SOUL in the SUN November 2012 Tenerife

“Where do you go when the Party’s over”

Mods feel free to move this if there is a more appropriate place x

Just back from “Soul In The Sun”, I'm sat here on a drizzly Saturday morning in front of a roaring log fire catching up on e-mails and Facebook and reflecting on the week we have just enjoyed at Tenerife. I had thought about writing a revue for a while now and I am aware of a number of things that need remembering before I delve into the Soul, first of all Eddy Edmondson clearly states that it is an “Across the board” music policy so we kinda knew exactly what we where going to get, with this in mind I didn't expect an Allnighter experience so I wasn't disappointed in the least.

I'll get my only real criticism out of the way first as this is a minor point yet one that was mentioned by a fair few of the “Virgins”, the new boys n girls where left to wander around on day one at the venue and this made you very aware that it was quite cliquey, this is not the “Northernsoul Way” and it could have been easily avoided if Eddy Edmondson was on hand to meet and greet. Instead we got “Barry Sparkle” a top chap who is a dab hand at meeting and greeting but he was as relevant to Northernsoul as a rather irrelevant thing and pretty soon we discovered that just about every bar on the island had it's own “Barry Sparkle” whose soul job was to entice you off the street to buy drinks. The absence of Eddy Edmondson kinda smacked of complacency and this was quite rude considering the time money and effort and sheer leap of faith we had made in getting there, a few hours on day one to say hello to you customers Eddy would not have gone amiss. I don't want to over egg the pudding here but this was an unnecessary own goal and one that did little to diminish the perception of a “us and them” scenario and lets face it the punter is very often faced with a promoter who has lost the plot whilst spiralling down towards an ego fuelled money count, Soul in the Sun punters deserved a little more than this so please take note.

Ooops sorry, just been told to add some thing else, the outside sound system was pish! Not good enough for any venue and this should have been sorted on day one, if it was attempted then an apology should have been give, every one knows about technical Gremlins but we are back round to a lack of real communication from the promoter and this ain’t good, I think there was a growing distance between the punter and the promoter, lots of reasons may be given for this such as “Too busy” or “Unaware”, both unforgivable and you get a “Could have tried harder” comment in your copy book.

OK, that’s my criticism out of the way and now on with my revue of the complete package, many of you who are Soul in the Sun veterans will not need to read much further as no doubt you will have all shared the experiences many times before but I am writing this as a “Virgin”.

Before I continue I want to set the stage for our party of travellers, I am a Northernsoul fanatic and not “A biker” as one chap remarked on night one due to my beard LOL, we are all regular Allnighter goers and we do not do the dreaded “Soul-nights” that is not because of any snobbery but it is rather due to our musical preferences so why Soul in the Sun? Well it was my Fiftieth Birthday and I chose to go rather than have a party, I made a good choice!

Our Soul in the Sun started by watching the internet activity and we where soon to realise just how diverse the Soul in the Sun goer was and the next thing we realised was that not only where Soulies going, lots of Scooterists were also flying over to Tenerife!

I have never done a winter holibob before so this was a first for us and after finding suitable digs we flew the four hours to Tenerife arriving blinking into the sun and looking forward to a group holiday. The Friday afternoon was a painless experience and we received our wrist bands and a brief. The venue was perfect with sufficient dance areas and the all important chill out zones that gave it a real charm as the weather was magnificent, not outrageouseley hot but you knew you wasn't down the M62 Corridor!

Every one we met seamed friendly and quite happy to speak and make you feel welcome this has to be one of the quality factors for Soul in the Sun as every one who has invested to go there is bent on having a brilliant time and this is quite infectious and you soon enter into the spirit of things as the party atmosphere washes over you. I loved the concept of the inside area and the outside area with it's different music and you could wander in and out to enjoy whatever took your fancy and there was a real mixed fruit pudding of music and I appreciated the CD Spinners enthusiasm and variety. I was a little surprised as well as to the amount of Modern Soul Fans there, they always get the shitty end of the stick at Soul Do's but not here, there was a healthy mix of Oldies and Modern and for that I have to take my hat off to all!

I didn't do any of the Day Time Sessions, we had promised ourselves to have a peek at the island and we had been before twenty years ago and our little party enjoyed Tenerife with the wonderful bonus of bumping into friends from the Soul Scene and Scooter Scene, I think half of South Yorkshire where in attendance, again a great thumbs up for Soul in The Sun!

Reflecting back the litmus test has to be whether you'd return? Well we are 100% certain that in November we will be back! I loved it, great holiday and perfect for a second holidays winter break.

I thank every one involved with the planning and execution, the DJ's did a excellent job and one I appreciate, trying to please every one is a mammoth task but I think you all did it.

I'm now going to get my big fat ex Army head down for a sleep before going to The Rugby Allnighter!

Stay safe and KFC

Yours Simon Cuerden AFSC

On a club note it was brilliant to see The Armed Forces Scooter Club represented, Jill Venerbales, Derek Hamer, John Grey myself and Carol had a mega time! X

Our Jilly was a bit naughty as she told me she wasn't going only to turn up on the Friday with Dave!! Great to see you all and hugs n stuff till we see each other again x

Great to see The Donny Boot Boys, The Rotherham Massive, The Barnsley Tykes, The Modropheniacs SC and all the solo riders we love and respect.

Derek and I came across a few Vespa GTS's, a couple of Vespa Primeveras, a few PX's and a rather surprisingly good Jet 200 Street Racer.

Photos will be added very soon x

Great to see you at Soul in the Sun Simon! It was lovely to catch up with old friends too! Our soul party had a great time and we really enjoyed the afternoon sessions. The sound system was poor in the arena, hopefully this will be sorted for future events.

Nicki XXXX

I really object to your comment

" The absence of Eddy Edmondson kinda smacked of complacency and this was quite rude considering the time money and effort and sheer leap of faith we had made in getting there, a few hours on day one to say hello to you customers Eddy would not have gone amis"

I was on the door 2 - 6 on Friday afternoon and 8 till 2 at Night (apart from when I was DJing, the same on Saturday)

I suggest you find out more before opening your big mouth.

You didn't even come down during the daytime sessions, or you might have seen the work going in to improve the sound

Eddy

Well our party had a great time loads of different new and diverse music as well as well known stuff

I saw Eddie running round like a blue arsed fly trying to sort sound system on more than one occasion as for it being clickky never noticed as we were having such a great time

The Djs had time to talk and opened my eyes to sum great stuff

Everyone I talked to,was all into the same, Soul music and a good time and why not??

Personally I reckon Eddie did a great job

Getting all these like minded folk together listening dancing to sum great music can't be such an easy task, but ya can't please everyone ya did us Well done Eddie .

Thank you for commenting Eddy.

The outside sound system was very poor to say the least but my criticism was not the sound system it was the lack of communication as my revue clearly sates.

However I have, it seams, done you an injustice as you were clearly there to meet and great but we had missed each other, and for this I whole heartedly apologise here in public to you and your team for my harsh words.

The revue does go on to applaud Soul in the Sun and I hope I give a well rounded view of this wonderful event.

HI SIMON,

Got to take exception with your gripe regarding critisism of Eddy as nothing could be further from the truth. As in his reply he was there on the afternoon and the evening, as were half a dozen other "seasoned" Sunners who help where required on the day and during the week. I wont berate you for your opinion as you have already made your apologies.

As you will appreciate the sheer number of people who go to Soul in the Sun makes it difficult for Eddy to get around to everyone in attendance and say hello, although believe me he really does make the effort.

I do understand why your group as SIS "virgins" was left with the impression that the first day felt like it was a little cliquey within the venue and that you were left to wander around the venue. However it takes two to tango so to speak. What you have to remember is that many people have been to Soul in the Sun in previous years and for them, the first day is usually meeting old friends again and catching up. Also it is always good as newbies to get your bearings and just settle and unwind after the travelling rather than some stranger being in your face and extolling the virtues of the holiday.

Hopefully you will have made many new friends during the course of the holiday as that is always a great aspect of Soul in the Sun and you have returned home with many happy memories.

I have only missed one SIS in some thirteen years of going and from knowing only a handful of people on my first visit, i now know hundreds and many of which i can call good friends. It is good to read that you will be going back next november which shows that overall your holiday experience was good even though the weather did its best not to play fair!.

Remember next time to attend the daytime sessions as they are great and musically very different from the night time.

regards ROY

(LCSC Original)

I really object to your comment

" The absence of Eddy Edmondson kinda smacked of complacency and this was quite rude considering the time money and effort and sheer leap of faith we had made in getting there, a few hours on day one to say hello to you customers Eddy would not have gone amis"

I was on the door 2 - 6 on Friday afternoon and 8 till 2 at Night (apart from when I was DJing, the same on Saturday)

I suggest you find out more before opening your big mouth.

You didn't even come down during the daytime sessions, or you might have seen the work going in to improve the sound

Eddy

Eddy

As another 'sunnie virgin' and someone who has no idea who you are, maybe you should find out more before you open your big mouth,

What Simon is saying is quite true, Barry Sparkle on the meet and greet just isn't good enough, maybe a few words to us all whilst we picked up our arm bands

would have immediately brought us to your attention as newbies.

We then could have been properly introduced and maybe some of your 'helpers' could have given us a 'low down' on what to expect for the week.

We may then have been encouraged to attend the afternoon sessions.

By the way how many afternoon sessions did youy require to fix the outdoors sound system, cos it never worked properly all week.

I find your tone in your reply quite aggresive, especially as a paying customer had a grievance, albeit as he says 'a minor one'

If I spoke to my clients who came to me with a grievance as you have spoken to Simon, I wouldn't be in a job very long.

I hope you find this constructive critisism and not 'having a go at you'

dekka

SOUL in the SUN November 2012 Tenerife

“Where do you go when the Party’s over”

Mods feel free to move this if there is a more appropriate place x

Just back from “Soul In The Sun”, I wasn't disappointed in the least.

Well it was my Fiftieth Birthday and I chose to go rather than have a party, I made a good choice!

Our Soul in the Sun started by watching the internet activity and we where soon to realise just how diverse the Soul in the Sun goer was and the next thing we realised was that not only where Soulies going, lots of Scooterists were also flying over to Tenerife!

I have never done a winter holibob before so this was a first for us and after finding suitable digs we flew the four hours to Tenerife arriving blinking into the sun and looking forward to a group holiday. The venue was perfect with sufficient dance areas and the all important chill out zones that gave it a real charm as the weather was magnificent, not outrageouseley hot but you knew you wasn't down the M62 Corridor!

Every one we met seamed friendly and quite happy to speak and make you feel welcome this has to be one of the quality factors for Soul in the Sun as every one who has invested to go there is bent on having a brilliant time and this is quite infectious and you soon enter into the spirit of things as the party atmosphere washes over you. I loved the concept of the inside area and the outside area with it's different music and you could wander in and out to enjoy whatever took your fancy and there was a real mixed fruit pudding of music and I appreciated the CD Spinners enthusiasm and variety. I was a little surprised as well as to the amount of Modern Soul Fans there, they always get the shitty end of the stick at Soul Do's but not here, there was a healthy mix of Oldies and Modern and for that I have to take my hat off to all!

I didn't do any of the Day Time Sessions, we had promised ourselves to have a peek at the island and we had been before twenty years ago and our little party enjoyed Tenerife with the wonderful bonus of bumping into friends from the Soul Scene and Scooter Scene, I think half of South Yorkshire where in attendance, again a great thumbs up for Soul in The Sun!

Reflecting back the litmus test has to be whether you'd return? Well we are 100% certain that in November we will be back! I loved it, great holiday and perfect for a second holidays winter break.

I thank every one involved with the planning and execution, the DJ's did a excellent job and one I appreciate, trying to please every one is a mammoth task but I think you all did it.

I'm now going to get my big fat ex Army head down for a sleep before going to The Rugby Allnighter!

Stay safe and KFC

Yours Simon Cuerden AFSC

On a club note it was brilliant to see The Armed Forces Scooter Club represented, Jill Venerbales, Derek Hamer, John Grey myself and Carol had a mega time! X

Our Jilly was a bit naughty as she told me she wasn't going only to turn up on the Friday with Dave!! Great to see you all and hugs n stuff till we see each other again x

Great to see The Donny Boot Boys, The Rotherham Massive, The Barnsley Tykes, The Modropheniacs SC and all the solo riders we love and respect.

Derek and I came across a few Vespa GTS's, a couple of Vespa Primeveras, a few PX's and a rather surprisingly good Jet 200 Street Racer.

Photos will be added very soon x

CUSTOMER CARE - A ROBUST COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

An acknowledgement, An explanation ( eg. I got out of the wrong side of the bed), An apology - NO!

But maybe ImberBoy has received a PM to prevent this embarrassing topic from returning to the top of the page.

And please don't think I'm having a go, either. I don't want a bunch of fives! I'm just a somebody reading the topic who might have been interested in booking for next year.

Eddy

As another 'sunnie virgin' and someone who has no idea who you are, maybe you should find out more before you open your big mouth,

What Simon is saying is quite true, Barry Sparkle on the meet and greet just isn't good enough, maybe a few words to us all whilst we picked up our arm bands

would have immediately brought us to your attention as newbies.

We then could have been properly introduced and maybe some of your 'helpers' could have given us a 'low down' on what to expect for the week.

We may then have been encouraged to attend the afternoon sessions.

By the way how many afternoon sessions did youy require to fix the outdoors sound system, cos it never worked properly all week.

I find your tone in your reply quite aggresive, especially as a paying customer had a grievance, albeit as he says 'a minor one'

If I spoke to my clients who came to me with a grievance as you have spoken to Simon, I wouldn't be in a job very long.

I hope you find this constructive critisism and not 'having a go at you'

dekka

Sorry I didn't reply earlier to this, as I don't often go onto Soul Source, far too many silly comments by anonymous people. I must have got out of the wriong side of bed! No seriously, it was very hurtful when I did my utmost to meet as many people as possible, to be called rude, and especially the comment "ego fuelled money count". I can only do my best, and if it's not good enough I'm sorry. As for the comments regarding Barry Sparkle, Barry's job is to stop people without bands from getting in. That's all. He is a very polite person and did his best to make people happy. He has a hard job turning around 100 people away every night.

Thank you for commenting Eddy.

The outside sound system was very poor to say the least but my criticism was not the sound system it was the lack of communication as my revue clearly sates.

However I have, it seams, done you an injustice as you were clearly there to meet and great but we had missed each other, and for this I whole heartedly apologise here in public to you and your team for my harsh words.

The revue does go on to applaud Soul in the Sun and I hope I give a well rounded view of this wonderful event.

Hi Simon, Sorry for late reply. I think it should leave it as "water under the bridge" now. The sound outside will be better in future, and I look forrward to buying you a drink somewhere Eddy

It's good to talk, we all had a tip top holiday and look forward to 2013 SITS

Going to lock this topic now. There's not even a Thread in the Events Forum for this event (which is where this topic would (should), have been placed. AATS is not really the place for this but have let is sit for a while. Just a gentle reminder: If folks want to feature a gig/event why not give Chalky a knock and provide an articl. All you need is a few pics, some text and Chalky will do the rest.

Regards,

Dave