Drugs and clubs

[Stephen Houghton]

Having seen a lot of gear taking in soul clubs back in the day .is it still as popular today or has the pint taken over from the wraps.is it still a fast night or a more slower pace ,just putting it out there for people's input into the soul scene now ,or any good stories to do why you still do a bit or have put it behind you .I speak from over 35yrs of the allnighters and have seen a lot of change .what's your take on it just for laughs 

[Clee93]

Haha nice try officer 

Edited November 10, 2023 by Clee93

[Hooker1951]

There is no doubt about it, the music sounds better, the conversation feels easier, if you’re still in good shape you can move on the dance floor better, what’s not to like?  LoL, except maybe be next day?  I Would guess at a nighter these days percentage wise 70 % still have a touch of something compared to 95 % back n the day , Each to their Own, before we get all the never did it brigade LoL,

MickL

1 hour ago, Stephen Houghton said:

Having seen a lot of gear taking in soul clubs back in the day .is it still as popular today or has the pint taken over from the wraps.is it still a fast night or a more slower pace ,just putting it out there for people's input into the soul scene now ,or any good stories to do why you still do a bit or have put it behind you .I speak from over 35yrs of the allnighters and have seen a lot of change .what's your take on it just for laughs 

 

[Chris Turnbull]

26 minutes ago, Hooker1951 said:

There is no doubt about it, the music sounds better, the conversation feels easier, if you’re still in good shape you can move on the dance floor better, what’s not to like?  LoL, except maybe be next day?  I Would guess at a nighter these days percentage wise 70 % still have a touch of something compared to 95 % back n the day , Each to their Own, before we get all the never did it brigade LoL,

MickL

Wow 70% amazing, very surprised so high - need to get out more 

[Hooker1951]

4 minutes ago, Chris Turnbull said:

Wow 70% amazing, very surprised so high - need to get out more 

Hi Chris

Put it this way, those still there at 8 am have not lasted with pure adrenaline, especially when they are in their 60,s and 70,s, or they have no where to live, and I doubt Holland n Barret have anything on their shelves to help, LoL,

Mick L

[Roburt]

I had some friends who used to visit chemist's shops out of hours. They ended up with so much stuff, that they worried they'd not have enough decent places to secrete it. It got so bad that they'd take stuff on mid week nights even if they had nowhere to go. They'd end up walking the streets, talking bolix ten to the dozen, all night. 

While a young body could cope with such occurrences, I doubt an old one would. 

[Hooker1951]

10 minutes ago, Roburt said:

I had some friends who used to visit chemist's shops out of hours. They ended up with so much stuff, that they worried they'd not have enough decent places to secrete it. It got so bad that they'd take stuff on mid week nights even if they had nowhere to go. They'd end up walking the streets, talking bolix ten to the dozen, all night. 

While a young body could cope with such occurrences, I doubt an old one would. 

Hi Roburt

Yes I knew a lot of people who did that and then the music became secondary

ML

[Kathryn Magson]

I wouldn't have got through the nighters that I used to go to when I was a teenager without a bit of chemical assistance!  I have a few friends who still like a dabble, but I'm far too old, boring & sensible nowadays....but then I don't do the nighters any more either.......   Green & clears were my favourites back in the day.  

[Stephen Houghton]

They  were quite widespread and popular kath

Edited November 10, 2023 by Stephen Houghton

[Solidsoul]

I lived that lifestyle for a long time but found it slightly unhealthy in the long term, so don't do that anymore. 

I had great times and let's face it without amphetamine there never would have been an all-night Northern Soul scene. From The Twisted Wheel, Torch, Wigan Casino, Stafford and all the other countless nighters That wouldn't of happened. 

As a comparison, everyone knows there used to be pubs and clubs in every town and village in the UK. They would be rammed full every weekend, but how many would there have been without alcohol!

I think there might have been a soul night scene in the UK, like beach music in USA but no special dancing style or fashion in clothes or even a strong fraternity. No fanatical fever to hear and obtain the latest monster/ popular sounds.

Also people on the Northern scene who never took any stimulants have benefitted and had a great time because of it!

 

Edited November 10, 2023 by Solidsoul

[Stephen Houghton]

I had the same lifestyle for a long time ,the gear ran along with what club to go preferable a allnighter. And took its toll losing mates and friends along the way ,it was a very strange existence especially at the weekend lol

[Mark S]

Pre 75 pharmaceutical nicked as Roburt mentioned. Never touched the backstreet stuff didn't trust it. 

Saw a few people along the way cranking gear and then moving on to other stuff, lost a few mates far too young made me question if it was worth it. 

So most my nighter experiences were gear free. 

Now at 67 the only sulphate is glocousomine. 

Edited November 10, 2023 by Mark S

[Soul Salad]

WOW i never knew pharmaceutical highs were such a big part of the Northern scene back then. I'm not young by any stretch but i certainly wasn't around in those days. Sounds like the original Acid House/rave scene in the late 80s/90s albeit more under cover? What illicit stuff was around back then? 

I dabbled a bit then once i awoke in my bedroom full of massive spiders crawling all over the place - that was the last time, then i grew up and had children.

PS Are we allowed to talk about this on a reputable music forum?

[Mark S]

32 minutes ago, Soul Salad said:

WOW i never knew pharmaceutical highs were such a big part of the Northern scene back then. I'm not young by any stretch but i certainly wasn't around in those days. Sounds like the original Acid House/rave scene in the late 80s/90s albeit more under cover? What illicit stuff was around back then? 

I dabbled a bit then once i awoke in my bedroom full of massive spiders crawling all over the place - that was the last time, then i grew up and had children.

PS Are we allowed to talk about this on a reputable music forum?

Duraphet green and brown iirc, Filon, and  Chalkies not sure if this was some sort of valium didn't use much myself but early days it was plentiful in 1975 Chemists got wise and more security aware. Knew a couple of Stockport lads that did time for doing chemists 

[Soul Salad]

23 minutes ago, Mark S said:

Duraphet green and brown iirc, Filon, and  Chalkies not sure if this was some sort of valium didn't use much myself but early days it was plentiful in 1975 Chemists got wise and more security aware. Knew a couple of Stockport lads that did time for doing chemists 

Well i never, as they say you learn something......................I presume "most" folks' drunk alcohol though?

[Happy Feet]

The vast majority don't forget where slimming pills prescribed to overweight neighbours or hyperactive children , great contact and cheaper supplier if you new one  , better than some backstreet powder cut 3 times with anything that looked presentable in a bit of tinfoil , unless you trusted the source .

Edited November 10, 2023 by Happy Feet

[Rhino]

Most allnighters didn't open till midnight when I first started going no beer at all on sale so if you wanted to be able to last allnight and then travel home drugs where part and parcel of the scene back then and plenty still at it today. Didn't go to Wigan to young but that originally opened at 2am and people travelled there from all over uk and then home 99% smash off there nuts and the thought of mums Sunday dinner

[Mark S]

2 hours ago, Soul Salad said:

Well i never, as they say you learn something......................I presume "most" folks' drunk alcohol though?

Not at nighters, even now I don't drink at soul nights I have scooters and if I am at a rally and there's a Northern room I'm pissed as a fart 

[Happy Feet]

5 minutes ago, Rhino said:

Most allnighters didn't open till midnight when I first started going no beer at all on sale so if you wanted to be able to last allnight and then travel home drugs where part and parcel of the scene back then and plenty still at it today. Didn't go to Wigan to young but that originally opened at 2am and people travelled there from all over uk and then home 99% smash off there nuts and the thought of mums Sunday dinner

Better still if it started on a Friday Night , onto a Saturday Night , Sunday All-dayer and forget all about mums Sunday dinner let the dog have it , back to work Monday, sleep it off by Wednesday phone it sick , local soul night Thursday, and start all over again Friday , wonderful days & nights .

[Stephen Houghton]

Some good and varied views on this subject, sounds like it is still a big part of the scene in some circles. 

[Kathryn Magson]

Back in the 1960s my mate's Mum was on dexedrine capsules (brown & clears) - we tried nicking a few from the bottle (no such thing as blister packs back in those days...) It only worked once - her Mum sussed it out very quickly, so after that we split the capsules in half...poured out some of the granules & then we went to great efforts trying to put all the capsules back into the bottle with the clear side facing downwards (very tricky lol), so it was less obvious that they were only half full........it didn't work for very long - her Mum soon worked out that the meds weren't working & she wasn't losing any weight so then she hid her bottle of goodies somewhere safe.

 

Edited November 11, 2023 by Kathryn Magson

[Roburt]

As stated above, amphetamine tablets were handed out like smarties by GP's in the early to mid 60's. My mum was on them & that's where I got my first ones from. A local Donny lad went off to work in London around 66 and he got a job in a factory that made the tablets. He'd come home on the weekend with pockets full of them. 

BUT you could trust what you were getting (all properly manufactured stuff) and that's all the niter crowd took (stimulants). Some on dexies for a while, having been told all drugs would kill them, tried other stuff and got addicted to stronger / more dangerous uppers & downers. However most of the niter crowd stuck with just what got them thru the night. Most didn't even do cannabis & many other teenagers smoked that 4 / 5 times a week back then.    

When the crackdown on GP prescriptions came after the mid 60's, supplies became harder to find. I guess that's why the out-of-hours chemist shop visits started. Dexedrine (dextroamphetamine) is still made & prescribed today. It is given to kids with ADHD and to folk who can't prevent themselves from falling asleep in the daytime. Don't know if this is still the case, but you used to be able to just buy it over the counter in US chemist shops.

Edited November 11, 2023 by Roburt

[Hooker1951]

The best I can remember were black bombers given to overweight housewives at the time, they were very clean and effective at the time in 1969 and 1970 they cost 5 Bob  each 25 p in todays money they lasted a full 24 hours full on energy happiness, and euphoria, even with inflation that means todays prices would make them around £5 each what great value for your money, 

ML

[Simsy]

I can remember travelling up to Loughborough nighters from the South in the mid 80’s aged 19 or so and not taking anything. Didn’t occur to us and wouldn’t have known who to ask. Would stay to the end and drive home. Bloody dangerous in hindsight!

Getting in to my twenties and getting into gear, wraps & baggy’s. Would always make me gag and retch for the first hour or so and I’d be a bit of a social misfit concerned that if anyone engaged me in conversation they’d wonder what the bloody hell was wrong with me. Or worse still I’d barf on their shoulder! Worst fear was my muteness being mistaken for rudeness. After 4 pints of Stella though I’d calm down and have the fluidity to dance, chat and be normal.

Just the torment of feeling ‘a bit handy’ when you got home on what someone once described as ‘porn Sunday’.

Still being awake at 10 pm on the Sunday was a bit of a nause though and seeing REM bats out of the corner of your eye. What did someone above say? Room full of spiders? Or as someone on this fine site once said ‘squirrels on motorbikes’.  

Praise be to an ex scene girlfriend for the discovery of Sominex and the chance to get some sleep.

Any way you slice it, a grizzly drug and ‘suicide Tuesday’ at work as Stevie once called it, weren’t any kind of fun, but for those 4 or 5 spiritual hours out on the floor + bollox chats, was all worth it and I’d do it all again. Halcyon times.

[Monny1916]

18 hours ago, Soul Salad said:

WOW i never knew pharmaceutical highs were such a big part of the Northern scene back then. I'm not young by any stretch but i certainly wasn't around in those days. Sounds like the original Acid House/rave scene in the late 80s/90s albeit more under cover? What illicit stuff was around back then? 

I dabbled a bit then once i awoke in my bedroom full of massive spiders crawling all over the place - that was the last time, then i grew up and had children.

PS Are we allowed to talk about this on a reputable music forum?

You must be quite naive to think like that , and maybe you were taking Acid to lure great big spiders 

[Soul Salad]

4 hours ago, Monny1916 said:

You must be quite naive to think like that , and maybe you were taking Acid to lure great big spiders 

Not naive, just i wasn't there and suppose i never really thought much happened until the rave scene. To me i thought the collecting and actual music negated the need for drugs? while in the late 80s/90s listening to banging dance music you almost "needed" something.

Yep, my ones were certainly hallucinogenic the first few time were great, the 2nd wasn't - hence that was it for me. To add the next day you felt absolutely depressed and dreadful - you almost wanted to die 

[Paul-s]

On 11/11/2023 at 12:56, Hooker1951 said:

The best I can remember were black bombers given to overweight housewives at the time, they were very clean and effective at the time in 1969 and 1970 they cost 5 Bob  each 25 p in todays money they lasted a full 24 hours full on energy happiness, and euphoria, even with inflation that means todays prices would make them around £5 each what great value for your money, 

ML

Yes yes.

I used to love Bombers, but needed phenobarbital, Tuinal etc to bring me back down before school. This obviously just meant I missed school eventually. Bombers had some sort of time release thing going on that could be quite interesting at times.

[Greedy]

On 14/11/2023 at 08:18, Paul-s said:

Yes yes.

I used to love Bombers, but needed phenobarbital, Tuinal etc to bring me back down before school. This obviously just meant I missed school eventually. Bombers had some sort of time release thing going on that could be quite interesting at times.

Black Bombers?,? Glad Riker stopped making them lol. One night I dropped 8 this was a Friday niter.. by the following Thursday morning I was seeing shadow people in my peripheral vision and hearing voices.. not good. 

I know I got a nickname cause of how much gear I used to take but that was the worst week of my life.  

Now I'm totally straight apart from a glass of nice red wine with a nice dinner 

Edited November 25, 2023 by mick
Spelling

[Hooker1951]

1 hour ago, mick said:

Black Bombers?,? Glad Riker stopped making them lol. One night I dropped 8 this was a Friday niter.. by the following Thursday morning I was seeing shadow people in my peripheral vision and hearing voices.. not good. 

I know I got a nickname cause of how much gear I used to take but that was the worst week of my life.  

Now I'm totally straight apart from a glass of nice red wine with a nice dinner 

You want to thank God every morning your still alive

ML

[Stephen Houghton]

Yep praise god were still here 

[Kenb]

I bet any Gen X or Millennials reading this topic would laugh. Pills to keep you awake and “up” to carry on dancing until 8. Hardly gonna worry Columbia drug lords, even though the 60’s/70’s UK DS would have had “the public” believe so.