /Todays man

Pete Mayes / Peace

Al Robinson / Sho bout to drive me wild

Dells / Show me

Terrifics / Leave us alone

Richard Knight / Back to school

Attractions / Burn up some rd

Three Caps / Handle it

Little Stanley / The stran

Johnny James / Tell you about my girl

Ernie K Doe / Love me like i wanna

HarveyScales / Trackdown

Linda Jones / You cnt take it

West Coast Dist / Girl i love you

Explosive Dynamiks / Whole lot of loving

Ask yourselves these questions-

How many people in the entire UK are there, that go out on a regular basis and want to hear, rare/underplayed/progressive or whatever you want to call it?

How many people attend events simply because their mates will be there, and the music is secondry?

How many Dj's are there on "The Scene" who you would travel 50 miles+ to go and listen/dance to?

How many people are at events simply because they want a spot there at a future date?

How many events are there where you can go and enjoy/dance to the majority of the music played in the night?

Answer those questions honestly, and you start to realise why so many events fail to get the numbers in.

All valid points Phil,as you know from experience

Edited August 15, 201113 yr by soulsalmon

Ask yourselves these questions-

How many people in the entire UK are there, that go out on a regular basis and want to hear, rare/underplayed/progressive or whatever you want to call it?

600 tops?

How many people attend events simply because their mates will be there, and the music is secondry?

Bit unfair Phil cos sometimes going out for a "social" and supporting a local venue aint that bad.

How many Dj's are there on "The Scene" who you would travel 50 miles+ to go and listen/dance to?

I'd travel further for the right venue and dj's,and do,,if it fits in with my life.

How many people are at events simply because they want a spot there at a future date?

I'd guess a few.

How many events are there where you can go and enjoy/dance to the majority of the music played in the night?

Choose wisely grasshopper.

Answer those questions honestly, and you start to realise why so many events fail to get the numbers in.

All valid Phil,but in the case of Bournemouth,its probably just harder to support.Location,location,location.

it was a shame the nighter wasnt supported by more and would of been great to see a lot more of the south coast soulies supporting this nighter, but i feel the rare & underplayed tag does scare many peeps for various reasons, the locals are mainly traditonal Oldies fans so maybe thats a reason, i also feel that there just aint many if any nighter soulies in the South, Friday nighter maybe a reason could be better supported if on a Saturday maybe, holidays, some ppes cant do 2 nights out and having a popular soul night on the next night in Southampton could of been a factor and a nighter in Brighton maybe the other option for some folk that can only really do 1 night out, noney being very tight for lots of peeps, all probably factors for the low turnout or was the turnout all that could of really been expected, i agree with Rich in that if you say your attending and dont then why say you are and if its a maybe then for the amount of maybes to not turn up is a tad strange, shame but i feel that there aint the support locally for a Nighter on the south coast to be a success for all the effort and promoting Sallie & Rod put into this, maybe a smaller venue with owners that actually like the music and undersatnd what a Soul nighters about but like i say maybe,

one thing is for sure, there are about 100 djs in the south and no doubt if they was asked to do a spot they would of been there

anyway for those that was there i hope they had a great time cos i know i did and would just like to say to Rod and Sallie you couldnt of done anymore in promoting this night so take some time out have a good think but be proud of the nighter it could of been even better

Ask yourselves these questions-

How many people in the entire UK are there, that go out on a regular basis and want to hear, rare/underplayed/progressive or whatever you want to call it?

How many people attend events simply because their mates will be there, and the music is secondry?

How many Dj's are there on "The Scene" who you would travel 50 miles+ to go and listen/dance to?

How many people are at events simply because they want a spot there at a future date?

How many events are there where you can go and enjoy/dance to the majority of the music played in the night?

Answer those questions honestly, and you start to realise why so many events fail to get the numbers in.

GO OUT EVERY WEEK NOW THE SPROG IS GROWN UP. BONUS IS HEARING SOMETHING UNDERPLAYED OR NEW (TO ME) AND LIKING IT.

I HAVE NO MATES AND I DON'T CARE WHOSE THERE, AS LONG AS THE PLACE ISN'T SWAMPED WITH PISSHEADS LOOKING FOR A LATE-NIGHT DRINK WHICH CAN BE THE DOWNFALL OF SOME INNER CITY VENUES.

NOT OFTEN TRAVELLED 50 MILES PLUS TO HEAR A DJ. EXCUSE IS I WORK EVERY SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. I'M GOING TO AN ALLNIGHTER IN OCTOBER AND WILL BE PROPPED UP WITH CAFFEINE THROUGH THE WEEKEND AS MY BOSS WON'T ALLOW ME TIME OFF.

WOULDN'T HAVE THE PATIENCE TO DJ.

PREFER VENUES THAT MIX IT UP A BIT. NOTHING WRONG WITH THE OLD FAVOURITES, BUT EVEN YOUR FAVOURITE, YOU HEARD FOR THE FIRST TIME SOME TIME. SOMETIMES I LISTEN, SOMETIMES I DANCE. SOMETIMES MY JOINTS DON'T LIVE UP TO MY APPRECIATION OF WHAT IS BEING PLAYED. TOO MANY PEOPLE COMPLAIN ABOUT THE "SAME OLD" BUT VOTE FOR IT WITH THEIR FEET EVERY TIME. IF YOU WANT IT, ADMIT IT BUT DON'T STROKE YOUR CHIN IN THE CORNER PRETENDING YOU WANT MORE.

BAH HUMBUG.

i have read but no good at multi quoting, that the first one had a fook up on the late licence and that could of had an affect but it didnt have an effect on the nighter that followed in fact it was very well attended with lots and lots of locals

maybe the best people to answer are those that didnt attend that said they would or maybe they would on why they couldnt make it in the end and also those that attended the last one but didnt this time, also all those that was never going to attend who are localish for whatever reasons maybe have some good reasoning like Ian (Supercorset) mentioned, its all valid and can only be good even if in a negative response to see just where and what the South coast Soulies do or dont want

Think some of the souths promoters tend not to support, each others do's and tend to have loyal followers that dont seem to want to venture to the other local do.s for whatever reason and to say what has been said before, most want to hear oldies all night and have a chin wag with folks they know, at the end of the day, thats what choice gives us, still think folk are scared off by the term rare, even though there were loads of oldies played on the said night, thought it was the perfect mix myself

i have read but no good at multi quoting, that the first one had a fook up on the late licence and that could of had an affect but it didnt have an effect on the nighter that followed in fact it was very well attended with lots and lots of locals

maybe the best people to answer are those that didnt attend that said they would or maybe they would on why they couldnt make it in the end and also those that attended the last one but didnt this time, also all those that was never going to attend who are localish for whatever reasons maybe have some good reasoning like Ian (Supercorset) mentioned, its all valid and can only be good even if in a negative response to see just where and what the South coast Soulies do or dont want

Some very valid points Bearsy. Be good to see what people really want, although I think I may be able to guess!!!

As you mentioned, our first allnighter at Bumbles was a great success, with over 250 soulies in attendance, a good mix of travellers and locals. This led us to believe there was demand for a more progressive allnighter on the South Coast. Unfortunately Bumbles closed due to financial problems so we looked around for another venue and thought we had found one at The Spyre, but this was not the case.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to find a suitable venue to host an allnighter, particularly in Bournemouth where wooden floors are being ripped up to be replaced by concrete and "happy hour" mentalities. What we have discovered is that aside from the venue, it is vital to chose a venue with management that understands and appreciates the music and the scene, without this there will always be hassles.

We are both passionate about the music and the scene and travel all over the country to the more progressive allnighters. Were we wrong in trying to put on something different in Bournemouth a few times a year? The 70+ travellers obviously didn't think so, but with only 10% local support is it sustainable. Probably not !!!

Just go where YOU feel at home with the music you like and most importantly with the right people.....nighter people........It started with proper nighters and it,ll finish with proper nighters.......soul nights just ain,t real........as far as travelling goes.......who cares how far,travelling has never been an issue in fact it,s part of the culture of nighters. We all drive miles for a nighter,but wouldn,t generally walk across the road for a soul night.......you guy,s tried for that you are admired........tezza

I come from Bournemouth and my own personal choice is nighters northward. The Bournemouth soul nights haven't been that well attended for a very long time. I prefer to travel up north as the 'feel' of the nighter is all together different - for me anyway. I agree, Bournemouth isn't going to stage a nighter, attracting massive numbers, on a regular basis. It's not necessarily a bad thing though is it? There's plenty of fantastic nighters in this country - too many really

Rubbish excuse

ps..im often up in the midlands or beyond and never saw rod or sallie at any of the venues i attended or any of their flyers either

Sallie and Rod both travel to nighters up t'north....

Think some of the souths promoters tend not to support, each others do's and tend to have loyal followers that dont seem to want to venture to the other local do.s for whatever reason

VERY TRUE POINT TIM

and to say what has been said before, most want to hear oldies all night and have a chin wag with folks they know, at the end of the day, thats what choice gives us, still think folk are scared off by the term rare, even though there were loads of oldies played on the said night, thought it was the perfect mix myself

BE NICE TO SEE OTHER PLAYLISTS TO CONFIRM THIS TIM

ATB MOLDIE

Rubbish excuse

care to expand and explain why it is a rubbish excuse?

Sallie and Rod both travel to nighters up t'north....

i never said they didnt chalky i said i never saw them or their flyers at the events i was at

all they had to do was ask me or others to put out flyers at the events they couldnt attend...i do it for most events and one more wouldnt have been a problem

moldie

i never said they didnt chalky i said i never saw them or their flyers at the events i was at

all they had to do was ask me or others to put out flyers at the events they couldnt attend...i do it for most events and one more wouldnt have been a problem

moldie

I know you didn't but I guess it's how you wrote it and how it can be perceived by others.

PS I'll send you some Lifeline flyers

Think some of the souths promoters tend not to support, each others do's and tend to have loyal followers that dont seem to want to venture to the other local do.s

this is a problem everywhere fella.........want folk at their venue ,but can,t be bothered to attend others in the areas venues

I know you didn't but I guess it's how you wrote it and how it can be perceived by others.

PS I'll send you some Lifeline flyers

please do chalky..if you watch any of my you tubes from events i go to theres always a pic of the flyer table so ppl know i do put there flyers out and dont just dump them

if your serious about flyers ill pm you my address...already put them out for wilton,rugby etc etc

moldie

I know you didn't but I guess it's how you wrote it and how it can be perceived by others.

PS I'll send you some Lifeline flyers

please do chalky..if you watch any of my you tubes from events i go to theres always a pic of the flyer table so ppl know i do put there flyers out and dont just dump them

if your serious about flyers ill pm you my address...already put them out for wilton,rugby etc etc

moldie

Just go where YOU feel at home with the music you like and most importantly with the right people.....nighter people........It started with proper nighters and it,ll finish with proper nighters.......soul nights just ain,t real........as far as travelling goes.......who cares how far,travelling has never been an issue in fact it,s part of the culture of nighters. We all drive miles for a nighter,but wouldn,t generally walk across the road for a soul night.......you guy,s tried for that you are admired........tezza

i am so holding back - BUT this reply by Tezza kinda is the best

i am so holding back - BUT this reply by Tezza kinda is the best

Let it all out Dave, dont want you getting a migraine lol

Rubbish excuse

What excuse did I give? You've lost me. I was there if it wasn't clear to you.

In my opinion we put together the BEST DJ LINE UP the South Coast has ever seen !!! Sincere thanks to ALL of the Allnighter travellers from the MIDLANDS & beyond. What happened to the South & South Coast travellers tho, where were they ????

i never said they didnt chalky i said i never saw them or their flyers at the events i was at

all they had to do was ask me or others to put out flyers at the events they couldnt attend...i do it for most events and one more wouldnt have been a problem

moldie

There were definately flyers at some of the events you attend Moldie, because I put them out. Lutterworth for example. You obviously weren't looking properly

In my opinion we put together the BEST DJ LINE UP the South Coast has ever seen !!! Sincere thanks to ALL of the Allnighter travellers from the MIDLANDS & beyond. What happened to the South & South Coast travellers tho, where were they ????

It was a fantastic nighter Rod and Sallie. I travelled up from Sunny Sussex and Bev travelled from Kettering!

care to expand and explain why it is a rubbish excuse?

the excuse that its not worth bothering to attend an all nighter in Bournemouth coz it's never gonna be a regular event, all the more reason to support it if its just gonna be a one off!, people reading that excuse may decide in the future not to even consider attending when even the locals feel its doomed for failure!

There were definately flyers at some of the events you attend Moldie, because I put them out. Lutterworth for example. You obviously weren't looking properly

im sorry i never saw them dave but if you look at my video there were many flyers on the table..in fact some were put on top of others so could have been easily missed

at the end of each night i pick up all the flyers from that table and distribute them all at the next event i go to...maybe they were all taken by the end of the night or by the time i have helped clear away...i dont discrimminate against any event and even put out flyers for events that clashed with my promotions or events where im doing a spot

atb moldie

Thank you very much for doing so Vikki & Bev & I'm really pleased you enjoyed it. As far as I know we had around 15 tops from the South....that's not including dj's of course.

I'm sorry I didn't make this, I was on holiday in Cornwall, but I do feel guilty that I can't support more events like this. The lineup was truly phenomenal and many of my favourite DJs and friends were on the bill.

As for earlier suggestions that this wasn't well promoted, well Rod and Sallie go to a lot of places up north and the midlands and i've seen flyers for this event for months. So I don't think either of them failed to promote the event fully.

It sounds like it suffered in terms of numbers in exactly the same way we did at Move On. There simply aren't enough people into rare and underplayed and the funkier sounds to go around and it's also impossible to rely on local soul fans who attend oldies nights. Most of our regulars were travellers and hard-core nighter goers, Rod and Sallie amongst them, and even though we have one of the biggest northern soul nights in the country less than five miles away (the co-op in Nuneaton) we still couldn't get many locals to attend to make a difference.

Sallie you are probably right when you say that without local support it may not be sustainable, but in my opinion you are still doing the right thing running nights like this with this music policy. Like I say, I wasn't there but I can imagine the quality of the stuff Dave and Killa and Pat and Des and the others were playing because they always deliver every time I hear them DJ.

Yourselves, Burnley, ToD room at Gloucester and a few other places are keeping this scene alive for many of us.