Aussie in the 90s

No not a tale of Ned Kelly and his muckers it's the 1890s (groan) 2 old reviews sandwiched together

Maria from Sydney letting you know how the latest Perth night went on with a well good account of her night.... ....

Bear in mind that as I write this report I'm still yet-lagged and dreaming of sleep, so I hope I convey enough of the what I mean, cause I'm so tired that I'll start babbling or summat...

LAST SATURDAY....

Entering the foyer of the Irish Club in Subiaco Perth, the pre-soul night familiar tingling feeling of anticipation inside me, was reaching boiling point right on cue. All I could think about was getting in there, as the wafting flavor of a favorite uptempo oldie devoured the last of my patience. Later and were in the main room... and its magic... Oh, THAT MUSIC! - that wonderful soulful driving filthy beat... nothing can outshine it.

Time for a quick lookaround and lots of familiar faces sprang out. After all, Chrissie and I had been in Perth two whole days already and that was plenty of time for Soulies to meet for the first (and second) time and become old friends. I cant remember who was standing next to me at the time, but one of the first things I remember saying upon entering was "why isnt anyone dancing?" It didnt matter that it was quite early yet and people were still pouring through the door. If this was a taste of things to come, I didnt want to waste time. I just wanted to be out on that floor.... Turns out that dancers had already rubbed in the first of the talcum shower, as you could see the swirls theyd made, and they were starting to revisit their marked territories.

Id located Gemma from Melbourne (virtually a neighbor at only 800km or 1hours plane ride away, in comparison to Perths 4.5 hr flight). She was eager to be introduced around and really gave me a laugh when I led her towards two legendary KTFers. When I said "come over and meet Lee", she suddenly froze and held back saying, "should I?". I just lost it for a second there, cracking up before dragging her over kicking and screaming (perhaps overdoing it a tad here). Funnily enough, she seemed pleased to meet Denny, and later Pete Fowler. ...

Must apologise here, but great soul nights always end up a bit of a blurto me. Nothing to do with chemicals (I dont indulge) or alcohol (not enough time for even a half-baked effort). Its just that a few days later, all Im left with is the ability to say "it was such a bloody great night" and a smile remembering how wonderful it felt. I do remember the feet, faces and moves on that dancefloor. I especiallyremember those smiles and handclaps, and the way we all glowed when anothermagic track was spun, and looking at each other as if the whole crowd (someof whom were perfect strangers) knew what was deep inside each of us. Something so deep, it could only come from your soul; yet moved so fast at times, it was sheer madness. I cant even remember what was played when, but if you asked me whether a particular track was played, Im quite sure that Id get the answer right each time. Actually, theyd probably just be about 6 hours of your all-time favorite NS dancers.

One thing I do remember saying a hell of a lot was "oh! I love this song". Yet, Ill never forget what the last two enders were, as theyre two of myspecial favorites: Ruby Winters "Better", followed by Timi Yuros "Itll Never Be Over for Me"... (- Damn you Andy!!... not during Timi... pleeeeeease!) Even Andys ozone-destroying effort (the bottom-burper himself) was notgetting me off the floor for my last chance to disturb the last remainingtalc on the timber floor that Id made love to all night.... AW SHUT UP... it was love I tell ya.

Many thanks to Pete Fowler and all the guest DJs who kept me on the floorall night. (Chrissie and I had both agreed that it was well worth the airfare.While Im at it, Id also like to thank all the Perth Soulies who made Chrissie and I feel so welcome all weekend, especially our hosts Steve, Paula, Steven and James Parker. .... You aint seen me right!

There you go , as said yeah a good account of Marias night out, she also asked me to pass on "that its the farthest that Id travelled for a Northern Soul night. In fact, 2 airfares to Perth could have scored me a return trip to the UK! .... but it was worth every cent."

So thanks for Maria for that, sounds like Australia has a well thriving scene with soul all over the place, from Perth to Sydney, watch this site for hopefully a review of the next Sydney northern nite.

Venue Report - Irish Club Perth, West Aussie, 6/2/99 - sent in by Pete Fowler

not just a review but a way of life.....

It gets better & better down here. Just back from the Irish Club where an awesome night was had. Lots of new faces, floor jacked out all night, brilliant guest set by UK collector & jock Eddy Edmondson, atmosphere & cameraderie in abundance. 7.30 kick-off which I used to play "first division" songs, ie those which I want to break into the premier league.

The first hour is normally a bit quietish with people catching up with each other round the bar so you can get away with virtually anything. Some examples :- kenny gamble - aint it baby gene toones - what more do you want billy eckstine - i wonder why paris - sleepless nights Gene raised quite a few eyebrows so I reckon hes up for promotion next month .Question : does this ever get played in the UK because of its sheer rarity? (vinyl is the medium of choice here but obviously I played this track via Goldmine). Without wanting to trigger another CD vs vinyl thread, I reckon its legitimate to play mega-rare stuff like this from CD at UK soul nights. Allnighters no, but soul nights ok. I suppose my logic here is at the big allnighters youre paying seroius money to be entertained by the upper echelon professionals & a chimpanzee could stick a CD on.

Anyway Im digressing - Paris will also take off no problem. Strangely, Billy was a bit of a flop which surprised me after seeing it fill the floor at Lowton a few times, have to keep plugging or maybe drop. Youve got to remember that, although theres a strong Wigan core, quite a few of the punters here have only graduated beyond having ghosts in their houses in the last 2 yeats 8.30 set belonged to my friend Kev - a bloke who couldnt spell Northern 3 years ago - but who is now hooked & has developed some good taste. Only problem is hes not yet got the confidence to use the mike. The upside of this of course is you fit more music in but Im a believer in DJs having passion.

I decided to use this set for "top of the premier league" material in order to stop all the beer-swilling and get the dancefloor bouncing, ie songs which are well-established Irish Club floorpackers. More examples :- gladys knight - just walk in my shoes alfie davidson - love is a serious business laura lee - to win your heart al wilson - now i know what love is 9.15 and Im back on playing "middle of the premier league" songs, ie ones which have only just been freshly promoted from the first but have no chance of being relegated. I also take this opportunity of playing personal favourites (show me a DJ who doesnt).

Examples :- chuck jackson - ive got to be strong bobby bland - shoes undisputed truth - you got the love i need brothers - are you ready for this All go down a storm, Bobby especially. Brothers will go bigtime in the next couple of months. 10.00 is the guest set, this month by Eddy Edmondson - organiser of the Tenerife "soul in the sun" holiday, owner of web site "www.soultime.demon.co.uk" and Ian Levines best mate. Not. Eddy spends most of his time in the UK modern rooms. Hes an experienced DJ though & obviously knew that an hour of modern wouldnt work here. Nevertheless we were treated to a great mix of oldies & what Ill loosely call newies.

Some examples :-

robert john - cant stop loving my baby

drizabone - pressure

ike & tina turner - dust my broom

dells - run for cover

Robert is evidently on the brink of going huge in the UK & I reckon its got good potential. (anyone know this?).

Eddy described the drizabone number as the UKs current biggest floorfiller but I reckon its fucking handbag music mi-sen. Ike & tina / dells say no more - outstanding.

11.00 back to me - same strategy as earlier set, ie

edward hamilton - baby dont you weep

maxine brown - its torture

wade flemons - jeanette

kenny carlton - lost & found

All fucking magic & at this stage nobodys leaving the floor.

Skip forward to the last 3 :- ruby winters - better i still love you - 7 souls timi yuro - itll never be over for me Ruby is a monster ender & first time played thanks to the recent discussion on KTF.

The other 2 are timeless & impossible to get pissed off with.

A couple of Leeds lads heard the BBC2 radio show which gave Irish Club details (how did they know?) so they planned their Aussie holiday around it. Dont know what they expected but they were totally floored.

There was also a "small world" sketch, one of our regulars knew them both from years ago so theyre all going on the piss / fishing trip Monday. 2nd anniversary in 4 weeks so this was the ideal build-up. Any expat venue reports would be appreciated - Im also interested in how Lowton went on Friday including a flavour of the sounds played.

Any feedback on the playlist described in this rambling e-mail also appreciated. This message is too fucking long so Im cutting now

Cheers.................Pete

Very pleased with himself, aching legs & pouring beer down his neck at an alarming pace for half a chance at 2 hours kip. And just to round off a perfect day, just found out that United put 8 past Forest. You fucking beauty.

PS Lee, see you at the 2nd anniversary mate