Richard Searling

[Fuzzj]

richard appeared on radio hallam sheffield in early 80s and he always opened up the show with a tune by ramsey lewis from a lp, anyone know the title and what lp its from...

[Roburt]

I always thought he opened up with "Soul Sauce" by Cal Tjader but my memories shot these days ...

.... (though I was a regular studio guest on the show back in the 80's).

[Fuzzj]

def ramsey.

[Pete S]

It was Ramsey Lewis' version of "Hurt So Bad". I presume.

[Roburt]

Yep, you're right it was "Hurt So Bad" ..... it's all coming back to me now ,,,,,,,,,

I didn't use to really listen to the track, I was usually ribbing Richard about Spurs losing again as the show started.

I came round for the Northern slot about 30 mins in & the jazz & deep soul spots as it approached 7pm.

The studio was quite small and RS + the newsreader were in there at 6pm on the dot .... RS would spin this instro as the newsreader left & I crept into the 2nd chair in there.

Edited January 4, 2013 by Roburt

[Fuzzj]

BANG ON PETE..

[Fuzzj]

shocked that its from wade in the water.........

[Cunnie]

I always thought he opened up with "Soul Sauce" by Cal Tjader but my memories shot these days ...

.... (though I was a regular studio guest on the show back in the 80's).

Don't know why you have changed your mind John as he did use Soul Sauce - Cal T Jader for his Soul Sauce show on radio Hallam.

Up to a couple of years ago I still had some of the tapes.

Show was started by a Hallam regular DJ called Kelly Temple & Searling took over & moved it on in leaps & bounds but the theme tune was the same for Kelly Temple & it stuck. Can even remember Ray Stewart standing in for Kelly Temple in the pre Searling days. Wish they'd have gave the job to Roger Moffatt one week but to no avail..

[Pete S]

OK so the Ramsey Lewis wasn't used on Radio Hallam but it was used on the show he used to do from Manchester - right?

[Cunnie]

OK so the Ramsey Lewis wasn't used on Radio Hallam but it was used on the show he used to do from Manchester - right?

Think that's when it changed Pete

[Premium Stuff]

Of course it was Jimmy Saville that used Ramsey's "Wade In The Water" for his show

Richard

[Pete S]

Of course it was Jimmy Saville that used Ramsey's "Wade In The Water" for his show

Richard

He used The In Crowd I think...

[Premium Stuff]

He used The In Crowd I think...

You're absolutely right Pete I love that record

Cheers

Richard

[Epic]

He used it on Red Rose Radio (based in Preston) when he was announcing the gig guide.

[Fuzzj]

Don't know why you have changed your mind John as he did use Soul Sauce - Cal T Jader for his Soul Sauce show on radio Hallam.

Up to a couple of years ago I still had some of the tapes.

Show was started by a Hallam regular DJ called Kelly Temple & Searling took over & moved it on in leaps & bounds but the theme tune was the same for Kelly Temple & it stuck. Can even remember Ray Stewart standing in for Kelly Temple in the pre Searling days. Wish they'd have gave the job to Roger Moffatt one week but to no avail..

i was shocked that it was from wade lp i always thought it was from another 60s lp thats all ...

[Diddy Morgan]

didnt he use spooners crowd also , not sure as when ,maybe jazz fm ..................if it matters ha ha !!

[Roburt]

RS had to hit the floor running at Radio Hallam in the early 80's.

As I understand the tale (he's know better but ain't on here), he used to visit the radio stn as part of his RCA / Grapevine promo work.

The usual Hallam soul show guy (who used to have a NS spot with the 45's supplied by Worksop's Pete Ward) quit the show at very short notice.

Richard was visiting the stn at the 'right time' & was asked if he wanted to step up & help them out. He took the chance & his radio career was launched.

He developed a 'show concept' overnight & stuck with it throughout his 'Hallam' period. Opened (@ 6pm) with a few newies, mixed in a few old goodies & then it was the NS spot around 30 mins in. Back to a mix of new US & UK releases mixed with fine oldies (all genres) then the deep soul & jazz spots before 7pm. 'Record of the week' straight after 7pm and then more mixing of new & old stuff through to 8pm. A bit of gig news was thrown in and a few dedications for people who had written in.

I visited him at the stn quite a bit & his 'way of working' was wonderful to watch. He would visit a couple of record shops around Manc on the Sat morning & then call in at another specialist shop outside Sheffield (in a suburb up the hills towards Manc). He'd then pick up the new UK stuff that had been sent to the stn with his name on. So by around 3pm he would have his record box & all the new stuff available and he'd set about sorting out what he would play that night. He would skim through (say) 10 import 45's, 10 import LP's, 10 new UK 45's and 5 UK LP's all in under an hour. He'd select what to play, mix in a few from his record box and the show would be ready.

What got me was that he'd spend about 5 / 6 minutes only listening to each LP but would just about always pick up on the best 2 / 3 tracks off each album within that time.

ALWAYS AMAZED ME HOW HE COULD DO THAT & GET IT RIGHT SO OFTEN.

But he was also flexible .... about 10 mins before the slot, he'd sometimes say to me ... you're picking the stuff on the NS slot today, pick 3 tracks out of your box & I'd have to do just that.

Edited January 6, 2013 by Roburt

[Fuzzj]

my fond memory is when he dropped carletta, lies, alias gwen owens wow n flutter that day tune n arf ...

[Roburt]

Another thing about being a UK local radio DJ ....... you only got paid by the hour & only for the time you were actually 'on air'.

So although RS would travel across from Oldham (via Mancaster) and spend most of Saturday driving, buying stuff, preparing for the show, broadcasting and then heading home .....

....... he was only paid for 2 hrs work a week.

He would spend far more on 'new release' vinyl each week than he earned from Radio Hallam.

The stn contended that each of it's DJ's could pick up loads of extra bookings (& therefore fees) coz they had their radio shows ... so their pay from the stn was secondary income.

However, as RS lived in Lancashire, he took few local gigs due to his profile with Radio Hallam (he did DJ in Church Warsop & @ Clifton Hall in Rudarum .... but both those gigs were attained via his NS profile not coz he was on Hallam).

Around that time, he did stop spending big money @ the Bowl and started playing lots more new release MS on his soul club gigs.

So at least he got some 'extra use' out of the vinyl he originally bought for his Hallam slot.

Edited January 6, 2013 by Roburt

[Dave Pinch]

how long did richards show run on hallam........i remember listening in 82 but joined the army and went to germany so i lost touch with it all

[Guest Brett F]

Indeed a great radio show, i always taped the show and listened live, still have many of the old tapes and tried to write all the relevant info down on attached paper to fit inside the tiny cassette boxes, recall the Mojo reunion show well John, think it was on at the Leadmill early 1980's mid-week (?) i went along as a young un'.

Ps i remember with horror when i tuned in and RS was playing old chart music, ELO etc, i recall him being uneasy and he mentioned that things were out of his control, think that was his last appearance on the show, anybody else recall that, i am doing this from memory and its over 30 years ago, so my thoughts are vague.

Edited January 6, 2013 by Brett F

[Roburt]

Richard didn't jump from Hallam to Red Rose, he was pushed.

The local (Sheff area) West Indian listeners used to write in asking for a ska / reggae / local WI news show. Hallam didn't want to give them this, so they told RS to incoporate ska / reggae cuts into his existing soul show (making it a black music show). RS said he had a mate (Dean) who could provide him with a couple of 'classic' WI tracks each week and (under protest) he'd play these.

But Hallam wanted him to play what the locals wanted including new reggae stuff (if I'm remembering correctly).

So the Hallam lot said NO to his suggestion & insisted he made it an all inclusive black music show; RS declined and so quit and went off to Red Rose.

Within 2 weeks all his old audience had been lost by whoever the replacement DJ on Hallam was.

With Red Rose (Preston) being just about on the coast, he was almost instantly getting listeners as far afield as Llandudno. Those folk would write into Red Rose who couldn't believe how 'far flung' their audience now was (at least for Richard's show).

Of course, Hallam would never admit they had cocked up in forcing him out.

[Funky 4 Corners]

I always thought he opened up with "Soul Sauce" by Cal Tjader but my memories shot these days ...

.... (though I was a regular studio guest on the show back in the 80's).

It was Emperor Rosko who used Soul Source, to be exact he had the opening vibes on a loop.

[Wiggyflat]

I used to get tapes of his show sent down to me from an ex Twisted Wheel deejay.....here#s one of them i transferred to my youtube channel.Ive some old Emperor Rosko stuff from pirate radio as well on which Im going to get around to uploading......check out Tim Browns prices!!

[Fuzzj]

I used to get tapes of his show sent down to me from an ex Twisted Wheel deejay.....here#s one of them i transferred to my youtube channel.Ive some old Emperor Rosko stuff from pirate radio as well on which Im going to get around to uploading......check out Tim Browns prices!!

brilliant nuff sed..

[Pete S]

I used to get tapes of his show sent down to me from an ex Twisted Wheel deejay.....here#s one of them i transferred to my youtube channel.Ive some old Emperor Rosko stuff from pirate radio as well on which Im going to get around to uploading......check out Tim Browns prices!!

I did post up a Rosko show once which featured him playing Just A Little Misunderstanding and Tony Tribe...from 1969

[Agentsmith]

I used to get tapes of his show sent down to me from an ex Twisted Wheel deejay.....here#s one of them i transferred to my youtube channel.Ive some old Emperor Rosko stuff from pirate radio as well on which Im going to get around to uploading......check out Tim Browns prices!!

enjoyed listening to this.....didnt get to hear his show til i moved to telford in 2004.......80 miles across the cheshire plain and the signal was clear as a bell!!, what a great tune by johnny watson.....so much so, i gave tim a bell today and snapped up a copy.......10 years late!

[Guest Mike72]

Richard Searling - such a sublime ear, and, obviously, a top-drawer DJ; but also 'born' to be a radio presenter. It's the perfect medium for him: Whether consciously or not, he always, always plays to his strengths in terms of voice, natural enthusiasm, and endearing chaisma.

I lived in Sheffield for a good few years late 80's/early 90's: guested on Hallam FM on a fair few occasions (I had Belinda Carlisle records y'see..) enough not to be at all surprised that the silly sods would completely fail to appreciate (ESPECIALLY in terms of radio) just what a godsend Searling was/is.

Typical straight-peg local/commercial outlook: completely oblivious to Sheffield's 'black yute', gradually becoming painfully aware of this shortcoming, until eventually they feel obliged politically to redress the balance.....by themselves, without NO HELP from the rastas etc.

DonkeyMan et. al. suddenly turn their backs on their huge, f*ck-off dub-style sound system/blues-based scene en-masse: forsake the lot in favour of early evening straight head cack-handed, utterly feeble attempts to 'compromise'

I suppose at least that way everyone got insulted.

Really interesting thread, and thanks a million Wiggyflat for uploading the show: I used to love Sunday lunchtimes back then listening to that show after sod-all sleep all weekend :-)

[Mark Jones]

Got 100's of C90's of Jazz fm, Smooth etc and Stoke's Mr Evison's Signal radio from 90's must put them on mp3!!

[Dave Pinch]

Richard didn't jump from Hallam to Red Rose, he was pushed.

The local (Sheff area) West Indian listeners used to write in asking for a ska / reggae / local WI news show. Hallam didn't want to give them this, so they told RS to incoporate ska / reggae cuts into his existing soul show (making it a black music show). RS said he had a mate (Dean) who could provide him with a couple of 'classic' WI tracks each week and (under protest) he'd play these.

But Hallam wanted him to play what the locals wanted including new reggae stuff (if I'm remembering correctly).

So the Hallam lot said NO to his suggestion & insisted he made it an all inclusive black music show; RS declined and so quit and went off to Red Rose.

Within 2 weeks all his old audience had been lost by whoever the replacement DJ on Hallam was.

With Red Rose (Preston) being just about on the coast, he was almost instantly getting listeners as far afield as Llandudno. Those folk would write into Red Rose who couldn't believe how 'far flung' their audience now was (at least for Richard's show).

Of course, Hallam would never admit they had cocked up in forcing him out.

what year did richard finish at hallam john

Edited January 19, 2013 by dave pinch

[Roburt]

what year did richard finish at hallam john

It was a long time ago so the memory is hazy now & he went quite quickly (the whole scenario occuring over a 4/5 week period, at the end of which Richard was gone) ..... Can't recall the time of year at all but I'd say it all took place in 1986.

[Jaco]

It was a long time ago so the memory is hazy now & he went quite quickly (the whole scenario occuring over a 4/5 week period, at the end of which Richard was gone) ..... Can't recall the time of year at all but I'd say it all took place in 1986.

Would have been 1985 assuming he went to Red Rose from Hallam. I used to get monthly tapes from him as the "Soul Sauce Collection" and I've got them from 1985.

[Dave Pinch]

i came back from germany in nov 1986 and he was gone then..i did hear about him on red rose from my mate tony walker..but we couldnt get it this side of the pennines

Edited January 19, 2013 by dave pinch

[Fuzzj]

i came back from germany in nov 1986 and he was gone then..i did hear about him on red rose from my mate tony walker..but we couldnt get it this side of the pennines

after 83 bcos i av tapes with richard featuring lps anita baker songsterss lew kirton etc at a guess 84?

[Guest Nick Harrison]

Don't think he went to Red Rose 301 directly after Hallam.

Recall a period of total new release's being played across the Ribble Valley and the surrounding heart of Lancashire area's from 1985 to 1987.

Only dedicating a 30 min set to Northern.

Various times of "Soul Sauce Shows" changed at 301's old converted church studio, but stayed a regular feature on a sunday 10.00 am start time and later a 12.00 pm till 2.00 pm finish.

Didn't RS leave Red Rose and return for a second spell !

?

Edited January 20, 2013 by Nick Harrison

[Guest Nick Harrison]

after 83 bcos i av tapes with richard featuring lps anita baker songsterss lew kirton etc at a guess 84?

Could be correct as RS heavily featured the 1983 new release on Beverly Glen of Anita Baker.

[Roburt]

My memory is of him going from Hallam to Red Rose almost immediately (I think it was because he had the opportunity at Red Rose that he didn't put up a fight at Hallam).

He was definitely still at Hallam for some of 1985.

Edited January 19, 2013 by Roburt

[Jaco]

My memory is of him going from Hallam to Red Rose almost immediately (I think it was because he had the opportunity at Red Rose that he didn't put up a fight at Hallam).

He was definitely still at Hallam for some of 1985.

Just checked my tapes and the earliest I've got is July 1985.

Features stuff like Dennis Edwards - Coolin' out, Patti LaBelle - I can't forget you, Frederick - Games, which are all '85 releases, I think.

[Tony A]

Tried copying a link, hope it works, part of a tape, Best of 85 @ Hallam back end of year.

[Tony A]

Oh dear, Audio now gone from that link.

[Wiggyflat]

Heres another one with Ginger

[MrsWoodsrules]

Anyone remember Alexis Corner's excellent blues show on R1 in the 70s on Sunday nights?

That intro was WITW Ramsay Lewis.

Aid.

[Roburt]

On 04/01/2013 at 19:30, Roburt said:

I always thought he opened up with "Soul Sauce" by Cal Tjader but my memories shot these days ...

.... (though I was a regular studio guest on the show back in the 80's).

Richard posted this on Facebook ... I remember having Cal Tjader as my intro music to Soul Sauce on Radio Hallam -- Johnny Moran (another Radio Hallam DJ) turned to me one day and said I’ve got one of those at home with a big red A on it!  ... I think he gave RS his copy of the UK demo.