Hi Swish,

It must be well over a year that your book has been mentioned, now I understand that is being illustrated, do you have permission from MIMS?

Anyway, for a laugh I thought it might be good to suggest some titles as a comp, you haven't mentioned the title yet!

My suggestion:-

"Police Warning: it is an offence to swallow this book"

Cheers

Shelly

Sorry for the grammatical error in the title, but not allowed to edit that, a few pints mate.

Edited October 28, 201113 yr by shelly

The Way it Really Was

Memories Of a Mynah Bird

Kegsy

nicked from Poke

"15 YEARS OF NO SUNDAY DINNERS"

nicked from Poke

"15 YEARS OF NO SUNDAY DINNERS"

...'NO SLEEP TILL TUESDAY'....

"Wednesday night. the weekend starts here"

Dont bring me down

'Eyes Wide Open'..

Pills, Spills & Subuteo games

Tales from Gipton Towers,

" blowing up my mind "

How's about;_

AND YES, I'd do it all again !!!!!!!!

(Woudl'nt we all ????)

how about dexys weekend runner,and yes would do it all again,but start earlier,hope to see you all at the central on sunday,

looking forward to it Sammy

hi pete meeting swish in the scarbourgh at about 11 30 will you be there? i wii so sorry now if i dont reconise everybody by name but it has been over 30 odd years for me, you wont miss me i am the big one ,but eh still got my hair and teeth,not bad for 60 next year,can still dance a little bit with a blast from my ventolin,

I've Got Something Good

Looking like its going to be smashing day on Sunday

The name of the book was decided years ago although I love all your witty answers.

Ineed help with A) Someone to read it who was on the scene for opinion, help and advice.

(I have sent some chapters to people who were nothing to do with us and the response was almost nil.)

I wrote to the "alleged" top publishing firm on the internet and got some Indian or foreign bird ringing me asking me what it was about. I answered DRUGS, CRIME, FRIENDSHIP AND NORTHERN SOUL.

SHE DIDN'T HAVE A CLUE WHAT i WAS TALKING ABOUT.

Absolute waste of space.

I wrote to Kev Roberts cos he had his book "500 greatest Northern Soul sounds" book published. He wrote back that he doesn't publish books any more and just wished me "the best of luck"

I bought a book of all UK publishers, but there are thousands and none say what type of books they would like.

I've got the Twisted Wheel book but they only offer a BOX number to contact.

Obviously I am not giving up.

I have done the book like this:

INTRODUCTION:

THE PEOPLE

THE DRUGS

THE SOUNDS

THE DJ'S

THE DRUG SQUAD

THE PLACES WE WENT TO

I have written it strong, no holds barred, I MEAN NO HOLDS BARRED!

I aren't stupid I have carefully left out anything that might incriminate us, I have changed dates names and places accordingly.

I already have permission from a dozen people to have their names written in as real and if they wish that is how it shall be. Others whom I never see anymore or hove have passed away), or would rather remain anonymous, well that's how that will be. I've decided to do a picture of every place, every membership card (I saved all mine) and poems written by me and other great nighter friends I had.

Yes it has took a long, long, time but it ain't easy to tell it all BANG ON RIGHT.

I know QUEEN OF FOOLS playing when I first walked in to the JUNCTION at CREWE (blew my mind).

I KNOW, I DON'T WANT TO DISCUSS IT was playing when they raided L'AMBASSADEUR in BRADFORD.

I know thousands of things, but of course I can't remember them all . It is impossible to do so.

If anyone can help in any way, I would appreciate it very much.

I shall print a mall part of the book right now.

IMUST MENTION THAT MY GREAT FRIEND SMIG,HAS GIVEN ME FULL PERMISSION TO WRITE THIS,

WHEN SCARBOUROUGH BECAME CRACK UP CITY

CRACKING UP SMIG'S WAY (FROM MY WAY BY FRANK SINATRA)

CAPS I'VE HAD A FEW BUT THEN AGAIN TOO FEW TO MENTION

I TOOK WHAT I HAD TO TAKE AND SAW IT THROUGH WITHOUT EXCEMPTION

AND NOW THE END IS NEAR BECAUSE THE SQUAD'S BEHIND THE CURTAIN

THE NOISE I HEAR DOWN STAIRS IS BURGLARS, I'M CERTAIN

(WRITTEN BY THE LATE KIM DENT DECEMBER 1974)

From the early sixties, when Mods became into being,until at least the mid-eighties, it was tradition for Yorkshire Mods (both original and second generation) and all-nighter boys to go to Scarborough at bank holiday weekends. I first started going 1968 when I was 15, before I was a mod and before I'd ever even heard of nighters, and I was back in '69 as a young mod at the ail end of the original Mod era. Ore about this elsewhere in the book.

But the time I want t tell you about now is April 1974.

It was Good Friday I decided to pay a visit to Jumbo records in Leeds. It was situated on a balcony that ran round the inside of The Queen's arcade. It was ran by a guy called Hunter and specialised in Black music. There was another good reason for going there besides the chance they may have some new Northern for sale. Lots of people I knew went there and it was a good place for grapevine news . You could hang around the balcony and sooner or later someone would come along, and this particular day BINGO! I'd been hanging around outside the shop for about an hor when my pal John Royal turned up smashed out of his head.

"What you had John?" I asked.

"Did a chemist last night Swish, hit the jackpot."

We walked to a quiet corner aay from the shop and he pulled a plastic bag from underneath his jacket. There must have been 1000 pills and caps in it. They looked beautiful, awesome. I was loaded up with my Bank Holiday pay so I bought a mixture of around a100 caps and pills

"Thanks a lot John , laughing for the weekend now."

"You're welcome Swish. Look I've got more customers to see. Got to shoot of, see you at Scarborough."

Off he went.

I wasn't meeting my mate Smig until 6o'clock that evening so I dropped a few and went down the pin ball arcade near the station. If you love pinball and you've had gear the compulsion to play is phenomenal. And don't let anyone tell you it doesn't improve your game either, because believe me it does, you're concentration and reactions are increased dramatically and you absolutely LOVE to play cos you're so bloody good.

Evey now and again you look at the clock. It's 4, then 5 , then, before you know it, it's twenty to six, should go, no just one more game, five to six, the train might be late, just one more., five past six. Shit!

"here mate you can have these replays," to some stranger, jut letting him know you got the replays. Rush over to the station. The train is late, could have had another game after all.. wait at the barrier hundreds of people seem to go past (hope he hasn't missed it, (it was 6 o clock wasn't it?), then you see him, case in hand. Up you go, strong handshake, no limp cap.

"Great to see you Smig".

"And you Swish, got anything sorted?"

"Have I!!"We went home so we could get changed and I could get my bag together. Smig dropped some gear and soon we were talking about everything under the sun. We were going to go to Scarborough that night but decided to go in the morning.

My mum came home about half eleven as usual from the pub she worked in. She always liked Smig, he was one of the very few she did like., I suppose because he was always courteous and respectful to her, but more than that, she did have a gift for being able to tell really genuine people from those who weren't, even in a short time, and she was right because Smig was one of the most genuine people I ever met. Eventually my mum went to be and we spent the night talking and doing crosswords (another past time where your ability improves drastically with gear), although there is a thin life because if you've had too much or its wearing off your ability decreases just as drastically.

In the morning we set off to Scarborough all washed and changed and topped up. It was a beautiful hot day. We caught a train but had to change at York and there wasn't a connection for an hour so we went and sat in the gardens near the Station hotel. We were sitting there in the sun and it was lovely but everything seemed a bit unreal. I knew I was out of my head. I asked Smig if he was but he said he was fine. We caught the train to Scarborough and went to find a boarding house. As usual most were taken but eventually we found one. We signed the register with our real names and addresses, not for one minute thinking of any reason why not to.

Later when we had got ready to go out, Smig cracked some joke at the landlady as we were on our way out , but she took it the wrong way , so I had to spend some time showing her that we were OK really but she started telling us about the war and her husband and we couldn't get away. She went on and on and this made us a touch uneasy because we were well gone and were dying to get to The Salisbury (The pub we all used to meet in.)

Eventually we escaped. We went down to the Salisbury and it was packed with people we knew and also there was squad!

"Give me the gear," says Smig I'll go back to the boarding house and hide it in the room."

"Good idea mate, better safe than sorry". I quickly passed it to himand he was off. An hour later he was back.

"That took a long time, " I whispered.

"Couldn't decide where to hide it."

"Where did you hide it?"

"Under the carpet."

"Sound, now let's relax and have a good time".

The afternoon passed, somebody got pulled, good job we had hidden the gear, I thought, it could have been us.

Yu may wonder why we all didn't o to a different pub so the squad wouldn't find us. Well it wouln't have mattered, they would have found us anyway, besides all games have to have their risks, squad was just one of them.

The pub shut at 3p.m. In those days, so we spent the afternoon playing football on the beach, and at 6pm we were back in the pub. Those who hadn't scored got pissed,the rest of us bought drinks but as I explained earlier in the book we didn't need them. One of the biggest advantages of this was that yo didn't have to wait quarter of an hour to get served and when last orders ame, instead of frantically trying to get served you wished you werent stuck with the pint you'd still got.

Some nights after the pub (or mornings after the nighter) you get invited to so many different flats or houses you don't know which one to choose. Other times no one asks or you are so busy enjoying yourself you forget to ask. That's why we got a boarding house, just in case, and this time it was lucky we had a boarding house to go to.Sometimes they played Northern at a club called The 4 Seasons night club util 2.a.m., but not this time, so backto the B&B we went.got in our room and sat up for a while talking but I'd had a few to drink and eventuall fell asleep (Smig never drunk much).

I woke up about 7 in the morning and saw Smig sat in a chair, sweat streaming off him.

"Didn't you get any sleep last night?" I asked.

"Of course I did, why shouldn't I have?"

"Well we'd had a lot of gear, I'm surprised I fell asleep myself."

"Don't know what you're talking about," he replied, strangely, at the same time pointing to the airing cupboard. By now his face was bright red and he looked very flustered. I realised something was wrong.

"What's up mae?

He didn't move from his chair, he just said, in barely a whisper,

"The squad are in the cupboard".

"Don't be so fucking stupid Smig, you're imagining it,.Look I'll open the cupboard door and prove it. I went to open the cupboard door. He was out of his chair like a shot and grabbed hold of me , hard.

" I aren't going to let you open that cupboard door and get busted Swish. You are NOT OPENING THAT DOOR.

He meant every word he was saying. He'd knock me out before he'd let me open that door. Smig had got the horrors.

As I mentioned before, speed gives you far more perception than normal people, especially drunks, and you are in control and know whether you're minds telling you the truth or not. Otherwise no one would take it.

I've achieved some marvellous achievements, both in business and in social life and nighter life at times, because I've had gear, and he/they haven't. You can spot liars, anticipate the "enemy's" next move, think and act quicker in games.

BUT when you've got the horrors or crack up it's a bastard!

So I know Smig isn't going to let me open the cupboard door. Allright, never mind, I'd get the gear, get Smig out of here and try and bring him round. I searched under the entire carpet. The gear wasn't there!

"Where's the gear Smig?"

"Don't know what you're talking about."

He grabs me again. Desperately he whispers "We got to get out of here, the squad are in the cupboard. They put a ladder up to the window last night when you were asleep. Two of them climbed up, opened the window, came in and hid in the cupboard. They didn't see me because I was sat in the chair in the dark"

I was getting no where. Smig was sweating and shaking with fear. Then he whispered , so low I could hardly hear it,

"When they came in I got the gear and hid it it out in the street"

At least it's safe then let's get him out of here. We got our bags and left. It was light by now and warm, it was going to be a scorching hot day.. We walked for about a quarter of a mile , found a bench and sat down. I lit a cigarette, (Smig didn't smoke) and relaxed for a moment. Then I asked him to tell me the story again. He told me the same story but didn't mention the gear.

"So where's the gear, Smig, do you think you can find it all right?"

"The gear's in the cupboard Swish, why do you think I was being so evasive? As soon as you opened that cupboard door you would have been caught red handed."

"But it was under the carpet."

"Yeah, but I decided it wasn't safe there, so I moved it. The squad must have seen me through the window, that's why they came in."

"So we have left the gear in the boarding house with our real names and addresses, fucking marvellous"

I started to feel a bit uneasy now. All the time we were so careful and now we've left the evidence AND our names and addresses! I had to think of a way out of this. Smig wanted to leave it. Bollocks to that idea. I sat for a little while thinking. Meanwhile Smig's looking over his shoulder, left right, every fucking way. Suddenly he spots a copper moving towards us. It's not, it's a traffic warden, or is it? I'm starting to crack a little. Also yesterday's gear starts to work again as it so often does when you manage to fall asleep before it has properly worn off. But I'm not feeling good, I'm feeling apprehensive, nervous. If that woman finds the stuff, she will ring the police,they will tell the squad, who will look through the address book and hey presto, we are nailed!

I have to go back there, there's no doubt about that, but if she's found it already they could be waiting for me now. I had to take the risk. I'd say I had left an expensive lighter in the room.

I told Smig to wait where he was and I wouldn't be long. Back I went and knocked on the door.

I explained the situation. No problem she said she'd come up to the room with me and HELP ME LOOK!

So we were in the room. How do I distract her attention whils I look in the airing cupboard. (Oh I'm always leaving my lighter in the airing cupboard, love, you know like you do".)

"Is that it under the bed?" I exclaimed pointing.

She gets on her knees and looks under. Like lightning I open the cupboard door.

"Be there, be there, please be there," I'm thinking. IT IS! Straight away it goes in my pocket. She doesn't notice.

"Can't see it love," she says.

"I must be wrong then, I must have left it in the pub last night, never mind."

"If I find it I'll send it on to you".

"Please do. Oh well thanks for looking, see you another time".

Ith that I am off. Soon I am back with smig.

"It's OK I got it, no squad, no problems."

"well we'd better get moving then because there are coppers all over the place."

There aren't coppers all over the place but Smig is completely certain there are. He becomes stronger in his certainty and gradually the more he sats it, ebven though he imagined the entire thing about the cupboard, he starts to convince me. We go to the bus station and there is a bus to leeds about ready to leave. We catch it, but far from feeling safer, I'm starting to crack up as well. Every time the bus stops we think it's a raid. So we pretend to be asleep each time it stops. All the time it's moving we look out of the window looking for cars following us. Once two you get like this it gets worse and worse. You think that taking more gear will bring you round, sort your head out, besides the more we take the less we can get caught with. It's absolutely infectious once the second person gets that seed of doubt. And of course, taking more gear makes it worse.

We got off the bus at a devious stop in Leeds where we reckon there will be no police waiting for us. I remembered that most squad cars (unmarked police cars) begin with same registration AGW...., but half the cars in Leeds begin with that so we start taking short cuts, here, deliberately going the long way round there, in a pathetic effort to lose all these squad cars that aren't even there in the first place. But, to us squad cars are everywhere. (Why the thy are using all this effort and manpower to catch us and why we haven't been arrested by now, doesn't enter into it, because all our logic went out of the window, long ago.) We've run and dodged for two hours and then decide it would be idiocy to go back to my place any way. (obviously this GIGANTIC police force will have us covered at home). So we head to Leeds bus station and agree to catch the first bus that arrives going out of Leeds. As it happens it's going to Sheffield which is on the way home to Leicester where Smig lives, so that's OK. We get on it and carry on suffering the same ordeal. Then, suddenly, I REMEMBER It's Samanthas All Dayer in sheffield this afternoon. People we know, safety, help, protection SOUNDS!

i plead with Smig to go there with me. no matter what i say he just wants to go home to Leicester. But I have had enough,. The vey thought, that I have remembered about this all-dayer and by chance, we have caught the right bus gives me such a lift. I can't wait to get there! Smig waits for the bus to Leicester. I go to the dayer. Up the stairs, start to hear the sounds, through the doors, I hear EPITOME OF SOUND , WHERE WERE YOU, SAVED!

What a unique thing we had. I mean that we could go to virtually any Northern soul club in England, any time, anywhere, any night, any day, and there would be people we knew. Years later the same still applies.

Sorry about the typos, but, you get the picture.

That is just a glimpse of the truth I have written.

If anyone wants to help in any way please do.

The paranoia bit brings back a few memories...ha ha!!!

That,s a great descriptive of a paranoid night Swish.Paranoia is a state of mind not an emotion and once it kicked in the best ya could do was find a corner and keep your head down cause it generally were,nt gonna go away.I suffered terribly with it in my soul scene days (69-73) yet still kept ramming more and more pills down me throat cause like all addictions you remember the good nights in preferance to the bad uns.Was the main reason I stopped going to the scene in the end as it seemed to be 50-50 whether I had a good night or the horrors and ya become a pain to the people with ya as no one wants to spend there nights with a gibbering paranoid wreck.Wierd thing was in the following 10yrs when I was pissed I often used to end up speeding as there was so much sulphate around I,d neck it as a freebie and end up buying a gram later to keep the night going and never got paranoia and that was proper sulphate not the cut rubbish kids take nowadays.Occasionally took the odd bombers too if they turned up so it were,nt a sulphate thing.I reckon it was having a 6month break gave the mind a chance to take stock having started on the allnighter scene so young.Weren,t the places I hung around either cause believe me I saw more trouble (voilence) after the northern scene than prior.Was a bummer really as I always used to promise myself no speed or acid after a few drinks and mostly fail. In essence I spent 69-73 trying to get happilly blocked and not always succeeding and the next ten years trying to not get blocked and happily failing.

The name of the book was decided years ago although I love all your witty answers.

Ineed help with A) Someone to read it who was on the scene for opinion, help and advice.

(I have sent some chapters to people who were nothing to do with us and the response was almost nil.)

I wrote to the "alleged" top publishing firm on the internet and got some Indian or foreign bird ringing me asking me what it was about. I answered DRUGS, CRIME, FRIENDSHIP AND NORTHERN SOUL.

SHE DIDN'T HAVE A CLUE WHAT i WAS TALKING ABOUT.

Absolute waste of space.

I wrote to Kev Roberts cos he had his book "500 greatest Northern Soul sounds" book published. He wrote back that he doesn't publish books any more and just wished me "the best of luck"

I bought a book of all UK publishers, but there are thousands and none say what type of books they would like.

I've got the Twisted Wheel book but they only offer a BOX number to contact.

Obviously I am not giving up.

I have done the book like this:

INTRODUCTION:

THE PEOPLE

THE DRUGS

THE SOUNDS

THE DJ'S

THE DRUG SQUAD

THE PLACES WE WENT TO

I have written it strong, no holds barred, I MEAN NO HOLDS BARRED!

I aren't stupid I have carefully left out anything that might incriminate us, I have changed dates names and places accordingly.

I already have permission from a dozen people to have their names written in as real and if they wish that is how it shall be. Others whom I never see anymore or hove have passed away), or would rather remain anonymous, well that's how that will be. I've decided to do a picture of every place, every membership card (I saved all mine) and poems written by me and other great nighter friends I had.

Yes it has took a long, long, time but it ain't easy to tell it all BANG ON RIGHT.

I know QUEEN OF FOOLS playing when I first walked in to the JUNCTION at CREWE (blew my mind).

I KNOW, I DON'T WANT TO DISCUSS IT was playing when they raided L'AMBASSADEUR in BRADFORD.

I know thousands of things, but of course I can't remember them all . It is impossible to do so.

If anyone can help in any way, I would appreciate it very much.

Hi Swish,

Have you tried Willan Publishing, they did Andrew Wilsons book a few years back.

Shelly

Shelley,

Thank you, but i have looked them up. They only do books on crime, pshycology and stuff. Like tuition/self help books.

No good for me.

Thanks anyway.

Can´t help you in any way Swish sorry, but a great read before i set off to work this morning Smig, Same name as me from`Harborough? could tell you a couple of funny ones about him myself but thats another chapter !

I really wish you all the best with your book as this taster will take many of us back to our (not so misspent) youth, told like it really was.

I still remember the night i met you on the services, you had just had your new Dean Parrish discovery stolen,might be over thirty years ago but seems like only yesterday

Good luck and as its rellevent Happy Christmas

Steve Smith(yet another one WHO STOLE IT?

I ALREADY KNOW WHO STOLE OTHER OF MY TOP SOUNDS IN DIFFERENT PLACES AT DIFFERENT TIMES. (Like once in Birmingham (Seen that guy at Cleethorpes Weekender last June. He reckoned he did not remember me.). I also know who gave me Artane (tranquiliser drug) and similar on occassion when I was just a young boy of 17/18. (L'AMBASSADEUR, BRADFORD, HEAVEN AND HELL, LEEDS) It happened in later years as well. Like much later when I was 40 for example. (Not drugged just records stolen). CHRIST , THEY WON'T LIKE IT WHEN THEY SEE IT IN MY BOOK.! (I'll never mention their real names, not ever) Joke is all these guys faded away , for the majority of my nighter career,(1970 to1997? and i made thousands just wheeling and dealing fairly and squarely . buying and selling records. Spent it all on living. LOL.

They all know who they are though.

Doubt they will ever admit it.

Got set up at 3 card brag about when I was 18 as well, by nighter guys, (NONE OF THE ABOVE).

Got dealt QQ they had KK and AA. I lost my entire wages.

In later years I got to love their company, sadly one is dead now and the other isnt, far off (or may already be dead).

Within all these tales though is this:

I made so many decent and good and caring friends that the tricksters/rip-off merchants just became isolated.

How about " a man called Swish, but why? "

Dont bring me down

m6 north

Who Published little Reg's book? Could they help?

Swish my old mate, still loving what your doing fellah, you were one of the ones that influenced me in my long Djing career in the early days of the 'Leeds Central'. I was honoured to spend time with you back then, and feel very lucky that I have acquired your talent and personality to carry on DJing at @ 'The Leeds Central' alldayers. Thank you.

I wish you good luck with the book and hope that you eventually get it published, and if you need any help from my many memories of the old days feel free to ask.

Maybe about the time someone told us that if you peeled the skins off peanuts and rolled them into a cigarette, they would get you high, so me and you bought about 2 pounds of peanuts and sat peeling them for hours at my house, rolled the skins up into a fag, and.............f*ck ALL!!! LOL!!! Pricless memories!!

Below is a witty poem I wrote in the very early days of going to the 'Torch', If you wish to use it, please feel free to, and to use my name too, I don't mind.

Old King Cole's Soul

Old King Cole Loved his Soul

Loved merry old Soul did he

He called for Danny White, Jimmy Thomas and Bill Black

Man! What a fiddlers 3

Now first on stage came Jimmy Thomas

and he sang 'The beautiful night'

when he had finished he left the stage

And on came Danny White

When Danny White was on the stage

He sang 'Cracked up over you'

Then he sang 'Natural Soul Brother'

To mention but a few

Then on the stage came our well known friend

Bill Black in great demand

And guess who came on with his combo?

That's right! The Bob and Earl band

Now both the bands went on to play

'Little Queenie' and 'My little girl'

But all this soulful music

Sent King Cole into a whirl

Now all the Ladies, Lords and Dukes

All did their very best

But alas they could do nothing

And laid his Soul to rest.

Edited March 2, 201213 yr by Steve Luigi

Sex and Drugs and Northern Soul

They all know who they are though.

Doubt they will ever admit it.

Got set up at 3 card brag about when I was 18 as well, by nighter guys, (NONE OF THE ABOVE).

Got dealt QQ they had KK and AA. I lost my entire wages.

In later years I got to love their company, sadly one is dead now and the other isnt, far off (or may already be dead).

Within all these tales though is this:

I made so many decent and good and caring friends that the tricksters/rip-off merchants just became isolated.

Would the guy who took your wages initials be BB ?

Living the night life