No I Havnt Got It, And Never Will

[Guest Pete Griffin]

Come on Djs, do you ever get asked to play a record that makes you cringe, or is so common.

Its like as if you have it tatooed on your head now please dont ask me again

[Guest]

Come on Djs, do you ever get asked to play a record that makes you cringe, or is so common.

Its like as if you have it tatooed on your head now please dont ask me again

Last Saturday whilst in full flow during my spot , a very nice lady came and asked for .......

" Apples , Peaches , Pumpkin Pie "

If there is one record - besides " Pretty Little Girl Next Door " - that makes me cringe , it is that one ......

Malc Burton

[Dave West]

Not exactly the same. but simular, I was doing my Motown spot one night and after playing, Why when love is gone Isleys, Dont stop lovin' me I J Hunter, Jealousy Contours, Come see about me Jr walker, Somethings wrong Chris Clark, etc etc etc....some woman came up and said "can you stop playing these and play some records we can dance to instead"

Westy

[Guest Netspeaky]

Last Saturday whilst in full flow during my spot , a very nice lady came and asked for .......

" Apples , Peaches , Pumpkin Pie "

If there is one record - besides " Pretty Little Girl Next Door " - that makes me cringe , it is that one ......

Malc Burton

" Apples , Peaches , Pumpkin Pie " one of my all time fav's I could never dismiss this record, it was one of the sounds that took me into northern soul . Edited August 10, 2007 by Netspeaky

[Guest Dan]

" Apples , Peaches , Pumpkin Pie " one of my all time fav's I could never dismiss this record, it was one of the sounds that took me into northern soul .

i was going to say the same, great song and not a bad album it's on, either (though that is from memory)

[Guest Pete Griffin]

Not exactly the same. but simular, I was doing my Motown spot one night and after playing, Why when love is gone Isleys, Dont stop lovin' me I J Hunter, Jealousy Contours, Come see about me Jr walker, Somethings wrong Chris Clark, etc etc etc....some woman came up and said "can you stop playing these and play some records we can dance to instead"

Westy

Bloody hell, I was djing at Soul or nothin once in Manchester, and i started of with some rnb Tabby Thomas - popeye train, Frank Foster Harlem Rumble, Dorothy Williams - Watchdog them move into some Northern. A lady came up and Said " whats this? i thought it was a soul night" i said its only early and there is another 5 or 6 djs after me. Anyway, later i played pookie hudson, Constelations,Betty Turner - Winds kept laughin ect. The night was advetised as (rnb , soul, beat ballads. funk ect.

Sometimes you just cant win

It was a great nite thou

[Nickinstoke]

A couple of weeks ago I was playing classic oldies at Keith Minshull's birthday do. One of a group of people who'd been dancing energetically and enthusiastically all through my spot came over and asked me to play the Timewarp! What were they on then?

[Citizen P]

Not exactly the same. but simular, I was doing my Motown spot one night and after playing, Why when love is gone Isleys, Dont stop lovin' me I J Hunter, Jealousy Contours, Come see about me Jr walker, Somethings wrong Chris Clark, etc etc etc....some woman came up and said "can you stop playing these and play some records we can dance to instead"

Westy

Ditto, at an event earlier this year we had the room rockin' on Motown and sixties soul, and right in the middle of Smokey --More,More More of your Love - a guy sez wiil stop playing this stuff and play some Motown instead

Tony

[Guest Pete Griffin]

Ditto, at an event earlier this year we had the room rockin' on Motown and sixties soul, and right in the middle of Smokey --More,More More of your Love - a guy sez wiil stop playing this stuff and play some Motown instead

Tony

have you got needle in a haystack

[Guest Pete Griffin]

Maybe its because some of us are not big name djs and the punter can ask us for a 45 and hope that they will not get laughed at

Or do the big name djs get the same problem?

[Guest kev such]

Come on Djs, do you ever get asked to play a record that makes you cringe, or is so common.

Its like as if you have it tatooed on your head now please dont ask me again

When ever i do Cream Cracker i always get the same guy asking me for "Ghost in my house". I have told him everytime "its not that kind of music we are playing" Its getting to be a regular thing now, one of these days i might play it just to stop him asking me. I wonder if he would be satisfied if i played the flip, doubt it.

Kev.

[Guest skorpiano]

What exactly is a 'quality' soul night?

[Dave West]

Ditto, at an event earlier this year we had the room rockin' on Motown and sixties soul, and right in the middle of Smokey --More,More More of your Love - a guy sez wiil stop playing this stuff and play some Motown instead

Tony

theres a thread on here about motown L P tracks only, think that Smokey track comes under that catagory.

Westy

[Guest Netspeaky]

It also work the other way, you get people coming up asking for Butch one off acetate, or so so latest cover up, the only way you can beat the punter is have your laptop with acces to a million tunes regardless of type of music you just may have it covered, you are never going to win with your 100, 200 box of DJ tunes are you, you just have to learn to shrug your shoulders and explain that the guy coming on after you has that missing tune in his play box, and have a little chuckle as you darn well he aint.

[Guest Pete Griffin]

It also work the other way, you get people coming up asking for Butch one off acetate, or so so latest cover up, the only way you can beat the punter is have your laptop with acces to a million tunes regardless of type of music you just may have it covered, you are never going to win with your 100, 200 box of DJ tunes are you, you just have to learn to shrug your shoulders and explain that the guy coming on after you has that missing tune in his play box, and have a little chuckle as you darn well he aint.

Yea, I always pass the book to my mate Mossy lol

[hipshaker 05]

i love the requests .... try to accommodate them where possible. tempo (too slow) would be the main thing that would stop me playing something late on.

[John Elias]

Was dj'ing in Manchester coupla weeks ago,was asked for something by The Hollies?

[mischief]

I was asked for Joe 90 the other week I said I didn't have it so the guy grunted at me then asked for a couple of other bits along them lines...... I turned round and said are you taking the piss or has someone put you up to it.... he replied no there my favs i play then all the time indoors.. so I told to funk off home and play them.... lucky i never got a dig really...

[Supercorsa]

I was asked for Joe 90 the other week I said I didn't have it so the guy grunted at me then asked for a couple of other bits along them lines...... I turned round and said are you taking the piss or has someone put you up to it.... he replied no there my favs i play then all the time indoors.. so I told to funk off home and play them.... lucky i never got a dig really...

Was it Moldie?

[mischief]

Was it Moldie?

No it was Bearsy

[Dave Abbott]

When ever i do Cream Cracker i always get the same guy asking me for "Ghost in my house". I have told him everytime "its not that kind of music we are playing" Its getting to be a regular thing now, one of these days i might play it just to stop him asking me. I wonder if he would be satisfied if i played the flip, doubt it.

Kev.

Nothing wrong with 'Ghost in my House' IMO, tis a great tune (as is 'Apples Peaches etc'). what is wrong is the last few times i have heard i

TAGIMH out (about 4 in the last 10 years) is that no one claps to it, where you're supposed to clap!

A few months ago i was asked for 'All Over The World' which made me cringe. not cos its a bad record, its just not 'me' - it just somehow made me cringe. its a floor packer - but that doesn't mean i am going to go and buy it or play it - unlike some, who i am sure who will play a tune whether they (the DJ) like it or not.

strangest one was when i was DJing and a non-soulie (how the hell, a non soulie got into the venue i don't know - outrageous lol) asked for '3 gays at the bar' (or whatever the hit tune was called) and after scanning the bar area i realised that it was a request, and not a statement.

'no, i haven't' i said to him, 'but ask the next DJ, he's bound to have it'

[Mark Bicknell]

Having been round the block with this DJ thing for more years than I care to remember, I've more than had my fair share of requests and I'm almost sure it's been the same people following me around or so it feels like...lol during this time, as Mark said some like to play 'catch the DJ out game' asking for the one off's and ultra hard to finds which when it's true if I owned the request I explain I sold x,y,z twenty years ago for six quid which normally works, if I have the tune and it fit's in to the spot then of course I will play it, I feel that most of the time at the venues I now DJ at from time to time I pretty much get left alone and do my own thing.

The ones I really have a hard time with are the people who come up and ask for a tune and I reply sorry not got it with me (and I only say that if I happen to own the record) or sorry I don't have it...then you get the looks or comments like "call yourself a DJ?", "play something I know?"...... this is true what I'm gonna say next...I was booked to DJ at the Ritz in Manchester for Richard Searling I only did it about three or four times so it was always a joy to do, packed venue, fantastic atmosphere etc. I was stood by the DJ booth about ten minutes before I was due to go on and this chap came up to me totally off his face and asked me what time I was on? I told him in about ten minutes with that he said "can you play some stompers"? I said "like what" again he replied "you know...stompers...Wigan stompers" again I aked like what? "give me some titles"? with that he said "stuff like this" and proceeded to stamp his feet in front of me clapping and waving his arms about as a way to explian to me his translation of the term stomper...priceless!

It's nice to be given space when DJ'ing and be able to do you own thing without being told how you should do it, read the floor and go for it...I played 'Lee Andrews And The Hearts' I think for my stomper friend at The Ritz that night and yes there he was 100mph on the dance floor so I guess I really knew what he meant....lol

Regards - Mark Bicknell.

[Steve G]

This thread is really interesting, and having made some comments on me blog last week on this very topic, I am delighted to know that I am not alone :-)

[Dave Rimmer]

A few years ago I went Annersley with Margie and Phil & Sue Richards. Apparently their guest DJ had let them down and Mick H had volunteered to step in at the last minute.

Now Annersley was all stomping Oldies (This isn't a criticism we knew the music policy when we went), and Mick had never really met Margie and Sue.

We took great delight in sending them to ask for the most ridiculous requests, The Snake, Wigan's Ovation etc etc. Mick's face was an absolute picture as he tried to, very politely I might add, explain that he didn't have those records with him. After this had happend a few times he must have watched where they were sitting and realised that I was behind the whole thing.

"You bastard Rimmer. That's a bottle of Bud you owe me" boomed out over the mic !!!

It was fun whilst it lasted though

Another time at Loughborough University I DJ'ed after Chris Anderton who had been deluged with requests for the type of records being discussed here. He'd kindly said "ask the next DJ, he'll have them" . Being the gentleman that I am, I said exactly the same thing. The greatly missed Derek Allen was the DJ on after me, and Derek being such a nice guy played almost ever record Chris and I had dodged. Mind you, he said a similar thing to Mick H when he's finished DJing

I know Chris Anderton once got asked "Can you play some Northern Soul" in the middle of his spot (Would have made a change from the Disco he usually plays though)

[Mark Bicknell]

A few years ago I went Annersley with Margie and Phil & Sue Richards. Apparently their guest DJ had let them down and Mick H had volunteered to step in at the last minute.

Now Annersley was all stomping Oldies (This isn't a criticism we knew the music policy when we went), and Mick had never really met Margie and Sue.

We took great delight in sending them to ask for the most ridiculous requests, The Snake, Wigan's Ovation etc etc. Mick's face was an absolute picture as he tried to, very politely I might add, explain that he didn't have those records with him. After this had happend a few times he must have watched where they were sitting and realised that I was behind the whole thing.

"You bastard Rimmer. That's a bottle of Bud you owe me" boomed out over the mic !!!

It was fun whilst it lasted though

Another time at Loughborough University I DJ'ed after Chris Anderton who had been deluged with requests for the type of records being discussed here. He'd kindly said "ask the next DJ, he'll have them" . Being the gentleman that I am, I said exactly the same thing. The greatly missed Derek Allen was the DJ on after me, and Derek being such a nice guy played almost ever record Chris and I had dodged. Mind you, he said a similar thing to Mick H when he's finished DJing

I know Chris Anderton once got asked "Can you play some Northern Soul" in the middle of his spot (Would have made a change from the Disco he usually plays though)

Dave...what about that time you DJ'd at The North Cheshire for us and someone came in from the party in the back room seperate from the Soul night and asked you for some Beatles...lol you never let me forget that one mate....well it's my excuse it was someone from the party or was it one of our regulars???? Happy days...lol

Regards - Mark Bicknell.

[kevinsoulman]

" Apples , Peaches , Pumpkin Pie " one of my all time fav's I could never dismiss this record, it was one of the sounds that took me into northern soul .

i agree the b side contact aint half bad too

kev

[Chris L]

What exactly is a 'quality' soul night?

Good Heavens !!!! Don't you know there a certain group of people who have

taken upon themselves to "enlighten" the world by dictating what is good,

bad, brilliant, mega, fantastic, one of the best best sounds ever, "quality" etc.

Their criteria is quite secret but I'm told that if you mention the code words

"only three known copies" you may just get to hear them speak.

What we do know is that dancing, having a good time, re-issued record, oldies,

major labels are things that will send you to hell so be careful out there, they're

watching you and making notes of everything you say.

Good luck......................................

[Spanner]

Good Heavens !!!! Don't you know there a certain group of people who have

taken upon themselves to "enlighten" the world by dictating what is good,

bad, brilliant, mega, fantastic, one of the best best sounds ever, "quality" etc.

Their criteria is quite secret but I'm told that if you mention the code words

"only three known copies" you may just get to hear them speak.

What we do know is that dancing, having a good time, re-issued record, oldies,

major labels are things that will send you to hell so be careful out there, they're

watching you and making notes of everything you say.

Good luck......................................

aRE YOU

[Spanner]

Good Heavens !!!! Don't you know there a certain group of people who have

taken upon themselves to "enlighten" the world by dictating what is good,

bad, brilliant, mega, fantastic, one of the best best sounds ever, "quality" etc.

Their criteria is quite secret but I'm told that if you mention the code words

"only three known copies" you may just get to hear them speak.

What we do know is that dancing, having a good time, re-issued record, oldies,

major labels are things that will send you to hell so be careful out there, they're

watching you and making notes of everything you say.

Good luck......................................

Are you saying they are up there own arses ? i must agree with you

[Guest Ranger]

Not exactly the same. but simular, I was doing my Motown spot one night and after playing, Why when love is gone Isleys, Dont stop lovin' me I J Hunter, Jealousy Contours, Come see about me Jr walker, Somethings wrong Chris Clark, etc etc etc....some woman came up and said "can you stop playing these and play some records we can dance to instead"

Westy

Hi Westy, was that in Goole?

7 or 8 years ago I was doing a half hour of Wigan classics at the Vikings. Can't remember what I'd played but about half way into it I put Towanda Barnes on. A punter walked upto the stage and I was told quite firmly 'This is a Northern Soul night, when are you going to play some....'

Kev

[Dave Rimmer]

Dave...what about that time you DJ'd at The North Cheshire for us and someone came in from the party in the back room seperate from the Soul night and asked you for some Beatles...lol you never let me forget that one mate....well it's my excuse it was someone from the party or was it one of our regulars???? Happy days...lol

Regards - Mark Bicknell.

I'd forgotten that. Anyway, he should have been asking you for Beatles

[Guest Pete Griffin]

Good Heavens !!!! Don't you know there a certain group of people who have

taken upon themselves to "enlighten" the world by dictating what is good,

bad, brilliant, mega, fantastic, one of the best best sounds ever, "quality" etc.

Their criteria is quite secret but I'm told that if you mention the code words

"only three known copies" you may just get to hear them speak.

What we do know is that dancing, having a good time, re-issued record, oldies,

major labels are things that will send you to hell so be careful out there, they're

watching you and making notes of everything you say.

Good luck......................................

[slimharpo]

Come on Djs, do you ever get asked to play a record that makes you cringe, or is so common.

Its like as if you have it tatooed on your head now please dont ask me again

Excuse me Mr DJ can you play me your top Toon Aint No Mountain High Enough please?

[Dave West]

Hi Westy, was that in Goole?

7 or 8 years ago I was doing a half hour of Wigan classics at the Vikings. Can't remember what I'd played but about half way into it I put Towanda Barnes on. A punter walked upto the stage and I was told quite firmly 'This is a Northern Soul night, when are you going to play some....'

Kev

yeah it was in Goole actually, last year, it was a guy I knows wife and they left the venue early cos she didnt like the music , gonna P M you anyway...

Westy

[Stubbsy]

I'm sure Jo Wallace has got one ot two interesting stories to relate on this one

Come on Jo, where are you?

[Ged Parker]

have you got needle in a haystack

Yes but I can't find it

[Guest Pete Griffin]

Excuse me Mr DJ can you play me your top Toon Aint No Mountain High Enough please?

its under the bed and i have a bad back, there is another dj after me called Mark Bicknell, ask him

[slimharpo]

its under the bed and i have a bad back, there is another dj after me called Mark Bicknell, ask him

But he doesn't sing along with it as well as you

[Guest Pete Griffin]

But he doesn't sing along with it as well as you

im not that good ill stick to playing Drums

[Mark Bicknell]

its under the bed and i have a bad back, there is another dj after me called Mark Bicknell, ask him

Nice one Pete....lol I simply smile and pass the buck onto the next DJ and so it goes...lol

Regards - Mark Bicknell

Now back to me gardening...lol

[Guest]

Yea, I always pass the book to my mate Mossy lol

I will always play anything that I am asked to play if I have a copy!!

Everyone likes different things dont they, and at a local "Soul night" I feel you have to balance the popular tunes with the obvious Motown things, then stagger a few more unknown bits in here and there. As long as the floor is busy I am happy.

And yes it is upsetting when you drop your latest tastiest raritie ..........and it kills the floor stone dead!!!!

But on it goes again at the next gig

Quote: "When is that bald b*s*tard going to stop playing all this Country and Western shit" (I think you were playing Bruce Cloud - My Book) .......... Quality !!!

Edited August 11, 2007 by mossy

[Bazza]

I will always play anything that I am asked to play if I have a copy!!

Everyone likes different things dont they, and at a local "Soul night" I feel you have to balance the popular tunes with the obvious Motown things, then stagger a few more unknown bits in here and there. As long as the floor is busy I am happy.

And yes it is upsetting when you drop your latest tastiest raritie ..........and it kills the floor stone dead!!!!

But on it goes again at the next gig

Quote: "When is that bald b*s*tard going to stop playing all this Country and Western shit" (I think you were playing Bruce Cloud - My Book) .......... Quality !!!

If you dont kill the floor a few times in your set...then your playing to safe.....chances are when the floor clears ...thats when I get up and give it a go ....

Bazza

[Guest andrew bin]

at one of the Rocket allnighters a few years back a mate of mine (john) asked Ian Levine for a request,

John "have you got so and so" (can't remember it now)

Ian "yes"

John "can you play it then please"

Ian " No because it's crap"

john " fcuk you then"

fantastic i laughed about it all night long

[Dave Morris]

I've had a punter come up to me at one of our do's with an A4 sheet of paper with list of tracks on,both sides I might add.Played a few for him as it was end of night and he did get up and dance.Also got asked for "Just Like Romeo & Juliet " at one do by some people dancing round their handbags.Said I hadn't got it but thought the next dj might.He didn't but they asked for "The Snake" and he took out of his sales box and played it.

Dave.

[Guest WPaulVanDyk]

Not sure if cause i am djing i would ever say i haven't got it and not play unless it's very rare and for my time i can't afford to buy (unless cheat and buy a re-issue)

What i hate most is though when you ask for a record that the DJ has and you ask say 30 mins before finishing time of his/hers set and they don't play it. after all sometimes you only get 1 or 2 requests so why not play them all.

So for all DJ's out there be warned i am the one who always wants to hear Sugar dumpling lol

[Guest]

If you dont kill the floor a few times in your set...then your playing to safe.....chances are when the floor clears ...thats when I get up and give it a go ....

Bazza

Thats the thing I reckon .....You can drop your Ruby Andrews.....Carla Thomas....Charades....Bobby Sheen....etc etc all night. Great tunes that everyone knows and the floor is full.

The greatest part is introducing tunes that many in the crowd might not generally know. So you have to put up with a bit of floor clearing........but if the choon is quality.......a few CDs well placed and everyone gets familiar with them, you know the rest!

This applies to local nites IMO where 80% of the punters do not attend allnighters every week and like to hear and dance to things that they know?

People like to hear, feel comfortable and identify with tunes that they already know, IMO

And there is nothing wrong with that either IMO

Its a DJs job to introduce fresh tunes ..... but also keep a crowd happy and dancing! a fine balance !

I am not talking about allnighters..........Just the little events in the little towns Where people still ,"Keep the Faith!!!"

[Jason S]

Was asked at the weekend to play Art Freeman - Slippin Around. Told the lad that I didn't have it but a guy on after me did. He then said 'can you play some floorfillers for those lads who go to xxxxxx club, they there won't get up to any of this stuff that they don't know'. I was playing Big Daddy Rogers at the time. And in the 10 mins preceeding that had played the Vibrations, Four Pros, Maurice Williams and Chosen Few in an attempt to 'play something they'd know'. Times like that you think your just wasting valuable minutes of your life, and theirs.

[Guest vinylvixen]

I'm sure Jo Wallace has got one ot two interesting stories to relate on this one

Come on Jo, where are you?

Trust you to drag me into this I got asked for Abba by someone in the middle of doing my set at TOS.... and the Cure at York Charity Alldayer but the best one was at Mark Bicknell's birthday party. There were a group of guys at the bar who'd had face ache all afternoon. You could've been playing the BEST most smashing set in the universe and they still would've found something to moan about. One of them put his pint down and strode purposefully towards the stage. He climbed on the stage, ignored me and said to PTP 'Scews me mate, have you got t'Hesitations' and Paul said 'you'd better asked the dj' Looking and sounding very nonplussed, the guy turned round to me and said 'Have you got t'Hesitations LOVE......' I replied 'I don't know, I'll just check with the dj'...I turned round and said to myself 'Scews me Love, have you got t'Hesitations', to which I replied 'No sorry'....so I turned round to him and said 'Sorry, the dj hasn't got it'....He was furious - 'This is a fcuking party, not a fcuking funeral'.........I nearly died laughing If he'd been a bit more polite I would've played it....happy days.. Jo

[Mark Bicknell]

Trust you to drag me into this I got asked for Abba by someone in the middle of doing my set at TOS.... and the Cure at York Charity Alldayer but the best one was at Mark Bicknell's birthday party. There were a group of guys at the bar who'd had face ache all afternoon. You could've been playing the BEST most smashing set in the universe and they still would've found something to moan about. One of them put his pint down and strode purposefully towards the stage. He climbed on the stage, ignored me and said to PTP 'Scews me mate, have you got t'Hesitations' and Paul said 'you'd better asked the dj' Looking and sounding very nonplussed, the guy turned round to me and said 'Have you got t'Hesitations LOVE......' I replied 'I don't know, I'll just check with the dj'...I turned round and said to myself 'Scews me Love, have you got t'Hesitations', to which I replied 'No sorry'....so I turned round to him and said 'Sorry, the dj hasn't got it'....He was furious - 'This is a fcuking party, not a fcuking funeral'.........I nearly died laughing If he'd been a bit more polite I would've played it....happy days.. Jo

Jo, I know exactly who you are talking about, he used to ask for that tune at every North Cheshire soul night Jacqui and I ran for almost ten years and to be honest that kind of blinkered attitude is one of the main reasons we pulled the plug on the gig, so it's not always about the money as the NC was still are very well attended night but you can only play Johnny Caswell, Vibrations etc. so many times and it becomes a total bore.

Regards - Mark Bicknell.

[Guest vinylvixen]

Jo, I know exactly who you are talking about, he used to ask for that tune at every North Cheshire soul night Jacqui and I ran for almost ten years and to be honest that kind of blinkered attitude is one of the main reasons we pulled the plug on the gig, so it's not always about the money as the NC was still are very well attended night but you can only play Johnny Caswell, Vibrations etc. so many times and it becomes a total bore.

Regards - Mark Bicknell.

Mark, it's become the staple joke between me and PTP - I always ask him if he's got t'Hesitations when he djs and visa versa....it still makes us laugh From what I can remember, I also told everyone at your party to 'get their f'ing fat ar*ses on the floor'....Roger Banks needed oxygen from laughing so much - and then he reminded me again at Cleethorpes what I'd said...I didn't mean to be so rude but sometimes my evil alterego takes over I think you ended up under the buffet table....but it was your party Jo

Edited August 13, 2007 by vinylvixen