Bbc - The One Show - Northern Soul Segment - July 2023

[Mike]

The One Show had a 5 -10 min segment covering a few things

Msm at it again, ask if going to comment keep to our guidelines

Can view via the link below, round about 19 mins in

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001p393/the-one-show-25072023

 

[Bunderthollox]

 Craig Charles is not the ideal representative of the soul or funk scene at all, he would never show up at a bonfide decent night as he'd be laughed out before he got ten foot,  I imagine.. this is more comedy from the Beeb.  Sorry not my cup of tea.  

[Roburt]

The knockers will no doubt pile in once again. Why shouldn't Craig Charles interview folk on the scene, he's a soul radio DJ after all. Apart from having Dustbin Stanley on, it was an OK piece of reporting.

[Wheelsville1]

9 hours ago, Roburt said:

The knockers will no doubt pile in once again. Why shouldn't Craig Charles interview folk on the scene, he's a soul radio DJ after all. Apart from having Dustbin Stanley on, it was an OK piece of reporting.

The reason Craig Charles should Not interview people from the scene is that he once accused the scene of being racist.

[Solidsoul]

14 hours ago, Roburt said:

The knockers will no doubt pile in once again. Why shouldn't Craig Charles interview folk on the scene, he's a soul radio DJ after all. Apart from having Dustbin Stanley on, it was an OK piece of reporting.

If the BBC want to be serious and have some representative talk on the Northern Soul scene they should have people like Richard Searling on.   People who actually know what they are talking about. 

Edited July 26, 2023 by Solidsoul

[Steve G]

1 hour ago, Wheelsville1 said:

The reason Craig Charles should Not interview people from the scene is that he once accused the scene of being racist.

When was this then? Or are you confusing him with Trevor Nelson?

[Steve G]

11 hours ago, Roburt said:

The knockers will no doubt pile in once again. Why shouldn't Craig Charles interview folk on the scene, he's a soul radio DJ after all. Apart from having Dustbin Stanley on, it was an OK piece of reporting.

No better or worse than any other expose as far as I could see. It just followed the usual format of visit to a local club, interviews with enthusiasts, Russ on Wigan, a bit on youngsters, then interviewer gets invited to a northern night to experience it. We have seen this format numerous times before over the years. 

As for Craig Charles, he is a popular figure and well known by the public at large and most who'd tune into the One Show. So no issues with him doing it at all. 

Edited July 26, 2023 by Steve G

[Markw]

Such a wholesome, family oriented scene.

[Mal C]

It's a no to Craig then... I don't know if he is representative, he just has a show and interviews people... Eddie Pillar always speaks very very highly of him. Good enough for Eddie Pillar, good enough for me...  not that I actually watch or listen to the BBC.

[Mark R]

8 minutes ago, Mal C said:

It's a no to Craig then... I don't know if he is representative, he just has a show and interviews people... Eddie Pillar always speaks very very highly of him. Good enough for Eddie Pillar, good enough for me...  not that I actually watch or listen to the BBC.

Just another point to make.......Snowboy used to select the music for his shows (maybe on 6 Music?).

I'm not saying that makes him relevant here, just adding information to the back story.

 

Cheers,

Mark R

[Frankie Crocker]

Really just a short and sweet segment built onto a prom rehearsal. The emphasis was on young people and their accessing the music. Russ has more than earned the right to be included in any Northern Soul TV feature. I’ve gone off the One Show lately but this was an okeh tit-bit to throw to the common people - the Coutts/Nat West censors should be reasonably content therefore the Spanish Inquisition need not be called upon on this occasion.

[Mike]

3 hours ago, Steve G said:

When was this then? Or are you confusing him with Trevor Nelson?

The topic linked below covers things ...

https://www.soul-source.co.uk/forums/topic/337425-racism-at-ns-venues-diddoes-it-happen/

 

[Wheelsville1]

3 hours ago, Steve G said:

When was this then? Or are you confusing him with Trevor Nelson?

Could be that i have got my wires crossed,i thought i had seen it mentioned in a news paper when he was being interviewed.

[Mike]

14 minutes ago, Wheelsville1 said:

Could be that i have got my wires crossed,i thought i had seen it mentioned in a news paper when he was being interviewed.

check my post above, the first post in the topic I linked to mentions the newspaper 'quote', also Trevor Nelson comment on Lowton is talked about

 

 

 

[Monny1916]

4 hours ago, Steve G said:

When was this then? Or are you confusing him with Trevor Nelson?

It's common knowledge amongst northern soul folk 

[Roburt]

10 minutes ago, Monny1916 said:

It's common knowledge amongst northern soul folk 

I beg to differ.

ALSO, Trevor Nelson may have said some negative things about a NS venue but I seem to recall him attending one of Ady's Cleggy Weekenders and having a really good time (my memory may be off though).

[Mike]

3 minutes ago, Roburt said:

I beg to differ.

ALSO, Trevor Nelson may have said some negative things about a NS venue but I seem to recall him attending one of Ady's Cleggy Weekenders and having a really good time (my memory may be off though).

when I watched the programme, to me it was just a throw away comment about old northern blokes

here are, here's the actual clip

 

[Roburt]

So Trevor never even dissed NS at all. However It seems the other blokes & gal did diss it  ... who does Keb think he is to say Wigan played loads of pop shite coz the DJ's got lazy ... surely not ...    

[Steve G]

2 hours ago, Wheelsville1 said:

Could be that i have got my wires crossed,i thought i had seen it mentioned in a news paper when he was being interviewed.

No, I got my wires crossed. 

[Harrythedog]

Cant believe what iam reading on here lately- Northern at the proms one week and The one show the next. 

[Chalky]

Same old drivel.  Same old lazy journalism, same old tired played out records.  Where do they get these people from?  Winstanley has become a joke, the ringmaster of the circus

[Soul-slider]

6 hours ago, Roburt said:

So Trevor never even dissed NS at all. However It seems the other blokes & gal did diss it  ... who does Keb think he is to say Wigan played loads of pop shite coz the DJ's got lazy ... surely not ...    

That short clip definitely went on longer than that and showed Trevor Nelson watching some dancers. From memory I think he kind of took the mickey a bit and dismissed the scene as 'not really proper soul' or something like that. I always remembered that and thinking 'This is where proper Soul is played you tit!'. Never liked him since.

 

Edited July 26, 2023 by Soul-slider

[Mal C]

37 minutes ago, Chalky said:

Same old drivel.  Same old lazy journalism, same old tired played out records.  Where do they get these people from?  Winstanley has become a joke, the ringmaster of the circus

Russ Winstanley is an odd character for me, for those of you that went to Wigan, and are what? 10+ years older than me, I'm 53 I think , he was / is Wigan to a great extent!   I got into Soul the year Wigan closed, or early to mid 82 via Kent and Soul Supply Lp's and Youth club disco.

He has never actually been part of any engagement with the soul scene I’ve ever had, other than being talked about, or appearing in print on record sleeves or reported in the media.  I’ve never been to a do he has put on or DJ'd at, I have never met him, or been in the same room with him.

So for someone like myself, hearing him described as the circus ringmaster, well that sounds like it could be right, because I always hear a wide range of stuff about this guy...  I'm not best placed to pass judgment given what I have said above, but I think he embodies a time that cannot be taken away from him, and I think his music, or the records he plays, or what he says all hark back to that time. I get a sense he's kinda never really moved on since Wigan closed...

as for Craig Charles, again he's not connected with my engagement with soul music whatsoever, sure he a good radio DJ, but really, he is an irrelevance...

Duuno what do folks think...

 

Edited July 26, 2023 by Mal C

[Chalky]

9 hours ago, Mal C said:

Russ Winstanley is an odd character for me, for those of you that went to Wigan, and are what? 10+ years older than me, I'm 53 I think , he was / is Wigan to a great extent!   I got into Soul the year Wigan closed, or early to mid 82 via Kent and Soul Supply Lp's and Youth club disco.

He has never actually been part of any engagement with the soul scene I’ve ever had, other than being talked about, or appearing in print on record sleeves or reported in the media.  I’ve never been to a do he has put on or DJ'd at, I have never met him, or been in the same room with him.

So for someone like myself, hearing him described as the circus ringmaster, well that sounds like it could be right, because I always hear a wide range of stuff about this guy...  I'm not best placed to pass judgment given what I have said above, but I think he embodies a time that cannot be taken away from him, and I think his music, or the records he plays, or what he says all hark back to that time. I get a sense he's kinda never really moved on since Wigan closed...

as for Craig Charles, again he's not connected with my engagement with soul music whatsoever, sure he a good radio DJ, but really, he is an irrelevance...

Duuno what do folks think...

 

His contribution to Wigan etc cannot be denied.  But it is his contribution since and more so of late that I refer to as the ringmaster.  His events or the event s he is involved with are a parody of the once great scene he represented.

Craig Charles, he has nothing whatsoever to do with the Northern Soul scene, he doesn't nor has he to my knowledge been to events?  I have seen him, he Dj'ed at a Lee Fields gig in Manchester, played a mix of soul and funky stuff, nothing to write home about really.

Edited July 27, 2023 by Chalky

[Simon T]

4 hours ago, harrythedog said:

Cant believe what iam reading on here lately- Northern at the proms one week and The one show the next. 

don't forget Radio 4 too

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001p1qx

[Tlscapital]

25 minutes ago, Simon T said:

don't forget Radio 4 too

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001p1qx

 

[Roburt]

It seems that no one, apart from guys who spent many nights at the Casino and have remained on the (so called) 'scene' ever since are allowed to write about or do radio / TV slots about Northern Soul ... even black radio DJ's who front respected soul shows. By that standard, I guess no Yank (either singer, musician, producer, DJ, record dealer, etc) should be allowed to comment on NS either. Without a new, younger crowd buying into the music we love, our 'scene' will soon disappear forever.

. . . Without 'media outsiders' giving the scene / music a public airing in the press, on radio & TV, how are young 'outside punters' to discover what is still going on and the records being played -- after all, those still to come across NS are surely the future (if they like what they hear / read about it).

The Radio 4 presenter said, she never usually listens into the BBC Proms, but was intrigued by the prospect of the BBC orchestra attacking 60's / 70's black dance tunes. After, listening to the NS Prom on the radio, she went straight to youtube to watch clips of the concert. She then states it was the most infectious radio programme she'd ever heard. HOW DARE SHE, AS AN OUTSIDER ENJOY OUR MUSIC WHEN EXPOSED TO IT.

OAt the prom & on her show, Stuart M described the dancing style & clothes back in the 70's. He then went on to explain the difference between the sounds played at Wigan to those played at the Mecca. To 'outsiders' that must have been valuable info. He also said ... there are some that are the 'chosen few' at present, but he wanted those completely new to it, to discover what joyous NS music had to offer.

If trying to catch the interest of new disciples to 'our scene' is verboten, then NS truly is doomed.

THE ABOVE ARE THE OPINIONS OF A  75 YEAR OLD, MANY OF WHOSE CONTEMPORARIES HAVE PASSED AWAY OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS.I MYSELF AM NOW TOO OLD TO ATTEND NIGHTERS & I'VE EVEN GIVEN UP WEEKENDERS SINCE THE PANDEMIC. SO I'M NOW AN 'OUTSIDER' TOO, DON'T SHOOT ME FOR HOLDING DIFFERENT VIEWS TO YOU.     

 

Edited July 27, 2023 by Roburt

[Solidsoul]

38 minutes ago, Roburt said:

It seems that no one, apart from guys who spent many nights at the Casino and have remained on the (so called) 'scene' ever since are allowed to write about or do radio / TV slots about Northern Soul

THE ABOVE ARE THE OPINIONS OF A  75 YEAR OLD, MANY OF WHOSE CONTEMPORARIES HAVE PASSED AWAY OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS.I MYSELF AM NOW TOO OLD TO ATTEND NIGHTERS & I'VE EVEN GIVEN UP WEEKENDERS SINCE THE PANDEMIC. SO I'M NOW AN 'OUTSIDER' TOO, DON'T SHOOT ME FOR HOLDING DIFFERENT VIEWS TO YOU.     

 

It seems to me your the one shooting people for having different views! Calling them names like knockers etc, just because they don't want to the scene and records trashed again by the media! 

These features and shows are always made for people who are not or never have been any part of the Northern Soul scene. Always viewed from the outside looking in!

 

Edited July 27, 2023 by Solidsoul

[Leicester Boy]

Craig Charles isn't that bad a bloke I saw him at a funk night in Leicester. But he isn't really into ns. He always makes jokes regarding the records sounding the same but he is in the media and no doubt would comment on Morris dancing if asked.

I am really confused why some members think people not liking things that they do constitutes personal attacks.

I would also add far from expanding and spreading the word,these events are dowsing what little flames remain. Obviously just my opinion.

[Kenb]

Russ is/has been 'trapped' in a past history he helped create. In the same way Alex Ferguson (as an example) is 'trapped' in his.

That makes their relevance today really difficult.

I guess the TV production crew sought Russ out for interview...not the other way around.

[Mickey Finn]

13 hours ago, Mal C said:

Russ Winstanley is an odd character for me, for those of you that went to Wigan, and are what? 10+ years older than me, I'm 53 I think , he was / is Wigan to a great extent!   I got into Soul the year Wigan closed, or early to mid 82 via Kent and Soul Supply Lp's and Youth club disco.

He has never actually been part of any engagement with the soul scene I’ve ever had, other than being talked about, or appearing in print on record sleeves or reported in the media.  I’ve never been to a do he has put on or DJ'd at, I have never met him, or been in the same room with him.

So for someone like myself, hearing him described as the circus ringmaster, well that sounds like it could be right, because I always hear a wide range of stuff about this guy...  I'm not best placed to pass judgment given what I have said above, but I think he embodies a time that cannot be taken away from him, and I think his music, or the records he plays, or what he says all hark back to that time. I get a sense he's kinda never really moved on since Wigan closed...

as for Craig Charles, again he's not connected with my engagement with soul music whatsoever, sure he a good radio DJ, but really, he is an irrelevance...

Duuno what do folks think...

 

I'm about the same age as you and have had a similar engagement with soul music as you. I couldn't have written it better - neither of the gentlemen you mention have had anything to do with my journey, except a kind of distant association, and I don't expect that to change.

Scenes must evolve if they are to survive, and evolution is no guarantee of survival. We all get old and too many performers, djs and punters have gone already for there to be any kind of "purity", which would always be controversial because everyone who belongs to a scene experiences it differently anyway. This forum demonstrates that every day.

When I go to events I'm pleased to hear some of the old faithfuls but I'm still wanting to hear new-to-me sounds, and I'm grateful to the djs and promoters who make that possible. I get disappointed hearing dj sets that are interchangeable with many I've heard before, but full dancefloors suggest I'm maybe not in a majority. Maybe one day I'll get tired of new (to me) sounds and just enjoy the old faithfuls, but for now there's still so much unknown and forgotten music out there that keeps me hungry. Neither Russ Winstanley or Craig Charles are helping me to to hear and identify those sounds.

These days RW seems to be catering to a nostalgia market, whereas CC is helping a younger audience come to soul and funk fresh. Few of us here would seem to need these services, but if CC is opening ears to the music then he's doing us all a service. After all, there is bound to be a percentage of his audience that will take it to the next level and dig deeper, and so help to keep the music alive and whatever counts as a scene evolving, long after they lose interest in Craig Charles. The same can be said for Trevor Nelson.

Re racism, Norman Jay's memoir brings it up with reference to London, specifically mentioning Mark Roman's stint at Crackers in west London as being groundbreaking for welcoming everyone and having a strict door policy refusing and ejecting any troublemakers of that nature. I don't remember Norman saying anything negative about the Casino or any of his engagement with the Northern scene at the time. And unlike some of the media commentators, he was actually there.

[Chalky]

1 hour ago, Roburt said:

It seems that no one, apart from guys who spent many nights at the Casino and have remained on the (so called) 'scene' ever since are allowed to write about or do radio / TV slots about Northern Soul ... even black radio DJ's who front respected soul shows. By that standard, I guess no Yank (either singer, musician, producer, DJ, record dealer, etc) should be allowed to comment on NS either. Without a new, younger crowd buying into the music we love, our 'scene' will soon disappear forever.

. . . Without 'media outsiders' giving the scene / music a public airing in the press, on radio & TV, how are young 'outside punters' to discover what is still going on and the records being played -- after all, those still to come across NS are surely the future (if they like what they hear / read about it).

The Radio 4 presenter said, she never usually listens into the BBC Proms, but was intrigued by the prospect of the BBC orchestra attacking 60's / 70's black dance tunes. After, listening to the NS Prom on the radio, she went straight to youtube to watch clips of the concert. She then states it was the most infectious radio programme she'd ever heard. HOW DARE SHE, AS AN OUTSIDER ENJOY OUR MUSIC WHEN EXPOSED TO IT.

OAt the prom & on her show, Stuart M described the dancing style & clothes back in the 70's. He then went on to explain the difference between the sounds played at Wigan to those played at the Mecca. To 'outsiders' that must have been valuable info. He also said ... there are some that are the 'chosen few' at present, but he wanted those completely new to it, to discover what joyous NS music had to offer.

If trying to catch the interest of new disciples to 'our scene' is verboten, then NS truly is doomed.

THE ABOVE ARE THE OPINIONS OF A  75 YEAR OLD, MANY OF WHOSE CONTEMPORARIES HAVE PASSED AWAY OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS.I MYSELF AM NOW TOO OLD TO ATTEND NIGHTERS & I'VE EVEN GIVEN UP WEEKENDERS SINCE THE PANDEMIC. SO I'M NOW AN 'OUTSIDER' TOO, DON'T SHOOT ME FOR HOLDING DIFFERENT VIEWS TO YOU.     

 

Maybe some of us are simply tired of the way that Northern Soul is portrayed by the media.  Lazy stereotypical journalism.  Same tired records, Frank Wilson etc, dress code, even Stuart Marconie says this in the BBC four radio programme.  It is piss poor and not how the scene actually is today, might be on the parody side of it but not the venues I have attending over the years.

Maybe it is time the BBC and other media outlets did approach someone who did many nights at the casino and has remained on the scene to this day?  There are enough about who are involved not just attending but running events, record labels and write about the scene.  Maybe then you wouldn’t get forums like this criticising what has been written or shown on TV.  

As for Stuart Marconie, the difference between Wigan and Mecca….he even got that wrong really as up to the mid 70s Mecca discovered many Northern Soul monsters before the difference in styles was different, you only have to look at Mecca playlists up to 74/75 etc. It cannot be explained in a few minutes and maybe it is time they stopped trying to?

You say you don’t want shooting for airing your views but want to shoot others for doing just the same as you?

Oh, I and many others found the scene without any press, media or TV interference.  If you want something different to what you are being fed in life you will find it.

Edited July 27, 2023 by Chalky

[Chalky]

1 hour ago, Leicester Boy said:

Craig Charles isn't that bad a bloke I saw him at a funk night in Leicester. But he isn't really into ns. He always makes jokes regarding the records sounding the same but he is in the media and no doubt would comment on Morris dancing if asked.

I am really confused why some members think people not liking things that they do constitutes personal attacks.

I would also add far from expanding and spreading the word,these events are dowsing what little flames remain. Obviously just my opinion.

I don’t think they do see it as personal attacks do they?  I don’t think they want to be portrayed as they do in the media. Maybe as I said below they are tired of the lazy journalism and simply reeling out the same sterotypical soundbites, dress sense and records

[Kathryn Magson]

"Oh, I and many others found the scene without any press, media or TV interference.  If you want something different to what you are being fed in life you will find it."

Well said Chalky - back in the day word of mouth was enough for those of us who wanted something a bit different to the norm! Flyers handed out to a few chosen mates brought in enough people to make for a good night without bringing in all the divs too. It's all becoming so popular & mainstream now that the bubble is bound to burst at some point - sadly at the mo the soul scene feels like it's become the new line dancing. 

It would be so good to return to the time when we had soul events without the div element, but sadly those days are long gone! 

Edited July 27, 2023 by Kathryn Magson

[Monny1916]

23 hours ago, Roburt said:

I beg to differ.

ALSO, Trevor Nelson may have said some negative things about a NS venue but I seem to recall him attending one of Ady's Cleggy Weekenders and having a really good time (my memory may be off though).

June 2015 maybe 15th or 19th , Craig Charles interview with the Guardian,  straight from the horses mouth 

[Mickey Finn]

23 minutes ago, Monny1916 said:

June 2015 maybe 15th or 19th , Craig Charles interview with the Guardian,  straight from the horses mouth 

From a long article about Leon Bridges and Curtis Harding published on 18 June 2015:

"There’s little doubt, though, that in the UK at least, the classic soul revival is being marketed to an older, whiter audience. Bridges is currently playlisted on Radio 2 and 6 Music, but not on Radio 1 and certainly not on 1Xtra. Craig Charles, who has a Saturday-evening funk and soul show on 6 Music as well as DJing in clubs, says it was ever thus. That’s not a new phenomenon. “The whole northern soul scene was white,” he says. “Some black people who went to those events suffered racism. I suppose young black people are always looking to be ahead of the curve – in the 70s, rather than northern soul, black people were into P-Funk and Earth, Wind and Fire, and so on, not the 60s soul. Now black people have moved on from soul to dubstep and hip-hop. I think white and black musical youth are almost a generation apart.”"

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jun/18/leon-bridges-curtis-harding-the-new-stars-of-classic-soul

Disappointing to read this but the same could be said of any type of events, as indeed it has already on this forum. "Some" means "not all", but why bring it up, especially when it has nothing to do with the main point he's trying to make. Not helpful of the interviewer to include it, whatever CC actually said.

Having checked Norman Jay's book he talks about going to the Casino, the Mecca and the Ritz and the "problems" he faced were mainly getting his mates to come along - many of those that did complained the music was too old and that the girls weren't interested No mention of any racism, and he says he had no fear of hanging out where almost everyone was white, which might be what some of the London crowd have difficulty getting their heads around, given their experience of London in those days.

[Hooker1951]

4 hours ago, Chalky said:

Maybe some of us are simply tired of the way that Northern Soul is portrayed by the media.  Lazy stereotypical journalism.  Same tired records, Frank Wilson etc, dress code, even Stuart Marconie says this in the BBC four radio programme.  It is piss poor and not how the scene actually is today, might be on the parody side of it but not the venues I have attending over the years.

Maybe it is time the BBC and other media outlets did approach someone who did many nights at the casino and has remained on the scene to this day?  There are enough about who are involved not just attending but running events, record labels and write about the scene.  Maybe then you wouldn’t get forums like this criticising what has been written or shown on TV.  

As for Stuart Marconie, the difference between Wigan and Mecca….he even got that wrong really as up to the mid 70s Mecca discovered many Northern Soul monsters before the difference in styles was different, you only have to look at Mecca playlists up to 74/75 etc. It cannot be explained in a few minutes and maybe it is time they stopped trying to?

You say you don’t want shooting for airing your views but want to shoot others for doing just the same as you?

Oh, I and many others found the scene without any press, media or TV interference.  If you want something different to what you are being fed in life you will find it.

 Karl is right, I’ve asked hundreds of people who visited Wigan Casino in its hey day which was probably 1973 till 75 I called in there a few times and the music then weren’t bad but the crowd for me at the time mostly consisted of 14 to 18 olds few and far between was there anybody older than 21 so for me being around 24 at the time it didn’t quite suit, when I called in the odd times between 75 and 1980 the music was dire and cheesy it just looked like a giant youth club open all night, I guess I was spoiled going to more adult type clubs from 1965 thinking I was in the inn crowd, Anyway roll the clock on to the mid 1980,s the kids from the Casino matured the ones that carried on through still loving the scene demanded stronger and more Soulful music, and for me a much better and stronger scene, the lightweights got left behind, in no way am I knocking the youth that loved and it was for many there coming of age in music and life itself , I posted a thread on here a few years ago Called ( What was your Golden Years of NS)  it got a good response with many views, The magic that those kids felt in the early Casino can not be overstated so good on them, my point is that by the early 1990,s the scene to me was at its zenith , People were still young enough to do all nighters they knew what they wanted, loads of good  records had been discovered  and combined with the real strong oldies to me anyway it made for a better night, getting back to Karl,s question the people asked said they enjoyed their experience of the Casino but loved the scene better now, There was Soul before the Casino even in the Casino I was there and for me anyway there has been better NS since 1981 when it closed, The music if it’s good will always rule, And before anybody starts telling me about the Casino I used to sleep in the club when I worked there, LoL when I had no fixed abode.

Cheers 

Mick L

[Monny1916]

i loved the Cats , The Torch , very early Wigan , st Ives ,Wirrina , Central hall , didnt like Stafford much , so can i suggest people only go where they know they will enjoy their night , its what i do  

[Geeselad]

Craig Charles a fellow of real integrity. How this guy is still working is beyond me. His show is awful, it was better when snowboy was selecting but Lisa tarbuck Beata it hands down for interesting selections. 

[Shinehead]

On 27/07/2023 at 15:58, Hooker1951 said:

 my point is that by the early 1990,s the scene to me was at its zenith , People were still young enough to do all nighters they knew what they wanted, loads of good  records had been discovered  and combined with the real strong oldies to me anyway it made for a better night

Cheers 

Mick L

Totally with most you wrote and the section quoted sums up my feelings too , some great nighters late 80s to mid 90s and good clubs too and a very varied type of soul music been played which was great if your taste is not just Northern oldies , new releases along newly discovered oldies  loved Bradford , Parkers and a few more.

 

Edited July 31, 2023 by Shinehead

[Paul-s]

On 25/07/2023 at 22:03, Roburt said:

The knockers will no doubt pile in once again. Why shouldn't Craig Charles interview folk on the scene, he's a soul radio DJ after all. Apart from having Dustbin Stanley on, it was an OK piece of reporting.

Anything with  Dustbin Stanley on, is a joke. Just the usual lazy rhetoric wheeled out once again.

[Baz Atkinson]

I am always fascinated that any view on the British Northern Soul Scene is. nostalgia based and looks at the casino as  the major driving force . 
I went from April 77 to 81 and Russ contributed via his spot for the first hour or so and his stall selling boots . So what if he founded  the nights . This is bloody 50 years ago ffs now . The romantic view of northern soul has killed the scene , firstly the casino was a shit hole , it was rougher than rough the bouncers were bullies  and you could count on one hand who went straight . 
Why be romantic about that . The narrative has been so misrepresented of this place that it really saddens me . The place ruined lives and took lives at least the film Northern Soul tried to highlight the drug issue but in reality drew probably every person that visited once back to the scene . 
This coupled with the BBC the Guardian and lovies  from the media  and there you have it a false prophecy of romance based on shit music wide trousers and a kind of “ were all in this together “ attitude when infact towards the end the place was a pretty violent place we’re you had to be pretty street cred to survive it . 
This is just my view from 78 the music was incredible and the few that got it carried it on via the soul underground in the eighties etc . They’re the people who should be talked to not the DJs the punters because there supported it when others were not visible . 
I know so many people who saw the music as a lifestyle choice not as a fashion scene that now are so sickened by this bull shit . 
Craig Charles nor any other will never get it because there are part of the romance not the reality ? 
Keep the faith ( in what ) just love the music and collect it but worship the artistes who created it not bricks and mortar of sone wanky building long gone  or DJs who have made a living on the back of it ? 

[Wiggyflat]

It was terrible.....i judge these things from the tv pieces in the past that have been good. Why all these white fists....that's a white Aryan power symbol. These tv things went downhill after Dani Behrs Northern Soul Butcher one. 

This England. This is great even though nobody wanted it.

Something Else. Not many people have seen this but i had to pay a few quid to get it out the back door. An excellent piece covering records, the excitement etc. 

Jamesons People..Phil Dick one...this is One Show terrtory but is not too bad in retrospect and not as galling as The One Show pieces.

Morecambe on Hearsay....a great serious piece ....interviews about the  music from the deejays and promoters of the time .

Whistle Test...another great piece with talk about the music and the scene.

I don't think people know how to say "no" .It is being homogenised and dumbed down and the drugs and record hounds have been erased altogether to be replaced by fluffy baggy trouser oh look  at the quaint northerners. 

 

I am doing a lot of research from the Mod scene through the Northern scene and the amount of chemist burglaries is staggering and the amount of people who grassed their club up was suprising.Maybe not One show material

 

Edited August 1, 2023 by Wiggyflat

[Leicester Boy]

18 minutes ago, Wiggyflat said:

It was terrible.....i judge these things from the tv pieces in the past that have been good. Why all these white fists....that's a white Aryan power symbol. These tv things went downhill after Dani Behrs Northern Soul Butcher one. 

This England. This is great even though nobody wanted it.

Something Else. Not many people have seen this but i had to pay a few quid to get it out the back door. An excellent piece covering records, the excitement etc. 

Jamesons People..Phil Dick one...this is One Show terrtory but is not too bad in retrospect and not as galling as The One Show pieces.

Morecambe on Hearsay....a great serious piece ....interviews about the  music from the deejays and promoters of the time .

Whistle Test...another great piece with talk about the music and the scene.

I don't think people know how to say "no" .It is being homogenised and dumbed down and the drugs and record hounds have been erased altogether to be replaced by fluffy baggy trouser oh look  at the quaint northerners. 

 

I am doing a lot of research from the Mod scene through the Northern scene and the amount of chemist burglaries is staggering and the amount of people who grassed their club up was suprising.Maybe not One show material

 

White fist is ayran power symbol... really. Always regarded white/any colour fist as more to do with communism than fascist. Sorry to go of topic

[Geeselad]

2 hours ago, Leicester Boy said:

White fist is ayran power symbol... really. Always regarded white/any colour fist as more to do with communism than fascist. Sorry to go of topic

Correct 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raised_fist

[Wiggyflat]

Its a white Power symbol taken from the Black Power clenched fist .

ALTERNATE NAMES: White Power Fist, White Fist

The upright clenched fist has long been used as a symbol (both graphically and as a hand gesture) to represent themes such as defiance, unity, and power.  In the 1960s and 1970s, black nationalist groups in the United States and elsewhere often used a dark-skinned clenched fist gesture or image as a "black power" symbol.  By the 1980s, white supremacists in the United States and elsewhere had appropriated this symbol, substituting a white fist.  White supremacists frequently claim that they use the symbol to represent "white pride" or "white power."

Edited August 1, 2023 by Wiggyflat

[Modernsoulsucks]

11 minutes ago, Wiggyflat said:

File:Racist Aryan Fist or White Power Fist used by white supremacists.svg - Wikimedia Commons

I'm thinking you've got the wrong end of the stick here.

My memory is not what it once was but wearing a black fist round one's neck and one racing glove was a thing for some in the early days, maybe pre-Wigan. Think that arose from the Black Power movement in the US  and that one iconic moment where the Black athlete raised a salute on the podium during the Olympics [1968 ?].

I'm guessing the white fists are meant to show solidarity as in White and Black together but unaware of the connotations with Aryan ideology in the USA.

Something that always stuck in my mind was the girl appearing in one of the many documentaries talking about her experience of Wigan. It was a respite from the everyday racism she experienced in Scotland. Can't remember her name now and she died some years back but some on here will remember her.

[Wiggyflat]

16 minutes ago, Modernsoulsucks said:

I'm thinking you've got the wrong end of the stick here.

My memory is not what it once was but wearing a black fist round one's neck and one racing glove was a thing for some in the early days, maybe pre-Wigan. Think that arose from the Black Power movement in the US  and that one iconic moment where the Black athlete raised a salute on the podium during the Olympics [1968 ?].

I'm guessing the white fists are meant to show solidarity as in White and Black together but unaware of the connotations with Aryan ideology in the USA.

Something that always stuck in my mind was the girl appearing in one of the many documentaries talking about her experience of Wigan. It was a respite from the everyday racism she experienced in Scotland. Can't remember her name now and she died some years back but some on here will remember her.

No I haven't.....always was a Black Fist but at some point has changed into a white Fist. Lads from the Wheel era used to wear a black glove on one hand  to show affinity with the black struggle. It has somehow in the last few years changed to a white fist and it is a commonly known symbol for the white Aryan movement. (well i thought it was commonly known but obviously not!)I think a lot of people wear these symbols without even thinking of the meaning or looking no further than the image. Same as when that Nazi symbol was used on the Northern Soul float.I wonder how many on that show apart from Russ would understand who Dave Godin was yet can roll K.T.F off the tongue. 

Edited August 1, 2023 by Wiggyflat

[Modernsoulsucks]

I think the Black Sun was meant to be the Wheel.

[Wiggyflat]

3 minutes ago, Modernsoulsucks said:

I think the Black Sun was meant to be the Wheel.

I will never forget that day at a meal with about 7 other people when a learned friend said look a float with a Nazi symbol on it....it's Northern Soul ! Kev you are into Northern Soul.....i spat red wine out.