Davenpete

The boss says it was kept behind the curtain. Dx

I spy a mulletted Pete Hollander in the background. Yes it's downstairs at the Queens Hall. Dx

It was dropped from a helicopter in a failed attempt to assassinate RW whilst he was posing for the cameras after the fire. Dx

At 53 just pup but - Morecambe Pier, Bradford (bouncy bouncy dance floor), Brian's Wheel Revivals at their best and Leighton Buzzard... Plus Lifeline when we made it there (massive respect on that one). Also used to love Carlisle when we co-ran it at the White Heather (93-94) - with people often travelling up from London and down from Dundee - it was great to be booking DJs we really rated (Dickie Watt, Carl, Spenna, the Scots lads etc) plus doing the first spot (which was usually about 3 hours from 8 o'clock - allowing me to do a properly structured spot ranging everything from early Wheel to Curtis and Bileo)... Plus Saus was at his best there. We usually lost money but it was worth it and we usually then treked down to Donnie to stop with W&S until Monday... Remember divvying up the fast stuff amongst us to ensure everyone there was fully fried towards the end of most nights. Dx

Dancing on stage - definition of a dick.

The sample is Cliff Nobles though. Dx

Infinitely better by Garland Green IMO and a great deal cheaper (AND with Girl I Love You on the other side). Dx

Could only find a print out of the flyer for Number 3 (one of mine - probably got the others on disc at work), but also found an ad for the 'Return of the Ultra Rare Night' from a Spring 1996 Manifesto (even though it says 1995(!) on the ad - the date is correct for Easter Sunday 1996) - which would place number one in 1995. Dx

I ought to be able to find out coz I did all the flyers and adverts! Dx

Defo later than 1994 I'd have said - we had only just moved up to Cumbria and they were on when we were at our second house - 1996 I reckon. Dx

Am I wrong in remembering James King doing a PA at Morecambe? Certainly remember taking a big stack of copies up there with Mark Sargeant just after it was released by Expansion. Still a brilliant record. All the Syncopate stuff was coming out about the same time - Lanier and Co 'Dancing in the Dark' was great. Dx

Went to most of them - they were great. Dave PS Just had a quick blast though the tracks forgotten just how great the stuff played was back then.

Hate the song - it's too 'show tune/mock soul' to me - but a stunning voice and easily the best ever vocal performance on BGT. Dx

I've got that somewhere. Dx

Talking of strange places to buy records - over the years I've bought lots of 45s at all night discos in backstreet working mens clubs and third rate nightclubs in places like Barnsley and Bolton. Dx

The Beverley Road shops were still there in the early 80s (next door to Issy Lipman's Tailor's - father of Maureen) when I was at Art College in Anlaby Road had a lot of Invictus as I remember, there was a good one opposite the Art College that sold Voices from the Shadows, Spring Bank had a couple that had a fair bit in too, plus Sid Scarborough's, but that was mainly boots - there was a lot of stuff in Hull, the cut out store in the market yielded a fair bit too even though it was gone through regularly (specially as Paul Maden had a stall in the covered market 50 yards away back then). There was a shop round the corner from Scarborough that had six white demos of Bricks Broken Bottle and Sticks for £6 each - hated it so didn't buy one. Dx

Found a spanking mint issue of The Valentines at Merton Abbey Mills market - it was the only US record there. Also found a sealed original copy of an Irma Thomas album on IR in a charity shop in Kirkby Stephen - again the only US record in there. Dx

My understanding of the cutout system was that, unlike in the UK where the records were effectively loaned to the shop that was selling them (who then paid for those they sold and returned the rest), that the shops in the US actually bought them prior to sale - and were then paid for any unsold copies they returned. Any records that were returned were drilled or in the case of sleeves clipped so that when they were sent out for sale as cheaper bargain bin cutouts that they couldn't be fraudulently returned to the manufacturer as 'new' to collect the full refund. I'm sure most people heard the BS story that used to go around that they were stung using the holes for use as ship's ballast! Dx

It'll be Rubin on a bloody cat food advert next... Oh wait a minute. Dx

A whole nest of the xxxxxxxx... This sums up the whole Div subculture, they've even got special div flags so you can spot them more easily.

Les Cokell went to Go Now by Bessie Banks. We also put his British copy of The Drifter in the coffin with him as he'd said a number of times he wanted. Dx

According to the boss a div is someone who has to rely on the little extra from the divvy (the Coop Dividend) to get by. We were appalled to see hoards (including some theoretically highly respected people) wondering about in trilbies and those off the peg parkas you get with patches already sewn on when you buy them last time we made it out to a weekender... Fucking kiss me quick plastic dickheads, they'll be the death of the scene far more than loss of numbers or old age - it'll just get turned into a grey motown-pop soul cod-mod characature. Dx

Yes I just came to the computer to correct that - Morrison's not Asda. Wasn't Steve Whittle a maintenance engineer at Heinz? Re-the diversity of people on the scene - I went to a few nighters with a professional Thatcher from Littlehampton (near Southampton) way. Dx

And it was much appreciated. D&P

Er he was the Lighting and Music buyer for Asda for about 25 years. Prior to that A&R for RCA UK. I knew someone at nighters who was taught by MB - there used to be button badges saying 'I've been educated by Soul Sam'. Dx