Hi, I rember listening to Mike Ravens Show on Radio 1 while still at school and was wondering does anybody know what his theme tune was?

Was it Mike Cotton Sounds' version of Soul Serenade? Seems to ring a bell with me.

Correct Geoff

Mike raven even produced it !!

$hit!.....I am that old! 

https://youtu.be/YTbryz2Xt9E

I'm that old too! My memory might be failing me here, but I thought he had the Willie Mitchell version as his theme first then switched to the Mike Cotton version later. 

Another great radio theme,Alan Haven"image"atmospheric Hammond organ inst.Used by many including our own Mr Evison.Hammond...a vital organ!

I'm that old too! My memory might be failing me here, but I thought he had the Willie Mitchell version as his theme first then switched to the Mike Cotton version later. 

Yep......I think you be correct Alan!

I think Mike Cotton's version was a straight copy of Beau Dollar and the Coins on a Fraternity subsidiary. Lonnie Mack on guitar and probably his band

Hi, Check the Soul Bros version on Rio - Killer version!

 

When the show first started Mr Raven used the Beau Dollar version and got a lot of feedback from listeners about how could they get hold of a copy.  I'm not sure but I strongly suspect that the BD version wasn't available in the UK at the time so I suppose seeing an opportunity to make the tune available to listeners and make a few bob he got Mike Cotton onto it.  Once the Mike Cotton version was released Mr Raven used that version for his sig tune instead of the BD version.

Absolute  ' must listen ' radio.......but only until 7-30pm ? I was too thick then to stay and listen to the blues etc played after that. It was [ I believe ] new releases mainly for the first 30 mins.

 

Heard Jerry Butler, many Action things, etc etc, : then off to  ' Browns '  [ a flecky, but god I loved it ] dance hall youth club type thingie on the Sunday night.

 

Then buy or order the best record I'd heard on the Sunday evening  prog,  in my lunchtime on the Monday following day [ usually at White and Swales in Stretford ]. 

 

Pete

Is this post more ' last of the summer wine ', rather than ' all our yesterdays ' ! 

Actually saw Mike Raven DJ here in Gloucester,at The Library.I think it was around 1970/71.I would have been around 14/15yrs old.He was a scary looking cat,loads of whiskers on his 'boat' i seem to recall.Happy (early) days.Les.

On a similar theme, can anyone tell me the Pete Young Soul Cellar theme tune "they say this isa big fat town but I know where the soul is at, bah bah bah bah, the sound of soul city!" Probably really obvious but always eluded me :-)

I posted up about 45 minutes of a Mike Raven show up a few years back...

Essential listening for me on a Sunday night back in the day,bought loads of new releases after hearing them on his show.The theme tune brings back so many memories.

Thanks guys, I was born in 1955 and it was listening to this show that turned me on to Soul, I just thought wow there is nothing else like this music, I think the 1st, record I remenber hearing on this show was Doris Troy I'll Do Anything,

On a similar theme, can anyone tell me the Pete Young Soul Cellar theme tune "they say this isa big fat town but I know where the soul is at, bah bah bah bah, the sound of soul city!" Probably really obvious but always eluded me :-)

 

It's Lou Rawls "Dead End Street"

Edited September 18, 201410 yr by daved

When the show first started Mr Raven used the Beau Dollar version and got a lot of feedback from listeners about how could they get hold of a copy.  I'm not sure but I strongly suspect that the BD version wasn't available in the UK at the time so I suppose seeing an opportunity to make the tune available to listeners and make a few bob he got Mike Cotton onto it.  Once the Mike Cotton version was released Mr Raven used that version for his sig tune instead of the BD version.

Sounds right. I met Mike Cotton a few times playing jazz at the 100 Club. Smashing bloke who could laugh about having rejected Joe Cocker as a lead singer as he was a greaser and the band were all mods and then later rejected Reg Dwight as a keyboards player for being too short and square.

When I started listening to Mike Raven I used to listen to the blues and turn it off when it got to the soul and then did the reverse later.

 HI ALL .... WHAT A TOFF, BUT HE KNEW HIS STUFF,  I was lucky enough to be able to listen to his show on pirate radio, and also to meet him in the 7ts,

I have a couple of his LPs that are worth getting, in fact I recommend them,

TRA SAM 5 - THE MIKE RAVEN SHOW, BLUES SAMPLER. TRANSATLANTIC.

XTRA 1047 - THE MIKE RAVEN - BLUES SHOW.

BOTH ARE UK ISSUED LPs.

 the 2nd LP is more rare than the 1st, however I have not seen both for sale for a long time.

can give more info if need it??  DAVE K

Interesting to see how people remember the sequence of this show.  My recollection is that he started with soul, then onto R&B; the third section was electric/post war blues and then finally he ended with country/ pre-war blues.  The lengths of the segments within the hour show tended to depend on what new releases/reissues were around that week.  Needless to say he played more soul than country blues.  I wonder if people remember records that they bought because they heard Mr Raven play them.  I'll open the bidding with "Good Day Sunshine" by Roy Redmond.  Any takers?

Played it this morning on my radio show, finished off the show with it. Always remember listening on my transistor radio   KTF

Mike Raven got into horror films after he left Radio 1 ... 

Later on he (& his family) moved to Cornwall, where he became a sheep farmer. His health made him give this up & so he turned to art (creating sculptures). He'd changed his name, which made him difficult to track down. Mike died in 1997, and was buried in a grave he had dug for himself on Bodmin Moor (which is where he was still living at the time).

Edited October 16, 20231 yr by Roburt

Back in time ... 

Mike Raven was the main DJ at the Catacombs' opening night, November 23rd, 1968.

I was there on that night. Catacombs was a great venue. Up some stone steps as I remember and decorated in black and white basic walls.

 

 

Somebody on SS put the following links up in earl 2023, fascinating guy.

Churton Fairman aka Mike Raven passed on 4th April 1997 in Blissland, Cornwall aged 72. In later years he was a commercial artist, mainly sculptures - a committed Christian his art was primarily religious. He seems to have fitted a great deal into his life . His obituary is fascinating.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-churton-fairman-1270037.html

http://www.bodminmoor.co.uk/churtonfairman/obit.html

Ironic that you had to go up stairs to a club that had more of an underground feel than any other.

Has anyone done any research into the Beau Dollar and the Coins 45 "Soul Serenade"  & found out if Prime was the first label or Fraternity?

EDIT :

Sebastian Fonzeus & Ady Croasdell kindly answered on another forum :

Fraternity issue is from Feb/March 1966, Prime is from October 1966.

Edited May 24, 2024May 24 by Ady Potts
Question has been answered