Timillustrator

One of the most packed soul do's I've ever been to. Totally high calibre of DJ's so the music was outstanding, a wonderfull and fitting tribute to a great man. Incredibly well organised too with lovely little touches like the claret and blue wristbands and, of course, a floor so immaculate that anyone can dance on it without recourse to any outside assistance. Would be awesome if this did become an annual event.

Simply the best club in the country right now, nothing comes close in terms of atmosphere. No overplayed rubbish at all, in fact I don't think I heard more than three Top 500 tunes in 5 hours, quite a contrast to the majority of clubs who rely heavily on the same old stuff. Also definitely some of the best young dancers from anywhere.

THE BEST SOUL CLUB in the North right now. I've managed to make all three of these and it just keeps getting better and better. Absolutely amazing music, at most a dozen top 500 but just goes to show that it's possible to be progressive and not rely on the same old same old all the time, and every DJ under 30. Atmosphere is also incredible, high (and I mean the vast majority) proportion of young dancers mean the energy keeps going right till the last record and the crowd will dance to anything - none of that malarkey of people sitting down to a lesser known record, at one stage Jordan said "This is an unreleased version I've never played" and WHAM! the floor was full. I'm being much more selective about what I go to these days (sick of the repetition) but still averaging 70 plus events a year since the pandemic and this is in the top 5 events this decade for me. The future of Northern Soul.

Bit of a long shot that anyone reads this! But does anyone know what the couple of Ruth Brown records Tony Rounce played were?? Didn't know Tham and now can't find them. Thanks.

This is by far the best Friday Night in the Midlands. Venue is perfect, nice big, clean wooden floor, not too bright, varied DJ's, always loads of dancers from all over but the secret weapon is John Callaghan and Mark McHugh's record collections - no one else plays the variety and quality they do, totally stunning, nothing in the least overplayed, plenty of uptempo stuff. Just goes to show that underplayed doesn't need to be slow, obscure stuff. This should be the model for every other club out there, just a shame it's a 75 mile drive home! Always in my calendar this one. Drew guest DJ Mick H, can't even remember if I ever drew him before? I rarely give 5 stars - I've noticed that often reviews are by people connected with the event who inevitably give 5 stars to everything. I am trying to be objective. I don't do it lightly this time either, one of probably 3 five star events in the last 12 months.

Rugby, yes, of course its legendary and it’s bloody dark! DJs play whatever they want and I’ve never heard such a broad range of music in one night. Sometimes that’s great, sometimes it’s not - depends on your perspective. The dancefloor is amazing though, never been on one so polished (despite which the odd person still feels the need to use talc?). Interesting and varied moments throughout and a smattering of familiar tunes in with the new. Was not intending to stop right to the end but the last two sets were, for me, the best of the night. Brent and Ethan Howarth (the latter only familiar to me through numerous live streams) blew the roof off with their enthusiasm and teamwork and then Dave Rimmer just totally demolished everything with the best set I’ve ever heard; Jesse Johnson on its own is usually enough to make me feel I’ve had my money’s worth but when he followed it with Buddy Ace it was just one of those epiphany moments – 5:30 am, the sun is coming up, I’ve had enough coffee and coke, I need to get home, I’m in Rugby on a Sunday morning (where the most exciting thing that usually happens is a trip to Lidl), everyone normal is asleep, there’s half a dozen people left on the dancefloor and this jaw-dropping tune comes on; suddenly none of that matters and for 2 minutes and 22 seconds it’s just you and the song and the dancefloor, you couldn’t sit down if you wanted to. Pretty dark too but managed some decent sketches. I rarely give 5 stars - I've noticed that often reviews are by people connected with the event who inevitably give 5 stars to everything. I am trying to be objective.

Well wasn't that quite something! New venue and at first it looked a bit high-street clubby - neon lights, TV screens, trendy bar fittings, bouncer on the door etc. but actually it was the ideal venue for this - fairly small but beautifully clean wood dancefloor, red lights (which got turned off later on, no disco lights either: another plus), really reasonable bar prices, nice seating too and unlike some venues there were enough tables to draw from! All ages crowd but apart from a couple of drinks on the dancefloor moments (which didn't last long) no problems, some top dancers from all over as well. With a DJ line up like that you couldn't go far wrong and everyone did what you would expect. Good mixture though, it wasn't too obscure, wasn't too overplayed (with one exception, and in 9 hours I am being dead picky) highlights for me were Jordan Wilson playing Bobby Williams, Daz Dakin playing Bird Walkin', Martin Farmer (of course he's the best DJ in England 😉) playing pretty much everything but particularly Jerry Hall and The King Cobras, Martin Shaw playing Jesse Johnson. Moments like that are often few and far between but they just kept coming, there was more, much more I can't remember. At one point it looked like the DJ's milling around were outnumbering those on the bill so there was a real buzz about this one. Unlike several other events there was still a reasonable crowd at 5am too. The only reason for not giving it five stars was a spin of House For Sale (because I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of do's I've been to in the last 12 months that didn't play it to the point that just once I'd like the hear The Snake instead) but this is being very, very picky and it was at about 3:45 am and more than made up for by the quality of everything else. Probably the best event of the year so far; looking forward to the next one in November.

Good to see this one back after a protracted absence (the same venue was used a few months ago by another DJ for a charity do - that was OK but actually a rather odd night, I mean it was free so you can't really complain and whilst it was described as Northern Soul Against Cancer the flyer did say they'd be playing other stuff and there were about 3 hours of Northern Soul but I left that one about an hour before the end after the Jam, Billy Ocean, Bad Manners and just after Wham as Duran Duran came on), nice venue, local to me, perfect wood dancefloor, nice and dark, no disco lights - all massive plusses in my book. Interesting sets; by far the best was Scooby opening, although tragically (and I do mean tragically as I spent the rest of the night kicking myself mentally) I got out of the car to the sound of The International GTO's and walking as quickly as I could I didn't make it in time to dance to it 🥲 anyone who plays that and Don Gardner in the same set is automatically catapulted into the top league in my opinion. Other DJ's played pretty mixed sets from the inevitable (House For Sale having it's 1,000th outing this year) to the unexpected (Jesse Johnson, Vernon Garrett, Larry Hale and the Rhinos) to the slightly underplayed (Gene Latter, The Enchantments) to some not particularly predictable modern stuff; so overall something for everyone. Good reliable venue this, reasonable bar, big car park, just off the motorway and hopefully long may it continue. PS this is a pretty good review, I am only giving something 4 stars if it moves me nearly to tears, 5 stars to one or two events a year at most. 6 stars (I know it doesn't exist) reserved for Macabre Soul, if that ever happens again!

Well thank God for this one! After several months of frankly totally underwhelming events finally one that delivered the goods. I've been to what seems like endless, poorly attended halls, clubs and social centres to hear the same old House For Sale, Name It You Got It and Standing On Solid Ground, sometimes each more than once a night while a dozen people danced and I was starting to wonder if I had post-pandemic fatigue, or if it was just that people were just so damn glad to be able to go out again they'd be happy with that 100 Greatest Hits of Northern Soul from ASDA and a patch of lino to dance on. Although on the plus side I haven't actually heard I Wanna Give You Tomorrow since probably September! Of course everything being cancelled last minute thanks to Omicron didn't help matters but even some rather hyped up events that managed to go ahead didn't really feel that interesting - playing to the floor all night is fine and it's great to see people enjoying themselves but it was all starting to feel like that episode of Father Ted where the DJ only had one record and plays it again and again all night, finishing with "Please stand for our National anthem" and playing it again. I couldn't bring myself to review these gigs either because they were bloody trying their best to keep the torch burning in the most extreme of circumstances. Anyway enough of all that misery - this was great, perfect venue, dark and atmospheric, sprung wood floor, good DJ line up, surprisingly pre-pandemic price, decent crowd, nice to see a few faces back out from the last decade. Highlights for me were Carl Jones with a really interesting set of largely underplayed dancers, Rob Smith who never fails to play the right thing but still keeps it interesting and, the pièce de résistance, Jordan Wilson who is surely the future - underplayed, unreleased, unknown and even the classics; Just Brothers and L Allen in one set, just wow, but follow that up with International GTO's and it was two and a half minutes of pure post-pandemic joy (something I've not experienced this decade) to hear that blasting out in this atmospheric building, it almost felt like the 2 years wait was all worth it. Sounds like this will carry on bi-monthly too which, as long as they keep the DJ's interesting and varied, should be a good bet.

What a great night this was; being lazy I hadn't properly read up on it and until the day before thought is was the "last ever" Nuneaton all-nighter, turns out it's the last ever "all" nighter as in the future it'll end earlier. Just as well because it was really fantastic. A good number of people also did stay to the end (including me although I missed the final picture being in the bog), perhaps because it was the last chance to do so? Nice room, lovely floor, good crowd. Mix of DJ's to suit all tastes really but the standouts for me were Ethan Howarth playing Joe Hicks, Don Morris playing the International GTO's, someone? playing Emanons Orchestra, Mark Freeman playing August and Deneen, Pep playing Ted Wilson (actually that was the musical highlight of the year (probably the decade) for me - that final burst of strings is surely the most insane, intense emotional 6 seconds of orchestrated music ever recorded? Just listen to it 1:46 to 1:52 Oh My God; just incredible to hear that blasting out at 3 am on a wet December morning) and finally Ian James playing Dickie Wonder and Gerri Hall. Only downside was House For Sale making an appearance, but on the plus side it wasn't the absolutely-hammered-to-death-three-times-a-night version 😁 A very minor complaint in an otherwise outstanding series of sets. Did a few sketches but was defeated by pens running out - must really plan these things ahead of time.

Well that was just pure quality from start to finish. Being a generally ignorant person about local geography I had no idea why this was called "Byron" soul club, I'd seen the flyers before with an oil portrait of Byron on, which looked very artistic but more like an advertisement for a book club than a soul club; maybe the DJs read poetry between records? I thought. Anyway it turns out that Byron is buried in the church next door so there you go. Great venue - first floor hall of this building, nicely done up and with a fantastic dancefloor and decent bar and the music was just amazing. I've been to a few Nottingham venues now and the difference between this and the West Midlands is really striking, there's little overplayed stuff but that doesn't lessen the quality one jot. I'd say about 66% of what was played tonight never gets heard in the West Midlands but I have no idea why not, because it's way better than hearing Helen Shapiro, Julian Covay and House For Sale twice a night. Actually despite 5 DJs there wasn't one repeat, something else that's a rarity in the West Midlands. Anyway that's enough negativity but from just one set you had The Startones, The Sweets, The Chants one after another anyone of which could be a highlight anywhere else; not to say it was all obscure Jonathan Capree, Cody Black, Salvadors and Tomangoes all made an appearance but the balance was just perfect. Didn't draw much because it's difficult to actually see the DJ's behind the big screens but you can't really complain about that. I will definitely return!

This is always a bit of a polarising event, there are a lot quick to jump on it on social media as an example of how the scene is going down the drain, but it ticks all the boxes. There are three crucial elements to any do - the venue, the music and the crowd (obviously, but stick with me). As a venue this is absolutely second to none, the architecture, the acoustics, the atmosphere, the dance floor just cannot be faulted; the staff are OK and apart from minor niggles like catering and queues at the bar (which aren't really an issue at all) it's all good, hell they even put jugs of ice water out for people! The music reflects what's going on with the world, fair range of DJs and styles, who can criticise Sean Chapman, Mark Freeman and Ted Massey? The latter even throwing in Bernadine and a few other neverplayeds; again on the negative side both House For Sale and I Wanna Give You Tomorrow made an appearance in the main room - but we all need a toilet break at some point (eh Andrew 😟). Sound system is about as perfect as you can get - I've heard a hell of a lot worse and the record screens are great, you can actually read them unlike a few other places. Finally the crowd, well what can you say, there's a mix of people, all ages, from across the country. Mix of backgrounds but many regular faces on the scene, half a dozen dancers from the rest of this year's all-nighters were there. Perhaps more spillages on the dancefloor and corridors than you'd like but again the staff are on it straightaway, but it's far, far from a handbag event. You could end up sitting next to some drinkers but hey, post lockdown you gotta do what you gotta do - alcohol has certainly helped me get through it. As other people have said in the past, this won't be here forever and when it's gone there's not much else that comes close on all fronts. I like how dark it is too, good excuse for my sketches being "impressionistic" (crap 😁), didn't finish the DJ one and then my pens started running out.

Booked this a while back basically on the grounds of it being a Town Hall, the DJ line up was pretty decent too though so it was worth a punt. Well it turned out pretty darn good - the venue isn't massive, as Town Halls go it was pretty tiny and as a result it was packed. Dancefloor was great though and a variety of tunes. Major disappointment of the night for me was getting there at about 9 to hear I've Only Got Myself To Blame fading away (title says it all!) my fault for not getting there for 8. Still some good stuff and Ashley always delivers, you often find with "new" venues that promoters and DJ's play it safe by playing to the floor but that wasn't really the case tonight. People had travelled from the Black Country as well as Birmingham and Worcs so quite a few faces there. Sketches were a bit off, nowhere to sit at first and then that beautiful ceiling confused me! Overall a surprisingly great venue though, worth another go, just hope they keep it fresh and interesting.