Manifesto Article By Sean Chapman

[Guest]

Up Coming Event - Bury Town Hall - Doors to close after 10 fantastic years.

Promoters Neil Jones and Jayne Malone have announced that the forth-coming 10^th Anniversary All Nighter on Friday October 17^th 2008 will be the final chapter of their long running events in North Manchester.

One of the country's longest running monthly Soul nights will say farewell later this month and it promises to be one hell of a finale to a venue that has contributed so much to the Scene.

I asked Neil Jones to tell us a bit of the history behind the venue and here he picks up the story........

"Well, where do I start?

Along with Jayne, I've had the immense privilege to co-promote the North Manchester Soul Club events since October 1998 (the first few were actually held at Radcliffe Civic Hall) and, looking back, can't believe that a whole decade has passed.

I had been promoting various events around the Warrington area since 1995 - Touchers Club, The Lion, The Carlton Club - before moving to Manchester after getting divorced. I was still smarting a little from the opening words of my ex-wife's divorce papers ("My Husband is obsessed with Soul music!) and while enjoying a quiet pint in Radcliffe Civic I found myself looking out across the main room thinking 'This place is just perfect for a Soul night!' It was just the lift I needed having narrowly escaped the clutches of a looney and I was quickly putting plans together in my (rather beer-soaked) head!

As she was working there at the time (and insane enough to entertain the idea of promoting a monthly gig) Jayne agreed to look into the hall hire fees, licence arrangements etc. And so a casual conversation over a few beers started to turn into a realistic prospect. Like being on a runaway train, before we knew it we were going too fast to jump off and eight short weeks later the first night was on!

Like all promoters, we were dependant on the enthusiasm and co-operation of the venue management and, although every other aspect of the venue was ideal, the manager was about as much use as a cushion on an electric chair! We quickly looked for, and found, an alternative venue at Bury Town hall a few months later. A later bar, a later music licence and all was in place for an event that exceeded every dream we'd had to put on a regular Soul Night that would see people travel from all over the country.

There have been so many fantastic nights, so many great memories over the last 10 years, it's impossible in this small space to do it justice, but along the way, the one that stands out is the first all-niter, held for the 4^th anniversary, which saw well over 500 through the door! We had three rooms running that night, each of them rammed to the rafters, and the sheer buzz of having put on such a party will stay with me forever.

Having said that, I clearly remember looking across a full dance floor at our very first night with a huge grin on my ugly mug and saying 'I can't believe we've done this - not only did people turn up. They love it!' It was that satisfaction that made us work even harder for the next month, and the next......

Although we never sat down and planned it in any way, I'd like to think that there were a few values that we stuck to down the years that mattered to us and seemed to bring people back month after month. Everyone is looked on as a friend, not just a punter, and we listened to the people who spent their hard earned money to come along. If anyone had an idea, we'd consider it. Sometimes we adopted them, often we didn't, but we'd always let people know why. It would be nice to think that people felt that they 'belonged' when they came to Bury and I think it makes a difference.

One thing I know for certain is that we could never have made such a success of Bury Town Hall without the encouragement, help and support of so many good friends. We have made many, many friends over the last 10 years, not least the Bury Crowd (Andre, Maz, Paul, Sandra, the Crossley brothers, Terry, Lol, Grutch, Gill, Ziggy, Stef and honorary Bury Boy Dave Rivers to name a few) who have been regulars since the first night and still put out flyers, encourage people to come along, help set up the room - the list goes on - and their support has been priceless. Thank you, you're the greatest friends we could wish for.

Further afield, the likes of Bruce Doyle and Chris Lalor have been regular faces (despite travelling from Weybridge and Belgium respectively!) head a huge list of people who have taken out so much time and effort to travel support the venue.

We're also immensely grateful to the guys at Manifesto, SKM, Soul Up North and N.Soul magazines, along with broadcasters Richard Searling, Mark Bicknell, Ian Obeng and others who have helped us to fly the flag through gig mentions, shameless plugs and un-ending support.

As a venue, Bury Town Hall was too big to be too specialised. The running costs too high to focus on too narrow a musical appeal, but we have made every effort through the DJs we've booked to cater for as broad an appeal as we possibly could. From the feedback that has come our way, I'm pleased that we achieved this without alienating people, whether they prefer classics or something a bit different - it's good to know that everyone goes home hearing something that sets the shoe leather tingling during a night.

This brings me on nicely to the guys and girls who have done the business behind the decks down the last 10 years. Each and every DJ who has played for us - and there have been lots of them! - have done us proud and made each night special in their own way. Sadly, some have now been taken from us, but our thanks go out to each of you for playing your music, in your own way, and adding a little of your own 'Soul' to each night we've put on. Not least the regular DJs of recent years, Sean, Mick, Barry (who also oversees the great sound system) Andre and Brian, all of who have been so committed and flexible enough to work so professionally around our sometimes chaotic planning - we can never thank you guys enough!

I have to say a personal thank-you to Jayne also. As well as being the 'organiser' of my often crazy ideas, she had faith in them enough to follow me into the insane world of promoting a Northern Soul event and help make Bury the success it has been.

And so here we are, ten years on and about to call it a day. Why? Well as someone wisely said to me 'everything has a shelf-life' and I suppose we feel that we've taken things as far as we can go without risking becoming 'samey'. As many of you will know, there are now more Soul nights in the North West than there are bus-stops and, although we still have a healthy and vibrant scene, when people are faced with ever growing costs to travel etc, along with a bigger choice of venues to attend - perhaps more locally to home - the last thing we wanted was for things to just stagnate. It wasn't an easy decision but we decided that to end things on a big high on the 10^th Anniversary seemed the right thing to do.

Who knows? the 'North Manchester Soul Club' flag may fly again one day, although in a totally different way, but the next one is the last one as far as Bury Town Hall is concerned. Personally, I plan to do Bugger All on the third Friday in November, just to see what it feels like!

So if you're one of the thousands of people who have paid us a visit down the years, it would be great to see you for our big finale. If you've never been, then this is your last chance to come and see what all the fuss has been about these last ten years. We hope you can come along and send us out with a night to remember!"

So there you have it from one of the promoters of one of the most successful Soul nights in the UK. Having DJ'd at Bury several times over the years, I can personally recommend it and wish both Jayne and Neil all the best and thank them for the memories.

The last night at Bury Town Hall takes place on Friday October 17^th. Doors open 8pm until 6am and there are 2 rooms. Northern in the main room and the "Room At The Top" playing rare 60's Soul, underplayed Northern, RnB and even a little X-Over. There's a free anniversary gift to the first 150 through the door and even a final issue of Neil's free fanzine "Soul Collective". You can contact Jayne on 07799 347607 or Neil on 07825 626662 for more details. Admission is pay on the door - no tickets required.

Thanks Mr Chapman - really appreciated.

Jayne.x

Edited October 8, 2008 by Miss BurySoul

[Wiganer1]

Up Coming Event - Bury Town Hall - Doors to close after 10 fantastic years.

Promoters Neil Jones and Jayne Malone have announced that the forth-coming 10^th Anniversary All Nighter on Friday October 17^th 2008 will be the final chapter of their long running events in North Manchester.

One of the country's longest running monthly Soul nights will say farewell later this month and it promises to be one hell of a finale to a venue that has contributed so much to the Scene.

I asked Neil Jones to tell us a bit of the history behind the venue and here he picks up the story........

"Well, where do I start?

Along with Jayne, I've had the immense privilege to co-promote the North Manchester Soul Club events since October 1998 (the first few were actually held at Radcliffe Civic Hall) and, looking back, can't believe that a whole decade has passed.

I had been promoting various events around the Warrington area since 1995 - Touchers Club, The Lion, The Carlton Club - before moving to Manchester after getting divorced. I was still smarting a little from the opening words of my ex-wife's divorce papers ("My Husband is obsessed with Soul music!) and while enjoying a quiet pint in Radcliffe Civic I found myself looking out across the main room thinking 'This place is just perfect for a Soul night!' It was just the lift I needed having narrowly escaped the clutches of a looney and I was quickly putting plans together in my (rather beer-soaked) head!

As she was working there at the time (and insane enough to entertain the idea of promoting a monthly gig) Jayne agreed to look into the hall hire fees, licence arrangements etc. And so a casual conversation over a few beers started to turn into a realistic prospect. Like being on a runaway train, before we knew it we were going too fast to jump off and eight short weeks later the first night was on!

Like all promoters, we were dependant on the enthusiasm and co-operation of the venue management and, although every other aspect of the venue was ideal, the manager was about as much use as a cushion on an electric chair! We quickly looked for, and found, an alternative venue at Bury Town hall a few months later. A later bar, a later music licence and all was in place for an event that exceeded every dream we'd had to put on a regular Soul Night that would see people travel from all over the country.

There have been so many fantastic nights, so many great memories over the last 10 years, it's impossible in this small space to do it justice, but along the way, the one that stands out is the first all-niter, held for the 4^th anniversary, which saw well over 500 through the door! We had three rooms running that night, each of them rammed to the rafters, and the sheer buzz of having put on such a party will stay with me forever.

Having said that, I clearly remember looking across a full dance floor at our very first night with a huge grin on my ugly mug and saying 'I can't believe we've done this - not only did people turn up. They love it!' It was that satisfaction that made us work even harder for the next month, and the next......

Although we never sat down and planned it in any way, I'd like to think that there were a few values that we stuck to down the years that mattered to us and seemed to bring people back month after month. Everyone is looked on as a friend, not just a punter, and we listened to the people who spent their hard earned money to come along. If anyone had an idea, we'd consider it. Sometimes we adopted them, often we didn't, but we'd always let people know why. It would be nice to think that people felt that they 'belonged' when they came to Bury and I think it makes a difference.

One thing I know for certain is that we could never have made such a success of Bury Town Hall without the encouragement, help and support of so many good friends. We have made many, many friends over the last 10 years, not least the Bury Crowd (Andre, Maz, Paul, Sandra, the Crossley brothers, Terry, Lol, Grutch, Gill, Ziggy, Stef and honorary Bury Boy Dave Rivers to name a few) who have been regulars since the first night and still put out flyers, encourage people to come along, help set up the room - the list goes on - and their support has been priceless. Thank you, you're the greatest friends we could wish for.

Further afield, the likes of Bruce Doyle and Chris Lalor have been regular faces (despite travelling from Weybridge and Belgium respectively!) head a huge list of people who have taken out so much time and effort to travel support the venue.

We're also immensely grateful to the guys at Manifesto, SKM, Soul Up North and N.Soul magazines, along with broadcasters Richard Searling, Mark Bicknell, Ian Obeng and others who have helped us to fly the flag through gig mentions, shameless plugs and un-ending support.

As a venue, Bury Town Hall was too big to be too specialised. The running costs too high to focus on too narrow a musical appeal, but we have made every effort through the DJs we've booked to cater for as broad an appeal as we possibly could. From the feedback that has come our way, I'm pleased that we achieved this without alienating people, whether they prefer classics or something a bit different - it's good to know that everyone goes home hearing something that sets the shoe leather tingling during a night.

This brings me on nicely to the guys and girls who have done the business behind the decks down the last 10 years. Each and every DJ who has played for us - and there have been lots of them! - have done us proud and made each night special in their own way. Sadly, some have now been taken from us, but our thanks go out to each of you for playing your music, in your own way, and adding a little of your own 'Soul' to each night we've put on. Not least the regular DJs of recent years, Sean, Mick, Barry (who also oversees the great sound system) Andre and Brian, all of who have been so committed and flexible enough to work so professionally around our sometimes chaotic planning - we can never thank you guys enough!

I have to say a personal thank-you to Jayne also. As well as being the 'organiser' of my often crazy ideas, she had faith in them enough to follow me into the insane world of promoting a Northern Soul event and help make Bury the success it has been.

And so here we are, ten years on and about to call it a day. Why? Well as someone wisely said to me 'everything has a shelf-life' and I suppose we feel that we've taken things as far as we can go without risking becoming 'samey'. As many of you will know, there are now more Soul nights in the North West than there are bus-stops and, although we still have a healthy and vibrant scene, when people are faced with ever growing costs to travel etc, along with a bigger choice of venues to attend - perhaps more locally to home - the last thing we wanted was for things to just stagnate. It wasn't an easy decision but we decided that to end things on a big high on the 10^th Anniversary seemed the right thing to do.

Who knows? the 'North Manchester Soul Club' flag may fly again one day, although in a totally different way, but the next one is the last one as far as Bury Town Hall is concerned. Personally, I plan to do Bugger All on the third Friday in November, just to see what it feels like!

So if you're one of the thousands of people who have paid us a visit down the years, it would be great to see you for our big finale. If you've never been, then this is your last chance to come and see what all the fuss has been about these last ten years. We hope you can come along and send us out with a night to remember!"

So there you have it from one of the promoters of one of the most successful Soul nights in the UK. Having DJ'd at Bury several times over the years, I can personally recommend it and wish both Jayne and Neil all the best and thank them for the memories.

The last night at Bury Town Hall takes place on Friday October 17^th. Doors open 8pm until 6am and there are 2 rooms. Northern in the main room and the "Room At The Top" playing rare 60's Soul, underplayed Northern, RnB and even a little X-Over. There's a free anniversary gift to the first 150 through the door and even a final issue of Neil's free fanzine "Soul Collective". You can contact Jayne on 07799 347607 or Neil on 07825 626662 for more details. Admission is pay on the door - no tickets required.

Thanks Mr Chapman - really appreciated.

Jayne.x

====

good luck with this nite,,one venue i never got to ...hope its a cracker!!

[Guest]

====

good luck with this nite,,one venue i never got to ...hope its a cracker!!

Thanks Mark. Shame that, after hearing you at Oldham I think you would have liked it.

Much appreciated.

Jayne.x.

[Guest in town Mikey]

Nice one Shaun. Getting somebody else to write your piece for you.

LOL

[Boogaloo]

It would be nice to think that people felt that they 'belonged' when they came to Bury and I think it makes a difference.

Of all the things I read and hear about clubs this is probably, above all, the real reason why some are successful and some aren't. Sounds like you got it in bucketloads. I might even break a tradition and try to get there next Friday. Will I get in if I'm up later?

Warren B

[Guest]

Nice one Shaun. Getting somebody else to write your piece for you.

LOL

lol... It wasn't his whole article, but it was lovely allowing Neil to get it across in his own words and very much appreciated that he gave us so much of his space.

Steve Handbury has written a nice piece too but unfortunately I dont have it to post up.

Jayne.x

[Guest]

Of all the things I read and hear about clubs this is probably, above all, the real reason why some are successful and some aren't. Sounds like you got it in bucketloads. I might even break a tradition and try to get there next Friday. Will I get in if I'm up later?

Warren B

yes, I agree with you. I always go back to the friendliest places.

The best part of running North Manchester Soul Club @ Bury Town Hall is deffo the fantastic people that we've met and become friends with. We have over 800 names in our membership book. We used to run a coach up to Blackpool soul nights when Roly and Carl ran them and a load of us went down to 100club together, both when Carl Willingham was on a good few years back and when Neil Jones dj'd there for the first time. There really have been some great friendships made. I've always tried to look after those who've supported us regularly be it letting them in now or again a bit cheaper (IF we'd broken even and could afford to) or booking Dj's that had been

requested or recommended.

Yes, I'm sure you'll get in if you make it up to Bury Warren.

Jayne.x.