manus

This is very worrying indeed - hope everything turns out ok

For me the record that brings back a sense of time and place more than any other is Jimmy Ruffin Farewell is a Lonely Sound and takes me back to when I was 13 in 1969 at the local Welfare Hall. When I hear the record I not only get a overwhelming sense of the place and the people but also how I felt at that age struggling a wee bit with adolescence but really excited about what lay ahead . It's a real Doctor Who of a record . Cheers Manus

It was in Brighton - jazz funk/modern downstairs and rare Soul upstairs - and the following alldayer was on Brighton seafront. Cheers Manus

I'm actually quite pleased to see outsiders at an event these days as long as they don't cause trouble - maybe it's because I'm a wee bit bored with the orthodoxy of the scene at the moment - it's all getting a little too conformist for me. I went to a niter last weekend that had a jazz funk room and some of the folk came up stairs and danced and it was like a breath of fresh air - people not conforming to the dance rules and just interpreting the music in their own unpremeditated way. It was quite funny because one of the women must have heard about the current obsession with handbaggers as she placed her bag on the floor and started dancing and then laughed and picked it up and I thought the joke was in good spirits - and she could dance that's for sure ( and most likely without going to one of these silly dance classes which is far more insulting to the true spirt of the scene in my opinion). I went to an alldayer the following day and again it felt how it should be people just enjoying things - the dancefloor was flooded and had a beware sign on it about slipping but people just danced around it without getting prima donnaish - one of the local heroin addicts came in off the street as it was a free event and spent the afternoon dancing away in his own style and was greeted with smiles and good humour.

The Patching do is on in November Mikey - the 2nd I think - it's about 25 minutes drive from Brighton and held in a village hall with a bring your own booze policy - it's always a good night and they've had some great DJs on there like Paul Thrower and the Woons, Linda Seddon , Nicki Shaw , Ann Taylor and many more. Si used to promote some great events at the Volks but hasn't put any on for awhile - but Jok Evans put an alldayer on there on Sunday which had a nice chilled vibe perfect after the nighter at View - I'll message you if I hear of any other events. Cheers Manus

Sounds good Russ and I think there is certainly room for another allnighter - we've only had two so far this year in Brighton itself - the Komedia in August and Paddy Shevlins do at the View on Sat - both great nights and well attended. We only have two regular events Paddys once monthly afternoon session Vintage Soul and Julie and Darrens every other month do at Patching near Worthing ( which is a great night always packed). But we were really spoiled in Sussex this weekend as there was a Friday night event in Arundel and then an alldayer on Sat in Gosport , then the Brighton alllnighter and then Jok's alldayer on Sunday at the Volks - but that is fairly unusual. There seems to be a fair bit going on to the west of us though with Alfie's dos in Southampton and things going on in the Poole/Bournmouth are. There's some great local DJs like the Woons ,Alfie and co and John Browne and Tracey Shaw did a belting set at yesterdays alldayer but it would be nice to see people like Soul Sam down here also - good luck with your venture. All the best Manus

One that played Soul music of all tempos , all eras all night - and incorporated Mal C's idea of a bar set back from the dancefloor but with all the old faces from our past who have passed away - all of them out for one last allnighter.

Yes agree - one criteria might be if you can envisage someone being able to jive to the beat of the record then don't play it at a Soul venue - not saying that makes something a bad record just not really in keeping with the Soul scene. I've heard some fantastic Soul/R&B records that deservedly get plays.

I quite enjoyed Soulboy too Winnie despite all it's faults - had a good night out going to see it and having the craic in the bar afterwards - I didn't have big expectations about it being too factual so I wasn't too dissapointed. And the mass slagging of the film on here before anyone had even seen it was quite interesting. Really looking forward to the new film as it sounds like it will capture the time period more accurately.

I'm certainly not advocating spilling beer on the dancefloor or taking drinks onto the dancefloor although sometimes it's unavoidable I just find the idea that you can't go anywhere near the floor with a drink a bit hysterical. Sorry you hurt your knee but I think people are far more likely to slip on talc than beer at an event. ( I seem to remember us having this exact same discussion a couple of years back)

I know it happens at one event I go too - but it's in another room - it doesn't really inpinge on what is a good event but i just find it a bit daft and straying from the genuine etiquette of Soul events.

Somehow the music side has been lost - there's a whole host of folk wouldn't know what a Soul record is - they are too busy implementing rules and fixing alarms to the dancefloor that go off when you stray within 50 yards of the dancefloor with your drink.

The scene has certainly taken a surreal turn Winnie - it just gets dafter and dafter

It's very different down south - I live on the South Coast and I've worked in a university library for 17 years and in all that time the only person I've really been able to talk too about Soul music was a Japanese student who had asked about using the library record player and it turned out he was very much into 70s Soul and we did a few CD swops. Not to say there isn't Soul fans around as there are some very dedicated Soul collectors here but they just don't seem as numerous and I haven't worked with any or come into contact with any on campus, despite working with one of the areas main employers. Then I got talking to a new starter last week and he knew quite a lot about the Soul scene - but he's from Manchester.

Freedom lol

Great post and I agree it would have been good to see a little bit about “Now” rather than just about “Then” But regarding the rules thing I do think there are people that are stifling the scene these days with rules. It would seem to be the biggest insult possible to say to someone is " You're not a propa Soulie" , personally I'm not a propa “Soulie” , I'm not even a “Soulie” , I'm a Soul fan plain and simple, I like to listen too and dance too Soul music. So if someone said to me "You're not a propa Soulie" I would nod my head in agreement but for many this accusation is the equivalent of throwing a shoe at an Iraqi - it's a big insult and many ” Soulies” live in fear of being denounced this way ( So many “Soulies “ are quick to point the finger and say Handbagger/Pisshead as it proves their loyalty to the” Soulie” ethos — it’s like BITD when it it was quite often the biggest Divs that pointed a finger at someone else and cried Div) And there is a fairly comprehensive set of rules that defines the " propa Soulie" and woe betide you if you don't live up to them - so I'm fairly pleased I'm not a “Soulie” - but I do find it's getting a bit silly and I'm not talking about dress sense or dance style as I couldn't care less about what people wear or how they dance or how long they have been on the scene as long as they are enjoying themselves I'm talking about the self styled etiquette police and their puritanical rules of behaviour and the current handbagger witchunt ( beware you lasses heel checks will be taking place at your nearest Soul night so dump the stiletoes)- people need to lighten up and have a laugh and enjoy the music. Cheers Manus

I agree Winnie I'm not a fan of baggies either but I've seen those two around at events and they are really friendly and just doing their thing which is fair enough I think. I thought the journalist seemed a decent guy but I found the programme overall a bit predictable and didn't really add to anything that's been done before - maybe there isn't anything else to say that hasn't been said already - but I know some non scene people who really enjoyed it so fair play.

Is it April the 1st already - I must have slept through xmas ( again)

Classic - great to listen too and great to dance too.

Had some fantastic nights at WC and have some great if hazy memories but it's becoming a bit like Frank Wilson DILY - a great record that's become little more than a cliche due to overkill.

Perhaps he has chosen a top 40 of his own productions - as in a top 40 of Ian levine productions rather than a top 40 of general Soul productions. That's how I would interpret it. And as others have said fair play to him for SWONS it was much appreciated in this household.

I think people forget ( and some people are clueless as to what a mid tempo record is) that records like Ronnie McNeir Sitting in my Class were seen as midtempo particulary when following a tune like Jimmy Raye or something similar. I think there's some great records been posted on this thread and I'd more than happily spend the night dancing to them but I'd much rather listen to a Soul record of any tempo than a record that is played simply because it's fast.

I'm slightly confused here I thought mid tempo tunes had always been around from the early days with things like Gene Chandler - Nothing can stop me , Brooks & Jerry I got what it takes , Willie Tee Walking up a one way street and moving on to stuff like Nolan Chance Just like the Weather and later things like Eloise Laws Love Factory , Bobby Hutton Lend a Hand and loads more. Even a lot of the "bad "records played over the years were mid tempo Barbara Mills , Carmel Strings , Peggy March etc Some great Soulful records posted on this thread by the way.

Very Sad News RIP Mr Blue is one of my all time favourite recordings.

I remember DJing for the North East Soul Club in the 70s and turned up one night and the promoter/ DJ Alex had developed a way of setting the records without using record middles - so he hadn't brought any. I spent the whole set trying to centre the records so they played properly ( and wasn't entirely sucessful). On the rare occasions I do a spot these days I always take middles with me - just in case.