manus

Totally agree - Nothing can stop me lovely tune Cheers Manus

Nice post Paul All the best mate Manus

Well said Steve - it's good to hear folks talking about the music and how it moves them. I've got no problem with people debating points of view - but it's good to get back to basics sometimes and remember what we have in common Soul music. Cheers Manus

Great tune

Anything that costs more that I can really afford Webby And Cissy Houston's He/I believe/I'll be there - not really tears as such but fairly strong emotions and there are a fair few more that hit the same spot mabye not quite as intensely as Cissy Houston. When I hear Jimmy Ruffin's Farewell I'm a spotty kid again in a ski jacket at Wrekenton Miners Welfare in 1969 - there's nothing that makes you sense the past more that a piece of music IMO and quite often with a mixture of happiness and sadness. Cheers Manus

Well done Reginald Molehusband

There's never been a big venue that didn't play midtempo tunes at some point in the evening - if the oldies only events wanted to be true to the past then there would be fair bit of midtempo on the playlists. I think you may be getting caught up in the oldies = 100mph myth. Cheers Manus

Top Class Binsy Cheers Manus

I used to love the Sunday nights after an all nighter - the Sombrero in Chester Le Street used to have a Sunday night session ( run by Bill Swift) and later the Mayfair in Newcastle had a mixed Soul night with some rare/northern played - a few pints and you'd be buzzing again. Not sure how many times I went to Wigan. First went in 1974 and the last time was 1979 - sometimes I'd go every week for a couple of months and then not go for about 3 weeks or more. A lot of the people I remember from the 74 period had stopped going by 76 - I think maybe at the time it was seen as something you did when you were young and then you grew up and raised a family got a career or whatever - we didn't realise just how addictive the Soul scene was/is or understood it's "Something keeps calling me back" magnetism. Certainly at Wigan by late 78 early 79 most of the people I knew who were going were 2 or 3 years younger than me and this coupled with the full on slide into pop dancers told me it was time for a change. I know now that the last year was among the best for black music but it was really hard to imagine this being the case in late 78. I only went to the Mecca about 15 to 20 times but always really enjoyed it and the music always felt one step ahead - I think there were a fair few people who enjoyed both the Mecca and Wigan and didn't get caught up in the rivlaries. One of the best niters I ever went too was at Cleethorpes Pier early 75 with a dance comp that a local guy won - the place was absolutely buzzing. Cheers Manus

Agree with you Paul I grew up just down the road from you ,as you know, and almost everyone I knew who was into the music was from council estates or rented space from private landlords - It's something I've always been proud of - we were poor but stylish and into Black American music and Reggae. If it wasn't for the working class and poor of this country giving "consideration" to Black Music I wouldn't be sitting writing this half pissed on a Saturday night in 2010. All the best Manus

Amazing how you forget some things that were played - I'd forgotten about the SWT inst until now. Always liked the Chiffons tune but the inst at Wigan had all the appeal of someone scraping the bottom of a barrell with a trowel and was the sort of tune that made my heart sink. Cheers Manus

Cheers Paul - it moves along at a fair old pace and decent vocals I think.

It seems on reading this that some people see the fashion aspect as part of an identification with the music and others who don't see it as relevant and maybe a bit embarrasing. Personally I don't find someone dressing in baggies or whatever an issue I only find it a problem when it goes hand in hand with musical stagnation as in "if it wasn't played in the (short)era I'm dressed for then I don't what to hear it played". I think the stereotype of a Wigan attendee is always the same "baggies, vest beertowel etc" - I went to Wigan from 74-79 and I never wore baggies or a vest although it didn't bother me that other people did. I knew a fair few other people who didn't dress that way too. Cheers Manus

Any opinions on this - good , bad , indifferent? Manus

Aycliffe was my first all nighter too and first big one Wigan mid 74 - anyone remember Peter Jones from that period he was a Wigan regular in the early days - he lived in Newcastle but was from Wales originally i think ( I might be imagining the Wales bit) Cheers Manus

Hello Toma - hope you're keeping well mate - it was Billy Keene for me Wishing and Hoping around 75/76 it arrived cracked but a bit of sellotape has kept it playable all these years. Shame about the O'jays such a great tune. Hope to get up north soon All the best Manus

Just the sort of record you wouldn't want to hear more than once Mick let alone 4 or 5 times Cheers Manus

Twas a Soul Sam spin Webby so I suppose wherever he was on it got played Just thinking about the repetition of sounds back then - and I think it was possible to hear something like August and Deneen maybe 3 times in an hour at Wigan 74/75 and other big sounds the same. I remember once at Cleethorpes (Winter Gardens) the Pointer Sisters getting played maybe 10 -12 times over the course of the night. Sounds that sum up Wigan the Vel-vets maybe at it's best for sheers energy and Muriel Day at it's worst. Cheers and looking forward to having a chat with you at Rugby Webby Manus

Sorry bit late posting on here Not sure if this would ever take off but it's an interesting one - a Gospel, Soul,Northen, Funk R and B tune. Cheers Manus WHITNEY JONES HE'LL BE WITH YOU CUSTOM STUDIO RECORDING -

This is one of my favourites SWAMP DOGG I JUST CAN'T STAND TO HEAR HER SAY PLEASE STONE DOGG LP - Cheers Manus

I think the film Shaft had a lot to do with how popular the coats became- we all wanted to be as cool as Richard Rowntree. Cheers Manus

Nice one Ken - mine's on Major Minor and sits well next to the Dubliners Seven drunken nights Cheers Manus

I was in the toilets once when that crowd came in - they stopped a guy and one of them asked him if he had a hankerchief spare - the guy pulls out a cloth hankerchief and says sorry I've only got this - it was taken from his hand ripped in half and half given back to him. There were a few jokers who hung around in Ms and once they brought a kettle in with them and one of them walked up to this young guy who was dancing and said will you hang onto this for a minute - and then they all headed off to laugh their head off as the poor guy stood there for about 10 mins in the middle of the dancefloor with the kettle in his hand. If the kettle holder guy is still around and on Soul Source - I hope you had the sense to piss in the thing before you gave it back to them Sometimes I would spend most of the night in Ms and other times I wouldn't go in at all - but when it was full and jumping it had some atmosphere. Cheers Manus

Sad news another great singer gone RIP Teddy