from a bit earlier on in the year, possibly the greatest night ever at THE WIRRINA
As a resident at THE WIRRINA since its conception in 1974 I still get a big thrill from getting involved with the annual reunions, thanks to my bro he did the report for 2004
Wirrina All-nighters 30th anniversary 16th July 2004.
So what the hell is, or to be more precise, what was the Wirrina.The Wirrina was a Peterborough City Council run complex comprising of a sports hall and a rather plush ballroom.
The PSC all-nighters took place on a monthly basis over a two year period from 1974 to 1976. Granted it was at the height of popularity boom, and all that, but the place pulled the crowds... big crowds. So much so that on occasions both the ballroom and the sports hall were choc-a-bloc. Sure it didn't have the reputation of the Casino, the Torch and the Mecca but the influence of the Wirrina All-nighters on the Northern scene in East Anglia should never be underestimated. Indeed, for popularity it was only ever rivalled by St Ives, but despite this the Wirrina all-nighters remain relatively unknown on the Northern map. These days, talk to people about the Peterborough all-nighters and invariably the Fleet is the topic of conversation, but for those, myself included, who attended the Wirrina during the Phoenix Soul Club era remember those nights with a sense of fondness. Right, nostalgic sentiment out the window, history lesson over, fast forward thirty years.
To be honest I didn't really feel up for a Northern night, let alone a re-union. The cold I'd been suffering since Wednesday had really taken hold and my throat was killing me. But, the Mrs wanted to go out and there was nothing good on the box so we made our way to the Parkway (aka the railway) Club in Peterborough for the Wirrina all-nighters 30th anniversary re-union. Paul had contacted me the night before asking me to write a few choice words about the nights proceedings, so pen in one hand and a packet of strepsils in the other I plonked my arse on the closest seat to the bar and settled in for the night. To be honest I'd never been too taken with re-unions. Experience had taught me they were predictable and invariably didn't live upto the hype, I would find myself moaning about the stuff they didn't play, shaking my head in dismay at another squandered opportunity. However, this was the Wirrina Anniversary, the very same venue I attended my first allnighter back in the day, so I decided to stay positive and keep an open mind.
Up first, Mr Phoenix himself, my big bro Paul Donnelly. Whenever Paul does an early doors spot he has a tendancy to throw caution to the wind, dig a little deeper and pull out a few unusual tunes that never seem to get an airing these days, and tonight was no different.G Davis and R Tyler - Hold on help is on the way , Alpaca Phase III - I like to Party and Kim Tolliver - Don't know what foot to dance on. All popular sounds at the Wirrina in their own right set the scene for the first 45 minutes. The Bull Twins, Neil and Ady came over to our table and had a quick chat. Neil asked my why the pad and pen? I responded "I'm collating the funny stories you've told me over the past thirty years mate", and quickly showed him a blank page. Bully, always quick on the draw, recited the "god shave me joke" an Oundle Road Classic if ever there was one. In the back ground Paul was still plugging away, no-one dancing but I wasn't moaning, nice to hear Marvin Holmes and Justice again. Mick Thompkins, a guy I hadn't seen since his wedding nigh on twenty years ago, popped up like the shop kepper on Mr Benn and proclaimed that the drinks were on him.... all night, I considered telling him not to be so daft, but thought better of it. One thing about re-union nights is that it has a bad habit of pulling people out of the woodwork Trev Morley, a guy I did my apprenticeship with, approached with a rye smile on his face, we chatted about this and that. It was nice seeing Trev again. Meanwhile, the tumbleweed was still blowing across the dancefloor. Paul wrapped up the graveyard shift with three gems from the period, the sublime Margo Thunder, The Idle Few and the Fantastic Puzzles, the puzzles finally pulling a few people onto the floor. It was quarter past eight and the place was beginning to fill out. Paul handed over to Steve "Jonah" Jones for the next hour or so.
Jonah kicked off with The O'Jays working on your case , continuing with the classics My dear heart and Linda Jones' Just can't live my life. A few more people were venturing onto the floor. Credit to Jonah he had the floor packed within 20 minutes or so,and still the classics came. The Embers - watch out girl, Eloise Laws - Love Factory, The Anderson Brothers - I can see him, Bobby Hutton - Lend a hand, and Billy Prophet _ What Can I do. Jonah continued to please the crowd and as a result raisied the temperature a couple notches on the thermomenter adding to what was already a warm and sticky Peterborough evening. Mick Thompkins pushed another pint of Theakstons in front of me.Good lad. Jonah wrapped up what was an enjoyable hour with the Silhouettes - not me baby and Thelma Houstons - Baby Mine.
Enter Gary Spencer, not as regular on the scene of late, but Spena had lost none of it. Kicking off with the Bari track and Duke Browner. By now the place was at bursting point and over 300 had pushed their way into the small hall. It was nice to see so many of the old Wirrina gang coming through the doors, Pop Fisher, Johhny Carroll, Mick Beeby, Nick Gilbert, Stef Malajny, Steve Donnelly, Phil O'hearn, Billy Bingham and Gill to name but a few, and not forgetting Mick "another Theakstons" Thompkins.
Spena was settling in nicely, and the floor was still busy, Danny Monday, The Carstairs, Eula Cooper and Jeanette Williams filled the airways. On the satge with Spena was Paul and Smudge, so I took time away from the table and joined them for ten minutes or so. My intention was to grab a couple of choice quotes and from each and capture a candid moment of the three together to film. I needn't have bothered really, it must have been the silly season. Paul rattled on about not enough clapping which Smudge chipped in with a comment about penicillin continuing that he was more than a little unhappy that the mirror ball wasn't spinning and Spen, well, he stood there exclaiming that he was missing his carp fishing, the crowd were oblivious and to be honest I doubt if they would have cared. Despite missing his fishing Spen played the crowd and treated them to what they wanted to hear. Freddie Chavez, Sandi Sheldon and Reuben.... one after another, they were all wheeled out.
I made my way back to the table and joined the party. Another Theakstons had magically appeared. I glanced back up at the stage and seeing the three of them there I tried to get a mental picture of the old Wirrina days, but unfortunatley the only thing that came into my head was the similarity between Paul, Smudge and Spen and the three tenors. Gary finished off his hour with the Tramps - Hold back the night and the The Exciters - reachin',
Andy "smudge" Smith up next. I had been chatting with Smudge the week before about the big tunes that were played at the Wirrina and as is the norm with a conversation of this ilk it wasn't long before it spiralled out of control, degenerating from the sublime to the rediculous. Elusive, the Flasher and California Strut all got a mention. I considered the possibility of Smudge playing a few "howlers" just for a laugh. It was with some relief when he kicked of his spot with Willie Mitchell's The Champion. Again, the classic oldies were the order of the day. Tony and Tyrone's please operator, was well recieved as was the Montclairs and Chubby Checker's you just don't know. Johnny Bragg's They're talkin' about me also got a spin, that is the third time I have heard that it in as many weeks, is this one due for a revival? Who knows.
By now the sore throat was all but a distant memory, the beer had taken hold and it was time to verbal. I spent an interesting 20 minutes or so with Johnny Carroll discussing the pros and cons of todays soul scene and the relative popularity of the Parkway venue in general. I took time out to chat with Stef Malajny about the ol' days.He bought a smile to my face. Meanwhile Smudge played on, and the floor remained full.
Time for Paul Donnelly to return. Straight in with the Julian Covey then Vel-vets, quickly followed by the Fi-dels, the Soul twins and Tommy Bush, The Gypsies, Bits and Pieces There was a sense of irony in his voice when he introduced Nolan Porters "if I could only be sure" taking time to point out that it cleared the floor when played at the Wirrina circa 1975 though claiming that he knew one day it would be a biggie LOL. by now Paul had necked a few so to hear him give up trying to say "Dooly Silverspoon" was nothing short of hilarious. Despite the big numbers there were those who were conspicuous by their abscence, it would have been nice to see Danny Daniels(who won the dancing competition at Wigan 1975, Spike, Macky, Bob Trotter, Rhyder, Mark Gedge, Johnny Barr, Mick Cooper and all, but times change. One who couldn't be there was Mark Draycott, a dear freind of mine who was a regular at the Wirrina.Sadly Mark died last year and Paul dedicated the MVP's in his memory, a nice touch, one that mark would have appreciated. Paul played upto midnight spinning the World Column, Candi Staton and the Brothers' are you ready for this, finishing off with Manifesto.
12 midnight, yeah! .Tony Dellar takes to the stage, yeah! , thirty years on and Mr Deller had hardly changed, he's just as as mad now as he was then. Still fun to watch him go through his routine though. I especially liked the air trumpet solo he performed to Moses Smith, classic Dellar. Tony kept them coming thick and fast, Mickie Champion, Morris Chestnut, Lenny Curtis and he wasn't going to let us go without hearing James Barnett.
At 1-05am the lights came on and it was time to bid our farewells whilst a good 150 or so sang to Long after tonight is all over, and with a sense of satisfaction we made our way into the refreshing air of the night.
Granted the Phoenix Soul Club never was a Casino, or Blackpool Mecca, or the Torch not that it ever wanted to yet the affection for the Wirrina all-nighters is still evident, even after all these years, and despite my initial apprehension we had a good time; to be be more precise, we had a fun time........even if they didn't play Oscar Perry and Jackey Beavers
Thanks to all involved.
Mick Donnelly 17/07/04