Hooker1951

Hi Devlam I spent over 40 years of my life refusing entry to people who didn’t fit into clubs pubs. Concerts etc etc etc and I was pretty good at that job in fact boss at it, nobody is decrying what the young ones do, but what you can’t do is teach a chicken to suck eggs, age is not relevant to music unless you make it so . Old and young can enjoy the same music trust me, I still DJ these days, in NS RnB, and I was a Mc at all illegal and legal raves till wellinto my 50,s. I’m 72 now and as long as I feel like I can still enjoy the music, help people enjoy the music share my knowledge I will keep on keeping on. old farts are not the problem , Disrespectful farts are the problem and they can be young and old in any shape or form , Music is one of the greatest Levellers know to mankind and should be used for happiness for the Old and the young,Just for example I never stopped anyone entering premises where I was in charge of Security for being to Old, I Stopped hundreds for being to young, and thousands for being obnoxious clowns, but always remember some old people can be very wise, very clever and very dangerous. Stay safe ML

Here we go again happy as can be all good friends and jolly good company ML

Well that’s certainly a mixed bag of responses, Option 1 on the topic is probably the last place most people on here want to be the future of NS, it’s been captured by the casuals, part timers who are quite happy listening to the same old dross which reminds them of a time where they felt safe but the fact is a lot of them never moved on from that scene and when some left and returned they were just happy for it to be the same, but if they are happy with that, what can you say except it’s not for me .Some of these nights sad to say have become places where the music has become secondary and become sad to say pick up places. Option 3 Posse are the nearest thing for me anyway to proper Soulies they’ve been around for over 50 years plus moved through the years embracing new discoveries and still cherishing the Good Oldies, they’ve left the scene due to life’s commitments and problems but come back fresh like they were never away, always travelled and looked for what they love, for me anyway they are the bread n butter of NS and they certainly know what they like Music wise and will tell you if asked. Option 2 Rare Soul gang, your always going to need some of these to find if there is anything left worth finding , they tend to play for one another rather than the dance floor if your happy with that go for it but don’t double down on the chemicals you might never get started. what has surprised me with the responses is how many have already give up the ghost and seem to think because they have everybody else should, I do understand most of their grievances and have felt them too, but do you give up or look for what suits you. Cheers Mick

Book a flight to North Korea keyboard killer because I certainly don’t give a flying Fk what you think but with your attitude it might cause me.to take offence, keyboard killer, Relax I can tell your not strong mentally being frightened of Old people is not a good sign

No Offence Lads but you two might be better of living in North Korea LoL, Tarring everyone with the same brush always brings problems, Needless to say thousands of Good Soul people on here who still have plenty life and Soul left in their Old Shoes Mick

My initial Topic was where is NS future heading? In your opinion? It seems that the way it’s gone backwards and become a watered down version in many respects of the way it was has disappointed many on here myself included, But there are still promotions who try to give you Good Soul music and a great night out, most people on here can spot the weak phoney Soul Events from a 1000 miles away or should be able too at this time in their lives, just avoid going and being disappointed and annoyed , just look for the Genuine ones where your welcome and you know that quality Music will be played etc. As regards being Old there,s nothing you can do about that, but if your still enjoying the music meeting old friends and new, keep doing it, Growing old disgracefully can be fun too, don’t knock it if you haven’t tried it. Cheers Mick

Hi Quinvy its worse than that it’s old people on Speed LoL, but you’ve got to keep on keeping on its later than you think, and when the music stops your heart stops soon after so keep listening ML

Hi Clees I understand what your saying, but the Soulies on here don’t need that explaining to them they’ve already done it been there and lived that life before no offence before most of you were born , I wish you luck with your venture but trust me there are a hell of a lot people on here who don’t shout from the rooftops but have a vast amount of knowledge about NS , The music, the promotions of the past and are not easily won over, Mick

Hi Mickey Im with you out of the 3 the third option is my favourite It still should make an exciting night out with a twist if one or two discoveries are thrown n the mix of a quality set, always playing for the dance floor and crowd and not to impress other Dj,s A soul session wether a dayer , nighter or soul night should always strive to be entertaining Mick

Your bang on there Solid Soul the Genie escaped from the bottle with the internet it opened a fast route sometimes too fast for a lot of people to skip the old ways of serving your Soul baptism to the music and huge chunks of the experience in finding tracks you love or were rare became to easy in a lot of cases spoiling the mysticism that was part of the fun, and of course when everyone was living it for real and learning on the job , you can never buy that unless you lived it the good experiences and the bad , It’s not their fault they were born to late LoL,and technology left us behind, Mick

Hi Clees Your Flyer should be on events, it’s not a sensible answer to the topic just a cheap childish way to advertise, this a forum to listen to other people’s point of view to make the scene maybe improve, Btw I’ve got an all dayer on next week but I wouldn’t be sticking it on all about the Soul it’s on Events where it belongs ML

I’ve just got back from Iclemere Turkey a cosy little resort across the bay from Marmaris, At least a dozen bars I visited were playing NS, one was actually called Northern Soul Bar , keep the faith logos and numerous badges from venues from the past everywhere , beer mats showing embroided NS history etc etc,the tunes played were quite diverse from standard Casino oldies and the usual middle of the road NS sounds to believe it or not some big rare sounds, they were obviously on a loop no DJ,s involved interspersed with country n western etc, , I was asked by a future bar owner would I be interested in Dj,ing for him when he opens up next year as NS is in his future plans for the bar, I explained the best I could all the different facets of NS scene in the UK, other resorts I’ve visited over the years in Turkey have maybe one or two bars playing a little NS, but so many in a middle size resort was surprising , So my question is is the future of NS in a shrinking world in foreign lands. And obviously if it does it will depend which facet of NS it gets. Meanwhile back n the Uk which facet of NS is coming out most popular here, I will divide into 3 so as not to complicate things and no disrespect meant from me at all here 1 the baggy pants n swirly skirts brigade armed with badges and stuck in nostalgia and a time warp they love, with loads of pubs and clubs open for them no vinyl just cd,s music on a loop Nothing wrong with this if it’s your thing keep n doing it. 2 the Rare Soul brigade, Meeting of people who really know or think they know their stuff they are pleased to admire one another’s knowledge of NS and if there feeling up for it they might get up for a little shuffle in between deciding who is the greatest NS DJ in the Uk. Nothing wrong with this if it’s what turns you on keep on doing it 3 This is the NS brigade who have stuck with it from the beginning who love the good old stuff but also have had an open mind to accepting all the good and new discoveries that have come over the last 50 years Embraced it and still turn out excited to have a good night out and open music policy with DJ,s playing their best for them, Nothing wrong with this you can still be pleasantly surprised by some of the vinyl played while still enjoying the usual great tunes l know there a countless inbetweens to the above but just keeping it simple, Where do you think the future lies or is NS big enough to accept and thrive with all of them? And what do you favour? Keep Safe Mick L

Happy Birthday Martyn See you next week at Stubshaw Cheers Mick

Very Sad news indeed, Jimmy James never let his audience down, I had the good fortune to see him on numerous occasions over the last 50 years and he was a great live performer as well as being a fantastic recording artist, For me he was always underrated but Jimmy could hold his own with the best, some of his recordings are very special in his own unique Style R i P Jimmy James Mick Lyons

Shame Shame Shame Shame on you if you can’t Dance too, Just do your thing and leave the rest to the Music ML

That will happen soon Trust me Mick

Only just picked up on this thread, further information on Tony,s Guy Hennigan had run his Soultown promotions there until 1990 I took over with Mark Robinson as promoter had our first one in October 1991 as Bradford only had a couple of months left at the time all though it was resurrected sporadically over the next 2 years I ran it under MyK promotions obviously MyK meaning Mick , Mark left within 2 years and I brought Scotty on board with me in 1995 we ran it monthly for over 150 all nighters until 2003 when the ballroom was deemed unsafe by health n safety , in the early 1990,s it bridged a gap when the all nighter scene was seemed to be getting scarcer except for the 100 club and the Great Keele nighters every 4 months or so, We had an open policy for the music played there and the variety of Dj,s who played for me there made that a reality,, My idea there was to keep it raw , dark like a throwback to the late 1960,s soul clubs and to give Soulies old and new a fresh experience every time they came, I’m sure a lot of happy memories were made there. Cheers Mick Lyons

We are all Doomed again, Is it worth carrying on when the best DJ in the world will be Robbie the Robot and his record collection will be a couple of valves in his head and each hand will be turntable, and if you don’t dance when he,s switched on you get lasered. ML