Belfast Northern Soul All Nighter 1987

[Guest Hector Rivera]

Just found this while flicking through some old copies of Richard Domar's

excellent "Owls Effort "Fanzine.

As I was in old London town at the time was anyone there ?

Sal you'd have been in your school uniform at the time not that would have stopped you .......

Trotters_2.bmp

[Mandy]

Tried opening this but just got a load of lines ... is it me

[Guest Hector Rivera]

Tried opening this but just got a load of lines ... is it me

No it's me Mandy !

Coming up shortly .....

[Mike]

try converting it to jpg or gif

if probs shout and canl do it for you

will move this to "all our yesterdays" later on as place for this sorta thing

mike

[Guest Hector Rivera]

try converting it to jpg or gif

if probs shout and canl do it for you

will move this to "all our yesterdays" later on as place for this sorta thing

mike

Should be Ok now ...

[Guest]

I was there!! lol The ripe old age of 16. Zeb was there too...think he slept in a phone box...the good ol days when a phone box was the real mC Coy!! lo Cheers Charlie. Really enjoyed that!! They were allnighters of the 1st degree....hilarious!! Really made me smile tonight matey! Thanks. sally. x

[Guest Hector Rivera]

I was there!! lol The ripe old age of 16. Zeb was there too...think he slept in a phone box...the good ol days when a phone box was the real mC Coy!! lo Cheers Charlie. Really enjoyed that!! They were allnighters of the 1st degree....hilarious!! Really made me smile tonight matey! Thanks. sally. x

Glad to be of service ....

Those open phone boxes nowadays are just no good for sleeping in ...

Slept in a phone box in Dundalk one night but thats's another story ......

[Guest trickbag]

maccers lives in manchester now,used to send.

me tapes.

lent him and mark a load of records to get their club of

the ground,used to hold there dos in the dockers club

at the bottom of warring st,and a small club in the cathedral

area,always packed, never got my records back from mark

though,maccers(barry)used to live on the newtownards rd

just past the arches,realy nice guy,havent heard from him in

six years,mark was from rathcoole.oh nearly forgot and the

third floor in laverys shafsbury square.with a few big bits of

8x4 for a dance floor, realy funny

[Guest Hector Rivera]

maccers lives in manchester now,used to send.

me tapes.

lent him and mark a load of records to get their club of

the ground,used to hold there dos in the dockers club

at the bottom of warring st,and a small club in the cathedral

area,always packed, never got my records back from mark

though,maccers(barry)used to live on the newtownards rd

just past the arches,realy nice guy,havent heard from him in

six years,mark was from rathcoole.oh nearly forgot and the

third floor in laverys shafsbury square.with a few big bits of

8x4 for a dance floor, realy funny

It's the old Belfast problem isn't it - everybody leaves.

And I was guilty as anyone getting out the first chance I got.

If everyone in N.Ireland who was into Northern had stayed and the

place had been a bit safer the scene would have been as big here

as any equivalent sized Uk city,or more so ...

[Guest Big Rog]

Just found this while flicking through some old copies of Richard Domar's

As I was in old London town at the time was anyone there ?

I was there Charlie. Got a few photos at home taken on the night. When I get home, Ill scan them and get them up on here!

There was an incident outside afterwards in which one of my mates at the time, Marky Dunn, ended up losing a couple of his fingers!!!

[Guest Hector Rivera]

I was there Charlie. Got a few photos at home taken on the night. When I get home, Ill scan them and get them up on here!

There was an incident outside afterwards in which one of my mates at the time, Marky Dunn, ended up losing a couple of his fingers!!!

That sounds about right for the times Rog .... !

Love to see the photos

[Guest trickbag]

hi big rog wellcome to purdysburn.

barry left these green shores because the scene wasnt

big enough,last i heard he was djing somewere in manchester.

think most move on because everthing here is condensed

unlike years ago,when their where clubs like betty staffs,

square one,shellys (first allnighter in belfast) started in victoria

st beside the clock,clarks longest running dance studio in

belfast,plazza,spoilt for choiceand the mods where evertwhere.

watching bands like sam mahood&the just five.then the big soul

band,chris farlow&the thunderbirds,or stand outside sammy hustons

jazz club and listen to the great music being played inside cos to young to get in.

ricky.

sock it to em shorty

[Guest Hector Rivera]

hi big rog wellcome to purdysburn.

barry left these green shores because the scene wasnt

big enough,last i heard he was djing somewere in manchester.

think most move on because everthing here is condensed

unlike years ago,when their where clubs like betty staffs,

square one,shellys (first allnighter in belfast) started in victoria

st beside the clock,clarks longest running dance studio in

belfast,plazza,spoilt for choiceand the mods where evertwhere.

watching bands like sam mahood&the just five.then the big soul

band,chris farlow&the thunderbirds,or stand outside sammy hustons

jazz club and listen to the great music being played inside cos to young to get in.

ricky.

sock it to em shorty

Ricky,

Most of those clubs sixties I imagine ?

Love to know more about what Belfast was like then as it seems

pretty undocumented apart from the usual Van Morrison /Them stuff.

[Guest trickbag]

never seen van the man,like some of his early stuff though,done an lp with the calafornia

soul orcs.all the clubs mentioned were in the late 60s betty staffs was in ann st near the

end on the left,stairs up to second floor reqruitment office now.she would walk about

the dance floor sprying air freshiner (true)great little club.shellys was beside the clock

opened at 9 untill desided to go home, guy called wise owned this, coffee & burgers

another great club,was closed and reopened in corn market faceing woolies second floor.

the plazza was chichester st where the passport office is,some weeks could be running battles,others were just fantastic, coffee bar, revolving stage,hudge dance floor and packed.

but the daddy of them all was sammy hustons, bit like the wheel, way ahead of its time,

loved standing their,listening.wasnt a drink to be had anywhere,just great music and crowds.clarkes still the same today same family own it,live shows, mod nightsbut not anymore.square one was in royal ave just above castle court it was a bit of a dive, but

played good music,some of the mates would get tanked before we went in.the thing they all had in common was the music,just brill.wish i could do it all over again.

ricky.

sock it to em shorty

,

[Guest Hector Rivera]

the plazza was chichester st where the passport office is,some weeks could be running battles,others were just fantastic, coffee bar, revolving stage,hudge dance floor and packed.

Great read Ricky. The Plaza in Chichester St is now the building I work in !! :angry: :angry: :angry:

Definite turn for the worse

[Guest]

Used to love Mackers dancing. He would take prize place front centre from the stage, facing the crowd.. fekin loved it. Used to wonder what would happen if someone cut his strings!! lol. I remember Marky got his fingers caught at the top of the big security barriers that used to fence the city centre off. Him and the wife called their first 2 kids Jimmy and Stephanie( Quadrophenia)!!

Mark Lavery is a dj for a radio station now..ya wanna get yer records back??

[Guest Big Rog]

Used to love Mackers dancing. He would take prize place front centre from the stage, facing the crowd.. fekin loved it. Used to wonder what would happen if someone cut his strings!! lol. I remember Marky got his fingers caught at the top of the big security barriers that used to fence the city centre off. Him and the wife called their first 2 kids Jimmy and Stephanie( Quadrophenia)!!

Mark Lavery is a dj for a radio station now..ya wanna get yer records back??

Yeah, Marky was climbing over the security gates outside Tatters. The nice policeman told him to get down. He didn't, so the peeler grabbed his legs and pulled him down....leaving his fingers at the top!

[Guest dundeedavie]

Yeah, Marky was climbing over the security gates outside Tatters. The nice policeman told him to get down. He didn't, so the peeler grabbed his legs and pulled him down....leaving his fingers at the top!

y'see now Rog i feel quite billious lol , how's it going chief ?

[Guest Big Rog]

y'see now Rog i feel quite billious lol , how's it going chief ?

Not too bad mate. Hows yourself? I'm scanning the photos now, so they should be posted up soon.

[Guest Big Rog]

Love to see the photos

I've got them up on photobucket! Hopefully this link will work!

https://s28.photobucket.com/albums/c220/Big...Tatters%201987/

[Guest dundeedavie]

Not too bad mate. Hows yourself? I'm scanning the photos now, so they should be posted up soon.

i always love you're photos , especially if there is people i know lol

[Guest]

I've got them up on photobucket! Hopefully this link will work!

https://s28.photobucket.com/albums/c220/Big...Tatters%201987/

Great photos Roger - memories flooding back. Picked out yourself & Royce, Eddie (??), John & Andrea, Debbie A, Trisha, Bridget, Bumble, is that a young Denny in the silver mohair, Jay, Jimmy & Paul K...

Ricky - Just fantastic hearing about the clubs in Belfast during your youth, keep the memories coming. Love to hear more about the people, the venues, the music of course, buying of records, all that.

Last bumped into Barry (Macers) at the Ritz, Manchester 3 odd years ago now - he was still living in Manchester at that time. He hadn't changed a bit, in fact, he was wearing strides & soul t-shirt he picked up in the 80's!! Agree with Sally, great dancer, even though he did start to wear the old ballet pumps and that. Great character.

Other clubs in Belfast during the 80's all playing loads of great soul, & not a Shalamar record in sight (or sound) - the ubiquitous Abercorn, Postman club (could be the small club in the Cathedral area you mentioned), Richardson's social club, which was great when it first opened up; Blinkers (besides Richardson') had the odd soul / mod do, the Delta (formerly Clark's Dance Studio, also in the Cathedral area, for our era, probably the most influential club), Rumpoles near the courts.... We even used to go down to the Orpheus Bar (very dubious indeed) to hear some soul sounds. There used to be a Motown night in the Queen's students union from time to time.

Macers, along with Mark Lavery & David Holmes, was quite pivotal to the whole local mod / soul scene back then (no doubt due to your discs - to a lesser extent you had guys like Michael Gray - the author of the original TOE article - & David McNamee who would be buying, in those days, fairly obscure & innovative tracks). It was probably no coincidence that the scene virtually imploded when Macers moved to England & Mark / Homer moved onto pastures new.

After that, & very sporadically, can only remember the odd night in Robinsons (more seventies soul) & upstairs at the Duke of York.....that's going back to the early to mid 90's.

I've been following some of the other Belfast related threads on here of late & it's great to see that the scene is once again on the up & up.

[Guest]

I know curiosity killed the cat ...but Ive only got a springer spaniel....who are ya? I went to these clubs....musta met you somewhere. Pay us a wee visit. We have 'the gathering of the clans' scooter rally in portrush the 2nd week in sept. 'Snap' mod and soul club 23rd, a charity soul nite 29th sept, and a wee visit to Dublins 'sleepless nites' in the middle. I promise not to play Shalamar!! Tell me who ya are...go on..ya know ya want to!!

[Little-stevie]

I moved to Manchstester in 88 and was the joint promoter of a club called Landslide,in a cellar bar off Oxford Road every Friday...One day this crazy looking guy walks in and straight onto the dancefloor,it was Maccers,he had just moved over from Belfast to get away from the troubles..Northern soul crazy and a great but strange lad too..I saw him last year on my street jogging i think,he still had the same gear on and that hair ...Would like to see him again,i think he lives in my area still..

[Guest]

Mackers was a great bloke ..and Mark Lavery. Last I heard He was djing with a Belfast radio station. There was also David Holmes (Holmer) .Now a millionaire I hear..wedding in Hello magazine etc. His big break was in 'Oceans eleven' I believe. Always remember him 'walkin the dog' in the Delta. Was always watchin 'Ready Steady Go' etc to try to find out the proper dance steps. Used to have a real giggle shakin our tail feathers!! .

Must try to reel a few in to come back to a Belfast do. Would love to see the oule crowd back again..You too Tradition...gis a shout if ya fancy a wee boogie. Loads of people would love to see you again.

Thanks for reviving this one again Stevie.