Bazm

As we head towards what could be a blistering summer and after our fantastic two-room GRUMPY event earlier this month, our focus turns to the next night at what is fast becoming one of THE places on the NORTH WEST rare soul map, CULCHETH! No ‘horses’ are being spared as we’ve listened to all the folks who said ‘Can’t you bring the rare 60’s and 70’s tunes together in one room?’ Well, yes we can and yes, we have…So JUNE 7th we bring you two of the UK’s best and most respected DJ’s, two, who can seamlessly thread a set featuring MONSTER 60’s and INCREDIBLE rare 70’s packing dancefloors wherever they go…Ladies and Gents, we give you NOTTINGHAM’s favourite son MICK H and the WREXHAM WIZZARD, SOUL SAM! MICK and SAM will be supported by the CULCHETH main room team of SIMON INGHAM, MICK HOWARD and BAZ MALEEDY, so expect something VERY SPECIAL as we bring you a SUMMER SOUL SPECTACULAR this JUNE at CULCHETH!...

Three words sum up the GRUMPY SOUL takeover at Culcheth last night…Exciting, Educational and most of all thoroughly Enjoyable! Peeps waiting for the doors to open at 7:30 was the first sign that ‘All Roads, literally did lead to CULCHETH VILLAGE HALL, no matter what Martin Pitt said about my dodgy map 😉 …as they just kept coming until the main room was absolutely bouncing! The music was just superb from start to finish, with classics, followed by underplayed gems, followed by some of the top rarities from our wonderful, precious scene. The legs ache, the ears buzz but above all the mind and wants list is expanded. Congrats to Phil, Joan, Carl and special guest George Sharp as well as the Modern Room ‘Crew’, Soul Sam, who’s really enjoying himself at Culcheth, Steve Plumb, Charlie Smith, Nick McKinnon and new music purveyor, Pete Ratcliffe for keeping the Modern Room busy all night… Looking forward already to June 7th when Nottingham’s MICK H joins us for another night of quality soulful sounds

As the Bank Holiday weekend approaches, things are lining up nicely for a night of rare soul excellence! The GRUMPY SOUL event on Soul Source has had over 4000 genuine views with folks taking a look at the information there and listening to some of the sounds listed to be featured on the night… Facebook has done its bit as well, allowing us to spread the GRUMPY word to groups of RARE SOUL and MODERN SOUL aficionados alike, all with the aim of bringing together like-minded soulies, looking to come together for a great, soul night out! So, it’s looking like all roads lead to CULCHETH VILLAGE CLUB THIS SATURDAY!

2am Finish - Staying Over? If you are travelling to Grumpy Soul, here’s a list of hostelries available within a 10-15minute taxi ride of the venue • Pentahotel Warrington • The Glazebury Pub • Premier Inn Winwick • Travelodge Lowton • Premier Inn Haydock Park • The Black Swan Warrington

Great shout Bob and great memories of that night! The Modern Room at Prestwich was incredible due to records like this finding a packed home every month... definitely in the box for Saturday 👍

Perfect example of a great record that could and should be played alongside any recognised 'oldie' or rarity...and what makes it better is it can still be picked up for less than the price of a few pints...a GRUMPY staple 👍👏

Gettin' Ready for the Get Down!

Something for this particular weekend...what a tune!

For those who like their Soul, well and truly 'across the board' this wonderful record will be getting an airing on Saturday courtesy of Joan, as it's one of her favourite spins...Qualidee all the way

Another QUALITY tunes, that'll be gettin' an airing on Saturday 👍👏

Very fitting Phil 👍 Oooh now then... TUNA! 👏

Phil T said...We try hard to get guests with great records but who you tend not to hear much in the NW. As Joan says then, we're dead chuffed to have lured the legendary George Sharp back behind the decks. George has been a rock solid supporter of GS from the get go; more importantly, he is one of the people whose playlists had a real impact and influence on us all those years ago... A perfect introduction and on that basis here's a bit of a 'Bio' for George and his background on the Rare Soul scene... George Sharp - Getting into Northern Soul and its sub-culture Like many at the time, George was an early developer on the Northern Soul scene and started buying Northern Soul records whilst still at school in 1975 and although he was banned from attending all-nighters by parents he visited Leeds Central soul club in the mid70s while still at school but then finally, there was the life changing visit to Wigan Casino late 1977, saying he’d ‘slept at a friends house 😉! The national hysteria and popularity of 1975 had gone but surprisingly Wigan was full on Northern Soul! George will always remember walking in for the very first time to a heaving, buzzing sweat box with 100s of like-minded souls clapping in time to amazing records you’d never heard before. A moment that changed the direction of his life and creating a lifelong bond with Northern Soul music and its sub-culture. George’s first DJ spots (sets) came in 1979 with his first DJ opportunities kindly facilitated by Gary Hepworth. Bradford Ice Rink basement and Jaspers Country Club (York) mid-week soul night where he played current Wigan sounds (ones that were affordable!) The 1980s brought new directions, the 1980s saw more division between total modern soul and a thought was pushed that progressive 60s northern soul was finished and only a handful dissented, with the likes of Guy Hennigan, Dave Withers, possibly Butch and George among them. After Wigan closed, George ran a soul night at the old Bettys Tea Rooms in Bradford, a medium success where the likes of Barry Waddington & Guy Hennigan were guests. Following this he was given regular DJ work by Steve Croft at his first incarnation at Queens Hall Bradford and then at Benson’s Bradford All-Nighters and All-Dayers. Then came the game changer; the Stafford residency! George will always be grateful to Dave Thorley for agreeing to include him in the permanent DJ roster at Stafford ‘Top of the World’ after Dave Withers retired from DJing and a mini ‘shake up’ too place. Guy and Keb were added and George was assigned to play along Gary Rushbrooke. Over the years, obtaining new, rare 60s records became more and more difficult, expensive and extremely competitive! But more DJ slots with regular DJing at Stafford and Warrington Parr Hall, really helped and from then on more and more opportunities came along, including Stafford Top of the World permanent roster, Warrington Parr Hall permanent roster, Bensons Bradford permanent roster, Tony’s Empress (Guy & Ion promoters) permanent roster, 100 club, various gigs in Scotland, Rudy’s Scarborough, Blue Note Derby, Bank Hall Miners, Clouds Preston, Notts Palais, Various West Midlands (for Alan Johnson promoter), Whitchurch Civic Centre, Blackpool Pier, Mansfield Swan … & others. George’s music style in the 80s music style tended to be progressive, relatively unknown Northern Soul, played alongside rare original label Northern sounds, many late Wigan Era. These days, while less progressive, his musical tastes include some classics, some rare, some not so rare from all the important eras Wheel, Torch, Mecca, Wigan, Stafford, Tony's and onwards… but includes everything from full on up-tempo to beat ballads. Influenced by the era of Late Wigan, Stafford, 100 club Tony’s Empress, perfect for the ‘GRUMPY SOUL' ethos, creating a set with mixture of nostalgia and freshness.

Quality tunes all the way, all night from start to finish

Judging by the selections posted here, Good Friday, GREAT FRIDAY! Wolfies here we come👍