Bournemouth Railway Club

[Guest Dave Mortimore]

 . Bournemouth Railway Club, January 17th, 2009.

.

. How can you describe Saturday night? And not just about the soul music, but in the way that everyone enjoys these occasions?

. I think back many years to those innocent times when I'd just got through a double period of lessons at school and then suddenly, the bell rings and everyone floods out into the playground. The Railway Club is just like that playground, but for adults wishing to wash away the trials and tribulations of the past week. You know that you can just let yourself go, whether it be on the dancefloor, or in conversation, or just casually sitting back listening to the music and watching the various interacting characters absorbing themselves within the atmosphere of a good night out.

. At just two quid to get through the door and two quid a pint, you know you're onto a winner straight away. I had been feeling tired and weakened from the effects of a virus during the week, yet there was no way that Jan and I were going to miss out on this night of soul.

.

. Before 11 p.m., there was some underplayed soul music mixed in with more familiar sounds, during which time the dancefloor had gradually picked up steam. The pick of the tunes for me (and Paul & Jamie Bedford) being Benny Curtis - Dirty Hearts. From there on out, the turntables played mainly classics or Northern Soul that had been well received in the past, much to the approval of the revellers. Soon the 1 a.m. curtain was drawing in and Jonah announced, "This is the last record.! Thanks for being such a great crowd.!" Of course, as per normal, in its wake no one was making for the door, the dancefloor hadn't dissipated and there were cries for "One more!" With a twinkle in his eye and after a little banter with the crowd, Simon Preston agreed to do just that. Except Simon has never been that good at mathematics and his One More turned out to be about ten upbeat numbers that just couldn't be ignored. I remembered seeing Vince, on more than one occasion, reach down and grab his hamstring with a grimace. I knew just how he felt, the continual dancing was taking it's toll. It got to a stage where I really wanted to get off the floor for a rest and I was just about to do so, when the intro to "I can't get enough" - Johnny Sayles, swept across the speakers. Needless to say, I stayed out there and my body took further punishment that was going to be felt well into Sunday. Again the music was stopped and still, "One More.!" was thrown back at Simon. He dutifully responded and the music kept going until the barstaff got their way when the plug was pulled at around 2 o'clock.

.

. The crowd wanted it to keep going and Simon would have turned it into an Allnighter. Which leads me on to another topic. The possibility of a South Coast Allnighter has been broached and Dave Morris has shown more than a passing interest in pulling something together, given that he can track down the right venue in the right location. Does anyone out there have any suggestions? Dave has pulled in some superb D.J.s for Bournemouth University soul nights during the past year, which augers well for any new event he has in mind.

.

. Can the south coast take another soul night? You could say, there are enough. But if you look at the calender of events, you'll note that there are sizable gaps where something could slot in. The current dates seem to come in clusters, with some clashing on the same night. There are five more dates set for Bournemouth Railway Club this year. The next one clashes with Bisley, another with Bournemouth Pier and two other dates clash with Bishopstoke.

. Given the choice, Jan & I would get out nearly every saturday and the thought of sacrificing one soul night for another (and others will do the same, thus diluting numbers), when there are gaps of two or three weeks between some events, is quite frustrating.

. I don't know the promoter Jonah too well. So I've put the above case to Tim Smithers in the hope that he can get him to switch one or two dates. It makes perfect sense for local soul nights to be evenly strung out in what will be a difficult year economically. So I hope something can be done?

.

. To add to the forthcoming year, Simon Preston made mention of that there will be three further dates for rare soul nights. Now this is a difficult one to call. For apart from last saturday, Bournemouth Railway Club has delivered sizable chunks of rare soul in past events. To successfully deliver whole nights based on this ethos will take a dedicated following. So I put this point to Simon and he said that they would be bringing in top notch D.J.s from outside the area. When he elaborated and mentioned names, my jaw dropped. Now it would be sensible to elude from saying who, as no doubt Tim Smithers will announce whoever when the deals are done and dates are set. But I will say that one of them D.J.ed at The Torch and is still well renowned in The Midlands and up north.

. If all what was said comes to fruition, then there is no doubt that the discerning types from far and wide will be attracted to Bournemouth and the rare soul nights will be really successful.

. It looks like it's going to be another interesting Year!

[Guest jbedders]

yes dave it certainly was a great night, one of the best ive been to in recent weeks. I for one would certainly be up for an all nighter, as you could see at about 1;30 i was not about to 'give it up' so to speak!

[Dave Morris]

Dave,

I looked into the possibility of an Alldayer but due to constraints put on me by venues (cost for one and early finish ) at present its a non runner.Plus quite a few never even bothered replying to my queries.

As for an Allnighter I'd have to discuss it with my partner and any other interested parties.Not sure if Uni is the place to hold it due to numbers.Once I've spoken to Viv i'll possibly approach the Uni to see what they say if she's in agreement.

On the subject of Simon's idea of a rare soul night do we need another soul night down here.Am not against the idea in principal but somewhere something's gotta give.

Dave.

[tim smithers]

bournemouth railway club

 

[Russ Vickers]

Another soul night NO, an Allnighter in the right venue, intimate, financially viable, promoted correctly & with the right music policy MAYBE, if people would support it, theres enough punters round these parts to fill an intimate Allnighter, if thats what they want.........at least it would add to the area something we dont have right now, it would also mean Im not hurtling off all over the country every other weekend or so.....................in principle who else would attend an Allnighter in the South Coast area & who would stop till the end & not bugger of at 2 - 4 ish, if there is a demand, I am more than happy to do what ever it takes to make this happen,venue pending. Dave I know we spoke about talking in Feb, but if we need to discuss this earlier PM me your number.............glad it was a good night folks.

Anyone who would like to discuss the possible of an Allnighter further & wants to add thier views on it, I would love to hear from you, PM me guys n gals, but can we keep it civil & positive pse.

Keep at it.........

Russ

[tim smithers]

Another soul night NO, an Allnighter in the right venue, intimate, financially viable, promoted correctly & with the right music policy MAYBE, if people would support it, theres enough punters round these parts to fill an intimate Allnighter, if thats what they want.........at least it would add to the area something we dont have right now, it would also mean Im not hurtling off all over the country every other weekend or so.....................in principle who else would attend an Allnighter in the South Coast area & who would stop till the end & not bugger of at 2 - 4 ish, if there is a demand, I am more than happy to do what ever it takes to make this happen,venue pending. Dave I know we spoke about talking in Feb, but if we need to discuss this earlier PM me your number.............glad it was a good night folks.

Anyone who would like to discuss the possible of an Allnighter further & wants to add thier views on it, I would love to hear from you, PM me guys n gals, but can we keep it civil & positive pse.

Keep at it.........

Russ

Ive got a job to stay up to 1pm and as for the venue it would have to be within a 1 mile radius of where i live, otherwise im not going

On another note Simon is gonna try and break the mould in the south coast bye putting a rare and underplayed nite, know one else is doing this at the moment, if people know that, then there cant be any complaints, unlike a lot of events down here where oldies are mixed with newies, yes there might not be so many through the doors, but a chance to here lesser played choons is worth it ,i think. And i wont have to travel

Edited January 19, 2009 by tim smithers

[Russ Vickers]

Ive got a job to stay up to 1pm and as for the venue it would have to be within a 1 mile radius of where i live, otherwise im not going

On another note Simon is gonna try and break the mould in the south coast bye putting a rare and underplayed nite, know one else is doing this at the moment, if people know that, then there cant be any complaints, unlike a lot of events down here where oldies are mixed with newies, yes there might not be so many through the doors, but a chance to here lesser played choons is worth it ,i think. And i wont have to travel

I wish Simon the best of luck, but he's hardly breaking the mould Tim, as you may or may not know, its been done before, several times, so its not a new idea to the South Coast area by any means, there are several people in the area who have always promoted this policy & pretty much got a good ignoring to by most, not just the venues they have promoted either, but as DJ's too, in some cases were positively ridiculed, apparently now there is a small demand (?) its a big deal, trust me, when the chips were down, very few put thier money where there mouth was Tim, I genuinely hope any venture would be a huge success, but people can be very fickle.............at least with a Nighter you have some chance of bumping the numbers with a few travellers.

Best Russ

[tim smithers]

I wish Simon the best of luck, but he's hardly breaking the mould Tim, as you may or may not know, its been done before, several times, so its not a new idea to the South Coast area by any means, there are several people in the area who have always promoted this policy & pretty much got a good ignoring to by most, not just the venues they have promoted either, but as DJ's too, in some cases were positively ridiculed, apparently now there is a small demand (?) its a big deal, trust me, when the chips were down, very few put thier money where there mouth was Tim, I genuinely hope any venture would be a huge success, but people can be very fickle.............at least with a Nighter you have some chance of bumping the numbers with a few travellers.

Best Russ

Not been done in Bournemouth Russ, when i say something different i mean theres at least 8 do's within 30 miles, none of them doing this, that why Simon wants to do this and to let some locals hear stuff they woulndn't normally hear, unless they travel. As for a niter, we have all been looking to do that, but as you will find getting a venue wont be easy now, Nik Mac was the last to do it ,many moons ago, and he has also mentioned it on several occacions recently

[Guest Dave Mortimore]

  tim smithers said:
Ive got a job to stay up to 1pm and as for the venue it would have to be within a 1 mile radius of where i live, otherwise im not going laugh.gif
On another note Simon is gonna try and break the mould in the south coast bye putting a rare and underplayed nite, know one else is doing this at the moment, if people know that, then there cant be any complaints, unlike a lot of events down here where oldies are mixed with newies, yes there might not be so many through the doors, but a chance to here lesser played choons is worth it ,i think. And i wont have to travel

 I suppose we can expect the usual charm Simon delivers when he uses the microphone. I remember his quip during that last hour,

."Thaarht laarhst one warhz fer Daiyve Mor-tee-mer

. arhnd ears arhnotharh one fer 'eem.! Sweat Yer Barhstarhd.!