I heard that on one occasion 'Soul Mafia' DJ Chris Hill played at a Ritz all-dayer in Manchester. Did anyone happen to see him play, I wondered how he went down with the crowd ?

I heard that on one occasion 'Soul Mafia' DJ Chris Hill played at a Ritz all-dayer in Manchester. Did anyone happen to see him play, I wondered how he went down with the crowd ?

I remember him late 70s at Reading - Top Rank???? Can't place if he was on the main-room bill or he was in the Jazz Funk room and came in and took over the stage. A vague memory of him sticking 'Space Bass' on the deck

Chris Hill DJ´d at Romeo & Julietts in Oldham at an All Dayer...Colin Curtis also featured if im not mistaken. Me and my mates were there. Great All Dayer from memory....also saw Chris Hill at his residency, The Gold Mine, Canvey Island and at the first 6 Caister Soul Weekenders.....

Chris Hill DJ´d at Romeo & Julietts in Oldham at an All Dayer...Colin Curtis also featured if im not mistaken. Me and my mates were there. Great All Dayer from memory....also saw Chris Hill at his residency, The Gold Mine, Canvey Island and at the first 6 Caister Soul Weekenders.....

Chris Hill did J/F orientated spots at several locations in the north in the late 70s / early 80s .

Good bloke , and believe it or not , very knowledgable about the NS scene .

Malc

l was there with Mark Bicknell believe it or not ,think it was Summer 78...When all The Funkys came down to the big-room and started doing the conger to Green Door....

Record on deck was 'Magic Fly' by Space l think.......think they were French.......And Daft Punk owe a lot to them

..and one of the 'northern' dj's broke the record/took it off the deck and threw it away.

There were far more 'funkies' in that little room upstairs than the NS boys in the main room.

Also, a well known dealer was selling a box load of Yvonne Baker 'you didn't say a word' on Cameo Parkway as ''ORIGINALS'' for £5!!!

Edited January 27, 201114 yr by albertfish

Chris Hill DJ´d at Romeo & Julietts in Oldham at an All Dayer...Colin Curtis also featured if im not mistaken. Me and my mates were there. Great All Dayer from memory....also saw Chris Hill at his residency, The Gold Mine, Canvey Island and at the first 6 Caister Soul Weekenders.....

I remember Alex Lowes bringing him up to Durham for a night - I couldn't make it but I did get to the Gold Mine and I was a wee bit disappointed - maybe it was just an off night as there is no doubting the mans pedigree.

Cheers

Manus

I was there along with Ian Levine, Colin Curtis, Paul Schofield, John Grant and all the other Northern-based DJ's. We were all expecting (and probably hoping) he'd fall on his arse but happily that wasn't the case.

He was great full stop. It was a revelation to be honest. I remember him kicking off with Ashford & Simpson's "Don't Cost You Nothing" with Fred Dove from Warner Bros on the stage and he rocked it all the way through his set. The floor was packed. He also utilsed some gimmicks and sang along to some of the records and it all worked like a dream. A lesson in total professionalism in my view and most of us upped our game after seeing him perform that gig.

I had the utmost respect for him after that. A total pro in my opinion. I got to know him personally a bit better some 30 years later and I haven't changed my opinion one iota. One of the greatest live DJ's of our era.

Ian D

Edited January 27, 201114 yr by Ian Dewhirst

I'm sure that I've told the story on here before of taking Mr. Levine to see Chris and his then DJ partner Mike Franz in action at my local pub, the Orsett Cock, in early 1971.

If not, I probably shouldn't...

But having been entertained by him for nearly 42 years, on and off, I would have to say that Chris Hill is unquestionably the best DJ I've ever had the pleasure of being in the same room with. And that's not just four pints of decent ale talking either. It was largely the enthusiasm that Chris brings to every set I've ever seen him play - and there have been hundreds - that made me want to give DJ'ing a serious go myself.

A top man with tremendous taste. If the government can give someone like Norman Jay an MBE then what price a knighthood, at least,. for Chris?

I remember him kicking off with Ashford & Simpson's "Don't Cost You Nothing" with Fred Dove from Warner Bros on the stage...

Ian D

Ah yes, Fred standing behind feeding you new product...memories...a year or so before that I met him for the first time when I covered at short notice for a DJ in a newer, smarter club than the one I usually worked (just around the corner) - Fred turned up and insisted I play this test pressing he had, first time out to a crowd I didn't know.

"Who's it by" asks I, "A new outfit called Chic" says he - and the rest, as they say, is history...

Ah yes, Fred standing behind feeding you new product...memories...a year or so before that I met him for the first time when I covered at short notice for a DJ in a newer, smarter club than the one I usually worked (just around the corner) - Fred turned up and insisted I play this test pressing he had, first time out to a crowd I didn't know.

"Who's it by" asks I, "A new outfit called Chic" says he - and the rest, as they say, is history...

You mean you hadn't already got it on import Jerry......?

How's your sis by the way? She used to pop into EMI in the mid 80's but I haven't seen her since........

Ian D

June 77 Silver Jubilee Bank Holiday. Reading- All dayer

I remember this event so well, probably something to do with the amount chemicals consumed or breaking up with my girlfriend re the above incident.

C.Hill and his minions konga'd down from the small upstairs room to the main hall and proceeded to place himself behind the decks ( cant remember who was playing could have been Brian Rae?) In the spirit of bon homie and brotherly love and blatant self promotion

CH started to play MF -Space ( although jazz funk fans have their own take on events, some stating it was Roy Ayres, others Idris Mohammed.( creditability is far more important than the truth.)

Not the DJ but an elderly NS fan Mick?(probally in his mid twenties ) removed said record from the deck and dispatched it post haste stating" he hadn't paid 2 quid to listen to that shit":lol:

Then ensued the Mexican stand off

CH and the Essex hordes departed back to their room in the sky ( should have been well comfortable there as most had traveled from the Lacy Lady & Room at the Top in Ilford, fair enough the R@TT did have a lift)

Me and my girlfriend again argued all the way home re NS v Jazz funk and the relevant fashions ( she was at the London college of fashion at the time and weren't avin none of it )

Talk of credibility I brought Lorraine Silver that day and played it twice during a warm up set

Most of the above is probably true or not depending who you are, and distant memory is subjective after all.

Good night and sleep tight

That's right!! Ah memories

I promtoted hte Ritz All-Dayer featuring Chris Hill.The date was Sunday February 26,1978.

The other DJ's were Ian Levine, Colin Curtis and myself. For some reason I can still vividly remember playing "Heads" - Bob James that day.

Chris was superb and went down really well with our crowd. I was very impressed. He thought our sound system was shite!

He brought Fred Dove from WEA up with him and I can remember them being stunned when Ian Levine did his spot and olayed "Shame" - Evelyn "Champagne" King. Neither they or anyone else had heard it before, somehow Ian had got an exclusive on what has gone on to be one fo the great classics. Ian and Chris are great mates.

Chris played some other Northern based venues, but the Ritz was the first one.

The first 100 admissions to the All-Dayer were gvien a free 12" of "Do You Wanna Get Funky With Me" - Peter Brown. The ad says on 12" Disco Disc!

Have got to know Chis since ,and he is a great lover of Black Music, and was very close to Dave Godiin from the 60's onwards.

Chris gave me some superb quotes/stories for my book "Northern Soul Stories".

All The Best,

Neil

www.soulvation.biz

Not the DJ but an elderly NS fan Mick?(probally in his mid twenties ) removed said record from the deck and dispatched it post haste stating" he hadn't paid 2 quid to listen to that shit":thumbsup:

Record was taken off & broken by Cockney Mick - Mick Webb from Slough - never a man to mince his words!!!

Alan

Certainly wasn't Roy Ayres or Idas Mohemmad as l would have danced to them Seem to remember those 2 being massive at Wakefield Unity Hall

It was definitely a synthesized instrumemtal...

The 12" remix of Crown Heights Affair "Dancin'" by any chance?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSqN5gGde7Y

Ian D

Yes, Chris Hill did the Ritz - The most fabulous set - playing instruments along with the songs as well, which took everything to another level. Totally blew everyone else away - all the funkateers loved it, and even the die-hard Northerners had to admit they'd witnessed a show the like of which they'd never seen before - years ahead of his time.

July 3, 2017

By Matt A

When the story of how Britain fell in love with underground club culture is told, it tends to follow a familiar narrative. The initial focus naturally falls on the NS scene of the late ’60s and early ’70s, which effectively created the blueprint for modern club culture by promoting the idea of dancing all night to obscure music played by DJs whose reputation was built on their ability to champion records their rivals didn’t own.

The story then moves on to the rise of house music, ecstasy culture and the rave movement at the tail end of the 1980s. It was during this period that dance music became part of the fabric of British culture, in the process sparking the rise of the “superstar DJ,” colossal events and a boom in music production that...

the full article can be read via

Britain’s First Dance Music Boom...

Britain’s First Dance Music Boom: The Soul All-Dayer Scen...

The scene that gave Britain the cult of the DJ, the UK’s first dedicated dance music festival and the future pioneers of rave.

Edited Thursday at 13:384 days by Mike
article edited as per our 3rd party website policy

13 hours ago, Zoomsoulblue said:

July 3, 2017

By Matt A

When the story of how Britain fell in love with underground club culture is told, it tends to follow a familiar narrative. The initial focus naturally falls on the NS scene of the late ’60s and early ’70s, which effectively created the blueprint for modern club culture by promoting the idea of dancing all night to obscure music played by DJs whose reputation was built on their ability to champion records their rivals didn’t own.

The story then moves on to the rise of house music, ecstasy culture and the rave movement at the tail end of the 1980s. It was during this period that dance music became part of the fabric of British culture, in the process sparking the rise of the “superstar DJ,” colossal events and a boom in music production that continues to this day.

The problem with this story is that it doesn’t mention what came between the high point of Northern Soul and the mass movement of the late 1980s that cemented dance music’s place in the hearts of the British public. Yet it was during this decade that the roots of Britain’s underground dance music culture were strengthening at a rapid pace. This was the era of the soul all-dayer; sizeable events that initially attracted Northern Soul purists but would eventually draw in dancers from across the nation, often from very different social backgrounds.

Over the course of 11 years, the all-dayer scene gave Britain the cult of the DJ, the UK’s first dedicated dance music festival and served as a breeding ground for future pioneers of homegrown dance music. And, with little fanfare, these “all-dayers” turned dance music from a niche interest into something embraced by those in both the suburbs and inner cities, laying the foundations for all that followed.

It is a story in three distinctive parts, linked by a handful of groundbreaking DJs and promoters. It begins in the North West of England during the most fractious period in the Northern Soul story, shifts to London and the South East, and then returns to its northern heartlands on the eve of the rave revolution. This, then, is the previously untold story of Britain’s first underground dance music boom.

Putting on the Ritz

By the summer of 1975, the previously united Northern Soul scene was in the midst of an identity crisis. The patience of its obsessive disciples was first tested by the closure of two of its most iconic venues, Manchester’s pioneering Twisted Wheel Club and the Golden Torch in Stoke. The former was a victim of Britain’s then archaic licensing laws, while the latter had been shut down by police following histrionic media coverage of the amphetamines-fuelled antics of some of its dancers.

To compound these blows, a schism was beginning to open up between some of the scene’s leading DJs and a portion of the paying public. For a significant number of white, working class men who populated “all-nighters” at the world famous Wigan Casino, the Winter Gardens in Cleethorpes and other smaller venues dotted across the north of England, Northern Soul would always be very narrowly defined as a style. They wanted to hear DJs playing obscure, hard-to-find soul records – mostly from in and around Detroit – that boasted a stomping backbeat.

If they visited the Wigan Casino to hear KR or Richard Searling play, that’s exactly what they got. Yet if they ventured to the Highland Room at the Blackpool Mecca, another legendary Northern Soul venue, their stomping favourites would not always get an airing. There, DJs IL and CC had other ideas.

“From ’73 onwards, the music changed in America and it really gave us a fantastic armoury of records to play,” Colin Curtis says. “We’d decided that there were records that were as good, if not better, then the Northern Soul records we were playing at the time. Along was coming a new form of dancefloor music that we were very excited about.”

Curtis and Levine’s playlists included records from the emerging Philadelphia soul, jazz-funk and disco scenes, as well as more traditional “Northern” favourites. While some of the Mecca’s passionate regulars embraced the duo’s risk-taking record choices, others accused them of ruining the scene. As far as these dancers were concerned, the choice was between Northern Soul and “modern soul,” and anyone who embraced the latter was a traitor to the cause. As the sew-on badges screamed: “Keep the Faith.”

Away from the battlefield that was the Highland Room, something else was stirring. There had been occasional “all-dayers” since the turn of the decade, but the number and frequency of events was gradually increasing.

These events were usually run by veteran Northern Soul diehards and often took place in historic “ballrooms” – pre-war complexes with multiple dancing spaces, grandiose décor and capacities of between 1,500 and 2,000. Two such venues, Birmingham’s Locarno and the Palais in Nottingham, regularly played host to popular Northern Soul all-dayers.

A promoter barely into his 20s, Heart of England Soul Club co-founder Neil Rushton, revolutionized the northern all-dayer scene with a deliciously simple, but innovative idea: instead of appealing solely to “keep the faith” disciples, he would run events that featured DJs from both sides of the Northern Soul/modern soul divide.

After successfully testing the formula at events across the Midlands, he made a bold play by switching his all-dayers to the city that first spawned Northern Soul: Manchester. His chosen venue was the Ritz, a historic Mecca ballroon on Whitworth Street West. It was here that the future direction of the British all-dayer scene would begin to take shape. From the start, the days of Northern Soul were numbered.

“When I had the opportunity to promote the Ritz, there were a lot of great new records around,” Rushton told Bill Brewster in 1999. “I didn’t want it to be just the ’60s soul that I loved but I didn’t want it to be just the current stuff, either. The reason why it worked so well wasn’t because the battle lines were drawn, it was actually because it was the first place to combine everything. We were the first venue to take the blinkers off.”

Naturally, not all of the dancers at the early Ritz all-dayers shared Rushton’s enthusiasm for new American soul. To begin with, the schism within the Northern Soul scene was all too apparent.

“It all crystallized at those all-dayers,” IL explained to BB back in 1999. “All the Blackpool crowd came because me and Colin played and all the Wigan crowd came because Richard Searling DJed. It was like two football crowds: Manchester City and Manchester United. All of these Wiganites with their singlets and baggy pants were shouting, ‘F off Get off! Play some stompers!’ It was all getting quite nasty.”

Rushton has similar memories. “Eventually you did have a situation where there would be people from Wigan pilled out of their heads from the night before, barbed out at the Ritz, picking arguments,” he explained to Bill Brewster. “But it was never as bad as at the Mecca. At the Mecca you had a guy from Wolverhampton running a banner through the venue saying, ‘Ian Levine Must Go.’ There was never a fight at the Ritz all-dayers.”

Although the Ritz had competition from events in Bradford, Leeds, Nottingham, Birmingham and Burnley, it quickly became the focal point of the northern all-dayer scene, both for stomper-seeking soul veterans and modern soul enthusiasts.

“At the Ritz you had a clash of cultures, a clash of people’s opinions and a very interesting dancefloor would result from that,” Colin Curtis says. “You’d have traditional Northern Soul dress versus Hawaiian shirts and plastic sandals. There was a definite visual change: the bowling shirt versus the Hawaiian shirt, if you will.”

Once Curtis finally quit the Blackpool Mecca, he found himself a weekly residency alongside John Grant at Rafters in Manchester. Here, as at the Ritz, he could champion new music; an approach that alienated some of the white, working class dancers that had been the bedrock of the Northern Soul scene. As a result, the racial make-up of his crowds changed.

“By the time I left Blackpool Mecca I would say that on an average Saturday night, there would be six black people in the Highland Room,” Curtis says. “On an all-dayer, at that particular time, there would be a dozen. Within six months of my Rafters residency I was playing to a 70% black crowd. That crowd started coming to venues like the Ritz, so from ’78 onwards the all-dayers had changed. The mixed race attendance increased dramatically.”

It wasn’t just at the Ritz where attendances were booming, either. By this point Rushton was able to book out the entire, 3,500 capacity Blackpool Mecca complex to host extra-large all-dayers. These would feature headline live acts, such as Brass Construction, joining Ian Levine and Colin Curtis in the main room, with Northern Soul selectors relegated to the smaller Highland Room.

The increased emphasis on contemporary soul, disco and jazz-funk records not only helped attract a younger, mixed race crowd, but also dancers from further afield. As their rave era successors would later do, enthusiastic young dancers thought little of travelling hundreds of miles to attend a hyped all-dayer.

One such dancer was Cleveland Anderson, a soul-mad Londoner who would later become a successful jazz-funk and house DJ. “The Ritz was really good – everyone would descend on Manchester,” he told Bill Brewster in 1998. “On the back of that, all-dayers started popping up everywhere. One week it would be Manchester, the next Birmingham, Nottingham or Leicester. There would always be some all-dayer to go to.”

It wasn’t just dancers who would travel, either. On rare occasions, DJs from down south, such as Goldmine, Canvey Island resident Chris Hill, would also be asked to take to the turntables. It was the shape of things to come. While the all-dayer circuit up north continued to bubble along, it would be down south that the scene moved to the next level.

here's the original source yep?

https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2017/07/all-dayer-feature

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