Pauldonnelly

THE TORCH ALL-NIGHTER BOOK. Over the last few months virtually every morning I have received requests for wristbands for the class of 72 reunion. From Belgium to Bognor, from Carlisle to Cambridge from Newcastle to Norwich, From Spain to St Helens the response has been as always phenomenal. Now we've had the negative ones suggest the fact the event is virtually sold out is down to the free entry wristbands my reply is have a look at the donation buckets Sunday 28th Oct, we expect those that are attending to be as generous as previous years with the door tax donation probably exceeding what we would have taken in ticket sales. As with previous years ALL proceeds after our unavoidable expenses will be donated to charity. While reading the aforementioned emails it became very clear how much 1972 meant to you, with many of you taking the time to share some short and ONE very long story (cheers Pig) about various escapades that went on circ 1972, with stories of 9hrs journeys to the Torch, or buying records on the balcony, stories of being chased around Tunstall Street by the DS, yep they were all part of growing up. All though a number of venues excelled in 1972 the Torch without question became the big one and to that end bearing in mind some of the content we already have on file, we have decided with the kind permission of Chris Burton to write a book about the Torch all-nighter. The top 50 records, scans and information supplied by two of the worlds authorities on Northern Soul, photos and personal memories by those that patronised the Torch, interviews with the DJ's. Our intention is to have the book ready as a hard back or paper back by May 2013 via a launch party at a venue in central England. If you would be interested in writing a few words or supplying us with photographs or memorabilia please in the first instance contact me Paul Donnelly via email PaulDonnellyBP@aol.com and I will reply with an email outlining what we require from you, without your inclusions a book to celebrate what some consider to be the greatest underground soul music venue ever, will remain a dream. As always all proceeds after unavoidable expenses will be donated to the 2013 Class of 72 Reunion Charity Fund Malc, Jez and PD site word the cropped photo used as the header image is from chris b gallery here on soul source can view full album here

Word about a change of venue for the The Class of 72 Party night at Stoke On Trent Oct 2012 Party Night at Stoke on trent Oct 27th 2012 3pm to 1am now at Cobridge Territorial Army Centre Waterloo Rd, Cobridge, Stoke-On-Trent, Staffordshire ST6 3HJ Only 0.63 miles from our Nominated Accommodation The George Hotel Burslem Stoke On Trent READ ON? Every bloody year it would seem that the Stoke Gremlins are against us, as last year we've had to find another venue do to unforeseen circumstances, let us explain..... 9 weeks ago we booked a small two room venue that we thought would be more than adequate for our invite only class of 72 party night, 4 weeks after the website went live we had in effect met capacity levels for the two rooms, concerns were raised that we had underestimated the interest in the annual gathering of the clans as we had over 50 on a stand-by list. We decided to stick with the original venue however after seeking clarification re: actual capacity numbers with the venues management on numerous occasions it became apparent something was not right. On 19th April 2012 Jez was advised that the Leopard's staff had double booked the venue and they decided that their wedding booking would take preference. We moved on, as we always have done when shit hits fan, Jez spent all last week visiting various establishments within the Potteries and has a found us a new venue as follows 1- capacity now 400 2- Secured FREE on site Parking 3- TWO bars ( cheap prices) 4- The Bigger bar will be playing Wheel era stuff now from 1500hrs 5- The Main room will be Torch stuff circa 72/73 6- The smaller bar will be a chill area 7- On site catering facility's We decided this year for various reasons that it would be a free entry all-dayer, wristbands will be sent to you all in July/August 2012 please bring them with you to ensure entry. As with previous years we are keen to continue our impressive charity work. Apart from the usual raffle there will be two large buckets near the entrance area where you can make a door tax donation if you wish, hopefully an amount that reflects what our gatherings mean to you? As with previous functions ALL proceeds after expenses will be donated to charity. Julie Morgan Searle who does the raffle each year has suggested four charity's that will benefit from your generosity..... Kidney research http://www.kidneyresearchuk.org/ Macmillan Nurseshttp://www.macmillan...ffordshire.aspx/ Freekick's Foundation http://www.freekicksfoundation.org/ Support our Soldiers http://www.supportoursoldiers.co.uk/ It only remains for Malc, Jez and I to again thank ALL the dj's who have agreed to give us their time FREE OF CHARGE, to the lads at Cobridge TA Centre who have waived their normal room hire fee, to Vinny and Geez who are donating their equipment for the duration, to the Morgan sisters who organise the raffle ( prizes to julie.searle1@tiscali.co.uk ) and especially our Jez Jones who's worked his arse of yet again to find us venue at such short notice. With the increase in capacity, those that were on the stand by list are now 'in' please fwd this to all in your address book advising that FREE OF CHARGE entry wristbands will be available soon, please apply by email to PaulDonnellyBP@aol.com Anone who has been allocated tickets would they respond so I can update our spreadsheets it will enable us to ensure everyone that has applied for wristbands are aware of the forced venue change. See you at the Go Go. PD MAIN ROOM - ' INKY DINKY WANG DANG DOO ' 3 to 4 Vinny 4 to 5 Jez Jones 5 to 6 Brian Chidley 6 to 7 Ian Cunliffe 7 to 8 Paul Rowan 8 to 9 Twink 9 to 10 Poke and PD 10 to 11 Pat Wallace 11 to 12 Julian Bentley 12 to 1 Chris Lalor BAR AREA - ' BACK TO OUR ROOTS ' 3 to 4 Geez 4 to 5 PD 5 to 6 Jobie 6 to 7 Gaz Lees 7 to 8 Malc Burton 8 to 9 Jez Jones 9 to 10 Francis Geirak 10 to 11 Brian 45 Phillips