Pikeys dog blog from 2005-6

Been A Bit Quiet Round These Here Parts...

Posted by pikeys dog, 17 December 2006

so during the run upto xmas I'll start adding entries.

WOOF ➢

Steam June 4th

Posted by , 10 June 2005

Black Eyed Peas - Smallest Man Alive - Ultra~City

Larry Davis - I've Been Hurt So Many Times - Kent

Minnie Epperson - Grab Your Clothes - Action

Claude (Baby) Huey - Keep It To Myself - M.I.O.B.

Little Ben & The Cheers - Baby You're Mine - Rush

Johnny Moore - What More Can I Do - Larry~O

Rosco & Barbara - Could This Be Love - Old Town

Wade & Jamie - Don't Put Off 'Till Tomorrow - Palomar

Robin Rice - I've Had It - Crackerjack

Sparkels - Try Love One More Time - Old Town

Ruby Sherry - Feminine Ingenuity - Take 6

La Reine La Mar - That's Not The Way To Love - Cloud

Bobbie Smith - Walk On Into My Heart - American Arts

Troy Dodds - Try My Love - El Camino

Tommy Navarro - I Cried My Life Away - De Jac

Teddy Mack - Hey Gypsy Woman - Monroe

The Romeos - Mon Petit Chow - Loma

Betti Lou & Bobby Adams - Dr Truelove - Tra~X

Roy Brown - Baby It's Love - Gert

Bessie Jones - No More Tears - Abet

Betty Lavette - What I Don't Know - Calla

Steam 4th June

Posted by , 10 June 2005

With an as expected lower crowd in the two non-oldies rooms (Due to Winsford clashing with yet another Allnighter) Johnny Beggs decided to combine them for a better atmosphere.

At first I thought this would be a bad idea, but it did seem to work pretty well considering the diverse tastes of the people attending.

I know the R&B / Early Soul DJ's did hold back on some of the more obscure and gritty stuff, so's not to offend those who were into later sounding Soul, and it appeared Andy Whitmore and Dean Anderson tailored there sets accordingly (the sign of a customer orientated DJ, the way it should be).

I stuck to a more 60s Soul set than usual, but enjoyed it no less.

A good atmos in that room, but the oldies room was dead - a complete change from the previous month.... are the Dinosaurs finally dying out?

All in all an enjoyable night, made so as much by the company, as the sounds.

Playlist to follow.

May 28th Hideaway And The Non-cis, Manchester.

Posted by , 10 June 2005 ·

Was planning on going to the Hideaway for a couple of hours, then onto the CIS, but as everone is probably aware, events at CIS put the kybosh on this plan.

People seemed genuinely angry at Chris the promoter, blaming him for 'ruining their weekend'.... my thoughts on this - get a fcuking life.... it's only a night out.

Chris and the rest of his team obviously put loads of effort into providing quality events, and for people to call him for things beyond his control is well out of order.

A bit of respect for a guy who is willing to stand outside the venue on the night and personally apologise to anyone arriving and point them in the direction of a free venue, is called for.

So with the cancellation of CIS i was forced to stay at the Hideaway and witness Mace running around sweating and Karate chopping all and sundry (due to him seeing a book called 'Kung Fu Mace').

A good night, with some quality early soul and R&B played.

Steam May 14th

Posted by , 10 June 2005

Buddy Lamp - My Tears - Double L

Millie Foster - What A Thrill - President

Z Z Hill - One Way Love Affair - MH

Ben E King - Teeny Weeny Little Bit - Atco

Ray Agee - You Hit Me Where It Hurts - Shirley

Sugar Boy Williams - Little Girl - Herald

Eddie Burns - Mean & Evil (Baby) - Harvey

Maxine Brown - A Man - ABC

Lula Reed - Puddenantane - Federal

Roy Brown - Baby It's Love - Gert

Chino Feaster - Don't You Know Baby - Strakers

Billy Guy - Here I Am - ABC

Vernon Harrell - If This Ain't Love - Score

Margie Hendrix - I Call You Lover - Mercury

Earl King - Trick Bag - Imperial

Percy Mayfield - My Love - Tangerine

Tommy Ridgeley - I Want Some Money - Johen

Larry Birdsong - Little School Girl - Home Of The Blues

Fenton Robinson - I Believe - Palos

Bobby Rush - Much To Much - Checker

Sinner Strong - Don't Knock It - Serock

Ricky Ricks - Chained & Bound - Sure Shot

Mabel King - Go Back Home Young Fella - Amy

Tyrone Davis - Bet You Win - ABC

Nmd / Carms Alldayer Playlist. R&b All The Way!

Posted by , 10 June 2005

wilson pickett

call on me

joe turner

love you baby

jackie ross

dynamite lovin

buddy lamp

my tears

five royals

they don't know

lenny johnson

walk jinny walk

harold betters

tall girl

lulu reed

puddenantane

ricky ricks

chained and bound

howlin wolf

300lbs of joy

big mama thornton

be my chauffeur

chuck berry

ramona say yes

roy brown

its love

mighty joe young

ladies man

pearl woods

don't tell it all

millie foster

what a thrill

annie williams

I got a man

dorothy williams

watchdog

eddie bo

our love will never falter

Sscdt Alldayer Playlist - Party Tunes

Posted by , 10 June 2005

Lavern Baker - Wrapped, Tied and Tangled - Brunswick Demo

Annabelle Fox - Lonely Girl - Satin White Demo

La Reine La Mar - That's Not the Way To Love - Cloud

George Smith - I've Had It - Turntable White Demo

J. Mae Matthews - Lonely You'll Be - Atco White Demo

Larry Williams - You Ask For One Good Reason - Okeh White Demo

Deon Jackson - That;s What You Do To Me - Carla

Mamie Lee - I Can Feel Him Slipping Away - M.G.M.

Anita Humes - What Did I Do - Roulette

Ed Crook - That's Alright - TriSound

Emmanuel Laskey - Peas Loving Man - Thelma

Tojo - Broken Hearted Lover - Tec White Demo

Linda Jones - My Heart Needs a Break - Loma White Demo

The 'Q' - That's The Way - Hound

Gordon Keith - Look Ahead - Calumet

Rock Candy - Alone With No Love - Dontee

Unique Blend - Yes I'm In Love - Eastbound White Demo

Mandrill - Too Late - Arista

Four Sonics - If It Wasn't For My Baby - JMC

Al Mason - Good Lovin' - Fynal Vynal

Samanthas May 21st

Posted by , 10 June 2005 ·

With the late notice of cancellation of 'Back Beat' by the new owners of Sheridans, I was at a loose end for a change...

Samanthas was on in Sheffield, so I thought I might as well give it a go.

In some ways I'd wished I'd stayed at home...

The extensive refurb turned out to be a load of sheets hung all over the walls and ceilings, making the place look like the decorators had left half way through the job, leaving their dust sheets in situ.

Due to a lower than expected turn out, the two rooms were combined giving an oldies heavy balance in my opinion... and not very good ones at that.

The record room was reasonably busy, but it was mainly a case of trades as there wasn't much cash changing hands.

To my eyes (and ears) JV has got this place and the 'Sheffield' scene all wrong...

He's trying to promote a more forward thinking venue in what is effectively a stinking oldies backwater.

It just doesn't work... the 'punters' don't want it, and I can see them staying away in droves.

If I were JV I'd promote the main room as Samanthas Oldies, then open the second room as 'current sounds' not vice versa.

Mind you if I were him I'd also drop quite a few of the resident DJs as they don't do him any favours... there's Oldies, Mouldy Oldies and Jurassic Oldies... and unfortunately a lot of the plays fall into the latter category.

Read Full Entry â ' 0 Comments

Options

The Big Un - Saturday 14th Of May

Posted by , 10 June 2005 · 4 views

Ever done something then regretted it afterwards?

I have on far too many occasions.

This time I accepted DJ bookings at the SSCDT Alldayer in Derby, the NMD annual Alldayer in Thringstone, and Steam allnighter in Crewe.... all on the same day...

Never one to let anyone down when I've accepted a job, I decided to grab the bull by the horns and do all of the jobs regardless of logistics.

First off was the SSCDT all dayer in Derby.

Set off in plenty of time to get there well before my set, but roadworks and crap drivers put paid to this, so I was cutting it a little fine...

Managed to get there about 15 minutes before my set, sink a pint of shandy then get on with the job at hand....

Playlist to follow.

Played a pretty safe Northern set as I was one of the first on and wanted to create a bit of an atmosphere.

Had one very drunken dancer throughout the majority of my set.

Time for a quick natter with everyone, then off to NMD for a few hours.

This time I managed to get there well before my spot so I was able to enjoy listenening to a full set, and chat with quite a few people.

(Mainly putting faces to computer IDs)

No More Doggin' is an excellent club run by Kev Connellan and Steve Johnson, that plays rare 60s Soul and R&B, but unfortunately this place does not seem to get the support it deserves, no worries today though as due to plenty of 'plugging' the place filled up nicely, with quite a few dancers as well.

Went up and did my spot... a full on R&B set.... as that seemed to be doing the business.

Playlist to follow.

Time for a few more chats, a pint or two of lemonade and sell a few tunes before it was back to the SSCDT alldayer.

Now 4 hours isn't really a long time in the scheme of things, but 4 hours of a bunch of loonies mixing with seriously high levels of alcohol, led to the place resembling a bomb-site inhabited by a troop of marauding chimpanzees.

A great time was had by all, including Janine who had managed to pull off a double bluff and actually turn up.

As the witching hour approached it was time for the final leg of the marathon soul session... so off to Crewe we went...

Arrived at Steam to find it a little down on numbers, but a busy Oldies room.

The R&B room was at about its usual level throughout the night, even during Mace's spot.

Playlist to follow.

Left Crewe at 5am feeling a little tired, and managed to get all the way back to Sheffield before seven thirty, despite being Kamikazee'd by a big fat Wood Pigeon.

Soulsville May 6th

Posted by , 10 June 2005

Great night out.... don't remember too much of it as Bladeforlife was designated driver (which was nice), so I managed to partake in the great Kronenberg Bier Blond that they have started serving down there.

Usual high standard of tunes that get played at this venue...

Shame it's quite so intimate!

The late licence cock-up was a shame, but like true Troopers, we all decamped to a bar a few doors away for a couple more beers and lots more banter.

A steady journey home via an Indian take-away was the order of the day.

The feller taking the order did a little dance whn he saw Bladeforlife walk through the door, as he knew he was going to be quids in....

Comparison of meal prices:

Pikeys Dog + Missus = £7.00 (just under)

Bladeforlife + Missus = £22.00

Soultown - May 1st

Posted by , 10 June 2005

Really enjoyed what turned out to be the last Allnighter at Sheridans.

A packer, with everyone up for a great night out.

Fantastic line up as usual, with the small room giving less experienced DJs a chance (including a certain Gypos Mutt).

It was a pleasure to play to such an appreciative crowd without massive dancefloor pressure.

Unfortunately no playlist as I forgot to jot them down.

Had a couple of people deck clocking the Betty Lavette version of 'Stormy'

(Shame it's so hard to find, could have sold mine five times over.)

Sheridans will be missed, as I don't think there is another club with that small, intimate feeling that is still big enough to accomodate a decent sized crowd.

Stafford Reunion.

Posted by , 10 June 2005

Well, Stafford Reunion was a bit of a let down to be honest.

Parking was atrocious due to a fun fair being plomked on what seemed the only decent sized carpark in the area.

Lugged the heavy record boxes the 200 yds up to the front door to be held up by over zealous doorstaff..... checking for drugs? No. Checking for weapons? No. Checking for bottles of lemonade? Yes. Well you could spray it in someones eye, and depending upon the 'lemon to liquid' ratio, it could sting them quite badly.

As a part time record dealer, I was pretty much pee'd off when I found out that the table I'd reserved was somewhere in 'Alsager' (felt like it after walking past the main room and up the stairs).

The room was the most depressing I've ever had the misfortune to be put in.... a bit of a sweaty coffin, full of record dealers with nobody looking at records.

Spent a couple of hours in there hoping things would get better, but alas they didn't so i packed up and took the records downstairs.

Slipped my box onto a small patch of free table in the foyer and made a few sales within 30 minutes.... this compounded the feeling of having wasted my time going upstairs.

Managed to catch Guy Hennigans spot in the main hall, which was excellent, but by the time this had passed the whole event had already been soured for me.

I've already made these comments to the promoters and to be fair they have responded accordingly...

Don't think i'll make the journey there again though.

Sweet Tooth

Posted by , 17 April 2005

Larry 'Chubby' Reynolds - Sweet Tooth - Tri Spin

Was he really 12 when he recorded this?

WOOF! ➢

What's Wrong With Promoters.....

Posted by , 17 April 2005 ·

Why do promoters of sporadic events pick nights that clash with established confirmed events?

Latest in a long line of these clashes involved the very irregular 'Winsford' clashing with the bi-monthly 'Lifeline'.

I'm not suggesting that promoters aren't allowed to go up against other venues, but it smacks of sheer stupidity to put a night on up against one of the most popular current all nighters...

At the end of the day it's not just the rival promoter who loses out, it's everyone.

As a promoter and 'punter' it annoys me that I can't visit these other venues as I can't be in two places at once... so yet again I miss out on a decent night out.

The ethic of 'more choice' isn't always a great thing, it divides the scene and makes for poorer attended nights all round.

This has been a regular thing amongst the local Soul Nights, but it has now started creeping into the Allnighter scene.

No matter how hard you argue that the scene is 'huge' and places like Prestatyn and Stoke Kings Hall are always rammed, the truth is that there is an hardcore week in, week out allnighter crowd of around 300 - 400 people, and everytime that events clash, this crowd is diluted....

Places like Prestatyn are always going to be busy, but the majority of the people there may only visit one or two Allnighters during the year (some won't even manage that), so it's no good using them as a barometer when starting to promote an Allnighter.

I suggest that the promoters of these nights that clash, get themselves out and about, and work out exactly which nights they shouldn't clash with before booking their dates.

If there isn't the option of alternative dates, then why not forget about promoting a clash, and schedule something in for later in the year?

Or would that be too easy, and remove the opportunity for self-ego boosting

Just a thought like......

WOOF! ➢

Lifeline April 16th

Posted by , 17 April 2005

Made our way up the M1 to the best upfront Allnighter in the country at the moment...

Arrived at about 9.45 and there was already a decent turn out, with dealers set up and Vinyl hounds sniffing through the boxes.

Said our hellos, then set up the sales and struck camp for the night.

Another busy night ensued, with the record bar getting crammed full, but not much in the way of sales... Roger Banks reported low vinyl sales, suggesting a general slow down in the market, fortunately for Roger he'd just taken delivery of the excellent new batch of Kent CDs, which he had sold out of most titles of in two nights...

Not the busiest 'Lifeline' (probably due to the rumours about Sheridans flying around, and the clash with Winsford...see later comments)

Musically, for me this was probably one of the better 'Lifelines', from what you could hear in the bar. (There were some volume problems, and sound cutting out in there on occasion).

It was great to see Jamie and Rich from 'Soulsville' down there.... I was beginning to think that they went out less often than the Olympic Torch.

There aren't many Allnighters that I would travel the length of the country to attend, but this is one of them, so it's quite fortunate that I only live 40 minutes down the road.

A highly recommended night out, just what an Allnighter should be like.

WOOF! ➢

Steam Playlist For April - R&b And Early Soul

Posted by , 12 April 2005

Troy Dodds - Count Of Love - Daytona

Gino - It's Only A Paper Moon - Golden Crest

Donald Height - You Can't Trust Your Best Friend - Old Town WD

Eddie Bo - Fence Of Love - Seven B

Little Richie - One Bo-dillion Years - Sound Stage 7

Big Dee Irwin - I Wanna Stay Right Here With You - Rotate WD

Fred Kibble - Hey Boy, Hey Girl - Copa

Roscoe Robinson - What Makes A Man Do Wrong - Tuff Demo

Betti Lou & Bobby Adams - Dr Truelove - Tra~x

Sherri Taylor & Singin' Sammy Ward - Lover - Motown WD

Lula Reed - Puddentane - Federal

Little Richard - It Ain't Watcha Do - Vee Jay

Oscar & Anita - What You Don't Know - USA

Mary Johnson - These Tears - Queen

No No Starr - Swing Your Love My Way - Midas

Ray Pettis - Hello There Pretty Baby - Dee Dee

Titus Turner - Last Of The Big Time Spenders - Glover WD

Baby Jean - Oh Johnny - Stacy WD

Willie Mae Thornton - My Man Called Me - Peacock

Little Oscar - Empty Bottles - Palos

Tommy Raye - You Don't Love Me - Pen

Lee Rogers - Troubles - Mah's

Buddy Ace - True Love, Money Can't Buy - Duke Demo

Jimmy Ricks - Oh, What A Feeling - Festival Demo

Steam , Crewe 9th April

Posted by , 10 April 2005

Second time out for this venue, and a much improved one.

Arrived around the midnight point after some deft driving from vault-of-souler..... a bit of a white knuckle ride around those country lanes near Alsager.

Met the hirsute Mr Beggs at the door, who was looking rather chuffed with the turn-out.

Place was filling up nicely with a fair split between the rooms, with the Oldies room being chokka.

Continued up the 96 flights of stairs to the R&B room, having to stop at each landing to strike camp, have a cup of tea and a bit of bun, before venturing onwards and upwards.

Now because I'm quite a lazy sort, and I love R&B, I didn't venture downstairs very much, but when I did I enjoyed the sounds I heard in the "Conny Sewers" room, but the Oldies room wasn't really my bag (7 days is too long stands out as the standard of oldie I heard), however the dancefloor was full so fair play to the DJs....

Anyway a swift run down of the upstairs room.

Walked in to hear the back end of Horse's set... quality, uptempo R&B as usual...

Said my hellos, handed out a few Back Beat flyers, delivered a few records to their new owners and listened to Mace's spot.

1.30 came around and it was my turn behind the decks.

Tried to keep the tempo up, with a mixture of popular R&B and a smattering of lesser known tracks (Playlist to follow).

The dancefloor was pretty busy throughout, so not too bad a set.

Handed over to Kev Drage, who favours a slightly more midtempo style of track, but a great spot never the less.

Pete Coulson put in a sterling effort for his hour between 3.30 and 4.30.... mixing it up with some storming tracks.....

Last up was a double deck set from Roger and Horse, all great tunes ranging from Gritty uptempo R&B to slick midtempo Big City Soul.

Quality music in a good venue...

My only gripe is the lack of heating in the upstairs room, quite a few people came in the room spent ten to fifteen minutes in there, then went back downstairs for a warm up.

Had one last walk around the venue just prior to closing and counted well over 150 peeps still in....

Not bad for only the second night, and sure to increase in the future.

WOOF! ➢

Ponds Forge 8th April 2005

Posted by , 09 April 2005

Another good Ponds this month...

Quite a few bemused Soul Sourcers in attendance - but were Bill, Ben and Weed there?

Musically, this place is getting better (although I have heard the complaint that there are less oldies being played, but that suits me just fine).

A good mixture of Oldies, Newies and inbetweenies..... plenty of 70s tracks if that's your bag, and a full dancefloor for the majority of the evening...

Even a smattering of R&B tracks didn't put the dancers off... cue my favorite phrase of the moment.... "When is an R&B record not an R&B record?.... when it's a Northern/Stafford record!" (Delete as applicable).

Always enjoy this venue as a seller - nice well lit room, that isn't too far away from the music, yet the volume is low enough so that you can chat/deal/joke around without having to shout....

Can't wait until next month, when Soul Sourcers Jamien and Rich from Soulsville, and John May are guests.

Promises to be a bit of a packer, with the majority of the SSCDT showing as part of their SSCDT weekend......

No doubt the Four Horse(wo)men of the Soulpocalypse will be appearing.

Ta Ta for now,

oh, by the way.....

WOOF! ➢

Grooving To.......

Posted by , 06 April 2005

Currently making my tail wag:

The Sherrell Brothers - The Price - Currison

Jazzy piece of Soulful Crossover.

WOOF! ➢

Welcome

Posted by , 06 April 2005 ·

Thought it was about time that Rover shared his rovings with you all.

I'll post a short revue up of any venue or event that I visit.

WOOF! ➢