Lea Manor Remembered and Revisited

There is an opportunity to celebrate Lea Manor and meet up with friends on 23rd September 2023. The promoters are Martyn Bradley, Kev Spittle, Sharon Spittle and Kev Bodley.

Martyn has been out and about over the last year or so and had many folks asking for a Lea Manor meet-up. So, finally, it’s happening!

As many of you will be aware, Martyn, Kev and Sharon were also promoters of the popular United Sounds of Soul (USoS) events. These were also nights with a loyal following and reputation for quality.

So, with this in mind, it seems appropriate to provide a brief history behind the Lea Manor events.

After months of attending the same venues playing the same oldies, Martyn`s view was that the scene in the Midlands was becoming very stagnant. Whilst out and about, chatting to various folk, many were looking for something a little different. There was a gap in the scene for a venue that could meet that need. The idea was a Bretby influenced venue, as a lot of West Midlands people weren’t traveling.

Martyn’s first venture was at Cannock Hockey Club, it ran for approximately 12 months. It’s fair to say that attendances were initially low! However, it ignited a spark in Martyn’s heart and he knew what direction he wanted to pursue. Three or four different people had helped Martyn on his journey, but they didn’t last long when the venues weren’t packed to the rafters. Martyn also ran a night at Cannock Community Centre at the same time as The Hockey Club. By now he had gained a few regulars that were supporting his events.  Two such souls were Tate and Lynne.  Knowing Martyn was looking for a new venue, Tate and Lynne suggested The Lea Manor hotel.

“The Lea Manor Hotel was situated on the A464 Shifnal to Wolverhampton Road and had been a top night spot and dining facility in the 1960s and 1970s. In its heyday, it attracted entertainers including Frankie Vaughan and Kathy Kirby to its sell-out dinner - dances.”

It was an ideal venue with a good-sized wooden dance floor. Located away from houses, it was a traditional style country club with ample parking.

After speaking to the management (Mike Bate), a date was set for the first night. This was Friday 13th May 1994. Clearly, Martyn wasn’t superstitious! This replaced the now defunct Central Hotel in Cannock which was run by Morris (R.I.P) with Ted Massey and David “Spook” Richards as residents.

DJs were contacted and booked; Flyers were printed - "Behind Closed Doors" was born.

Initially, Tate and Lynne circulated flyers at various venues, helped by the DJs that had been booked. At the time Martyn was out of action due to a bad accident at work which put him on crutches.

The Line up for the first night was Cliff Steele, Chris Anderton and Ted Massey. The superb sound system was thanks to Cliff, who had the epic journey from Northants to Albrighton, on a Friday evening.

Initially the nights ran from 9:00pm till 1:00am for a mere £3.00 otd, later moving to an 8:30pm till 1:30 am. Plus later the addition of all-niters which were on as a special themed night’s.

The DJ “selection process” - Martyn made the initial choices with ideas coming from Tate, who always had good ideas for special nights. A couple of examples being the Albrighton “doubles nights” and the “Albrighton all-stars tapes”. Some of these doubles nights spots were filled with people who very rarely got an opportunity and others that supported the venue.

One such occasion was on the night of Lynne`s 40th birthday celebrations. Even two of the kids played in what turned out a most enjoyable evening. The kids were supervised on the decks by Dave Rimmer, a great time was had by all.

DJs were chosen for their ability to please the dance floor while playing a good mix of 60`s newies, quality oldies, forgotten oldies and alongside top 70`s sounds. In addition, they weren’t afraid to play new releases

So, after 12 months of hard work, including numerous phone calls letters and goodwill from the management, the team managed to get to the first anniversary. The date was Friday 19th May 1995, the night was billed as a “Stafford reunion”. The line-up consisted of Dave Thorley and Guy Hennigan, playing Stafford classics, backed up by Soul Sam playing current monsters, ably followed by Cliff Steele playing a mix of newies and classic Stafford tracks These including the likes of The Four Tracks, Deana Johnson, Rufus Wood and Cecil Lyde. The dance floor was rammed and the atmosphere was electric. Once again, Cliff had enhanced his reputation for playing quality soul music to a very demanding crowd... the night was finished off by Guy then Dave, bringing the room to a climax with the likes of the Ringleaders acetate, Gino Washington`s Rat Race, Buddy Connor etc.

The nights went from strength to strength, with a wide range of DJ’s gracing the decks, including the likes of Butch, Chris Anderton, Nick Stevenson, Dave Rimmer, John Pugh, Cliff Steele, Ted Massey, John Weston, Chic, John Kingan and Soul Sam to name but a few. With a lineup like that, the music was never going to get boring!

Whilst it was never a hotbed of rare 60’s obscurities, it had its moments. But it was the way the music all came together (as Dave Welding said), to reach a new audience. It gave a new lease of life to the underplayed and forgotten, as well as some new tunes along the way.

Lea Manor, or Albrighton, whatever name you knew it as, renewed past friendships and forged many new ones which are still are locked together today. Many people still hold it close to their heart as a special time and place.

As the years have passed, many of you will remember some of the people that are no-longer with us. These include the likes of TC, John Mills, Carol Cooke, Chris Lennon Pedro, Paul Nicholas and Dave Rimmer’s wife Marge, plus Keith William`s wife Annie, to name a just few and all sadly missed.

The Manor managed to reach its 7th Anniversary before disappearing into rare soul history while remaining in the hearts of so many.