Articles: Blackpool Mecca 1971 - Dave Godin Blues And Soul

[Mike]

Source News/Article/Feature Highlight:

From Blues and Soul - 1971 - Dave Godin Article on his visit to the Blackpool Mecca. A lot has been said and written about the history of northern soul in the UK, normally it mentions the Wheel as the start, the Torch then Wigan and so on

View full article

[Dayo]

I'll never forget us article.  I could even recall phrases from it. It might even contain his first mention of "the northern soul scene". As a 13 year-old wanna be Soul Boy, I poured over it endlessly and pictured myself stepping through those hallowed doors to the Highland Room.  I guess it was two years later when my teen-dream came true (thanks to Dick Warburton who gave me a lift in his Triumph Vitesse and helped blag the terrifying doorman that I was 18). Still the greatest venue there ever was.  The best sounds, the most knowledgable and sharpest dressed crowd.  God bless you Dave, wherever you are.  You inspired me more than you'll ever know - and countless others too.

Edited March 16, 2020 by Dayo

[Tomangoes]

Great historical insight into the Mecca and its early beginnings.

I can imagine the 1971 punters listening to 'A love reputation and Angel baby' having a ducky fit when the left field disco sounds took over. 

What was Godins thoughts about the mid 70s music policy at the Mecca? Anybody got an insight?

Ed

[Drewson]

No pillheads in 1971? Really? I was in Borstal with a few of them. Pillheads have been hand in glove with the scene since 1963.

[Mike]

4 hours ago, Drewson said:

No pillheads in 1971? Really? I was in Borstal with a few of them. Pillheads have been hand in glove with the scene since 1963.

where does it say that?

the only reference to pillheads I see is the below, where its about him using (or not)  the term 'pillheads' rather than their actual existence

 

'FUNNY though how some people mistake what they read someplace else for what they read in my column I was hurt when someone said that I had written (and you can search my every published word and you'll not find it) such insensitive and unfeeling prose as to ever refer to a fellow human being as a "pillhead" Certainly I'll take the can back for what I do write, but that sort of jargon (and all the bigotry of attitude that goes with it)just isn't me. 

[Drewson]

All the lads in Borstal were very happy to be called pillheads - so was I. We didn't need people in denial of reality (of "our" language) on "our" scene. That might not have been your scene, you might have been on some politically correct one sifting through the run in groove to records for evidence of it being "not real" to have noticed... Meanwhile, I look through all the records I had in Borstal and see Riker, SK&F and "pillheads" scrawled all over them. FFS, we served enough time to earn our badge of honour, we don't - I can safely speak for many of my dead friends - you to play word games with "our" identity. 

The mistake you make is to treat the term pillhead as an equivalent to smackhead, crackhead, junky. They are stigmatising terms, no one claims them as an identity. Many of the pillheads I knew that died did so after starting to use opioids, but I would never have called any of them smackheads etc. 

The term pillhead lost its shine when powder and cranking took off. That's where you get a clearer idea of the importance of the distinction. Pillhead meant you didn't crank. Now can you see something of the virtue in the term? We never ever called people who cranked "junkies" but if you were a Pillhead you certainly didn't encourage it... for some, it was just the logical of powder. 

Hope you can excuse my rant, I get thoroughly peed off about people denying the pill culture of the scene - that includes DJs that I've sold/supplied pills to (two who deny ever taking them). Only one known death on the scene prior to the changes in amphetamine storage, and how many after that? And how many in later years from Hepatitis caught sharing needles? There is a lot to be said in favour of the pill culture of the scene.... don't try to turn it into a term of abuse.  

I had a lot of time for Dave Godin, I hung on every word in the B&S (in and out of Borstal) but he was not right about everything. 

Edited March 15 by Drewson

[Shinehead]

Read the article and all Dave said was someone had taken him to task about calling people "pillheads" in one of his columns which said hurt him because he said he would never call any human as such and never wrote it.He never once broached the subject of drugs in this article apart from the pill head reference,  true he was not always right , I bought a copy " Love And Affection" Joan Armatrading after a great review in his column by himself, defo wrong on that pile of sh#t.

 

[Mike]

8 hours ago, Drewson said:

All the lads in Borstal were very happy to be called pillheads - so was I. We didn't need people in denial of reality (of "our" language) on "our" scene. That might not have been your scene, you might have been on some politically correct one sifting through the run in groove to records for evidence of it being "not real" to have noticed... Meanwhile, I look through all the records I had in Borstal and see Riker, SK&F and "pillheads" scrawled all over them. FFS, we served enough time to earn our badge of honour, we don't - I can safely speak for many of my dead friends - you to play word games with "our" identity. 

The mistake you make is to treat the term pillhead as an equivalent to smackhead, crackhead, junky. They are stigmatising terms, no one claims them as an identity. Many of the pillheads I knew that died did so after starting to use opioids, but I would never have called any of them smackheads etc. 

The term pillhead lost its shine when powder and cranking took off. That's where you get a clearer idea of the importance of the distinction. Pillhead meant you didn't crank. Now can you see something of the virtue in the term? We never ever called people who cranked "junkies" but if you were a Pillhead you certainly didn't encourage it... for some, it was just the logical of powder. 

Hope you can excuse my rant, I get thoroughly peed off about people denying the pill culture of the scene - that includes DJs that I've sold/supplied pills to (two who deny ever taking them). Only one known death on the scene prior to the changes in amphetamine storage, and how many after that? And how many in later years from Hepatitis caught sharing needles? There is a lot to be said in favour of the pill culture of the scene.... don't try to turn it into a term of abuse.  

I had a lot of time for Dave Godin, I hung on every word in the B&S (in and out of Borstal) but he was not right about everything. 

There's no denial in the article, the only mention is as about the term,  maybe you are talking about another article?

Plus am not really sure why you are replying to me as if I had made any claims/statements,  I simply quoted Dave Godin words on the term to point out the difference.

Anyway this is the comments section on a Dave Godin arcticle, as your comments seem to be wider in scope perhaps further discussion be better suited in a new topic

 

[Drewson]

4 hours ago, Mike said:

There's no denial in the article, the only mention is as about the term,  maybe you are talking about another article?

Plus am not really sure why you are replying to me as if I had made any claims/statements,  I simply quoted Dave Godin words on the term to point out the difference.

Anyway this is the comments section on a Dave Godin arcticle, as your comments seem to be wider in scope perhaps further discussion be better suited in a new topic

 

Sorry Mike, I think I jumped on a word in a conversation I hadn't been listening to... I can see where I went wrong now! But having said that, the point I made stands up. I can see how DG would be mortified at causing offence. And I can see how some in the early 70s would take it offensively - only time would tell us that the pill culture was a whole lot better than what followed. Always like the fact that Connell, one of the people ringing the alarm bell about amphetamine abuse before 1964, was not concerned about the teenage weekend users of the pills. His idea of abuse was over-prescribing and the amounts taken by those on prescription. 

Again, sorry for jumping in without looking! 

[Mithras]

8 hours ago, Mike said:

There's no denial in the article, the only mention is as about the term,  maybe you are talking about another article?

Plus am not really sure why you are replying to me as if I had made any claims/statements,  I simply quoted Dave Godin words on the term to point out the difference.

Anyway this is the comments section on a Dave Godin arcticle, as your comments seem to be wider in scope perhaps further discussion be better suited in a new topic

 

 

8 hours ago, Mike said:

There's no denial in the article, the only mention is as about the term,  maybe you are talking about another article?

Plus am not really sure why you are replying to me as if I had made any claims/statements,  I simply quoted Dave Godin words on the term to point out the difference.

Anyway this is the comments section on a Dave Godin arcticle, as your comments seem to be wider in scope perhaps further discussion be better suited in a new topic

 

 

8 hours ago, Mike said:

There's no denial in the article, the only mention is as about the term,  maybe you are talking about another article?

Plus am not really sure why you are replying to me as if I had made any claims/statements,  I simply quoted Dave Godin words on the term to point out the difference.

Anyway this is the comments section on a Dave Godin arcticle, as your comments seem to be wider in scope perhaps further discussion be better suited in a new topic

 

spot on this was the reality