Geoff

After an “Across The Board” afternoon the previous Sunday it was back to basics at St Mary's Social Club for the Radcliffe & District Soul Club. And it was basic in the way of mainly Wigan Casino oldies. My apologies to Phil Jones as we arrived too late for his set but Bob Spendlove was well into his groove with records like Marvin Holmes' You Better Keep Her and Milton Wright's I Belong To You. Dave Cartlidge followed starting off with Frankie Beverly's That' What I Wanted, and continued with oldies galore including Don't Pity Me by Joanie Sommers before ending with The Drifter. Ian Wills followed Dave and starting on a similar tempo with Gene McDaniels' Walk With A Winner. Then the tempo increased with tracks like Too Darn Soulful and Hold On (Judy Freeman). Then it was Derek Watmough's turn on the decks and as usual he came up with several that I didn't know: Bobby Guitar Wood's It's Mighty Nice To Know; Lee Shot Williams' Love Now Pay Later; Mickey Buckins & New Breed's Silly Girl among others; as well as favourites like You Got Me Uptight and the Embers' Just Crazy 'Bout You Baby. To end the night Bob and Dave doubledecked from 11.45. We left around midnight, and we both thoroughly enjoyed the music, although I'd be hard pressed these days to dance to the really fast ones. The dance floor was busy and the impression I got was that the people present enjoyed themselves, that's the main thing. The new venue seems to be working out well with more space. Thanks to the DJs and to the staff of the club.

While the club will be continuing its normal first Friday of the month evening sessions playing mainly Northern and Crossover aimed at the dance floor it has introduced occasional Sunday afternoon sessions playing a wider selection of soul music. We arrived at the club venue St Mary's Catholic Social Club at about 1.45 to find the room pretty full, obviously there was a lot of interest in a new afternoon soul event. For those who haven't been there the room at St Mary's is a quite large room. You enter into the room with the table in front of you where you pay. A little way to the left is the bar, reasonable prices. Opposite the entrance is the stage with the DJs and equipment. There are seats and tables around the dance floor on three sides, with a raised area opposite the dance floor at the back. The afternoon's DJs were: Bob Spendlove, Pete Ratcliffe, Phil Broadhurst, Dave Cartlidge,Tony Ollier, Gary Mattock and Dave Griffiths. Musically they mixed things up nicely, or at least nicely for me. Some people who attended didn't enjoy some of the music, obviously not to their taste. I am guessing that a lot of these were not known to listeners. However my impression was that most present enjoyed the variety of the music. Here's some of the records played, covering a wide selection of our music in my opinion: Will This Be The Day (Diana Ross & Supremes); Please Give Me One More Chance (Clyde McPhatter); I've Got Two Hearts; Wrapped Around Your Finger (Poets); I Need A Guy (Lovettes); I Don't Mind (Chuck Ray); Miss Heartbreaker; Another Day (Ascots); Let Somebody Love You (Keni Burke); You've Got To Help Me (Clifford Binns); Free At Last (Jackie Day); Can't Get Away From Your Love (Mary Wells); Baby, Be Mine (Sweet Delights); That's Why I Love You (Professionals); I'll Be There (Gems); Where Have You Been (Eddie Holman); plus many more. There was no door tax but contributions to the MNDA charity (fighting Motor Neurone Disease) were welcomed and £361 was raised, a very good effort I think. I understand about 80 were in, great for a new venture. I saw quite a few friends I'd not seen for a while and was particularly pleased to see Carmen and Nige Brown, friends of mine for years. They enjoyed the afternoon I know. My thanks to the DJs, some fabulous music, and also the bar staff. The next Sunday alldayer is 26 October, and this coming Friday it is the normal club night.

We were unable to attend July's 45 Revolutions due to a prior engagement so was glad we could go to this one. It's always a good night. The resident DJs Tony and Alan were joined by Paul Adams and Doyle Middleton and the music was superb, mixing underplayed records and one that were completely unknown to me. Among records played were I Wish I Knew (Ballads); Neighbourhood Girl (Rosalind Madison); Little Miss Sweetness (Vipers); I'm Moanin' (Rose Brooks); She Cried Just A Minute (Charles Spurling); My Love's A Monster (Johnny Sayles); One Night Affair (Rising Sun); Up And Down The Hill (T C Lee & The Bricklayers); What Are You Doing To My World (Don Bryant); If He Makes You He's Free To Take You (Nolan Chance); and loads more. We left at about 11.30 and were kindly given a lift home by friends. Thanks to all the DJs and the lady behind the bar, this is a club not to be missed.

Goodbye to The Shirt, hello to St Mary's Catholic Social Club the new home of the renamed Radcliffe & District Soul Club. I always liked The Shirt with the exception of the stairs but it was time for a move. And in my opinion St Mary's is a better venue with a larger dance floor and better seating. Of course many of us will remember it as the home of the K&D Soul Club, run by Keiron Woodward and Diane R Parry, a very nice club, I even did a set there. I'd say the only downside to the venue is that it isn't easy parking. We arrived to be greeted by Bob Spendlove looking good after his Spanish sojourn. Sam McConnell the first guest was on the decks. Good to see him, back from Thailand for a short visit, he's been missed by his friends. Sam likes uptempo tracks and he included the Mamselles' Open Up Your Heart plus R&B records like ZZ Hill's You Were Wrong and Lenny Johnson's Am I Still Your Fool, both of which I didn't know. Luckily Sandra, who knows her R&B recognised them. Regular DJ Dave Cartlidge was unavailable so Dave Flint substituted for him. While Sandra has known him for years I only made his acquaintance a few months ago, a nice guy with phenomenal good taste musically. He got me out on the floor when he played Something About My Baby by The Sweets and followed it with Willie Kendricks' version of What's That On Your Finger. Second guest Bernard Lowe took over from Dave continuing good soul music, including Almeta Latimore's These Memories, Sweep It Under The Shed, Tobi Lark's version I presume, Cajun Hart's Got To Find A Way, and It's Better by Reggie Alexander. Bob followed Bernard and kept us on our feet with tunes like That's Why I Love You and Sweet Memories. He was then joined by Sam McConnell for a double decking finale to the night, I remember Sam playing the Floyd James version of Green Onions. There were a good number in, that is good for the first night at a new venue, including some folk I'd not seen for a while at The Shirt, plus some newies. Now looking forward to the next episode which is on Friday 5 September. My thanks to the DJs and to the staff of St Mary's.

Despite it being a very hot day in Lancashire I decided it would be much better to listen to some good soul music rather than swelter at home. So off to the Spitfire Club in Farnworth I went. Arrived shortly after 2pm, Vance doing the first set as usual, nice mix. He was followed by Lizz McShane, then Jacko and the last guest Mike McShane. A good selection of styles and tempos: You Don't Need A Heart (Teddy Randazzo); Whoever You Are (California Rock Choir); You Can't Fight Love (Shirley & Jesse); Lonely In A Crowd (Superlatives); They're Trying To Tear Us Apart (Mary Moultrie); All The Way From Heaven (Chancellors); Troubles (Lee Rogers); She Put The Hurt On Me (Trade Martin); Walkin' In The Night (Felix Harris); One More Chance Lord (Delores Fuller); Mr Blue (Cody Black); etc. Not quite so many in as usual, but it was a good turnout really, what with the weather ideal for barbecues, Llandudno and other weekenders plus holidays. Those present enjoyed it I think, certainly the music was very good. Thanks to Pete, Vance and the DJs, you did a sterling job, plus thanks the club staff.

I'd been planning a trip to Lost Souls in Burnley for some time, just not fitted it in. However when I saw Roman Karol, who runs it, at 45 Revolutions, and my friend Lawrence Cawley said he also fancied going things clicked into place. We set off after lunch on Sunday and arrived there about 2.30. We went in, were greeted by Roman, paid our money, and you can't argue about the price, £2.50 per person, excellent value. It was the start of a very enjoyable afternoon. In addition to fine music it was really nice to see many friends whom we hadn't seen for ages. It was a shame Sandy wasn't able to be with me, she'd have been in her element. I sat at the back of the room so wasn't clear about the DJs, not sure who played what record until a bit later. We'd walked into the Debonaires' How's Your New Love Treating You and there was a wide mix of tunes and tempos played. Certainly didn't hear any of the usual suspects played, it seemed rare and underplayed which is fine by me. The DJs all did a sterling job and the dance floor was kept busy. Thanks to Arthur Fenn for playing Norman Jenkins's unissued Here I Am for me, really love it. Also good to hear Foolish Girl and Joe Walker's We Need Each Other for the first time. I didn't make many notes of tunes played but remember Make Sure by The Dells; Lamont Dozier's Can't Get Off Until The Feeling Stops; Walter Jackson's After You There Can Be Nothing; Gwen McRae's Keep The Fire Burning; and the final record a lovely ender Charles Brinkley's I'll Be What You Want Me To Be. I think Lawrence and I were the last to leave, with the exception of Roman and Wendy and the DJs. A great afternoon and I will definitely be back to Lost Souls, a friendly and musically superb club.

I had a few weeks off from the soul scene after being in hospital but decided I didn't want to miss 45 Revolutions, one of my favourite clubs in this area. Thanks to Lawrence Cawley for the lift, made things much easier for me. When we arrived Alan Massey was doing the honours on the decks and was playing Ruby & The Romantics' Better Off Than I've Ever Been and continued in that vein until Tony Poff took over. I didn't know most of his set until he played How Long Will It Last by The Soul Notes. It was now time for the first guest Geoff Buckley who started with Kenny Shepard's What Difference Does It Make, a superb beat ballad. Geoff continued with a mixed tempo set entertaining us. Glynn Thornhill followed Geoff and continued with a set of underplayed tunes which is what I want to hear, and presumably all the other people attending. Among the records he played I can remember June Conquest's What This I See; Fantaisions' Unnecessary Tears; The Donnie Elbert Band with Betty Semper's A Love I Believe In; and ending with Shelly Fisher's version of Girl I Love You. Alan took over and started with Ain't That Good Enough by Garland Green and continued with a medium tempo set including You Say You Love Me by Dee Edwards and Jackie Beavers' Trying To Get Back To You Girl. To end the night Tony played for the last 30 minutes keeping us dancing with tracks including Jackie Ross' Dynamite Lovin'; Ella Washington's Bye Bye Bye and ending the night with Pushing A Good Thing Too Far by Barbara Lewis. Despite holidays and the Bridlington weekender there was a pretty good number in, word is getting around. Thanks to Alan, Tony, Geoff and Glynn for some great music, and to the staff of the club. Roll on the next one.

Looks like it will continue its run of great guests and music.

The Exit 21 night at the Rochdale Masonic Hall is a quarterly event that I don't like to miss. I did miss the last one but that was due to horrible weather. Sandy and I got there just gone 7.30 and there were a good number in, and it filled up rapidly. The Masonic Hall is a nice venue with an excellent dance floor, the best I've encountered since moving up here. The only dance floor comparable is the Polish Centre in Bury. Talc not required. The two regular DJs are Mark Sharrocks and Steve Henderson, the guest was Paul Owen. Musically it was mainly what I call classic oldies but quite a few lesser played were spotlighted. I admit I'm more “u­nderplayed and rare” but I still enjoy an oldies night with some surprises played. Among the records played were: Meet Me Halfway (Lillie Bryant); A Touch Of Velvet (Mood Mosaic); The Inside Guys (Soul Interiors); Do The Monkey With James (Perry & The Harmonics); As Long As You Love (Ronnie & Robyn); I'm Satisfied With You (Furies); Baby Mine (Thelma Houston); People That's Why (Idle Few); Heart Trouble (Parliaments); Up And Over (Jay Traynor); Lover (De-Lites); You Don't Want Me No More (Major Lance); No One To Love (Pat Lewis); You Don't Say Nothing (Tamala Lewis); The Joke's On You (Kenny Gamble); When You Lose The One You Love (Buddy Smith, record of the night for me). A good mix in my opinion. Danced quite a bit, even a few of the fast ones. It was nice to see so many friends there, and Sandy was in her element chatting to friends she'd not seen for ages. We left just before midnight when it ended having enjoyed a great night. Thanks to all concerned.

The 45 Revolutions soul club has only been in existence for a few months but for many of us who enjoy getting away from the tried and tested playlists this club is manna from heaven. Knowledgeable hosts and guest DJs and a gathering of like minded folk who enjoy digging a little deeper for their listening pleasure. The latest night was no exception. Regular DJs Tony Poff and Alan Massey were joined by guests Mark I'Anson and Dave Baggaley ensuring an evening of quality soul. As usual a wide variety of styles was played, even some R&B (Oh Lady Luck by Lloyd Price). I'd say there was slightly more Crossover and medium tempo tunes played rather then Northern stompers. Tunes played included: Blackmail (Bobby Taylor); Only Inside (TSU Toronadoes); Put A Smile On Your Face (EJ & The Echoes); I Bet'cha Couldn't Love Me (Manhattans); Holding On (Detroit Emeralds); Let Me Prove That I Love You/Call On Me (Dynells); On And On (Artistics); The Man That I Am (Ohio Players); Not Only The Girl Knows (Victors); Who's It Gonna Be (Dee & Joe); I Can't Get Over Losing Your Love (Incredibles); Yes Sir Brother (Shirley Brown); 39-21-46 Shape (Jimmy Jones); Let My Baby Go (Embraceables); The Change (Ernestine Eady); Hello Stranger (Capitols); This Kind Of Love (Special Delivery); and many more. I hope this illustrates the range of music played. A good number in, including some new faces. Good to see plenty of my friends there. Thanks to the DJs for entertaining us and to the lady behind the bar, she was kept busy.

Now that the cloud hanging over the D'Havilland Club has been lifted it was all systems go for the Spitfire. And there was a good crowd in to enjoy the music. Good to see Linda back at the door with Julie collecting the money and fitting wristbands. Vance started proceedings and was ably abetted by guests Jimmy Knowles, Steve Thomas and Fred Benson and of course Pete Eccles. Each DJ bought something different to the afternoon, classics, lesser played and some “big tunes”, including I Don't Mind (Carolyn Cooke); I Can't Stand To Lose You (E J Chandler); She's My Beauty Queen (Joe Matthews); Pretty As A Picture (Moses Dillard); Sugar Coated Love (Barbara Lynn); Miss You So (Ted Taylor); Look At That Girl (Otis Redding); Good Things (Toni Washington); Don't Give Me Love (Dorothy Berry); Mama, I Think I'm In Love (Beverly & The Del Capris); Since You've Gone Away (Cliffhangers); Don't Make Me Love You (Huns Review); Wrapped Around My Finger (Poets); Count The Days, Lady In Green (Magnetics); Up And Over (Jay Traynor); My My My Baby (Voltaires); She'll Be Gone (Betty O'Brien), etc. I think this illustrates the depth of music played. I've always found The Spitfire a very friendly club and I spoke to two people who'd not been before and they both told me they had enjoyed it and found it friendly. My thanks to the DJs and to the club staff.

Another superb evening's soul at The Shirt last night. Regulars Bob Spendlove and Dave Cartlidge were joined by three guests Phil Broadhurst, Derek Watmough and Paul Hayden. We arrived just as Bob was ending his first set to be followed by Phil Broadhurst, then it was Dave, Derek, Paul and then back to Bob and Dave. Musically the night was excellent covering all tempos and styles. Tracks included Leave Her Alone (Ray Jiminez); Never Set Me Free (Charades); There He Is (Dream Team); Can We Share It (Rick Sheppard); Hold Me In Your Arms (Eddie Holman); Miss Heartbreaker (Ascots); That's Why I Cry (George Hughley); To Love To Love (Billy Stewart); Tell Me (Vows); Don't Let It Go To Your Head (Lorraine Ellison); I Need A Love (Gene Barbour & The Cavaliers); Deeper Than That (Preludes); Now He's Gone (Bobbie Smith & The Dream Girls); Love Another Girl (Rays Featuring Hal Miller); You Can't Outsmart A Woman (Kell Osborne); Our Lives Are Shaped By What We Love (Odyssey) and many more. A good number in, but a few regulars missing on holiday, etc. Thanks to Bob and Dave for organising such great nights at The Shirt, surely the best club in the Bury area. And thanks to the guests for their music and the bar staff too. Looking forward to the next one.

It was a relief to arrive at the Sudden Social Club for 45 Revolutions last Friday, we'd had a miserable journey that took ages and was very cold, but the music at the club made it all worthwhile. In addition to Alan Massey and Tony Poff, the guest DJs were Dereck Higham and John Baggaley. As usual there were some great tunes played, some I knew but plenty new to me, just what I like. In addition to Northern, Crossover and Modern a couple of ska records were played. No t the biggest fan of ska but the two played were very good in particular Queen Of The Minstrels (Cornel Campbell & The Eternals). On the soul side plenty of good'uns: The Tight Rope (King Solomon's Advisers): Love Went Away (The Objectives); I Couldn't Take It (Little Edith); Don't Give It Away (Isley Brothers); The Hardway (Gwen Kousar); New Lock on my Door (The Kampells); Hide And Seek (Lillian Dupree); That's The Way It Is (Sweet Three); Beware Beware (The Compliments); Hello Stranger (Elkie Brooks); Save Me (Julie Driscoll with Brian Auger & The Trinity); Love Is A 2 Way Street (?Revels); Put A Smile On Your Face (E.J. & The Echoes); If I Could Only Prove To You (3 Pieces); I Know Your Love Has Gone Away (The Drapers); You're After My Guy (Clara Ward); These Memories (Almeta Lattimore) and loads more goodies. Tony played 30 minutes of oldies at the end, great tunes but my pick was Darkest Days by Jackie Lee. It was good to see a large number of people in, the word is obviously getting around. Nice to see many friends. Thanks to all the DJs and the hard working lady behind the bar.

My third visit to this great club which I find is a breath of fresh air musically. Sandy and I arrived around 8ish to find the music playing and quite a few friends already seated. Resident Alan Massey was on the decks playing some nice medium tempo tunes, followed by the other resident Tony Poff who upped the tempo considerably and played quite a few tracks I didn't know. Tony was followed by the first guest DJ Dave Flint who played an absolutely brilliant set, rarities and underplayed, just what I like and also I'm sure all the others present. The second guest Tony Mac followed and continued with a superb set, quite a few of my personal favourites included. For the last hour Alan played and was followed by Tony who ended the night. So many superb records played, unfortunately I didn't note any down so must rely on my inadequate memory: A Dream; Stubborn Heart; Feminine Ingenuity; Our Day Is Here; I'll Run; Try My Love; Catch That Teardrop; Ain't That Just Like A Woman; Make Up Your Mind; And In Return; and so many more. Nice to see so many friends there, Sue Parker, Bill Murray, Sandra Bail, Derek and Janet Watmough and many others, great to be with people who share my love for this music. I note that there is an increase in numbers attending, the word must be out. We left about 11.45 to get the bus back to Bury. I would recommend 45 Revolutions to anyone who is interested in the lesser played sounds of our music, don't miss it!

On Friday night we went to 45 Revolutions at the Sudden Social Club in Rochdale. It's a new club, this was its second night and I thought it was the best soul night I've been to for ages. The resident DJs are Tony Poff and Alan M, guests were Derek Watmough and Gamekeeper Jones. The club has a decent sized dance floor, and a bar, prices pretty good too. A reasonable number in but I expect it to increase over the next few months. Only downside is finding it, took a while, could write a paragraph about that but who'd be interested? It's worth making the effort to find it. Music was excellent, no top 100, just good soul music, definitely much on the rare and underplayed side of our music. Records played included: Think Nothing About It (Gene Chandler); Lonely One (Steptones); Tell Me You're Mine (Four Sonics Plus One); Ain't That Just Like A Woman (Doug Banks); Dance Senorita (Hollywood Flames); Lonely Boy Song (Kell Osborne); You Better Watch Out (Dorothy Berry); Up And Down The Hill (T C Lee & The Bricklayers); Push Away From The Table (Herbert Hunter); Until (Billy Barnes, played as a tribute to the late Carl Willingham); Without My Girl (Chasers); All Alone With No Love (Contemplations/Rock Candy); I Love My Baby (International GTOs); You Got To Look Up (Drapers); Under The Moon (Rufus Wonder) and loads more. The consensus among our friends was that it had been an excellent night with good music, what you want at a soul night. We left at midnight hoping to return to the next one. Highly recommended.