70's & Crossover Venues

[Steve Plumb]

After reading a 'broader' thread on 'Modern Soul venues' on another Soul Source forum, I thought i'd narrow the discussion down to venues playing primarily 70's & Crossover. I know there are quite a few venues knocking around the country now and thought i'd be interesting to see if anyone had any thoughts on these venues, the type of tuneage played there, the type of people attending these venues, DJ's, attendance size etc etc.

Anything really, just wanted to see what most folk think of these type of venues???????

To kick it off, here's a snippet from an article i did for Shades Of Soul earlier this year..................................................................

....................................................Before we get into it (the article that is), I believe it is important to point out that there have been some interesting changes to the 'Modern' side of the Rare Soul scene over the last four or five years. Namely the emergence of a 'third scene' that is basically a throwback to the Modern scene of say 1988 but instead of the new releases of the time (i.e. Mid/Late 80's Indie & Mainstream dancers) more unknown/semi-known 70's dancers are now played! In reality, it's a place where virtually 100% of the tunes played are late 60's Crossover, early/mid 70's or late 70's/early 80's Soul dancers. The 70's Classics of the Northern & Modern scene are played here but it also opens up more scope to play lesser-known dancers that in the past haven't had their place in the sun!

In my opinion, the scene came about because many brilliant Crossover & 70's Soul dancers couldn't get a good enough look-in on the Northern scene. They also sounded too dated at most Modern nights, which were playing up-front 90's/Y2K/Nu Soul/R&B & Soulful garage. The music in effect, fell between the two stools and was in danger of being forgotten about!

The collectors and connoisseurs had been going on about this for years but now the dancers demanded the music! Shortly after the turn of the century, the calls were heeded when a third room in the shape of the (now famous) Tent started at the Fleetwood weekender (hence the term Tent Music). At the same time, venues like the sadly missed back room of The Howard & The Orwell in Wigan switched to playing virtually only Crossover & 70's Soul and the third scene was well under way. Today there are a whole host of quality venues exclusively playing this sort of stuff. Many now also use this opportunity to also play connoisseurs Northern too. The new scene itself is changing and it will be interesting to see where it goes over the next few years!.................................

OK that was written at the end of 2005 and printed in Shades Of Soul earlier this year. I personally still agree with it but I'd be very interested in what other people think?

Cheers

Steve Plumb

[Sean Hampsey]

Don't get me going Steve.

Where were you when I needed you on the "thirst for more" thread?

"Connoisseurs Northern" indeed.

The Poser Man

[Sean Hampsey]

Sod it, no other takers... so I couldn't resist it!

Best gig I've been to in a long while that fits into this category is the "Crown Inn" in Spondon, Nr Derby.

Colin Brown, Brian Goucher and Fish are the regular DJ's with guests, recently including "Tats" Taylor, Mark Houghton and Steve Guanori amongst others.

Music Policy is Top Drawer.

Heard down there such soulful diversity (oooh! great name for a Soul Night - hands off...will contact my patent lawyer right away) "Satisfaction Unlimited" "Henry Jackson" "M J Wade" "William Bell - Relax" "O'Jays - Hold On" and various recent release SOUL records.

I've waxed lyrical about this gig before on here.

Tight Back Room, Proper Stage, Nice Dancefloor, Adequate seating... just not enough bodies in the place. You'd get the impression that the Soul Scene in the UK consists of no more than 50 people... yet this is a 'World Class' lineup playing the very best in recently discovered Rare Soul alongside unplayed, underplayed and forgotten oldies.

The "Red Lion" in Todwick, Nr Sheffield is another worth a mention.

Great location (adj Junc 31 M1) Superb quality venue, enthusiastic regular DJ's with Guests recently including Adam, Cliff Steele, Tats Taylor, John Benson, Kev Briscoe, Roger Williams, Fish, Dean, Mark Randle and Yours Truly twice this year!

It's held on the second Friday every month and in truth it's more of a 'Modern' event but they mix it with an alternate 70's only night which also packs them in and keeps the crowd happy.

The "Without Boundaries" event, Coors Museum, Burton on Trent, I guess fits into this category - depending on who's guesting.

The next one has a mouthwatering lineup, as I'm sure you're aware, with Soul Sam, Colin Curtis, Arthur Fenn, Steve Guanori, Fish, Mark Randle, Paul Phillips, Adam, Colin Brown and Brian the Gouch!

I DJ'd there a couple of months ago along with Bob Cosby and co and got away with a totally 'across the board - mixed bag' set whereas Bob played an exclusively Crossover set (as you might imagine) to critical acclaim.

So the Midlands has it all going on Steve.

Don't know about the rest of Blighty though.

Oh, and apparently Soul has returned to Wigan in recent times, or so they tell me.

Good old Russ!

The Poser Man

[Cunnie]

You ain't seen our new room yet Sean.

Should be a cracker with your good self on alongside Brett Franklin who's rumored to have one or two nice crossover tunes

Getting tickets through tomorrow so i'll send you some.

Roll on the 27th Jan.

[Sean Hampsey]

You ain't seen our new room yet Sean.

Should be a cracker with your good self on alongside Brett Franklin who's rumored to have one or two nice crossover tunes

Getting tickets through tomorrow so i'll send you some.

Roll on the 27th Jan.

Aha!

Was gonna mention "Modernism" Martin, but felt it wasn't quite what Steve was looking for.

So, will the new place have more of an 'Orwellian' Policy? i.e. 'Crossover' & 70's?

RSVP

Sean

[Cunnie]

Aha!

Was gonna mention "Modernism" Martin, but felt it wasn't quite what Steve was looking for.

So, will the new place have more of an 'Orwellian' Policy? i.e. 'Crossover' & 70's?

RSVP

Sean

Put the Modernism tag on hold for now Sean.

Somehow it don't sound right for stuff that's over 30 years old if you know what i mean.

Gonna concentrate on Quality (hey we got you kicking things off) ahead of Quantity at the new venue & probably only have 4 or 5 nights a year & hopefully try not to clash with anything else.

As for the music policy, gonna try to keep it as varied as possible playing stuff from the 70s through to present day releases & if we get the opportunity to bring in DJ's who are new to the South Yorkshire folks we're up for it.

Anyway back on topic.

Seems to me that crossover is an uncomfatable partner on the Modern scene & the Northern scene too for many.

The majority of the Northern crowd like there Northern with a bit of Crossover on the side & the same goes for most on the Modern scene too.

Before anybody comes on to shout me down i think the Crown at Spondon proves my point perfectly. Central location, great room & most importantly bloody great music but it dosen't fit under the umbrella's we pigeonhole as Northern or Modern.

Just a shame folks can't judge a record on it's merits rather than the year it was made.

[Steve Plumb]

Don't get me going Steve.

Where were you when I needed you on the "thirst for more" thread?

"Connoisseurs Northern" indeed.

The Poser Man

Sorry mate - missed the thread completely - off to read it right now

Cheers

Steve

[Steve Plumb]

"Crown Inn" in Spondon, Nr Derby.

"Red Lion" in Todwick, Nr Sheffield

"Without Boundaries"

Oh, and apparently Soul has returned to Wigan in recent times, or so they tell me.

The Poser Man

Well that's a good start - nice one Sean

btw Have ignored your Wigan Russ joke

Heard great things of the Sponden gig meself

Cheers

Steve

[Steve Plumb]

Anyway back on topic.

Seems to me that crossover is an uncomfatable partner on the Modern scene & the Northern scene too for many.

The majority of the Northern crowd like there Northern with a bit of Crossover on the side & the same goes for most on the Modern scene too.

Well put

Hence the need (imho) for a 'third scene' venue to cater for this phenomenon!

Personally I love everything from 1963 to 2006 in all Soul genres BUT feel the truly 'across the board' one room venue is just a pipedream!

Venues like Essence (yes & Pitches Sean ) are (were) the nearest you can get but in the main (imho) it can't be done. Even those examples aren't truly ATB. For example, we tried to be everything to every man (& woman) at The Orwell in the early days BUT the extremes of the Northern scene from one end and the Nu Soul crowd at the other made it a very uncomfortable and difficult thing to do.............hence the direction we're at today. However, I don't feel guilty doing what we do now, as i can get my fix of other stuff at other venues BUT we have definitely found that there is scope for having a virtually 100% 70's & Crossover night cos (imho) there's still loads of new (old) records to play to keep things fresh. I still want to hear new records at venues, even if those new records are 30 years old

Cheers

Steve

[Steve Plumb]

Don't get me going Steve.

Where were you when I needed you on the "thirst for more" thread?

"Connoisseurs Northern" indeed.

The Poser Man

Just spent a few hours on that thread Sean

You didn't need me, you can fight your own battles matey

With you all the way mate.......as Mr Mitchell said - The world needs more people like you

Cheers

Steve

[Sean Hampsey]

Well put

Hence the need (imho) for a 'third scene' venue to cater for this phenomenon!

Personally I love everything from 1963 to 2006 in all Soul genres BUT feel the truly 'across the board' one room venue is just a pipedream!

Venues like Essence (yes & Pitches Sean ) are (were) the nearest you can get but in the main (imho) it can't be done. Even those examples aren't truly ATB. For example, we tried to be everything to every man (& woman) at The Orwell in the early days BUT the extremes of the Northern scene from one end and the Nu Soul crowd at the other made it a very uncomfortable and difficult thing to do.............hence the direction we're at today. However, I don't feel guilty doing what we do now, as i can get my fix of other stuff at other venues BUT we have definitely found that there is scope for having a virtually 100% 70's & Crossover night cos (imho) there's still loads of new (old) records to play to keep things fresh. I still want to hear new records at venues, even if those new records are 30 years old

Cheers

Steve

Think I'm with you on this Steve, particularly as a lot of what's being touted as "Modern Soul" these days aint what I'd call any kind of Soul.

Course, in the PITCHES days (started over 10 years ago, would you believe) even then we'd only play the SOULFUL Modern tunes (Mel Waiters, Otis Clay, Rawls & Luckett etc.) but these days the genuine 'Modern SOUL' productions seem to be few and far between.

I guess its where you draw your standards from. If a shit hot Soul record (CD) was produced this year,that was just begging for dancefloor action and exposure to the scene, you and I both know that we should be plugging it. So in itself, that's what makes the 'by era' case difficult to comprehend, or fully sign up to, for a person who just wants to hear/play Soul Music.

There's a very strong argument for a 'No Boundaries' event where quality is the only criteria (rather than era or rarity) and the reality would be that 95% of the material played would be 'older' (60's / 70's / 80's) by default, simply because the quality output is no longer there in volume or great quantity and hasn't been for a few years.

Nevertheless, 'some' high quality stuff is still being produced (even in the 21st Century) and still being turned up from recent times and I wouldn't want to exclude those tracks from my playlist.

Hope that makes sense!

Sean

[Sean Hampsey]

Just spent a few hours on that thread Sean

You didn't need me, you can fight your own battles matey

With you all the way mate.......as Mr Mitchell said - The world needs more people like you

Cheers

Steve

Thanks Steve, very much appreciated.

And a quote from the beautiful Mr Mitchell to Boot!

Sean

[Fdsoul6345789]

Think I'm with you on this Steve, particularly as a lot of what's being touted as "Modern Soul" these days aint what I'd call any kind of Soul.

Course, in the PITCHES days (started over 10 years ago, would you believe) even then we'd only play the SOULFUL Modern tunes (Mel Waiters, Otis Clay, Rawls & Luckett etc.) but these days the genuine 'Modern SOUL' productions seem to be few and far between.

I guess its where you draw your standards from. If a shit hot Soul record (CD) was produced this year,that was just begging for dancefloor action and exposure to the scene, you and I both know that we should be plugging it. So in itself, that's what makes the 'by era' case difficult to comprehend, or fully sign up to, for a person who just wants to hear/play Soul Music.

There's a very strong argument for a 'No Boundaries' event where quality is the only criteria (rather than era or rarity) and the reality would be that 95% of the material played would be 'older' (60's / 70's / 80's) by default, simply because the quality output is no longer there in volume or great quantity and hasn't been for a few years.

Nevertheless, 'some' high quality stuff is still being produced (even in the 21st Century) and still being turned up from recent times and I wouldn't want to exclude those tracks from my playlist.

Hope that makes sense!

Sean

TRUE WORDS INDEED SEAN, BUT WILL WE EVER SEE THE LIKES OF THE CANAL TAVERN, THORNE AGAIN - EVER HOPEFUL BUT I SINCERELY DOUBT IT MATE AHHHH WONDERFUL DAYS

fdsoul6345789

[Sean Hampsey]

TRUE WORDS INDEED SEAN, BUT WILL WE EVER SEE THE LIKES OF THE CANAL TAVERN, THORNE AGAIN - EVER HOPEFUL BUT I SINCERELY DOUBT IT MATE AHHHH WONDERFUL DAYS

fdsoul6345789

Wonderful Days indeed Fraser.

We live in hope.

I'll keep you posted!

Sean

[Steve G]

Cheers

Steve Plumb

Mustn't forget Mark Houghton's do's in London. They are across the board and if it wasn't London (where people rarely cross the street to attend a venue), I am sure the numbers would be stronger.

Sean, agree on Spondon - cracking little venue.

Steve How's the Orwell these days? As you know I haven't been up there for a long long time.

I do think the gaps between genres is closing a bit as we get older.

Fraser anmything happening in Scotland?

Seasons greetings to you all amigos.

Steve

[Steve Plumb]

Mustn't forget Mark Houghton's do's in London. They are across the board and if it wasn't London (where people rarely cross the street to attend a venue), I am sure the numbers would be stronger.

Sean, agree on Spondon - cracking little venue.

Steve How's the Orwell these days? As you know I haven't been up there for a long long time.

I do think the gaps between genres is closing a bit as we get older.

Fraser anmything happening in Scotland?

Seasons greetings to you all amigos.

Steve

Hi Steve

Yep, Mark Houghton's do another 'un

Orwell still going strong - just booked the venue for 2007 - EVERY 4th Friday - some specials scheduled BUT in the main, back to one room 'Doing what we do best'

Hi Fraser

Aye, musn't forget Thorne - a place which was probably nearer to 'true' ATB that possibly any other?

Cheers

Steve

[Steve Plumb]

Think I'm with you on this Steve, particularly as a lot of what's being touted as "Modern Soul" these days aint what I'd call any kind of Soul.

Course, in the PITCHES days (started over 10 years ago, would you believe) even then we'd only play the SOULFUL Modern tunes (Mel Waiters, Otis Clay, Rawls & Luckett etc.) but these days the genuine 'Modern SOUL' productions seem to be few and far between.

I guess its where you draw your standards from. If a shit hot Soul record (CD) was produced this year,that was just begging for dancefloor action and exposure to the scene, you and I both know that we should be plugging it. So in itself, that's what makes the 'by era' case difficult to comprehend, or fully sign up to, for a person who just wants to hear/play Soul Music.

There's a very strong argument for a 'No Boundaries' event where quality is the only criteria (rather than era or rarity) and the reality would be that 95% of the material played would be 'older' (60's / 70's / 80's) by default, simply because the quality output is no longer there in volume or great quantity and hasn't been for a few years.

Nevertheless, 'some' high quality stuff is still being produced (even in the 21st Century) and still being turned up from recent times and I wouldn't want to exclude those tracks from my playlist.

Hope that makes sense!

Sean

Top post matey

Completely agree with you - although, dependant on the venue, I'd only consider playing anything from any era ONLY if that was the wishes of the club!

If a particular venue is known as playing a particular genre (say, The Orwell), I'd stick to mainly 70's & Crossover when DJing. The only exceptions would be newer (or older) stuff that fitted the sound would possibly get played (i.e. Vince Montana or the new Heart Attack thing). Whereas a good track that didn't fit the sound (i.e. say Alex O'Neal 'Lord' for want of a better example) would stay in the box!

Does this make sense?

If the venue was more ATB (say, Essence) then yes, if it's soulful, then it gets played!

On a slightly different note, I think a DJ with broader 'playing out' tastes has to cut his cloth to suit. Barry Maleady & Bob Hinsley spring to mind - guys who play across the eras but who you would never find dropping the wrong sound at a club known for summat else!

Cheers

Steve

[Sean Hampsey]

Top post matey

Whereas a good track that didn't fit the sound (i.e. say Alex O'Neal 'Lord' for want of a better example) would stay in the box!

Does this make sense?

Cheers

Steve

Makes complete sense to me Stevie.

Nail Hit Head On!

If it sounds right... it wouldn't be excluded... regardless of era.... but the general format would be 'Trad Modern' (see that folks... I just invented a new genre!).......... as opposed to 'Nu Modern' (woops, there's another one!).

I can dig that!

Cool Steve.... just cool.

Sean - The Poser Man

[Sean Hampsey]

Seasons greetings to you all amigos.

Steve

And the same to you my long time hombre.

When is next Spondon?

Sean

[sjay]

Think I'm with you on this Steve, particularly as a lot of what's being touted as "Modern Soul" these days aint what I'd call any kind of Soul.

Course, in the PITCHES days (started over 10 years ago, would you believe) even then we'd only play the SOULFUL Modern tunes (Mel Waiters, Otis Clay, Rawls & Luckett etc.) but these days the genuine 'Modern SOUL' productions seem to be few and far between.

I guess its where you draw your standards from. If a shit hot Soul record (CD) was produced this year,that was just begging for dancefloor action and exposure to the scene, you and I both know that we should be plugging it. So in itself, that's what makes the 'by era' case difficult to comprehend, or fully sign up to, for a person who just wants to hear/play Soul Music.

There's a very strong argument for a 'No Boundaries' event where quality is the only criteria (rather than era or rarity) and the reality would be that 95% of the material played would be 'older' (60's / 70's / 80's) by default, simply because the quality output is no longer there in volume or great quantity and hasn't been for a few years.

Nevertheless, 'some' high quality stuff is still being produced (even in the 21st Century) and still being turned up from recent times and I wouldn't want to exclude those tracks from my playlist.

Hope that makes sense!

Sean

[/quote

The term Modern Soul has indeed perhaps now become so misleading as when the term was first used it was to describe current and new mainly independant releases back in the 80s which were in the main very soulful records as oposed to todays contempary new release which are of a competly different production style with a few excetions to the earlier more traditional soul style of these earlier recordings. It is a natural progression for some people to want to move on with the very latest and upfront things but it is just as logical for collectors to hunt out the overlooked jems and "forgotten modern oldies" of these earlier more traditional recordings.

I started collecting what is know termed Crossover back in the 70s when this type of record was too slow for the Northern scene at the time despite being much more soulful in fact the common term for these records then was "floaters" ie smoth midtempo soul,which leads us to the point of how to describe what we play!!

As I was involved in the earlier thread I would like to clarify what we try to play at our event at the City Club Peterborough,we advertise it as a Crossover/Modern Room and try to feature Djs that will play the best of everything (as Steve put it try to be all things to all people)from 60s crossover to new release Soul and even tracks like Alexander Oniel etc ie right across the board but I agree that the scene is so diverse that it is very hard to please everyone.We do have the advantage of 2 rooms so if people do find the Djs selections a little too "modern " at times there is always the opportunity to check the other room out.

I feel that the whole soul scene is now so fragmented that it is in danger of splitting into such small factions that there just wont be enough people left to make so many different

sub divisions of the Soul Scene survive individually exept maybe at the very large weekender or multi room events.

I feel we should give more support and acclaim to the radio Djs such as Solars Shaun Robbins Sunday Soul selection Show which has in truth done far more to bring our music(call it whatever you will) to the attention of potential converts than anything else lately. This is why we have booked Shaun and Bob for our january event as I feel we should honour their efforts on our behalf on the show. For this scene to survive and flourish we need to try to to remove the prejudices of a lot of the traditional Northern scene Crossover is the natural progession after all the dream is all in one room but is it ever going to become a reality?

So do we need a new name for what we play when what we play is simply sophisticated soul

of a traditional style.

Steve

[Mark R]

Think I'm with you on this Steve, particularly as a lot of what's being touted as "Modern Soul" these days aint what I'd call any kind of Soul.

Nevertheless, 'some' high quality stuff is still being produced (even in the 21st Century)

Sean

Sean.............would love to see some examples of things from 2006 that you DO consider worthy, and those that you DON'T.............want to see where you're coming from on this one!!

Cheers,

Mark R

[alanthesoulie]

Hello Steve,

Good to read your recommendation for Shaun Robbins Sunday Soul selection show, happened to log on here and read this thread about 9.45, so just before it started, really enjoyed listening to it. I'm sure he'll be good at the January EASC night.

Cheers

Alan

Edited December 10, 2006 by alanthesoulie

[Guest Brett F]

Seeing as i will be playing at Cunnie's Rotherham event and also the "modern" room at Ponds Forge, just thought i'd say that my own personal leaning is towards 70's soul, and that is what i'll play at both venues.main thing for me is that the tempo is not relevent, just the quality of the track. Hate all the categories of soul (on a semantics front), i just love soul music whether is was cut in 1960 or next week..i just listen with my ears then decide if it's good, bad or indifferent.

Brett

[sjay]

Seeing as i will be playing at Cunnie's Rotherham event and also the "modern" room at Ponds Forge, just thought i'd say that my own personal leaning is towards 70's soul, and that is what i'll play at both venues.main thing for me is that the tempo is not relevent, just the quality of the track. Hate all the categories of soul (on a semantics front), i just love soul music whether is was cut in 1960 or next week..i just listen with my ears then decide if it's good, bad or indifferent.

Brett

Would have to agree with that its quality that should count and thats why in my opinion we should do more to bring to everyones attention radio DJs such as Shaun Robbins and the sunday soul selection on Solar radio. As is showed by alan the soulies post not everyone is aware of these shows and we are all complacent in assuming everyone knows and listens when obviously they dont.

Our scene is so small and fragile in comparison with the Northern scene as a whole that we should provide a more unified front and make sure everyone gets the opprtunity of checking the music out as much as possible,thus a radio show like this can introduce more staunchly Northern fans to our fantastic music in a non venue situation where they will feel no intimidation by not knowing the music well enough to feel comfortable dancing etc.

If I can give everyone that doent know about it or listen to it just one piece of advise if you love real soul music dont miss this SHAUN ROBBINS SUNDAY SOUL SELECTION EVERY SUNDAY MORNING 10 AM 12 PM SOLAR RADIO VIA THE INTERNET OR SKY ITS UNMISSABLE

Steve

[Sean Hampsey]

Sean.............would love to see some examples of things from 2006 that you DO consider worthy, and those that you DON'T.............want to see where you're coming from on this one!!

Cheers,

Mark R

Hi Mark,

The stuff I don't rate.... well frankly I don't even bother to ask (or commit to memory) what it is, so that would be a difficult list to create.... although the DJ Genesis "Tribute" thing, I thought, was shocking!

Much prefer the more mellow and Soulful 'version' which I've played out a few times by Barbara Lynn.

Of the recent stuff that I have bought and played out (and therfore DO consider worthy) I would include the recent material from Anthony Hamilton (Best album of 2006... to my ears) Browns Bag, Marc Staggers, Stephen Bayliss, George Soule, Vince Montana, Brand New Heavies, Wade O' Brown, Jaheim (all 3 albums top drawer), Floyd Taylor, Donnie Ray (both albums), the new William Bell, Recent Omar Cunningham and the welcome return of the Unifics, Sheba Potts Wright's latest, the superb Persuaders set... and yes, just love the latest John Legend set (especially "Each Day Gets Better" which beautifully samples the Tops "In These Changing Times".

To me Mark, it's all about the vocals and the relevance to my own perception of what 'Soul Music' is... how it moves me... and what it sounds like to my ears.

All of the above hit my spot.

I've been DJ'ing Mark for some 34 years and although I 've never been afraid to break new ground and 'push the envelope' I've never been one to follow the crowd either and certainly wouldn't play anything to try and be 'current' for the sake of it. I would find it difficult to play anything I didn't personally enjoy and have faith in.

Any further reccomendations... now you know what I like?

Sean

[Guest colin brown]

Hi Sean,

Many thanks for the things you wrote regarding"Room at the Back".We try to bring freshness to the Soul scene-no matter what Decade.My old Partner Mark Houghton has got a brilliant thing going on in London,but as I found whilst living there it is bloody hard to get off the ground that is not Northern.He is like me bloody stubborn and I wish him well.

[Soul Discovery]

www.209radio.co.uk

Soul Discovery

Saturdays 12.00-15.00

Saturday 16th December 3 Hours Special

In the studio....

Brian Goucher, Mike Charlton.Fish, Colin Brown, Mark Hougton

Shaun Robbins, Micky Gynn, Bob Smith,

"Crown Inn" in Spondon

"Without Boundaries"

"A New Chapter"

"The Orwell"

Not to be miss....A MUST

Edited December 10, 2006 by Tears

[sjay]

www.209radio.co.uk

Soul Discovery

Saturdays 12.00-15.00

Saturday 16th December 3 Hours Special

In the studio....

Brian Goucher, Mike Charlton.Fish, Colin Brown, Mark Hougton

Shaun Robbins, Micky Gynn, Bob Smith,

"Crown Inn" in Spondon

"Without Boundaries"

"A New Chapter"

"The Orwell"

NICE ONE YOU BEAT ME TO IT I WAS JUST CHECKING THE WEB DETAILS FOR THIS!!MICK IS THE NICEST PERSON YOU COULD HOPE TO MEET, AND I WAS INDEED INVITED ON THIS SHOW BUT WORK PRESSURES MEAN I CANT MAKE IT SADLT.GREAT THING WITH THIS SHOW IS YOU CAN LISTEN TO IT LATER ON THE STATION HISTORY SO NO EXCUSES!!

LETS GIVE A SHOUT TO SOME MORE STATIONS WITH SHOWS OF INTEREST TO OUR MUSIC OF COURSE THERE IS STARPOINT www.starpointradio,com WITH SOME GREAT SHOWS ALSO MY NAMESAKE STEVE JACKSON WITH HIS NEW SHOW ON RLR WHICH HAS ALL THE DETAILS ELSEWHERE ON THIS VERY SITE

STEVE

Not to be miss....A MUST

[Guest Adam G]

When is the next do on in spondon? and where is the nearest accomodation?.

Also who is on and what are the opening hours.

Sounds like its right up my street.

Adam

On the music policy of the nights discussed .I would much rather attend a night where there are a few in with the music policy of The Orwell,Soul Essence,Thorne,and by the sound of it the Crown than have to attend a Northern night and wait for a few big play 7ts or a Contemporary Soul night where the DJ gets applauded for been so freethinking to playing an couple of old 7ts classics or lp tracks.

You hopefully know the type of vibe I mean.For me the crossover,7ts,8ts,9ts,00's soul records,CDs that fit my narrow criteria dont have to be diluted in either of the mentioned scenes.

[sjay]

When is the next do on in spondon? and where is the nearest accomodation?.

Also who is on and what are the opening hours.

Sounds like its right up my street.

Adam

On the music policy of the nights discussed .I would much rather attend a night where there are a few in with the music policy of The Orwell,Soul Essence,Thorne,and by the sound of it the Crown than have to attend a Northern night and wait for a few big play 7ts or a Contemporary Soul night where the DJ gets applauded for been so freethinking to playing an couple of old 7ts classics or lp tracks.

You hopefully know the type of vibe I mean.For me the crossover,7ts,8ts,9ts,00's soul records,CDs that fit my narrow criteria dont have to be diluted in either of the mentioned scenes.

[Sean Hampsey]

When is the next do on in spondon? and where is the nearest accomodation?.

Also who is on and what are the opening hours.

Sounds like its right up my street.

Adam

On the music policy of the nights discussed .I would much rather attend a night where there are a few in with the music policy of The Orwell,Soul Essence,Thorne,and by the sound of it the Crown than have to attend a Northern night and wait for a few big play 7ts or a Contemporary Soul night where the DJ gets applauded for been so freethinking to playing an couple of old 7ts classics or lp tracks.

You hopefully know the type of vibe I mean.For me the crossover,7ts,8ts,9ts,00's soul records,CDs that fit my narrow criteria dont have to be diluted in either of the mentioned scenes.

Stay home Adam.. It's me and Kev Briscoe .

Only kidding mate. You'l love it. But there's no sofa for us both to cuddle up on... while you whisper verbal abuse in my ear.

Date to be confirmed. I'll let you know asap.

Sean

[Guest Adam G]

Stay home Adam.. It's me and Kev Briscoe .

Only kidding mate. You'l love it. But there's no sofa for us both to cuddle up on... while you whisper verbal abuse in my ear.

Date to be confirmed. I'll let you know asap.

Sean

Oh got to definatly go now "The Sammy Deees !!!" Take it John Benson will be there as well.

Charlie told me he had a great time at the last one and the venue is a solid good old room at the back.

I will bring my own sofa and dont forget.............Do us a CDR!!!!!!!

[Sean Hampsey]

Oh got to definatly go now "The Sammy Deees !!!" Take it John Benson will be there as well.

Charlie told me he had a great time at the last one and the venue is a solid good old room at the back.

I will bring my own sofa and dont forget.............Do us a CDR!!!!!!!

Sorry Adam.... I'm not allowed (haven't you been following the "thirst for more" thread).

Be very interested in your perspective in solving my conundrum...

In summary... CD only tracks... that are 'Soulful' enough for the "Northern" Scene... and probably too 'old skool' for the Modern Scene... but can't be played... because they aren't available on vinyl

Wot u reckon?

Sean

[Guest soultempo]

Steve (Jay) ... thanks for your v. kind words ...

Bob & I are really looking forward to meeting the team at your popular venue in January ... !

Shame you couldn't make Mick's Xmas Radio Special ...

Hmmm ... I agree with your sentiments ...

There are so many "unsung hero's" currently spreading the word thro' Clubs, Fanzines & Radio Shows, etc. ... up & down the Country ... you just wouldn't believe ... !

I know many of them personally thro' the show & forums and they are the most passionate, knowledgeable & friendliest bunch of 'anorak nation bods' (of which I'm a bronze star member) you would ever wish to meet ...

The Scene is definitely gaining momentum once again ... perhaps from it's heyday back in the late 80s, early 90s ...

And what makes it feel extra special today for so many ... is simply giving these old records a new lease of life ... it's just great fun ... and there is definitely a growing army of traditional 60s soul lovers who enjoy the 70s scene... just the same...

The Crown Inn, Spondon, Derbyshire does have all the right ingredients to become a classic venue ... and I hope it does ... there is a wonderful feel about the place and its location is dead central ... Bob 'the Crate' Smith, Sean O'Connor, Brian Goucher, Mick O'Donnell, Micky Gynn, Kevin Oxberry, Colin Brown & myself did a gig there last year and had an enjoyable night ... here's to the next one ... :good:

Edited December 11, 2006 by soultempo

[Steve Plumb]

i just love soul music whether is was cut in 1960 or next week..Brett

Got some good posts coming in now

Particularly like the one above..................I'm sure there's a lots more of us about BUT still not enough to get us all together to make a 'truly' ATB one room venue though (imho)! Essence is the nearest but still even with all likeminded souls together in one place, Northern Soul & Soulful Garage still maketh strange bed-fellows that put the dancers into quandries, hence the lack of either extreme!

BUT as this thread is about '70's & Crossover' venues..............I do buy into the idea of 'if it sounds right, then play it' though.............particularly for a night with a set genre! i.e. If it sounds like it will fit into a '70's & Crossover' type night, then it matters not if it's mid 60's (say, Sunlovers) or 2006 (say, Heart Attack). Same goes for Nu Soul/R&B venues, which very often nod back to late 70's/early 80's classics or even the Northern scene playing 'Rehab'!!!!!

Cheers

Steve

[ockers]

Steve (Jay) ... thanks for your v. kind words ...

Bob & I are really looking forward to meeting the team at your popular venue in January ... !

Shame you couldn't make Mick's Xmas Radio Special ...

Hmmm ... I agree with your sentiments ...

There are so many "unsung hero's" currently spreading the word thro' Clubs, Fanzines & Radio Shows, etc. ... up & down the Country ... you just wouldn't believe ... !

I know many of them personally thro' the show & forums and they are the most passionate, knowledgeable & friendliest bunch of 'anorak nation bods' (of which I'm a bronze star member) you would ever wish to meet ...

The Scene is definitely gaining momentum once again ... perhaps from it's heyday back in the late 80s, early 90s ...

And what makes it feel extra special today for so many ... is simply giving these old records a new lease of life ... it's just great fun ... and there is definitely a growing army of traditional 60s soul lovers who enjoy the 70s scene... just the same...

The Crown Inn, Spondon, Derbyshire does have all the right ingredients to become a classic venue ... and I hope it does ... there is a wonderful feel about the place and its location is dead central ... Bob 'the Crate' Smith, Sean O'Connor, Brian Goucher, Mick O'Donnell, Micky Gynn, Kevin Oxberry, Colin Brown & myself did a gig there last year and had an enjoyable night ... here's to the next one ... :good:

many thansk for the opportunity to gig there at the crown

it was a wonderful night Shaun

and im sure the regular nights up there will go on for years

keep up the great work you do on the radio show as steve jay says its essential listening for us all

im looking forward to my trip on 070107 as much as christmas itself

mind you at some of these nights up and down the country it quite often feels christmas hearing all these great tunes plumby will tell you!!!!

to all the promoters/djs who champion this style of music you do a great job and keep going in 2007

we have a great amount of like minded souls on here and its great to read

cant wait for the orwell on 29th december wonderful gig up here in the north west

now next year has to be a trips to soul essence lanza bar the crown and peterborough soul club

will look at morecambes fixtures and work round them

as for my little lot up in morecambe we do have one room and we play everything

but we party and have a good few drinks

you will hear an original mp3 of norris vines alongside a seven of kent drake alongside a 12 of vince montana its a real mash up

you will hear classic northern and party tunes too alongside 2006 choons

it seems to have worked the last three years

as steve says if it sounds right play it

if anyone can make the 16th you will be made most welcome

so video set for this sunday 1000am and the soul discovery party on saturday too with the podcast

dont forget to listen to paul collins tomorrow night on solar radio 700pm till 900pm in th esoul cellar playing 70ss/crossover too

[sjay]

many thansk for the opportunity to gig there at the crown

it was a wonderful night Shaun

and im sure the regular nights up there will go on for years

keep up the great work you do on the radio show as steve jay says its essential listening for us all

im looking forward to my trip on 070107 as much as christmas itself

mind you at some of these nights up and down the country it quite often feels christmas hearing all these great tunes plumby will tell you!!!!

to all the promoters/djs who champion this style of music you do a great job and keep going in 2007

we have a great amount of like minded souls on here and its great to read

cant wait for the orwell on 29th december wonderful gig up here in the north west

now next year has to be a trips to soul essence lanza bar the crown and peterborough soul club

will look at morecambes fixtures and work round them

as for my little lot up in morecambe we do have one room and we play everything

but we party and have a good few drinks

you will hear an original mp3 of norris vines alongside a seven of kent drake alongside a 12 of vince montana its a real mash up

you will hear classic northern and party tunes too alongside 2006 choons

it seems to have worked the last three years

as steve says if it sounds right play it

if anyone can make the 16th you will be made most welcome

so video set for this sunday 1000am and the soul discovery party on saturday too with the podcast

dont forget to listen to paul collins tomorrow night on solar radio 700pm till 900pm in th esoul cellar playing 70ss/crossover too

Sean I really think your mix of music is the direction we aspire to echo over here on the East Coast a mix of the best of everything that we have availble and thats some choice

Steve

[Guest vinylmaniac]

After reading a 'broader' thread on 'Modern Soul venues' on another Soul Source forum, I thought i'd narrow the discussion down to venues playing primarily 70's & Crossover. I know there are quite a few venues knocking around the country now and thought i'd be interesting to see if anyone had any thoughts on these venues, the type of tuneage played there, the type of people attending these venues, DJ's, attendance size etc etc.

Anything really, just wanted to see what most folk think of these type of venues???????

To kick it off, here's a snippet from an article i did for Shades Of Soul earlier this year..................................................................

....................................................Before we get into it (the article that is), I believe it is important to point out that there have been some interesting changes to the 'Modern' side of the Rare Soul scene over the last four or five years. Namely the emergence of a 'third scene' that is basically a throwback to the Modern scene of say 1988 but instead of the new releases of the time (i.e. Mid/Late 80's Indie & Mainstream dancers) more unknown/semi-known 70's dancers are now played! In reality, it's a place where virtually 100% of the tunes played are late 60's Crossover, early/mid 70's or late 70's/early 80's Soul dancers. The 70's Classics of the Northern & Modern scene are played here but it also opens up more scope to play lesser-known dancers that in the past haven't had their place in the sun!

In my opinion, the scene came about because many brilliant Crossover & 70's Soul dancers couldn't get a good enough look-in on the Northern scene. They also sounded too dated at most Modern nights, which were playing up-front 90's/Y2K/Nu Soul/R&B & Soulful garage. The music in effect, fell between the two stools and was in danger of being forgotten about!

The collectors and connoisseurs had been going on about this for years but now the dancers demanded the music! Shortly after the turn of the century, the calls were heeded when a third room in the shape of the (now famous) Tent started at the Fleetwood weekender (hence the term Tent Music). At the same time, venues like the sadly missed back room of The Howard & The Orwell in Wigan switched to playing virtually only Crossover & 70's Soul and the third scene was well under way. Today there are a whole host of quality venues exclusively playing this sort of stuff. Many now also use this opportunity to also play connoisseurs Northern too. The new scene itself is changing and it will be interesting to see where it goes over the next few years!.................................

OK that was written at the end of 2005 and printed in Shades Of Soul earlier this year. I personally still agree with it but I'd be very interested in what other people think?

Cheers

Steve Plumb

Hi Steve.I'm not sure if you wanted stand alone venue's or secondry rooms.Here's my playlist (in no order)from the Backroom at bentinck welfare

THE SUNSHINES/ ALVIN GREEN-LULU

JUST CAN'T DO WITHOUT YOU/ HOWEEFEEL-CONTEMPO

ENDLESS CONFUSION/TOM GREEN-ACTION

GOOD THINGS/ FUTURE 2000-ROTA

GONNA FIND A TRUE LOVE/ BOTTOM & CO-MOTOWN

I WANT YOU/ EXPORTATIONS- VIR-RO

DONT WAIT TOO LONG/ BERES HAMMOND-ARCO

WERE TWO FOOLS IN LOVE/DYSONS FACES-DMG

NOW YOU'RE GONE/ SMOKE-J BRIDGE

THINK ABOUT IT GIRL/ SOLID SOLUTION-SILVER SPOON

MEETING YOU WAS NO MISTAKE/ MOMENTS-STANG

AM I IMPOSING/ MIXED EMOTIONS-ROCK-WAY

THE HIDDEN SECRET/ JEFF SMITH & UNIVERSE-INCENTIVE

THIS TIME/ DOUGLAS & LONERO-RCA

IT TAKES LOVE/ DELILAH MOORE-BDE

GOING OUT OF MY HEAD/ONCOMING TIMES-P-VINE

TIME AINT GONNA DO ME NO FAVOURS/FREDRICK HYMESIII- FAB VEGAS

FOLLOW THE RAINBOW/ THOMAS EAST-TRUE SOUL

CAN YOU REMEMBER/ RHONDA DAVIS-DUKE

GIRL STOP BEGGIN/ WALTER DAVIS- LA CADE

IT AINT ME NO MORE/ LEE WILLIAMS-PM

IM JUST A TEENAGER/ LEE WILLIAM- RAPDA

JUST REMEMBER ME/ CREATIONS-GLODE

THIS IS MY LAST GOODBYE/JOE WALKER-BOLD

This is just a few of the tunes I played during my 8.00pm -10.45 spot in the backroom.Ta! Ray

[Steve Plumb]

Hi Steve.I'm not sure if you wanted stand alone venue's or secondry rooms.Here's my playlist (in no order)from the Backroom at bentinck welfare

THE SUNSHINES/ ALVIN GREEN-LULU

JUST CAN'T DO WITHOUT YOU/ HOWEEFEEL-CONTEMPO

ENDLESS CONFUSION/TOM GREEN-ACTION

GOOD THINGS/ FUTURE 2000-ROTA

GONNA FIND A TRUE LOVE/ BOTTOM & CO-MOTOWN

I WANT YOU/ EXPORTATIONS- VIR-RO

DONT WAIT TOO LONG/ BERES HAMMOND-ARCO

WERE TWO FOOLS IN LOVE/DYSONS FACES-DMG

NOW YOU'RE GONE/ SMOKE-J BRIDGE

THINK ABOUT IT GIRL/ SOLID SOLUTION-SILVER SPOON

MEETING YOU WAS NO MISTAKE/ MOMENTS-STANG

AM I IMPOSING/ MIXED EMOTIONS-ROCK-WAY

THE HIDDEN SECRET/ JEFF SMITH & UNIVERSE-INCENTIVE

THIS TIME/ DOUGLAS & LONERO-RCA

IT TAKES LOVE/ DELILAH MOORE-BDE

GOING OUT OF MY HEAD/ONCOMING TIMES-P-VINE

TIME AINT GONNA DO ME NO FAVOURS/FREDRICK HYMESIII- FAB VEGAS

FOLLOW THE RAINBOW/ THOMAS EAST-TRUE SOUL

CAN YOU REMEMBER/ RHONDA DAVIS-DUKE

GIRL STOP BEGGIN/ WALTER DAVIS- LA CADE

IT AINT ME NO MORE/ LEE WILLIAMS-PM

IM JUST A TEENAGER/ LEE WILLIAM- RAPDA

JUST REMEMBER ME/ CREATIONS-GLODE

THIS IS MY LAST GOODBYE/JOE WALKER-BOLD

This is just a few of the tunes I played during my 8.00pm -10.45 spot in the backroom.Ta! Ray

Hi Ray

The thread was about 70's & Crossover '3rd scene' one room venues BUT this is EXACTLY the type of stuff we're talking about that gets played at these venues

Some phenomenal tunes in that lot, it's hard where to start!!!

The bentinck welfare is very priveliged to have tuneage like that played imho - bet you've got folks going up and down to the decks all the time throughout your spot as there's plenty of quality stuff that's off the beaten track, so to speak

Cheers

Steve

[Guest Brett F]

Fantastic tunes Steve, this is where i am and wanna' be......not interested in that old hat northern scene (not knocking it, just not for this individual)

i spent many years listening and collecting rare soul, the influences i had were many, and they never had issues over genre, tempo or *********** year, all that mattered was good soul music...................period...

BRETT FRANKLIN...............come on........