Soulfinger

Bobby wasn't that good! In his shell suit and with his trademark vocal trick disintigrating into sounding like my grandad hawking up phlegm. I hope he was just having a bad night. Irma was awesome. There was somone else on too but I just can't remember who it was.

Digging through old B&S tonight...I spotted this: Torch Ad.pdf Torch Ad.pdf

I remember these as being grim too - it really was the wrong kind of venue; it was a shame as the Village / Hardrock was a 5 minute walk from my house. There was also a very short run of Wednesday night "Northern Soul" nights at about the same time. I went because it was handy but the atmosphere was all wrong.

I vaguely remember Andy Peebles doing some Northern Soul Wednesday nights at the Village in Stretford in 74ish:tumbleweed3:

If Richard wants to carry on doing a radio show, I wouldn't have thought he would struggle to get a gig. As for his contribution to soul music, what do you have to do to get some people on here to acknowledge you might have had a part to play? I've heard him DJ from the early seventies at the Blue Rooms in Sale and the Casino onwards, through the wide open dance floors of the early eighties, the fantastic nights at the Halfway House, the Trafalgar and Parkers and wherever he's been on, he always had tunes I wanted to dance to. I remember him guesting on Soul Train in the 70's and livening Andy Peebles up. I stumbled across his show on Red Rose in about 1985; I've listened to his shows ever since. He's introduced me to many more great records than anyone else and I thank him for it. I've spoken to him about half a dozen times in 30 odd years - usually to ask him to play something. Sure, he's made some money but it only seems to be with the True Believers in rare soul circles that this is a crime. I hero worship no man save Denis Law, Eric Cantona and Curtis Mayfield but Richard? He seems like a good bloke...and if it wasn't for him I would never have seen the Dells.

Smokey Robinson Sam Dees Bobby Womack Gil Scott Heron

My Mechanical Man - Leah Dawson and Choker Campbell Probably not technically a duet as Choker doesn't sing...

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah - The Pogues

Edwin Starr - The Willows about five times - every one a knockout show Marvin Gaye - M/cr Apollo Eddie Floyd - M/cr International 1 Bobby Womack - M/cr International 2 Curtis Mayfield - The Hacienda Gil Scott-Heron - M/cr International 2 Irma Thomas - Burnley Mechanics (Bobby Bland was a terrible disappointment on the same bill) Four Tops - M/cr Odeon Albert King - M/cr International 1 Anita Baker - Mcr Apollo And on a non-soul front: when Roger Eagle put on Rockin' Dopsie and his Cajun Twisters at Rafters, I went on the basis that if Roger said they were brilliant, he'd be right. Dave Evison is the only person, other than the mate I went with, that I know was there and we both agree; completely awesome. What a showman!

You're Ready Now at the age of 13 at Carlton Club in Whalley Range in 1971. I had never seen dancing like that before. I have this vision of me standing, slack-jawed with astonishment at the edge of the dancefloor. No change to nowadays really except I'm now usually gasping for breath instead.

I saw that too but was too embarrassed to own up to watching a programme about caravans until someone else did.

That never leaves my top ten either; along with Kiss My Love Goodbye - Bettye Swann and Higher and Higher - Jackie Wilson.

Since You Showed Me How to be Happy always does it for me. I recently discovered Baby, I Just Can't Help it - on the Lost Tapes compilation. Couldn't believe I had never come across it before.

Since I Lost You Girl - The Monitors Crying in the Night - The Monitors Something About You - Four Tops

Solomon Burke does a very fine version of this live. Would love to have seen Sam Cooke do it........

I thought it was dead funny. Some of the "burn the heretics" comments have been good comedy too. Shouldn't we have some perspective?

Same one for me. Levi's best ever performance in my opinion. If I couldn't have that it'd be Jackie Wilson - Since You Showed me How to be Happy; which just lifts me up every time I hear it.

I found Pete's recommendation above to be absolutely spot on. I had to search for Fairy Active Foam and stocked up when I found it (Sainsbury Bolton), but it surely does the job

I'm happy to respect your position on the musical, it is however just an opinion even though you clearly hold it strongly. I don't have to justify my view on the musical version to you, nor defend how many times I went to the Casino or specify my years of listening and collecting. I'll try not to cry too much because you have called me a tourist. I saw the play at the Contact too; I guess that then, presumably because it had your input / blessing it did give people who'd never been a taste what Wigan was like. I seem to recall Russ deejayed at that too but that was probably bearable then because the whole experience had your seal of approval. Do the words in the play become less authentic because the music's performed by a live band? Is the "where's me knob gone?" scene any less funny because we aren't listening to a Wigan Casino Story Goldmine CD interspersed with the action? Wouldn't the soundtrack really only be genuine if we had a deejay with rickety decks with two bob stuck on the arms playing 7's that an original Wigan deejay had once owned? Should the actors have necked some green and clears just to give it that extra authenticity. Your experience and views are no more valid than anyone else's just because you can shout and be a smartarse. Good effort with the POP joke though.

I went to see it last night expecting to be disappointed. My reasoning was that I wanted to take the kids as they were too young to see it the first time round. Also, it had been shouted at so much on here it brought out the rebel in me and made me decide to go and judge for myself. It was in my view, really, really well done. I had had serious reservations about the live band but they were actually pretty good. They wove the music into and out of the acting really well. The kids enjoyed it enormously, they both knew the words to every song so I felt like I had brought them up properly. The audience was full of old soulies who were jumping about in their seats. It got a standing ovation at the end and the actors seemed genuinely touched by the warmth of the crowd. All Paul's reservations notwithstanding, I think the version at the Octagon reminded a few people who had lost touch with their souls of what it had all been like and gave a taste of what the Casino was like for some who were too young to have experienced it.

I can't do a full review but as I was leaving the Octagon car park at about half six on Monday night, there was a very pedestrian version of Righteous Brothers Band - Rat Race being ground out within the theatre; which was, unfortunately and painfully, completely audible through the open fire door.

Thou shalt always torment mates with prized new, expensive purchases with comments like - "I think the proper ones were a darker shade of green than that".

Many of the tunes previously mentioned were heard at the fair in Longford Park in Stretford year after year, especially Del Shannon, Dave & Ansell Collins, Max Romeo and Judge Dread. Others that were regulars were: You're Ready Now - Frankie Valli, Lets Dance - Chris Montez, Mony Mony - Tommy James & the Shondells, Hey Girl Come and Get it - The Stylistics, and *whispers* The Snake Happy days

Floorpackin' - Goldmine Just Keep on Dancin' - Kent Standing Ovation - The Very Best of the Dells Though it'll probably be a different three in a couple of days.....

Roger Eagle had all the tunes before everybody else - and was a genuinely nice bloke Richard Searling has surely broken most by virtue of longevity alone. And I know it's not a popular position to promote, but Russ did a fair few too - he might not have had first play but he certainly knew how to pick the ones to push.