Geoff

What is the music policy and what are the start and finish times?

I missed the last 100 Club nighter due to going on holiday the next day and since then there's been the Cleethorpes and Blackpool weekenders, both very enjoyable. London was sweltering all day and still very hot as 11 pm approached. Not only would the club be hot due to the weather but the two guest DJs were bringing about 60 people with them from Wales so you knew it would be a packer. I was one of the first in, Ady serenading us as we walked by the cloakroom into the club itself. It was good to be back after an absence of nearly three months. About 11.30 Joel Maslin took over from Ady. By this time the club was filling up fast, I imagine there were quite a few 100 Club virgins there, I trust they enjoyed the night. Joel played mainly oldies, the Adorables' Ooh Boy got me out of my seat and on to the dance floor, possibly my favourite oldie. Towards the end of his set he played I've Only Got Myself To Blame by Bobby Williams and the instrumental version of World Of Happiness. Steve Thomas from North Wales followed Joel, he'd bought a load of his friends with him and they filled the floor. He played a number of records that I didn't recognise, nothing new there then, but included the well known and popular A Taste Of Honey, Papa Bear & The Cubs' You're So Fine; Daybreak's I Need Love, Rudy Love's Suffering Wrath and Moving On A Groove. Chick Chick by the El Corrols finished his set. Talking to one of my friends who'd travelled from Wales I got the impression there was a lot more going on soulwise in North Wales compared to London. Butch fresh from his brilliant sets at Blackpool started his first foray with I'm Knocking At Your Heart by Darrell Banks, followed by J Hammond's Kiss Me Goodbye Girl. He kept the pace up with You'll Always Be In Style by the Ad Libs, Derek Martin's Flashback and Where Are You by Ivy Joe Hunter. He ended his set with the Perfections version of Just Can't Leave You. He's a very hard act to follow but Calvin Lee Hughes showed his mettle with a set that didn't rely on the tried and tested. Among those he played were Curtis Liggins' What It Is, T C Lee's Up And Down The Hill, and You're My Mellow by Edwin Starr. I've seen him DJ before at Quality of Soul and the Manchester Soul Weekend and always like his sets. Once again Ady stepped up to the decks and including many acetates in his set, some making their debut. But he included some old favourites like Sorry Ain't The Word and Oh Baby Don't You Weep which still fill the floor. Back came Joel opening with Lord What's Happened To Our People by Kenny Smith. After him it was time for the second set from Butch. He included some Modern Soul records, e.g. Shardarp by Nobody's Children and Boulevard's I Still Feel The Same. I'd intended to request that one so was most pleased. He also included Sweet Memories and Joe Burrell's There Was A Time, aka as Our Love Is Dying. In his second set Steve included quite a few classic oldies that went down very well. I hadn't heard Rubin's You've Been Away for several years, I always used to dance to it but decided it was too fast this time, thank goodness it's just under two minutes. Among others he played were Up And Over and It Really Hurts Me Girl, Lay This Burden Down, I've Been Hurt So Many Times, Philly Dog Around The World; all keeping the dance floor very busy. Calvin followed and again played quite a few I didn't recognise, but did hear him play the Esquires' How Could It Be, Geno Washington's I'll Be Around, Don & Ron's I'm So Sorry, finishing with The Same Thing by the Masquaders, a real classic. Finally for the last 30 minutes or so it was as usual Ady with a mix of tempos, including the Shirelles' Last Minute Miracle, his Gerri Granger cover up Why Can't It Be Tonight and the lady's actual I Go To Pieces Everytime, one of my favourite records. He kindly played Lonely Girl by Annabelle Fox which I'd requested for my friend Jeff Hollis on his first visit to the club. Ady followed this with I'll Never Stop Loving You and usual finale Baby I Need Your Loving by the Four Tops. The club was pretty crowded until the end at 6 am, obviously the Welsh party had to wait for their first train home. I think most people there agreed it was a splendid night with fine music from all the DJs, and a great atmosphere. One of my friends did say that there was a disturbance outside but I knew nothing about that. Thanks to all concerned especially the DJs and club staff.

A really busy night at the 100 Club, a big turnout and some superb soul music. Only a month since the first one of 2019 but even more folk seemed to attend this one, well done to Matt Bolton for putting on a selection of DJs that covered most areas of our music. After meeting my friends in the Blue Post we all went round to Oxford Street where there was a queue waiting to get into the club, only 10 minutes earlier there'd been no one when I passed it. I paid the £12 required for entrance and walked down the stairs into the club itself, walked over to the table I share with my friends, deposited my coat and bag and got ready for a good time. The first person I spoke to was Alison Nightingale, an old friend, and my first editor. I hadn't seen Ali Djing for several years and was looking forward to her sets. Keith Money was spinning records and included the Enchanters' There's A Look About You, such a catchy song, been on my brain since. Jordan Wilson, a young guy was the first of the guest on the stage. I didn't know his first few records but liked them a lot. He did keep the pace up though, but eased slightly for Hearts Beating Stronger, the Stafford classic. He upped the tempo again for Showstopper by the Cashmeres and ended this set with Good News by the Hytones, an anniversary record from a few years back and a particular favourite in the club. Alison Nightingale followed Jordan and the tempo was just slightly slower but still very danceable. When she played Gotta Strange Feeling I got up and danced and found the floor was like an ice rink, so unlike what it normally becomes later in the night, I had to be careful to avoid slipping over. She followed that with Brenda Jones' Big Mistake. Time then for Butch's first set, and he opened with the storming Beside Yourself by Pee Wee, Shucks & Huey, one of my favourites. He included some of his well known records like the Fascinators' In Other Word, J Hammond's Kiss Me Girl, Ivy Joe Hunter's Where Are You and ended with Arthur Willis's The Hurting Is Over which sold for a phenomenal amount on Ebay recently. But he also included quite a few that I didn't know, or at least not the title or singer. Arthur Fenn followed Butch, he always does a great set and skilfully mixes 60s and 70s. For his second and final set Keith included quite a few of his most popular records, e.g. Teardrops, So Much Love, A 1000 Wonders and ending with Tell Me Baby by Karmello Brooks. Jordan took over from Arthur and again kept the pace up with tunes like I've Only Got Myself To Blame but did include the medium tempo Like My Love For You by the Four Tracks. Jordan's set would definitely described as being described as classic sounding Northern Soul so Butch continued this, starting of with Darrell Banks version of Our Love Is In The Pocket, a record I'd play to someone who asked what NS was like. Following this was Johnnie On The Spot by Dennis Edwards and the Profs' Look At You. Later came Just Can't Leave You by the Perfections followed by Joe Burrell's There Was A Time (Our Love Is Dying) and then a move into Modern Soul including Double O’s Demingoes' Color One Tear Black, which a friend described a bordering on Jazz Funk. Not sure about that but a nice contrast to the uptempo 60s tunes. The Modern Soul vibe continued with Alison but the dance floor continued to be busy, there weren't many breaks all night. For the finale Arthur took over, again mixing the tempo and genres. Tunes like Jerry Williams Wigan classic If You Ask Me and Sam Williams' Love Slipped Through My Fingers contrasted nicely with Bernard Drake's I've Been Untrue and my request for Norma Jenkins' Here I Am, thanks for playing that Arthur. Because the clocks moved forward an hour the time seemed to fly by and before we knew it was time for the last couple of records, they were Archie Hodge's I Really Want To See You Girl and Seville's Modern Soul anthem Show Me The Way. The consensus seemed to be that the music had been of an extremely high standard, I concur and would like to thank the DJs for entertaining us and introducing me to records I'd not heard before. As usual it was nice to see so many of my friends, hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. It still feels a bit strange not to have Ady present but I think Matt is putting on some excellent nights, and this was no exception. The bouncers urged us out into Oxford Street so I made my way to the underground at Oxford Circus. I was fortunate that I got all my connections very easily and got indoors just gone 7 am, that is quick. Now getting over the night, perhaps not so easy. But a good feeling. Thanks to everyone concerned for an excellent night.

I'm in Bury at the weekend, what is the music policy, oldies, across the board, crossover or what?

It was nearly three months since the last allnighter at the 100 Club so it's not surprising that there was a full house. And from very early on too. My friends and I were very near the front of the queue to enter and it seemed I'd barely got my coat off and got a drink before it was busy on the dance floor. Of course the last one was early in December and we've had Christmas and the New Year and now we're almost at the end of February, everyone was up for it. Keith Money serenaded us as we went in, mainly medium tempo. In fact I'd say there were more medium tempo records played than any other speed, not really that many stompers I recall. He played a few I didn't recognise but do remember Another Sundown In Watts (the Exits) and It's Better To Cry (the Appreciations). Ady took over next and played some new acetates he's recently obtained. One was a record I've known via Arthur Fenn for some time, Here I Am, covered up as by Esther Grant, lovely danceable tempo. Another one that he reprised later was a version of Turn To Me by Angela Davis, presumably the lady who sings the popular My Love Is Strong. The guest for this night was Chris Dale who is a very reliable DJ, by that I mean he always delivers a good set. Again he included quite a lot of medium tempo, particularly remember I'll Be Your Champion, the Man From Soul and The Best Is Yet To Come by Bessie Banks, the latter played originally at the Blackpool Mecca. Joel Maslin followed Chris, played a set that kept the dancing going well with Rees Flores and similar, ending with the Emanons Orchestra with the instrumental version of World Of Happiness, Bird Walking. At this point normally Butch does a set but he was on his way down from Preston where he'd been Djing at a Modern Soul weekend. Therefore Keith took to the stage and decks again, think his first record was My Proposal. Fairly sure it was as I was in the toilet and started singing it, hopefully no one was listening. Also included were favourites like Tell Me Baby and 1000 Wonders. The dance area was really busy. Ady took over and played a number of records among others associated with the club and other Kent releases: Getting To Me, Make Up Your Mind and the acetate Why Can't It Be Tonight for example; and the recent legitimate release of Joe Burrell's There Was A Time that I'd requested, although I think to me it'll always be Our Love Is Dying by Kae Williams, its cover up name. Thanks Ady, one of my favourites. He followed this with the superb beat ballad Timmy Carr & The Persianettes' I Can Never Stop Crying Over You. For me that was the record of the night. And if I remember correctly the next one he played was the Demures' I Wanna Be Good To You, wish that could be released on a 45. Then it was time for Butch who'd arrived from Preston. As usual he mixed Northern and Modern, starting with Darrell Banks' I'm Knocking At Your Heart, K.I.C's You Don't Want My Love, Love Came Into My Life by Florence, J Hammond's Kiss Me Girl and ending this set with the Chuck Jackson cover up. Chris had the unenviable task of following Butch but as usual he held his end up well with the dancers happily enjoying the tunes. Joel took over and continued dance floor friendly records, think he started with Celeste Hardy's You're Gone and carried on it that vein. Butch started his second set with the up-tempo Hank Hodge's Eye For An Eye, followed by Cynthia & The Imaginations' Why Weren't You There (I Needed You), the Ad Libs' You'll Always Be In Style, Life Is A Miracle, Love Tempo, Just Can't Please You, Fascinators' In Other Words, Forston & Scott's Sweet Lover (a request by Trevor Wright), Double O’s Demingoes' Color One Tear Black, and finishing with Flashback by Derek Martin. Funnily enough I'd been playing it at home before I came out off a CD, as soon as I heard the opening bars I jumped up and rushed to the dance floor. It's really fast, but did manage to finish it, like to try a fast one occasionally. For the penultimate set Keith came on, played a few I didn't recognise but one I knew was I'll Keep Holding On by Lee McKinney & The Magnetics. For the last 30 minutes it was as usual Ady, opening with Maxine Brown's iconic Let Me Give You My Loving, dedicated to Sharon Eames, whose birthday it was. Happy birthday Sharon. After that it was mainly a set of familiar tunes, Sorry Ain't The Word, I Can't Wait To See My Baby's Face (Pat Thomas), Don't, Lonely Girl (Annabelle Fox), I'll Never Stop Loving You, ending with the club's anthem Baby I Need Your Loving by the Four Tops. Then the lights came on, actually during the latter tune, and it was time to leave. Time then to say farewell to strains of Walter Jackson's That's What Mama Say and off into the dawn of Oxford Street. As I said earlier there was a very good turnout, Valentina, Malayka, an Irish chap who due to flight problems took a taxi from Birmingham to the club, Tabs, Julie, Suzy, Sian, and so many others too numerous to mention. Great to see all of you. Once again a triumph for Ady and co, roll on the next one, thanks to all the DJs and the staff of the club.