Mike

scottish castle soul weekender something good for all you soul fans,the end off this year we are putting together ,a weekender with a difference,a castle in the north off scotland ,which sleeps 160 people ,big wooden dance floor,licenced bar,food served all weekend,and a good mix of DJs FROM SCOTLAND AND ENGLAND,playing the best in 60s,70s,northern soul and crossover two steppers,THE EVENT WILL KICK OF ON THE FRIDAY NIGHT .WITH ALLNIGHTER ON THE FRIDAY NIGHT AND AFTERNOON SESSION ON THE SATURDAY ,WITH THE MUSIC STRAIGHT THROUGH TILL 7AM ON THE SUNDAY MORNING ,THE COST WILL BE AROUND £60 PER PERSON ACCOMADATION ONLY BASIS,the castle is set in one of the most picturesque,parts of scotland and is just north of inverness ,which is on the main rail link from England ,also inverness has an airport with flight from all over the uk,as well as a main road link from both Edinburgh and Glasgow,this will be the event of a life time and limited number of places ,so dont miss out send email to ,SCOTTISHCASTLESOULWEEKENDER@HOTMAIL.COM

Once Upon A Time In Wigan at the Contact IT was with a sullen heart that I departed the Contact Theatre. Not because I had been left unimpressed by this homage to Wigan Casino and all that went with it, but because I was born 15 years too late to have been involved.....lawrence poole Just a brief clip from a new review of the much talked about Wigan Play "Once Upon A Time" The 2004 run started last Tuesday in the Contact theatre Manchester, early reports say that there have been a few changes since last years run The full review can be found at Manchester Online website Click here Full details of playcan be found at the website... Once Upon A Time In Wigan and theatre details at Contact Theatre

The Blue Room - New Oldies Venue Once again this year we are providing a separate oldies venue. Due to the tremendous success of last years Room at the top we have created a new venue called The Blue Room We are running two oldies all-nighters on Friday and Saturday nights. The Blue Room is on the second floor of the centre and is one floor below last years room at the top-- do especially to save our oldies djs knees when climbing the stairs with their boxes ! Full details of the Blue Room are in the event section of official web site www.soul-weekenders.co.uk

Latest news from the offical website http://www.soul-weekenders.co.uk NEWS FLASH ! OVER 2,500 NOW BOOKED FOR PRESTATYN ! REMAINING PLACES ARE SELLING OUT FAST ! IF YOU ARE COMING AND HAVEN'T YET BOOKED BE QUICK OR YOU WILL BE DISAPOINTED AS THIS EVENT IS CLOSE TO SELLING OUT. REMEMBER WE ARE THE BEST VALUE WEEKENDER EVER ! PRICES START AT JUST £33.00 FOR 3 FULL NIGHTS INC. ALL ACCOMODATION AND FULL VENUE PASSES !!!!! DON'T BE LEFT BEHIND, IF YOU HAVEN'T BOOKED THERE ARE NO "DAY" OR "DANCE HALL" PASSES AT THIS EVENT SO YOU WILL NOT GET IN...SEE YOU THERE !

Information via Greg Tormo ( www.geocities.com/solidhit ) and Dave Brown of Philly Archives. Herb Johnson passed away Monday January 19th in Philadelphia, PA of cancer, aged 68. Born December 26th, 1935 in North Carolina, Herb moved to Philadelphia with his family when he was nine years old. As a teenager attending Overbrook High School, Herb auditioned at the Royal Theatre on South Street for a radio spot on WPEN, singing "You Belong To Me" by one of his favorite groups, The Orioles. In 1953 Herb joined the U.S. Air Force, singing with a group called The Lyrics who performed on USO tours singing R&B hits of the day. By the mid fifties, he began singing with a West Philly vocal group The Ambassadors who participated in a talent show at the Leader Theatre at 41st and Lancaster Avenue. By 1960 Herb made his first single for Len Records called "Guilty", a local hit, selling over 50,000 copies in the Philadelphia area alone. Shortly after, he recorded two singles for V-Tone Records and by the mid 60s recorded some soul 45s for Swan, Arctic and Tyler Records which are still popular with soul fans in England. Herb, along with Kenny Gamble sang the male backing vocals on Barbara Masons hit, "Yes Im Ready". With his instrumental group The Impacts, Herb performed all over the Philadelphia club circuit throughout the 60s and early 70s. The bass player for The Impacts, Wally Osborne, formed the Toxan label in 1968, releasing Herbs uptempo soul classic, "Im So Glad". This record did well enough to get released nationally on Brunswick and became a hit in England when it reached their shores five years later. By the early 70s, Herb released the funky "Damph Faint" for Toxan which was recorded in one take in a basement studio inside a shoe store in Northeast Philly called Impact Sound . This song has been on many funk collections over the years and was recently reissued properly on Herbs CD called "Remember Me". Herb continued singing with acappella groups The Zip Codes and A Moments Pleasure and he recently performed some live shows with a new band featuring guitarist Bobby Eli who played with Herb in the original Impacts group. This past summer, Herb recorded a single for the Timmion label in Finland called "Make You Wanna Holler". Relatives, friends and fans are invited to attend a viewing Monday morning 9-11 AM KENT FUNERAL HOME 6506-20 Haverford Ave. Phila. (215-748-1900). Funeral Services at 11 AM

The Soul Talk List Invite to join Soul Talk A list for talking that soul be it northern modern r and b or whatever After 3 years of quality soul discussion the SOUL TALK List has recently moved to a new home which offers improved email discussion plus many web based features. To join just Send a email to soultalk-subscribe@smartgroups.com or if want to make max use of the site features can sign up at or just use the box below Cheers and enjoy that soul SOUL TALK List moderating team Ady Croasdell Andy Killock Dave Rimmer Nick Gilbert Paul Donnely out of date!

ON THE SCENE (The only INDEPENDENT FREE UK SOUL GIG GUIDE) listing February events is now out. Available at all good specialist record shops as well as at most soul events throughout the UK. You can also obtain it direct from Fresh Promotions by sending an SAE to Fresh Promotions, PO Box 1088, Blackpool or taking out a yearly subscription by calling 01253 318267 to guarantee you dont miss an issue. Keep it soulful Paul Fresh Promotions

SOUL IN THE CITY - NEW VENUE Yes were on the move again, after 6 brilliant months at nylon we were evicted just before our January event. Despite the fact that their management initially approached us to put on a Northern night & their club was empty 5 nights a week they decided that our music alienated their clientele & the 150 that we averaged each month wasnt enough for them. Not to worry, Im pleased to say that we have managed to secure a brilliant venue just 5 minutes down the road at Vivo 17 Watling Street London EC4, Its an atmospheric air conditioned bar just 1 minute from Mansion House tube & a few minutes from St Pauls, Bank & Cannon Street . Although spread over two floors the upstairs bar will be closed although the cloakroom will be open & we will be stomping in the basement where there is plenty of comfy seating , a talc friendly wooden dance floor & a large bar where you will be pleased to hear there will be drinks promotions until 8pm. Pint of Lager (Carlsberg or Carling cant remember which but it begins with a C! selected other drinks all at £1.50 & even at normal prices still a lot cheaper than Nylon ! As before we will be starting at 6.30 & going on until Macs had enough, normally around 12.30-1.00 & you will hear across the board sixties, unknowns, underplayed oldies, current plays & classic oldies all mixed together, from Beat Ballads through to 100mph Stompers. A very big thanks to everyone who has supported us over the last 2 years & we hope to see you at ViVos on 4th February & the 1st Wednesday of every month. Entrance £4.00 DJs Martin Thomson, Paul McKay,Mac & Dave Greenhill Be early & get pissed with the DJs www.soulitc.co.uk Dave G. SITC #0797 1876661

One of the most popular sites in the Soul Source Links section has just had a redesign and moved to a different url.For all the info, details and all the rest on one of the UKs top northern nites, get over to link no longer valid

Hi Folks, Just a quick reminder that the Rhyl Connoisseurs weekender is running on the 26th / 27th March, 2004. I understand from the promoters, John Mills and Stevie Z, that the number of hotel rooms still available is quickly approaching single figures. However, if you just want to cme down for the Saturday night, tickets are now available. the full details are: Saturday 27th March, 2004 THE RHYL CONNOISSEURS ALLNIGHTER THE WESTMINSTER HOTEL 11 - 13 EAST PARADE, RHYL. 9 pm to 8 am. Possibly the strongest DJ line up ever seen in Wales: Butch, Keith Money, Mick H, Andy Dyson, Roger Banks, Dave Rimmer, John Weston, Chris Anderton, Stevie Z, Cliff Steele, Derek Pearson, and John Mills. Playing the best in Rare Sixties / Crossover / Modern Soul in two rooms. This will be an all ticket allnighter, and tickets are available two ways. Either send a cheque for £10 per ticket made payable to MR S ZELENYJ to Jon Mills, 178 Tong Moor Rd, Bolton, BL2 2HN. Tickets will also be on sale at Soul nights / allnighters from the following people - John Mills, Stevie Z, Andy Dyson, Mick H, and Dave Rimmer The buzz on this one is already building, and it is easily expected to sell out, so make sure you dont miss out and get your ticket early. Info line John Mills 01204 413973