maslar

Tommy Navarro was booted in 1985 maybe early 86. I can remember the person who did it telling me at the time.

There's also another film/documentary called "Keep On Keepin' On" that's recently been completed. This one is an American film about jazz legend Clark Terry. Not sure how much confusion this will cause among the wider population. Again ,this looks like a very interesting film. This is a trailer from the American jazz KOKO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1n2svMSqjk

Don Gardner - Cheatin Kind Montclairs - Hung Up Intro: Four Tops - Reach Out Intro: Darrell Banks - Our Love Artistics - Girl I Need You (strings)

That was definitely the case at the first "last nighter" (Sept18). I was never one for Ms but most of my mates were and they were dancing up on the balcony as it came to an end. I went up there and hung about just out of interest to see what the last record would be. It seemed to overrun by quite a bit and then The Night ended it all. Not sure what happened at the two? nighters they had after that or even if Ms was open.

That's the same as my copy. I always assumed it was later re-issue (1979-80ish?) and lesser than the Mowest. Seems most go for over £20.00.

Casanova was definitely played (I thought it was RS but probably SS) as was McFadden and Whitehead "I Heard It In A Love Song" (RS I think), The record I always associate with Pat Brady at that time is Pat Lewis No One To Love. I can't be 100% certain but I think it was also him that successfully reactivated a record I hadn't heard before but which I really liked: Mickey Lanay "I'm Gonna Walk".

I first went in the early summer of 1980 in what was obviously the post-pop period. I was actually quite surprise at the amount of relatively new records played. The first night I went it thought it was pretty busy but talking to someone who was obviously a regular up on the balcony, he told me the numbers were down. The first few Saturdays i went Mr Ms was closed. I never did take to Ms - I could never see the point in it. The first time I saw it packed was at the 7th anniversary. Following on from that I went a mixture of Saturdays and Friday Oldies. The record I always associate with Russ W. at that time are The Seeds "Pushing Too Hard" and that Sweet Talking Guy instrumental by whoever. Also Present, "Many's The Slip". The Seeds sounded brilliant in the Casino. To me it's a psychedelic soul type sound and I doubt whether the majority of people at Wigan would have been able to tell whether the singer was black or white. Although it wasn't a super rare record it was still fairly difficult to get hold of and I don't think many Casino goers would have been aware who The Seeds were. Obviously the Casino was including more modern sounds but I can remember on a few Saturday nights when Soul Sam and Arthur Fenn were given spots back to back and the dance floor was virtually empty for the entire period. In fact that small episode must rank as one of the strangest events ever to occur at WC. I don't think at any other time in its history would the floor have been that empty for that long. Mas

Sitting on Starbucks right now and Lorraine Chandler I Cant Change is playing. Herb Ward now. Looks like its the northern hour.

1 (by a long way) Queen Of Fools 2 Don't Pity Me - Sue Lynn. When I first heard it I thought it was called "Talk To Me". That was bad enough but when you know what she's really singing it's unbearable. 3 Sam Fletcher - I'd Think It Over Twice. It's Cha-Cha-Cha time. The other one that used to drive me to despair was that jazzy piano instrumental version of My Baby Just Cares For Me that D.E. used to play at Wigan. Plod Plod Plod. I'm not 100% sure it was MBJCFM but that's what it sounded like.

I've always like the Wildweeds's "No Good To Cry" and prefer it (slightly) to Lobi Legend's version and also Jimmy James'. Though I'd call it a soul record and not pop, so not a case of pop better than soul but a white version better than black Mas

I'm pretty sure there was a film (from that era) called Afternoon Of The Rhino. Not very well known - either B-movie or a made for TV.

There was also the R.B. Records boot (again coupled with Omni) which came out in 1980-ish and which has the correct group credits. Mas

Strange that in his UK Soul series in Record Collector magazine Chris Savory didn't even mention it (Part 10 CBS, January 1981). He gave a £7.00 price tag to One In A Million.

I don't know about from a dislike to like but these days I can just about stand listening to Sam Fletcher's I'd Think It Over Twice.

Oops, sorry I didn't phase that very well. I meant in the time after it's UK release - really in response to a previous post that it wasn't a newie after a few months,. For example I can't remember hearing it played at a WC Oldies night the following year. Maybe it was.

Very interesting thread and lots of information. To me (as someone looking in at an era slightly before I went to WC ) it looks simple: Taking Pete S' testimony as a starting point (being in the room and taping it is obviously a good starting point). It would seem to me to go as follows.: SIIS was first played by RS in late 77. It was played as a newie every night, once a week at WC right through 78 and into 79. nothing unusual there. For example "I don't like to lose"Â was played for much longer by RS. So it was a top newie for about 18 months. It never obtained "oldie"Â status because for whatever reason Grapevine finally decided to release it as a single in the late summer of 79 and nobody bothered playing it after that. Sometime in the months after it was also included on the compilation "Sound Of The Grapevine"Â (where I first heard it) — Side 2 track 4. So that's it; 18 months a newie and not played as an oldie. However, just to reaffirm, it took me about five minutes on google to find this: Dave McCadden, The Beat fanzine Feb 1979: "I've always had a built in resistance to tailor mades and records where there are no originals to be had, and I've cursed many of the Wylie productions ( Hanky Panky / Down in the dumps ) for that very reason but I almost throw any doubts out of the window when I hear the brilliant BETTY BOO "SAY IT ISN'T SO" . . story is that Sam's had an acetate for a few years but I ain't heard him play the bleeder, if that's true Sam you want whipping, as this is a great voc/inst that Rich has been hammering for a long time, " For a long time .. in Feb 1979.

My only real surreal moment occured at WC.. This would have been on one of the first times I went. Not the first but the second, third or fourth so would be in June/July 1980. I was sitting on the balcony in front of the record booth when the 3 before 8 came on. Only it wasn't time yet.. or so I thought. When TWPYB came on I just thought it was a little strange. Then when LATIAO came on I started to get a little worried, even moreso when IOMW came on. I just sat there thinkiing "where's the time gone"? I was in this sort of timeless state for about 4 or 5 minjutes. I couldn't understand it. Then everything just carried on as normal. Just as soon as it happened I forgot about it and I never mentioned it to anyone or asked anyone about it. If you'd asked me the next day if anything strange happened I probably wouldn't have remembered it. Then a few years ago I was in Waterstones flicking through one of the WC/NS books (can't remeber which one) and there was a story about how Mike Walker had come into the Casino a little worse for wear and refused to leave until they played the 3 before 8 ( or something along those lines). Straight away I remembered that night- the first time I'd thought about it since it happened almost 30 years earlier. . Even now I can't remember the exact night or even roughly what time it happened.

The first Northern record I thought was over-rated was Eddie Parker's "Love You Baby". I bought it blind when i first seriously got into NS after seeing it at No2 in some poll (Blues and Soul I think). It wasn't that I didn't like it. I just didn't think it was that good. I much prefer I'm Gone, which coincidentlay had to be one of the most played records at the WC Oldies nights 80 -81. I'm sure one night every single DJ played it.

Darrell Banks - Our Love Is In The Pocket (best intro ever imo) Duke Browner - Crying Over You Salvadors Brice Coefield - Aint That Right

I'm not really a big fan of covers unless there's been an attempt to do something really different or interesting with the song, There have been some great soulful covers of Beatles songs. E.g I really like Gene Chandler's version of Eleanor Rigby https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Newz73qRPP0

For me Ronnie Milsap is the best version. The vocal is stronger compared to ML's vocal (which is actually pretty weak) and I like the arrangment. I also like the arrangment for Kenny Bernard's version at the start but it goes a little OTT (for me) towards the end. Still good though. Ray Paiges was the first version I heard and I used to really like it but I find the "funky guitar" a little over-powering now. I think the Tammi Lynn version is what's widely referred to as "filler".

What channel was this on? I'd like to see this again. I watched it the first time round when it was widely hailed as a major accomplishment. I used to buy The Story of Pop magazine in the early 70s which was the first attempt I suppose to provide a serious overview of popular music going back to early blues, country, folk, bluegrass, etc. AYNIL seemed to me at the time to be a TV equivelant. Strange that after receiving widespread prasie for AYNIL Tony Palmer's next project "The Wigan Casino" is held in less regard. Maybe he was burnt out after working on AYNIL for three years.

Some that I had that were pretty bad: all 70s pressings: Phil Lowman - Rock Me - Palos Pat Lewis - Warning c/w Debonairs Loving You..... Solid Hit Carstairs - although at the time I didn't realise just how bad it was. Jerry Fuller - Double Life

Going off topic slightly: Roy Harrison was from the same village I was brought up in: Mayfield. As was another Wheelite Brian Harrison. Brian, coincidentally, was a very keen UK collector and had (amongst other things) an entire set of TMG green and white demos plus all the earlier Stateside stuff on demo as well I think. They were quite a bit older than me - 15 or maybe more years so I didn't know them back in the day. I still see Brian occasionally. Roy H, Brian, and I think Charlie Waring as well started what has to be one of the earliest small town soul clubs: the Rinky Dink Soul Club in Ashbourne. I recently found an old local newspaper advertisement for Brian dated Feb '67 although he claims it probably started a few months before they started advertising it (late 66). Mas

About a dozen that seemed "different" to me when I first heard them: (not when they were first played except for the later stuff). Mike Post Coalition - Afternoon Of The Rhino Barbara Mills - Queen Of Fools - I don't think I'll ever get this. Detroit Executives - Cool Off Carstairs - It Really Hurts Me Girl Montclairs- Hung Up On Your Love Tony Middleton - Paris Blues Frankie and Johnny - I'll Hold You Present - Many's The Slip Velvet Hammer - Happy Tommy Navarro - I Cried My Life Away Stuart Ames - Angelina/King For A Day Susan Rewis - They Say You Found A New Baby There's probably a load more but these didn't require much thinking.