Mark Bicknell Posted April 1, 2007 Share Posted April 1, 2007 (edited) Been looking forward to this event for several weeks now and it certainly lived up to my exspectations, however the best laid plans in the Bicknell household often fall short and the start of the night prior to leaving for The Frobisher was in a word a disaster, Jacqui and myself almost never seem to be able to go out together as something always seems to go wrong at the last minute but babysitter in place, dressed up, make up on Jacqui was really looking forward to night out with me and our very good friends Rod and Clare Shard, we were almost out of the door when the phone went it was the babysitter, Luke our son had fallen and gashed his knee badly and she thought it may need hospital attention, so Jacqui flew down to where he was and fifteen minutes later the complextion of her night had changed from a night of stunning Chicago Soul to several hours in Thameside Hospital, two stitches for Luke, X-rays and a very long painful five hours in the A&E department, what is it with this country when a child has to wait five hours for medical attention? still that's another issue. So by this time just after 8pm the whole mood in the camp had changed, we were all pretty pissed off none more than Jacqui but despite this change in circumstances as they say 'the show must go on' and i was set to do my first of two spots at 10pm and the time was approaching 8.30pm and we were still in Ashton - Under - Lyne so feeling pretty guilty, shitty and generally uspet we hit the road, Clare at the helm and Mr Shard being in control of directions we flew down the M62 pretty much in record time and Rod's sense of direction is spot on as we arrived at The Fobisher around 9.30pm in good time to get a refreshing drink which was much needed after the turmoil back in Ashton, meeted and greeted a few people including Dave and Val Box, Fred Ward and Shane Cox, Shirley And Colin, the Hull gang, the venue was filling up well as Fred finished his set, pretty emotional for the Frobisher gang as this was the last ever night there after eleven years of soul nights, the theme of the night was 'Chicago Soul' based and after several record box changes the few days leading up to the night i was really up for this but my mind was on Little Bicknell's accident so i'm sorry if i did not quite give 100% throughout the two sets but i tried to be a true professional and had to do justice to the Windy City and The Frobisher crowd. Kicked off with Wade Flemons - Jeanette followed by Jimmy Robbins - I Just Can't Please You which seemed to set the mood and people were soon up on the floor, i pretty much stayed authentic to the ethos of the night which was to celebrate the music of Chicago, so we were half way there for a perfect night as Chicago produced some outstanding records and we certainly played many of the top tunes out of the big Windy, Artistics, Dells, Inspirations, Salvadors, Ringleadres, Jimmy Burns, Sam Fletcher, Accents, Gene Chandler and many more kept the floor busy throughout the six hour session, Shane Cox it has to be said has the edge on me record wise when it comes to Chicago and it's always a pleasure to firstly DJ alongside him and to be in his company...gret bloke, get us together and we seem to bounce off each other musically, we both have a passion for Chicago music as does Dave and Val Box so it was fantastic to be involved with a Chicago based night and i think it worked well, Shane and Dave double - decked after me from 11pm through to midnight then i followed them for my second spot which i enjoyed better than the first, trying to dig deep as by this time some of shall we say the bigger Chicago's had already been played, Dave kept joking that i left them nothing to play but Shane had other ideas and we all complimented each other with the dance floors best interest at heart and the final night at 'The Frobisher' turned into a very good night indeed. Dave and Shane finished the night off from 1am to 2am but we pulled out about half hour before the end, several people thanked me on our way out for an enjoyable couple of sets which makes it all worth doing. There were some pretty scary photographs taken of me and i even managed to take a few and will post a selection a little later. I'm not sure if they are going to find another venue but i'm sure they will, Dave and Co have a real passion for the music and the scene in general and i'm sure they will continue to run and find a new event and of course there is always 'The Wilton Allnighter' which they are involved in to keep them busy. On a personal note i would like to thank them for inviting me down to DJ I must say that bugger me 'Bicknell' finally gets to play 'The Fobisher' and it closes down....lol well worth the eleven year wait.....a fantastic night.....now off to the shops with Little Bicknell to cheer him up after is nightmare last night and i guess i'll have to take Mrs Bicknell out of a nice lunch. Chicago tuneage played at The Frobisher March 31st 2007 Over the two spots. Wade Flemons - Jeanette - Ramsel Jimmy Robins - I Can't Please You - Jerhart George Kirby - What Can I Do - Cadet "Ivory's" - Please Stay - Despenza Jimmy Burns - I Really Love You - Erica The Salvadors - Stick By Me Baby - Wise World The Ringleaders - Baby What Has Happened To Our Love - M-Pac The Inspirations - Your Wish Is My Command - Midas The Dells - Run For Cover - Cadet Rosco Robinson - That's Enough - Gerri DJ The Fasinators - In Other Words - Bombay Ernest Mosley - Stubborn Heart - La Cindy Mamie Galore - It Ain't Necessary - St Lawrence DJ The Artistics - This Heart Of Mine - Okeh DJ Sam And Kitty - I've Got Something Good - Four Brothers The Marvelows - Your Little Sister - ABC Sam Fletcher - I'd Think It Over - Tollie DJ Jo Ann Garrett - A Whole New Plan - Chess Gene Chandler - Mr Big Shot - Constellation The Admirations - Don't Leave Me - One-Derful Jamo Thomas - I Spy (For The FBI) Thomas - PACKED THE FLOOR!!! Johnny Moore - Walk Like A Man - Date The Fascinations - Girls Are Out To Get You - Mayfield Garland Green - Ain't That Good Enough - Revue Roy (Cortez) Butler - A Dream - Boo Marvin Smith - Who Will Do Your Running Now - Mayfield The Voice Masters - If A Woman Catches A Fool - Bamboo DJ Gene Chandler - Bet You Never Thought - Constellation DJ Darrow Eletcher - The Pain Gets A Little Deeper - Groovy Fred Hughes - Don't Let Me Down - Vee Jay Johnny McCall - You Can't Get Away - Satellite DJ Lee Shot Williams - Love Now Pay Later - Gamma Barbara Carr - My Mama Told Me - Chess DJ The Accents - You Better Think Again - One-Derful The Dells - Thinkin' About You - Cadet Monique - If You Love Me (Show Me) Maurci Ray And Dave - Wrong. Wrong, Wrong - Mica Junior Wells - I'm Gonna Cramp Your Style - Bright Star DJ Betty Everrett - Getting Mighty Crowded - Vee Jay Patti Hamilton And The Lovelites - My Baby Loves Me - Lovelite The Chimes - The Beginning Of My Life - Down To Earth Wade Flemons - That Other Place - Vee Jay Also played Sandi Sheldon and The Demures i think and may have missed one or two others out but that's pretty much my contribution to a fantastic night...let's do similar nights soon. Special thanks to Mr And Mrs Shard for the lift over and your support and friendship. Regards - Mark Bicknell. Edited April 3, 2007 by Mark Bicknell Link to comment
PS-Soul Posted April 1, 2007 Share Posted April 1, 2007 Some post that one Mark , you must have been up early to write that, sorry to hear about your son,hope he's OK. Totally agree with you about the night , some top tunes played by all of you throughout the 6 hour special, thanks for playing Voicemasters and Chimes, would have liked to hear Ultimations,Drake & The Ensolids and Padded Cell as well but can't be greedy and we thought you put together 2 well thought out spots covering the well known and the not so well known. Couldn't believe it when Jamo Thomas filled the floor but it was that kind of night Credit as always must go to Dave,Val,Fred and Jaqui for putting on one of the best soul nights in Yorkshire over the years and it will be greatly missed by our crew from Doncaster,Rotherham area, as we have said many times before this venue offers something for everyone which must be the way forward IMO. If you decide to carry on with a new venue you will have our support. Apart from Marks playlist other faves of ours played included Sheppards-Little Girl Lost, Darrow Fletcher-What Have I Got Now and the brilliant Walter Jackson - Let Me Come Back- what a tune and lots more. Once again ,thanks and see you all soon Paul,Sue & Elaine,Doncaster. Link to comment
Mark Bicknell Posted April 1, 2007 Author Share Posted April 1, 2007 Some post that one Mark , you must have been up early to write that, sorry to hear about your son,hope he's OK. Totally agree with you about the night , some top tunes played by all of you throughout the 6 hour special, thanks for playing Voicemasters and Chimes, would have liked to hear Ultimations,Drake & The Ensolids and Padded Cell as well but can't be greedy and we thought you put together 2 well thought out spots covering the well known and the not so well known. Couldn't believe it when Jamo Thomas filled the floor but it was that kind of night Credit as always must go to Dave,Val,Fred and Jaqui for putting on one of the best soul nights in Yorkshire over the years and it will be greatly missed by our crew from Doncaster,Rotherham area, as we have said many times before this venue offers something for everyone which must be the way forward IMO. If you decide to carry on with a new venue you will have our support. Apart from Marks playlist other faves of ours played included Sheppards-Little Girl Lost, Darrow Fletcher-What Have I Got Now and the brilliant Walter Jackson - Let Me Come Back- what a tune and lots more. Once again ,thanks and see you all soon Paul,Sue & Elaine,Doncaster. Paul, you did ask me to play the above mentioned tunes and i'm sorry but i just ran out of time, really enjoyed the night and it's always nice to see you mate.'The Chimes' sounded good i must admit. Regards - Mark Bicknell. Link to comment
Mark Bicknell Posted April 1, 2007 Author Share Posted April 1, 2007 Dave Box in action. Link to comment
Mark Bicknell Posted April 1, 2007 Author Share Posted April 1, 2007 Chicago A-Go-Go at The Frobisher. Link to comment
Daryl Posted April 1, 2007 Share Posted April 1, 2007 Chicago A-Go-Go at The Frobisher. Hi Mark. A great night had by all not a bad tune allnight.sounds like you did well to get there!Many thanks to Dave & Val & the rest of the gang for a great night. cheers Daryl Link to comment
hullsoul Posted April 1, 2007 Share Posted April 1, 2007 Great night & can only echo what's been wrote.Really enjoyed what was played and a big thanks must go to all dj's for not going too anoraky and trying to out do each other with the most obscure Chicago sounds but played what the masses wanted to hear,good up-tempo dancers. It's a venue I will miss greatly as for me it's the perfect club night,always friendly,good oldies plus a mixture of semi-known & nighter sounds played by top dj's............what more do you want? Cheers Martyn & Lynn www.hullsoulclub.com Link to comment
Mark Bicknell Posted April 1, 2007 Author Share Posted April 1, 2007 Hi Mark. A great night had by all not a bad tune allnight.sounds like you did well to get there!Many thanks to Dave & Val & the rest of the gang for a great night. cheers Daryl Scary picture there Daryl...lol you sneaked that one in, again really top night. Regards - Mark Bicknell. Link to comment
Mark Bicknell Posted April 1, 2007 Author Share Posted April 1, 2007 Shane Cox in Chicago mode. Link to comment
Mark Bicknell Posted April 1, 2007 Author Share Posted April 1, 2007 Modernsoulsucks......well it does when you look like this....Mr Shard looking sharpe. Link to comment
Mark Bicknell Posted April 1, 2007 Author Share Posted April 1, 2007 Chuddy...a class act. Link to comment
spot Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 REALLY SORRY WE MISSED THIS BUT I`M AFRAID SKEGGY GOT OUR MONEY SOME MONTHS AGO & THERE`S NO TURNING BACK WHEN CASH MONIES IS INVOLVED. I`D LIKE TO REITERATE MR BIRD WORDS THAT IT WILL BE GREATLY MISSED & I SINCERELY HOPE FRED & DAVE DECIDE TO CARRY ON WITH ANOTHER VENUE. ANYWAY WELL DONE FELLA`S, SPOT. Link to comment
Guest Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 As has been said so far, top top night, glad we made te journey down. Hope Fred and Dave do consider another venue, music was spot on, great to hear Beginning of my Life-Chimes, Always request this up in the North East Mark Forever in Roy Keane's Debt Link to comment
Mark Bicknell Posted April 2, 2007 Author Share Posted April 2, 2007 As has been said so far, top top night, glad we made te journey down. Hope Fred and Dave do consider another venue, music was spot on, great to hear Beginning of my Life-Chimes, Always request this up in the North East Mark Forever in Roy Keane's Debt Hi Mark, I thought the music was first class and on reflection we could have perhaps 'crossed over' a bit more as with The Chimes 45, Voice Masters etc. But all in all is was nice to be involved with what was sadly the last night at The Frobisher and i'm sure Dave and Fred have something new in the pipe line. Regards - Mark Bicknell. Link to comment
JimK Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 We speak of bringing 'young blood' to our scene in the hope that they will take forward our superb music. Well, I took my heavy metal loving step-son (& girlfriend) along with me to the Frobisher. As with all first timers, they were amazed with the dancing and dancers but what made it for me was the fact that they enjoyed the music. OK they didn't know any of the tracks - that's a lie, Nothing But Blue Skies and Wrapped Tied and Tangled had been heard on my turntable at home but they still enthused about the music policy. They were greeted by strangers and welcomed as a matter of course. They're only seventeen and gagging for another taste of Northern Soul. Thanks to the DJ's too for keeping it busy on the floor, what a great night. Jim Link to comment
Guest Baz Posted April 4, 2007 Share Posted April 4, 2007 Cheers Baz, i will try and do what you have requested but i'm useless at this kind of stuff so i might get Jacqui to do this as she is far better than me with such complex things lol. Regards - Mark Bicknell. Any probs shout up and i'll get mike to submit it Link to comment
Recommended Posts