Geoff

This was my first visit to the Blackpool Soul Festival and to my surprise I was most impressed. The Winter Gardens has had a facelift since my last visit several years ago. The staff including security were polite and helpful, what you expect but don't always get. There were rooms for almost all tastes in soul music and to my shame I must admit I didn't go into all of them. I missed out on the Modern Soul rooms, must correct that next year. As usual I did spend quite a lot of time in the Olympia room where rarer Northern sounds were played. Some superb sets: Butch, Mick H, Keith Money, you get the picture. On arrival our first calling point was the Gillows Bar where Crossover was played. We did pop back in there from time to time over the weekend but it was hard to get a seat. We did spend time in the Pavilion where there was a Twisted Wheel set on Saturday afternoon. The Empress Ballroom was the arena for classic Northern Soul and the live acts. We saw Patti Austin on Saturday night. She was good, still had her voice and did quite a long show. I'd forgotten some of the songs she sang, nice to be reminded of them. Last thing Sunday we went in there to see friends. I watched an extremely busy dance floor, I didn't dare venture out there. There were a lot of stalls selling memorabilia and clothes. One guy asked my opinion of his new baggy trousers he was trying on in the gents toilet. I admitted I wasn't keen on them but each to their own. I was told that 5,000 attended but the number of rooms dispersed the crowds and I never felt at all claustrophobic. The music was very enjoyable but perhaps the nicest part of the weekend was seeing people I'd not seen for years: Eddy and Shirley Edmondson, Tony and Sheena Patchett, Kev and Olwen Dempsey, Dave and Sue, Chris and Steve, and many more, plus meeting some of Sandy's Twisted Wheel friends who made me most welcome. To be honest I was a bit tired after Cleethorpes and need time to get over it, you don't recover so quick these days but hopefully will be going back next year.

I don't normally comment on weekenders, not because I've not enjoyed them but because it's hard sometimes to remember much of what occurred. I travelled to Cleethorpes by train with John Stubbs and arrived at the Beachcomber at about 3.15 Friday. We both commented that on both trains we didn't see anyone else we knew travelling to the weekender, that's quite unusual. And there was no one queueing in reception when we picked up or caravan keys. We were joined later by our normal caravan companions Paul and Helen McKay. And at this point I'd like to thank my friends for their company and particularly to Helen for the lovely meals she cooked for us: Spanish chicken and chorizo on Friday night, prawns with pasta on Saturday, and on Sunday evening baked salmon with new potatoes. To my eyes in the main room there appeared to be slightly fewer tables and arranged differently, giving a bit more room between them. The bar staff were friendly and attentive, my thanks to them. The Modern room seemed exactly as last year, nothing seemed to have changed. For those who regularly attend the music policy was the same, a mix of classics and lesser known tunes, the DJs did as you expected them to. The dance floor is excellent in my opinion, although I did notice a line of metal studs, have I got that right? I suppose that was to make 100 Club people like myself feel at home if we missing that club's idiosyncratic dance floor. Seriously though they had no effect on dancing, at least not on mine. And it was okay in trainers too, proved that in the afternoon sessions. My favourite sets in the main room were Butch and Mick H, not surprising to anyone who knows me but I did get up for certain classic oldies as well. Sadly I can't dance all night like I used to, penalty of advancing years. But could still jump up and dance to I'm Gone when Mick H played it, I for some reason as soon as I heard those opening bars my feet took over. Hope no one was watching. Butch as usual continued to surprise including oldies like Oh I've Been Blessed and in his final set at 2 am Sunday morning Bobby Freeman's I'll Never Fall In Love Again. I'm always interested in what records fill the floor, when he played Joseph Webster on Friday and Sha La La on Saturday the dance area filled right up, people know them. What did surprise me was that I Wanna Know, his Jean Carter cover up, didn't fill the floor completely, as it does at the 100 Club, perhaps most don't know it but he's played it before at Cleethorpes. I must admit I was in ecstasy when he played that, one of my favourite NS records. In the Modern room I enjoyed the Norfolk Village sets on Saturday afternoon. The problem with two rooms is that you don't really know where you should be if there are DJs you like in both rooms. On Sunday afternoon I enjoyed Mick Smith's set of medium tempo and beat ballads in the main room. Unfortunately numbers attending were down, can't get away from that. Why? Others better qualified than myself must explain that. I suppose the upside was that there was more space on the dance floor, but Ady and the other promoters need the numbers to justify the weekender. It was particularly noticeable on Sunday night, normally packed with people. I know that many have to go home for work on Monday morning, and employers are less sympathetic to requests for Mondays off, but I was surprised by how many had gone. Normally you can't get on the dance floor but this time there was plenty of room. I came back from the Modern room, sat down and immediately got up when Demanding Man was played followed by Tommy Ridgley's My Love Gets Stronger. But there weren't really many dancing to these tunes. A friend said later that they're not Sunday night records, I defer to him because I often go in the Modern room for most of Sunday evening. Mick Smith came on and played uptempo classics and this got things going a bit more. I went back to the caravan at about 12.15, was really tired, I'd been up late the two previous nights, and had to get up early to pack my case. I enjoyed the weekend, and am still getting over it. The music is important but so is seeing friends from all over the country, and abroad. A few were missing, and Ady wrote a nice tribute to the late Jim Smirk in the programme. Thanks to Ady, Phil Dick and Neil Rushden, the DJs and staff of the Beachcomber for putting on a memorable weekend.

I'd missed the last allnighter at the 100 Club due to feeling unwell after a tooth extraction so was eager to attend this one. In addition my friend Maria O was one of the guests, about time too in my opinion. While we queued outside we were treated to a light show by the lightning, and we only just got inside before the rain came down. Rolly was unable to attend so Fay did the honours taking our money. I think the music had only just started as we walked, Tomas was opening the night taking the place of Ady who'd taken the weekend off leaving things in the capable hands of Matt Bolton. My first foray to the dance floor was when Tomas played the classic Sam Fletcher track I'd Think It Over Twice. Valentina Salvo made her 100 Club debut next, starting with a couple of Modern Soul sounds: the Temptations' Masterpiece and For Real Inc's The Man. As she got further into her set she included Baby Don't You Weep, Suffering Wrath, There Was A Time and ended this set with Sir Henry Ivy's He Left You Standing There. Stafford's Top Of The World DJ Guy Hennigan was on after Valentina and kept the pace up, in fact I only recognised one record, Towanda Barnes' You Don't Mean It, and I had to ask Russ Vickers what it was. After he told me I realised I knew it. 100 Club regular Butch was on next, starting with an old Blackpool Mecca record, but I didn't get the title. Later he included Pee Wee Shucks & Huey's Beside Myself, fabulous in my opinion, his Chuck Jackson cover up, Bessie Banks' I Want A Guarantee and ended with Going Back To Houston by Tommy & The Derbys. Another lady was making her DJ debut at the club, Boomerang promoter Maria Orlovic. It was good to see her up there behind the decks, she's a good friend of mine, and has very good musical taste, and the records to match. Her second play had me out there to I'm Yours, she included some of her most popular plays: Hamilton Movement, Karmello Brooks, Don't Play The Role. One of my friends said she'd like to hear some oldies, I think Tomas obliged when he followed Maria, with tracks like I Thought You Were Mine and You're Gone. Later in the set he included some Modern Soul and ended with The Best Is Yet To Come. Valentina opened her second set with Jerry Butler's One Night Affair and included Lady Day And John Coltrane by Gil Scot-Heron, I Gotta Let Go by Marcie Hines, the Jackson Sisters' I Believe In Miracles, and T&T's Something On My Mind. Well done Valentina. Next was Guy's second set and he kept the pace up with the Righteous Brothers' It's Up To You and finishing with The Flock's Take Me Back. Then Butch for his final set played his very popular cover up by the Mighty Lovers, guaranteed floor filler. He dipped into classic oldies with What Happened To Yesterday. Both of his sets were predominantly 60s sounds, not all but mainly. Time for Maria's final set and she had the accolade of finishing the night. She started with the Cosmos Universal Band's Third Eye and mixed the tempos, playing These Memories followed by the Martiniques' If You Wanna Call Me. She gradually lowered the tempo and ended with Richard Caiton's I'd Like To Get Near You. I particularly liked the three or four she played before that, anyone know what they were? She played one more after RC but the lights were on and we were being ushered out. Musically a very diverse night, something for most I think. A reasonable number were in but it did thin out leaving the diehards at the end. It's possible some were at the Bury nighter and some were thinking of Cleethorpes which is very soon. It was very hot down there, I needed to change my shirt halfway through. There were a few people who obviously didn't know the etiquette about drinks on the dance floor but as soon as someone mentioned it they put their drinks down, no problem. The dance floor seemed okay to me but my legs and feet are a bit sore now. The next nighter is August I think but we've got the Cleethorpes weekender soon to keep us happy. Thanks to Matt, the DJs, and the staff of the club.

When I saw the name of this night it immediately piqued my interest, The Flamingo, one of the haunts of my youth, now sadly gone. But this Flamingo is a nice basement bar in High Holborn, WC1, which is central London, roughly between the City and Oxford Street, just near Chancery Lane tube station, an area I used to work in. The night was most enjoyable, top music and company. Good to hear John Parker in London, he's got a very impressive collection and entertained us with some big tunes plus quite a few that were new to me. The other DJs did sterling work, keeping the tempo very danceable. And there were lots of records I didn't know so playlists would be most welcome. The only downside for me was that I found the dance floor very difficult, I just couldn't slide at all, others seemed to manage okay so it must be me. Jim Watson told me that the lady who runs the bar plans to get a wooden dance floor in for September's one. it was good to see plenty of my friends there, all seemed to be having a good time. I'm happy to report that there are some good NS nights in London, e.g. Walls of Heartache, Soul Giant, and this one that get away from the overplayed tunes. Good news for those of us who like to delve a little deeper into our music.

The last proper 100 Club allnighter was at the beginning of December last year. There had been the appearance of the “100 Club Road Show” at the Springfield allnighter in January but the majority of regulars weren't able to make the trip to Wales. So there was much anticipation among those queuing in Oxford Street outside the club. Unusually there was little security presence, no one on the door to check our bags and as far as I could see only one bouncer. When we got to the ticket office Ady was taking the money and Fay was wielding the rubber stamp. Rolly and Garry were late due to traffic. Down the stairs and Keith Money is getting the proceeding under way. As I stowed my coat and bag away I remember him playing Hey Girl by the Topics and Jerry Butler's Aware Of Love, nice to hear the latter, not often heard out. Ady took over and kept the music spinning. By this time it was beginning to fill up and eventually was full. At this time the dance floor was slippy, I had to be careful walking across it with leather soled shoes. Later it became a bit sticky, which unfortunately isn't uncommon. Next on was Tomas McGrath, one of our younger regular DJs. For his first set Tomas kept mainly to Northern Soul but included the odd Modern Soul tune such as Gotta Strange Feeling. Then it was time for Butch's first set and in this one in the main he kept to Northern Soul, starting off with Arthur Willis, switched to the 70s for Free Man and back to the 60s for Chuck Jackson cover up; Pee Wee Shucks & Huey; Bessie Banks' acetate of I Want A Guarantee; J Hammond; Hopkins Brothers, etc. Naturally the dance floor was busy. Following Butch was the night's guest Brad Hales, from Detroit who runs the world famous People's Records shop. He started off with the Professionals' That's Why I Love You, followed it with Crook Your Little Finger and mixed well known tunes with unknown (at least to me) records. I liked a Latin one he played fairly early on with Spanish lyrics. Ady returned to the decks for his second spot of the night, playing some well known ones, e.g. the Demures; Voodoo Mademoiselle; I'm Not Afraid; Willie Kendricks' She'll Be Leaving You, Sorry Is The Word, plus some I didn't recognise. Ady always delivers the goods. Time for Keith to do his second set and he too always keeps the dancers happy with tunes like Hipper Than Me and Somebody Tell Her. Time for Butch's return and for the first part of this set he was in a Modern Soul mood: Shardup; Life Is A Miracle; Don't Want My Love; Wayward Dream (a lovely one in my opinion) but later in his set kept the more traditional 60s fans happy with World Of Happiness, Love Is Alright, etc. Something for everyone. Tomas continued in the Modern mood starting off with the Pretenders' Just Be Yourself and followed it with a version of I Love Music. You could say his first few of this set had a slight “disco” flavour, oh my God, call the soul police! But he then went on to more conventional 70s sounds like I Can't Move No Mountain, Best Is Yet To Come and I Wanna Be With You. Final appearance by Brad, and again he mixed the familiar and lesser known. Tracks like The Time Is Right For Love made people dance but they danced to the lesser known ones too. For his final set Keith included some classic oldies but they never fail to satisfy. She'll Come Running Back; Job Opening; You Don't Love Me, they may be familiar but they have a certain something. Is it nostalgia or is it just that they're superb tunes that still hit the mark today? Big Mistake by Brenda Jones was one of the last he played. For the last 30 minutes it was, as usual, Ady starting with uptempo tunes like Spyder Turner's version of I Can't Make It Anymore but slowing down to include Sweet Temptation and Just Say Goodbye. The penultimate one was of course I'll Never Stop Loving You by Carla Thomas and the ender was Baby I Need Your Loving, what else? We were ushered out pretty quickly, no time for the usual photo but you can understand the staff want to clear up and go home. As I said above it was pretty full with plenty of new faces, plus of course the “old stalwarts”, you know who you are. Always good to meet and talk to friends. Although it did clear out from about 3 am there was still a good number at 6. I didn't dance that much, the floor didn't help but my legs gave out basically despite my attempts later in the night. I had a decent journey home, the tubes running all night make it easy and I got indoors at about 7,25, not bad at all. So as usual thanks to Ady and the DJs for entertaining us and to the staff of the club. Next one is in April, put it in your diary.

It's been a fair time since the last one. Was good to see the 100 Club roadshow at the Springfield nighter, where Butch did a superb set in the Modern room as well as his normal Northern in the main room. As usual Ady, Keith, Joel kept the flag flying for the club. Decided to be a bit cheeky and request a couple Butch played at Boomerang and the Springfield respectively: Go On And Laugh, and Queen Of My Universe. If you don't ask you certainly don't get. But no problem if they aren't on his playlist plan. I'm looking forward to seeing all my friends there, I haven't seen some of you for ages.

Hopefully will make this one all being well.

Hi there, thanks for your reply. Couldn't get there last night, I'm staying with a friend in Bury and have to say I've never felt as cold as on Wednesday and Thursday so really on Friday didn't feel like travelling any distance. However I will make the effort to come to your night when I'm up here, I like an across the board approach, just don't want an evening of very fast classic oldies, can't keep up nowadays.

What is the music policy for this event? Classic oldies, across the board or other?