Northern Soul Memorable Moments.

[Len]

Northern Soul Memorable Moments.

Not sure how this thread will go, but this lock-down lark has given most of us some thinking time.

We all have lots of amazing experiences of our Northern Soul life, so thought it would be nice to share them - Here are some of mine that spring to mind to start the ball rolling…

1)  Life-line 6th Anniversary - It was a packer of a night with an amazing atmosphere, and there seemed to be so many people there that I knew. I went outside the back for a quick break (probably a smoke at the time) I started to talk to Rob Holmes, then a tune started, we both ‘paused’, looked at each other, grinned, then shot back to the dance floor to Soul Sam playing ‘John And The Weirdest - Can’t Get Over These Memories’ (Apt) We were smiling while we were dancing 

2) The 100 Club - I was dancing to ‘Chuck Jackson - What’s With This Loneliness’ (Or somat like that) when Dave Clegg (RIP) tapped me on the shoulder and said……”Nina, Rob and Sam said they will meet you at McDonalds once you have finished”....... 

3) The Burnley All-nighter - (Silly one this) In the car on the way home, I awkwardly tried to explain to ‘Irish’ that during the night I had been ‘dancing hard’, and at one point Bob Cornack (Gloucester) came up to me and simply put his thumbs up to say that he was on the same wave-length as me, which seemed to take me up to an even higher level than I was at. I added…..”Does that make sense?”……’Irish’ calmly turned to me, smiled, and replied……”That makes complete sense Len”……It was nice to know I hadn’t gone completely bonkers (Although that was the night that I had caught a taxi there) 

I could go on and on, and maybe I will add more, but for now it would be great to hear of anyone else’s memorable moments, no matter how trivial they may seem - That something stayed with you for a reason...

All the best,

Len 

[Winsford Soul]

Where do I start .  Getting a taxi from Widnes to Morecambe nighter because no one would give me n my mate Al kinsella a lift because everyone said that we were mad. Not once but twice. . How very dare they.  

Coming out of Wigan  maxines  nighter when there was a Robin Reliant on its roof and we all just walked past it as though it was normal . 

Hitched to Dunstable nighter and when I finally got to the Queen Hall at 7.30am a  sign on the door said it was double booked and had moved to wherever it was, finally got the venue and heard the last 3 records. Got home 3.30am Monday morning. 

Spur of the minute decision went over to Dublin for a soul night.  Got to the venue at 10.30pm only to learn that it ended at midnight . First Ferry back to Holyhead was 9.30am Sunday.  

That's just a few . Omg  Len what have you started  

Edited January 22, 2021 by Winsford Soul

[Michael V]

Just a couple that spring to mind-one of my earliest nighters,at Keele- 1989,I think; remember  Bill Black's Combo- Little Queenie being played and among the dancers was a guy nonchalantly spinning with a lighted cigarette in his mouth-remember looking at the lighted tip of the fag revolving in the semi-darkness and thinking it -and the guy- was pretty cool. Of course, a sight we'll never see again now ( smoking on a dance floor, that is,not dancing at an all-nighter-I sincerely hope)  Always think of that on the rare occasions I hear Little Queenie .

Another is from the 1st Northern Soul Weekender at Gt.Yarmouth ,1990 -for Gene Chandlers' live set,Eddie Holman joined us in the crowd and stood near me;when Gene came out in his 'Duke Of Earl' gear -top hat,cloak and cane -and started singing his classic 'Duke Of Earl'- seeing the sheer,smiling  joy on Eddie Holman's face and tears of joy  in his eyes as he clapped along was a moving experience that brought tears to my eyes too

[Len]

47 minutes ago, Michael V said:

Just a couple that spring to mind-one of my earliest nighters,at Keele- 1989,I think; remember  Bill Black's Combo- Little Queenie being played and among the dancers was a guy nonchalantly spinning with a lighted cigarette in his mouth-remember looking at the lighted tip of the fag revolving in the semi-darkness and thinking it -and the guy- was pretty cool. Of course, a sight we'll never see again now ( smoking on a dance floor, that is,not dancing at an all-nighter-I sincerely hope)  Always think of that on the rare occasions I hear Little Queenie .

Sounds bizare this, but I know exactly what and who you mean - I remember a guy called 'Andy', who used to 'spin with fag' - I bet it was he......

Thanks for input thus far guys 

Len 

[Leicester Boy]

Hopefully next time we are on the floor at a "do" len.

[Davebanks]

Went to the Raven nr Whitchurch, Soul Sams local venue at the time (early 70's) the week before he had played Bob Relf Blowing my mind. First time we had heard it. Pretty sure it was one of the first plays in the country but others will know better than me. Anyway we take along a cassette tape player to record said song.

We ask Sam first if we can and he says a generous yes after seeing the crappy cheap recorder we have. We set it up on a table and when the record comes on we press play/record and fill the dance floor. 

Listening to the tape on the way home we can clearly hear in the "quiet bit" in the middle two voices loudly discussing a drug deal for contraceptive pills !!!!!. 

I can't hear Bob Relf now without smiling at the juxtaposition of that deal over the track "Blowing my Mind"; you couldn't make it up. 

Dave Banks

[Girdwoodinc]

9 hours ago, Winsford Soul said:

Where do I start .  Getting a taxi from Widnes to Morecambe nighter because no one would give me n my mate Al kinsella a lift because everyone said that we were mad. Not once but twice. . How very dare they.  

Coming out of Wigan  maxines  nighter when there was a Robin Reliant on its roof and we all just walked past it as though it was normal . 

Hitched to Dunstable nighter and when I finally got to the Queen Hall at 7.30am a  sign on the door said it was double booked and had moved to wherever it was, finally got the venue and heard the last 3 records. Got home 3.30am Monday morning. 

Spur of the minute decision went over to Dublin for a soul night.  Got to the venue at 10.30pm only to learn that it ended at midnight . First Ferry back to Holyhead was 9.30am Sunday.  

That's just a few . Omg  Len what have you started  

Gospel Bob dancing hard, now there’s an image I won’t be able shift easily...

[Tricky]

Chipping in to buy an old wreck of a van to legally as opposed to going in a nicked car to various all nighters.

Invariably broke down and with no license or insurance just as illegal.

[Tomangoes]

Salisbury pub Scarborough around 77 listening to this old geezer reminiscing about back in the day for at least an hour, and thinking these are tall stories....

RIP Martin Ellis....all turned out to be true.

Ed

[Len]

10 hours ago, Tricky said:

Chipping in to buy an old wreck of a van to legally as opposed to going in a nicked car to various all nighters.

Invariably broke down and with no license or insurance just as illegal.

Not my era as you know Trev, but to me it seems Wigan must have been full of parked nicked cars when the All-nighter was on 

I did go in a nicked car on one occasion though - I remember this 'permed hair bloke' (It was the 80's) who was a freind of a friend (Who had just got out of prison) picked us up.  I noticed all the wires hanging out below the steering wheel - I immediately pulled my sleeves down over my hands so I didn't leave any finger prints.

10 minutes later we ended up in a ditch, then running like the clappers because we were convinced 'the car was gonna blow!' But that's another story...... 

Len 

P.s - The car didn't blow.

[Tattoodave]

Arriving at De Montford Hall Leics. for an allnighter only to find we were a day early and Emerson, Lake and Palmer were on. 

 

[Julianb]

Arriving at the Blue Orchid in Derby with Les Cokell (RIP) and some guys from Huddersfield and Keighley ( sorry, can't remember their names) to find it closed. Unfortunately we had all taken our 'additives' about 15 minutes earlier!!!

Travelling to the Wheel with Dave Godin after which he wrote about  'Northern Soul' in Blues and Soul.

[Dobber]

Can’t remember the year,but me and my mate thumbing a ride from Macclesfield to keele all-nighter on which Dave Edison was doing it live on signal radio,and me and my mate got a mention for hitchhiking our way there!

[Mike]

2 hours ago, Julianb said:

Arriving at the Blue Orchid in Derby with Les Cokell (RIP) and some guys from Huddersfield and Keighley ( sorry, can't remember their names) to find it closed. Unfortunately we had all taken our 'additives' about 15 minutes earlier!!!

 a similar situation, when on our way to a Dublin soul night and started thinking about customs check at the other end, decided to take evasive action

think we got to Dublin 6 hours before the ferry... 

 

[Amsterdam Russ]

Somewhere in the late 80s... a 3-hour, 130 mile journey in a mate's car from south London to an allnighter on Lowestoft pier. We get there at about 1am, find a spot in the car park close to the venue, and almost immediately there's a tap on the window. A local constable asks what we're doing here at this time of the night. Allnighter? No, he says, it's been cancelled.

Of course there's no option but to turn around and drive the 130-odd miles back to sarf London.

Also somewhere in the late 80s... one of @Ady Croasdell notorious 100 Club Christmas parties. The night is about to end and I'm dancing to Jimmy Radcliffe's "Long after tonight is all over".

I'm hit by an incredible wave of deep tranquility - not for the song specifically, but for the moment - that I've never experienced before and have never felt since. It's almost a religious experience. For a few short seconds I'm utterly at peace with the universe and overwhelmingly feel that if I were to drop dead at that exact moment, I would do so in complete happiness.

[Winsford Soul]

1 hour ago, Mike said:

 a similar situation, when on our way to a Dublin soul night and started thinking about customs check at the other end, decided to take evasive action

think we got to Dublin 6 hours before the ferry... 

 

Mike. Dublin again.  We all decide to get changed on the ferry to save time when we got to the nighter up at the commercial rowing club.  Once we got to O Connel Street there where no buses going that particular way up past phoenix park along the River Liffey and trying to get a taxi in Dublin City centre on a Saturday night is near impossible so me with a bright idea  said come on let's walk its not far. Its a straight road.  1 hour 20 minutes late we finally got to the venue.  Did I get some abuse .  

[Amsterdam Russ]

A couple of other memories have just surfaced, both relating to the 100 Club.

Around 86-87, I've got a crappy full-time, commission-only sales job. I'm 21-22 years old and am earning bugger all. I can hardly afford to feed myself or pay the rent on my grotty south London bedsit and end up taking on two part-time jobs in addition to my day job. One is in McDonald's in Catford (cleaning tables and toilets), doing the late shift from 6pm til midnight three nights a week. The other is a Saturday job at WH Smith's in the Lewisham shopping centre. I'm only just surviving.

The 100 Club allnighter is on and the only way I can afford to go is by raiding my small 'piggy bank'. I go to the 100 Club and pay the entrance fee entirely in 1p, 2p and 1/2p coins.

While living in the same place around the same period of time, I'm on a late night bus heading the 100 Club allnighter. I've got enough in my pocket for the entrance fee and the bus journey there and back.

A few minutes into the journey, and sitting on the upper deck, I'm beaten around the head a few times and mugged by three or four black guys. I'm in shock and sit there in stunned silence all the way from Catford to Trafalgar Square. I'm not alone on the top deck of the bus, but no one bothered to come to my aid, nor ask me afterwards if I was alright. They just watched the incident as silent witnesses.

At Trafalgar Square, I approach a bus inspector and tell him I was mugged. He calls the police and I'm carted off to a West End police station to give a statement. A couple of hours later and we're done. I'm told I can go. I don't have any money, of course, and tell this to the police officer who then arranges for me to get a lift in the back of a police van, which - at great speed - chauffeurs me from the West End back to Catford.

Happy days? No, not always!

 

 

Edited January 24, 2021 by Amsterdam Russ

[Kenb]

Think maybe 1970/71 possibly spring/spring bank. Me (youngest by at least 18 months), Judith, Ash, Paul + 2 more (they did the Pontins booking), Train to squires gate, holed up at Pontins. Long walk up to Central Drive & Mecca. Back to Pontins, still 'up' at 3-4am in the chalet only to hear a knock on the door and 2 x 30yr old guys "saying" they were security. In they came, they stayed for at least an hour and we we're Shi**ing ourselves. But we just talked them silly bored, and they left. None of us got any sleep.

In 70/71 it was just called rare soul not Northern Soul, so maybe it doesn't qualify.

[Len]

32 minutes ago, Kenb said:

In 70/71 it was just called rare soul not Northern Soul, so maybe it doesn't qualify.

I like your attention to detail - It qualifies 

Thanks for input.

Len 

[Len]

(It was that time of night) I remember sitting next to Keb Darge at The 100 Club, ‘Alphie Davidson - Love Is Serious Business’ was being played. A while in to the record I turned to Keb and asked….”Have you ever heard the 12” of this?”…… (Scotch accent of course) “Nor, I canna say I have”……There was a pause…….(Queue me) “Well…It’s very much like this…but longer”….......Another pause………”Well thanks for sharing that”……. We both cracked up - Doh!

I did say no matter how trivial they may seem - You can’t help the things that stick with you 

Len 

[Kazb]

On 24/01/2021 at 14:59, Winsford Soul said:

Mike. Dublin again.  We all decide to get changed on the ferry to save time when we got to the nighter up at the commercial rowing club.  Once we got to O Connel Street there where no buses going that particular way up past phoenix park along the River Liffey and trying to get a taxi in Dublin City centre on a Saturday night is near impossible so me with a bright idea  said come on let's walk its not far. Its a straight road.  1 hour 20 minutes late we finally got to the venue.  Did I get some abuse .  

I remember that night Steve, what a walk that was, freezing cold  too think I’ve got some pics somewhere Kaz

[Winsford Soul]

24 minutes ago, Kazb said:

I remember that night Steve, what a walk that was, freezing cold  too think I’ve got some pics somewhere Kaz

Kaz. That would be fantastic if you have  love. XX 

[Wiganer1]

every allniter ive attended