Manchester Oldies Scene Dead?

[Citizen P]

Interesting point raised by Jayne on the the Blackpool thread, about thhe seeming lack of NorthWest faces there.

Is the Oldies Scene over.

Well, probably not when you consider how many do's were on Sat.

I know of at least 3- excluding the "Big One" within 10 miles of each other that probs only pulled an average of 30 folk in each.

So lets call that 90 plus the odd dozen or so that got ripped off, paid £30 to get in the Tower,

That's over 100 people that that would have created a decent atmosphere at any night.

The BIG problem is that anyone with a box of pressings thinks they can start a night, and DO!.

Still, format don't matter.

Do it????

Tony

[Jumpinjoan]

Not just Saturday night Tony. Numbers were down at Lowton on Friday too.

What do you do though?

I really think people are feeling the pinch money wise at the moment and maybe now opting to do just one local night instead of two in a weekend. Inevitably some venues are bound to suffer.

I know for the first time in twenty odd years we've actually had to consider the cost of getting to a venue that's not local. Whereas we used to just get in the car and go.

[Guest]

Not just Saturday night Tony. Numbers were down at Lowton on Friday too.

What do you do though?

I really think people are feeling the pinch money wise at the moment and maybe now opting to do just one local night instead of two in a weekend. Inevitably some venues are bound to suffer.

I know for the first time in twenty odd years we've actually had to consider the cost of getting to a venue that's not local. Whereas we used to just get in the car and go.

I have believed for a while that the north west leads the way (not just musically ) but what happens in north west eventually reaches yorkshire and midlands. Their scene seems to be thriving. I think we'll see the 'soul nite crowd' recession first before it spreads around the country. Some may agree / some may not.

100 people out in one region is nothing. Certainly not a patch on where it was a couple of years ago.

It's not just cutting back. After the resurgence in the late nineties I guess it's dying off naturally, more and more people keep saying to me, I've been doing this for 10/15 years now, I want to try different things at weekends, still go to soul nights but not as often, and they're more choosey about which events to attend rather than going to local soul nights each weekend.

There is a deffo shift. Normally to see the crowd that were in the tower at weekend, you'd have to go to Whitby or a yorkshire weekender. The north west crowd that used to dominate the cala gran just wasn't there. I hardly knew anyone in the main room, maybe a couple of hundred people at most.

Jayne.x

Edited November 17, 2008 by Miss BurySoul

[Guest]

Interesting point raised by Jayne on the the Blackpool thread, about thhe seeming lack of NorthWest faces there.

Is the Oldies Scene over.

Well, probably not when you consider how many do's were on Sat.

I know of at least 3- excluding the "Big One" within 10 miles of each other that probs only pulled an average of 30 folk in each.

So lets call that 90 plus the odd dozen or so that got ripped off, paid £30 to get in the Tower,

That's over 100 people that that would have created a decent atmosphere at any night.

The BIG problem is that anyone with a box of pressings thinks they can start a night, and DO!.

Still, format don't matter.

Do it????

Tony

No it doesn't. Not to many who attend a local soul night. They want local, good atmosphere and cheap admission. Oh, and music they know.

(And probably the same seat they had last month)

It's not all negative - Nowt wrong with Niters in the north west!.

Jayne.x

[Jumpinjoan]

I have believed for a while that the north west leads the way (not just musically ) but what happens in north west eventually reaches yorkshire and midlands. Their scene seems to be thriving. I think we'll see the 'soul nite crowd' recession first before it spreads around the country. Some may agree / some may not.

100 people out in one region is nothing. Certainly not a patch on where it was a couple of years ago.

It's not just cutting back. After the resurgence in the late nineties I guess it's dying off naturally, more and more people keep saying to me, I've been doing this for 10/15 years now, I want to try different things at weekends, still go to soul nights but not as often, and they're more choosey about which events to atten rather than going to the local soul night each weekend.

There is a deffo shift. Normally to see the crowd that were in the tower at weekend, you'd have to go to Whitby or a yorkshire weekender. The north west crowd that used to dominate the cala gran just wasn't there. I hardly knew anyone in the main room, maybe a couple of hundred people at most.

Jayne.x

Is there a 'North West' crowd Jayne?

I have never been to Whitby or a Yorkshire weekender and have only been to the Cala Gran once on a Friday night because it was free. Have never been to Blackpool.

Maybe there is a North West scene... just that I'm not on it!

[Guest]

Is there a 'North West' crowd Jayne?

I have never been to Whitby or a Yorkshire weekender and have only been to the Cala Gran once on a Friday night because it was free. Have never been to Blackpool.

Maybe there is a North West scene... just that I'm not on it!

yeh, I'd say so. well, used to be!. (That's probably a little too negative actually)

Many of them used to fill the main room at Lowton amongst other places... probably less progressive than your taste's I would guess. (Only a guess!)

I'd certainly consider you to be a key part of the progressive niter scene, which I think is the NW's strong point.

Jayne.x

Edited November 17, 2008 by Miss BurySoul

[Zed1]

I'm from the N/W and have been to most of the venues listed above over many, many years - Lowton, Cala-Gran, BTH, Middleton, Prestatyn etc, etc, as well as most of the other smaller venues around the area. but recently I've just restricted myself to supporting one local event and attending just a handfull of others as and when the mood takes...

There are lots of 'ex' regulars from our area who I very rarely see these days or if I do they tell a similar tale to me, ie are very selective about which venues they attend.

Perhaps because we've all been going for so long round these parts and have had such a massive choice of venues it's just a case of 'Soul Overload'....

Interestingly I've just got back from Lanzarote and the NW was VERY well represented in both punters and Jocks...

[Guest]

I'm from the N/W and have been to most of the venues listed above over many, many years - Lowton, Cala-Gran, BTH, Middleton, Prestatyn etc, etc, as well as most of the other smaller venues around the area. but recently I've just restricted myself to supporting one local event and attending just a handfull of others as and when the mood takes...

There are lots of 'ex' regulars from our area who I very rarely see these days or if I do they tell a similar tale to me, ie are very selective about which venues they attend.

Perhaps because we've all been going for so long round these parts and have had such a massive choice of venues it's just a case of 'Soul Overload'....

Interestingly I've just got back from Lanzarote and the NW was VERY well represented in both punters and Jocks...

spooky! - I was just about to say that! lol, many of the north west crowd support SITS. Were Paul and Sandra Green there?. At Bury we used to suffer when SITS clashed and a few years consecutively there were folks turning up at Bury who had stepped straight of the plane home and come out to us. (suntans n'all!)

People used to always say how lucky we were up here because we had all these venue's on our doorstep but I reckon you're right and it's 'Soul Overload'..

Anyone still considering starting a new night round here must be mad. They'd be doing the scene more good if they chose to start helping to promote their local venue's and help to maintain / improve what we've got left!. Wonder if you would ever see half as many people keen to help keep local nites going as we've seen people keen to start promoting one?.

we've got everything from oldies to rare / unknown/ different etc happening, there is certainly no cause for needing 'anything different' or better because we must cater for all round here.

sorry - rant over.

Jayne.x

[Citizen P]

I must be in the minority then.

I have no problem with hearing the tunes from "All our Yesterdays",

and I believe that a good "local" soul night should play a good cross section of old and new, but it MUST be on original format, if you are a promoter and you ain't got the Tunes you employ DJ's that DO!

I just can't understand people defending those that can't, don't or wont get it.

Yeah, Ok some people want to hear the Same Old week in week out but that doesn't give Carte Blanche to every man and his dog to start up yet another night offering nothing new.

We all say that it's not about the money, but with Bonzo Dogg and the DooDahs fragmenting what is left of a reasonably small scene anyway, many venue's that do it right are feeling the pinch or having to close entirely because they can not afford to loose money every month or two.

Rant over.

for now.

Tony

[Guest]

I'm from the N/W and have been to most of the venues listed above over many, many years - Lowton, Cala-Gran, BTH, Middleton, Prestatyn etc, etc, as well as most of the other smaller venues around the area. but recently I've just restricted myself to supporting one local event and attending just a handfull of others as and when the mood takes...

There are lots of 'ex' regulars from our area who I very rarely see these days or if I do they tell a similar tale to me, ie are very selective about which venues they attend.

Perhaps because we've all been going for so long round these parts and have had such a massive choice of venues it's just a case of 'Soul Overload'....

Interestingly I've just got back from Lanzarote and the NW was VERY well represented in both punters and Jocks...

Hmm.. so if we're suffering from a 'soul overload' now, I wonder if in a couple of years time the yorkshire scene or East Mids etc will see such a dip too...

Jayne.x (bored at work)

[Mark R]

I have believed for a while that the north west leads the way (not just musically )...............

Jayne.x

I take it you are specifically referring to the Northern scene here Jayne????

Cheers,

Mark R

[Guest]

I must be in the minority then.

I have no problem with hearing the tunes from "All our Yesterdays",

and I believe that a good "local" soul night should play a good cross section of old and new, but it MUST be on original format, if you are a promoter and you ain't got the Tunes you employ DJ's that DO!

I just can't understand people defending those that can't, don't or wont get it.

Yeah, Ok some people want to hear the Same Old week in week out but that doesn't give Carte Blanche to every man and his dog to start up yet another night offering nothing new.

We all say that it's not about the money, but with Bonzo Dogg and the DooDahs fragmenting what is left of a reasonably small scene anyway, many venue's that do it right are feeling the pinch or having to close entirely because they can not afford to loose money every month or two.

Rant over.

for now.

Tony

I agree with you completely, Bury is a good example of that, and at Bury we only employed DJ's that had the goods but, yes I think you (and me) are in the minority on the soul nite scene with that attitude. You go to St Bernadettes or rammy and ask the question, they do not care. They want a good night out, a good atmosphere, songs they know and keep the costs down.

Jayne.x

[good angel]

Hmm.. so if we're suffering from a 'soul overload' now, I wonder if in a couple of years time the yorkshire scene or East Mids etc will see such a dip too...

Jayne.x (bored at work)

What about Bingo,half way through the soul night

Kev

[Guest]

I take it you are specifically referring to the Northern scene here Jayne????

Cheers,

Mark R

WELL......

Yeh, I was..

BUT.....

Jayne.x

[Mark R]

I take it you are specifically referring to the Northern scene here Jayne????

Cheers,

Mark R

Sorry Jayne...........I guess the clue is in the thread title...........doh!!

Cheers,

Mark R

[Guest]

What about Bingo,half way through the soul night

Kev

or pie n peas!

Jayne.x

[Mark R]

WELL......

Yeh, I was..

BUT.....

Jayne.x

Easy.........maybe subconciously I was spoiling for a fight that wasn't there........don't oblige me by creating one!!

Cheers,

Mark R

[Iancsloft]

[quote name='jumpinjoan'

Not just Saturday night Tony. Numbers were down at Lowton on Friday too.

=======================================================

Whats happened with Lowton is that many of the locals by that i mean soulies who live within a 15 mile

catchment area have stopped coming, several factors have been instrmental in this the main ones

being..

A couple of regulars who use to come have opened up there own nites one clashing with Lowton

Promotion in local papers is nil

The music policy in the main room has changed from a few years ago the few 100 locals who came

wanted to hear mostly the old stuff when they did,nt get to hear the top 500 oldies but goodies all the time some found other venues..

The formation of the Brilliant DDA Room from the modern room when the DDA room opened it split

up the numbers in the main room taking away around 30--60 from the main area every month which resulted in a loss of atmosphere from the energy created by the soulies who now go in the DDA room

In my opinion Lowton Civic is still one of the Countrys best Soul Nites but once people stay away for one reason or another it seems hard to motivate them back. Kev Murphy & Co--- Lowton Civic have done hell of a lot to make Lowton the legend it was for over 12 years and i,m sure with a little tinkering hear n there

it could get back to what it was a few years back but it aint gonna be easy and like Joan says money these days is becoming a problem with people tighting there belts and to be honest over the last several months the price of petrol did,nt help so hopefully DEC will see Lowton come back with a bang..

xxx

[good angel]

or pie n peas!

Jayne.x

Can I ring the bell at the back and shout, order please,like at the Wheel Tappers

Kev

[Guest]

Sorry Jayne...........I guess the clue is in the thread title...........doh!!

Cheers,

Mark R

I couldn't possibly imagine what you might mean?..

Jayne.x.

[Guest]

[quote name='jumpinjoan'

Not just Saturday night Tony. Numbers were down at Lowton on Friday too.

=======================================================

Whats happened with Lowton is that many of the locals by that i mean soulies who live within a 15 mile

catchment area have stopped coming, several factors have been instrmental in this the main ones

being..

A couple of regulars who use to come have opened up there own nites one clashing with Lowton

Promotion in local papers is nil

The music policy in the main room has changed from a few years ago the few 100 locals who came

wanted to hear mostly the old stuff when they did,nt get to hear the top 500 oldies but goodies all the time some found other venues..

The formation of the Brilliant DDA Room from the modern room when the DDA room opened it split

up the numbers in the main room taking away around 30--60 from the main area every month which resulted in a loss of atmosphere from the energy created by the soulies who now go in the DDA room

In my opinion Lowton Civic is still one of the Countrys best Soul Nites but once people stay away for one reason or another it seems hard to motivate them back. Kev Murphy & Co--- Lowton Civic have done hell of a lot to make Lowton the legend it was for over 12 years and i,m sure with a little tinkering hear n there

it could get back to what it was a few years back but it aint gonna be easy and like Joan says money these days is becoming a problem with people tighting there belts and to be honest over the last several months the price of petrol did,nt help so hopefully DEC will see Lowton come back with a bang..

xxx

Totally agree and it'll help not having the tower or a weekender clashing next month for lowton too. It's not all down to the venue changes I think though, Lowton isn't on it's own, it's one of many in the north west having the same issue's. I can name more venue's on the north west soul scene that aren't as busy as they used to be than those that are still at their peak.

Jayne.x

[Zed1]

spooky! - I was just about to say that! lol, many of the north west crowd support SITS. Were Paul and Sandra Green there?. At Bury we used to suffer when SITS clashed and a few years consecutively there were folks turning up at Bury who had stepped straight of the plane home and come out to us. (suntans n'all!)

I don't know the 'exact' reasons - I can only give a IMHO, but the people I knew from local venues of circa 10-15 years ago I only tend to see now at Prestatyn or similar 'big' events, maybe it's time, money or just a general apathy with the scene that stops them going out as much, but I know in our case we've gone from attending 2 venues per week to around 2 venues per month...

Maybe I'm just getting to old now but SIS has much more appeal to me than standing around in a run down working mens club moaning about the playlists and freezing my little nads off every time I want a Ciggie.....

The names Paul and Sandra Green ring a bell - but can't put faces to the names...... any pic's?...

Edited November 17, 2008 by Teapot

[Guest]

Easy.........maybe subconciously I was spoiling for a fight that wasn't there........don't oblige me by creating one!!

Cheers,

Mark R

My defence is weeker on that front so We'll save that one for another day!

Jayne.x

[Guest]

I don't know the 'exact' reasons - I can only give a IMHO, but the people I knew from local venues of circa 10-15 years ago I only tend to see now at Prestatyn or similar 'big' events, maybe it's time, money or just a general apathy with the scene that stops them going out as much, but I know in our case we've gone from attending 2 venues per week to around 2 venues per month...

Maybe I'm just getting to old now but SIS has much more appeal to me now than standing around in a run down working mens club moaning about the playlists and freezing my little nads of every time I want a Ciggie.....

The names Paul and Sandra Green ring a bell - but can't put faces to the names...... any pic's?...

yeh, many seem to agree with you.

Sorry no pics. Paul and Sandra are usually there with Carol and Paul Carty (from oldham) & chris priestly.

Jayne.x.

[Zed1]

Sorry no pics. Paul and Sandra are usually there with Carol and Paul Carty (from oldham) & chris priestly.

Jayne.x.

Was Chatting to Chris when we first arrived and IIRC he did a cracking Oldies spot in the downstairs room on the last night....

[Guest recordman]

[quote name='jumpinjoan'

Not just Saturday night Tony. Numbers were down at Lowton on Friday too.

=======================================================

Whats happened with Lowton is that many of the locals by that i mean soulies who live within a 15 mile

catchment area have stopped coming, several factors have been instrmental in this the main ones

being..

A couple of regulars who use to come have opened up there own nites one clashing with Lowton

Promotion in local papers is nil

The music policy in the main room has changed from a few years ago the few 100 locals who came

wanted to hear mostly the old stuff when they did,nt get to hear the top 500 oldies but goodies all the time some found other venues..

The formation of the Brilliant DDA Room from the modern room when the DDA room opened it split

up the numbers in the main room taking away around 30--60 from the main area every month which resulted in a loss of atmosphere from the energy created by the soulies who now go in the DDA room

In my opinion Lowton Civic is still one of the Countrys best Soul Nites but once people stay away for one reason or another it seems hard to motivate them back. Kev Murphy & Co--- Lowton Civic have done hell of a lot to make Lowton the legend it was for over 12 years and i,m sure with a little tinkering hear n there

it could get back to what it was a few years back but it aint gonna be easy and like Joan says money these days is becoming a problem with people tighting there belts and to be honest over the last several months the price of petrol did,nt help so hopefully DEC will see Lowton come back with a bang..

xxx

To add to what Ian C is saying .....I believe one of the main reasons for the decline in numbers is the accessability of the music Northern Soul is no longer difficult to obtain when Lowton started the music was being played in a handful of places around the North West area and you could not get to hear the tunes as easily as you can today People went to gigs to hear tunes which were then only available on vinyl whereas now the music can be downloaded in great quantities from the internet plus Hundreds of cd compilations have been released and it seems every week there is another record being reissued ect On top of this i personally believe that the nostagia trip has ended for a number of people the quality of some of the nights is just not up to what people expect from a good night out and in some respects makes the whole thing look well a bit sad and eccentric Personally I will always love the music but I'm afraid the scene is so fragmented now I fear where it is going in the next few years maybe it needs some sort of decline which may in the end improve the overall end result

[Guest Phil Richards]

I must be in the minority then.

I have no problem with hearing the tunes from "All our Yesterdays",

and I believe that a good "local" soul night should play a good cross section of old and new, but it MUST be on original format, if you are a promoter and you ain't got the Tunes you employ DJ's that DO!

I just can't understand people defending those that can't, don't or wont get it.

Yeah, Ok some people want to hear the Same Old week in week out but that doesn't give Carte Blanche to every man and his dog to start up yet another night offering nothing new.

We all say that it's not about the money, but with Bonzo Dogg and the DooDahs fragmenting what is left of a reasonably small scene anyway, many venue's that do it right are feeling the pinch or having to close entirely because they can not afford to loose money every month or two.

Rant over.

for now.

Tony

You are so right

[Jumpinjoan]

The formation of the Brilliant DDA Room from the modern room when the DDA room opened it split

up the numbers in the main room taking away around 30--60 from the main area every month which resulted in a loss of atmosphere from the energy created by the soulies who now go in the DDA room

Sorry Ian but I really can't agree with you on this bit.

When we took over the Modern room it was on it's knees. And I would say that instead of the DDA taking numbers away from the main room at the beginning it seemed to boost them for a while.

One person I spoke to (who I didn't know) about the numbers thing said the reason they stopped coming to Lowton was because the music was too 'rare' in the big room and that they didn't know any of the tunes being played?

I can't really comment on that - but would value the views of those people who do / did frequent the big room at Lowton. All views and comments would be most appreciated.

I don't suppose things have been helped any by people putting on another soul night, the same night as Lowton, not three miles away.

[BazM]

I have believed for a while that the north west leads the way (not just musically ) but what happens in north west eventually reaches yorkshire and midlands. Their scene seems to be thriving. I think we'll see the 'soul nite crowd' recession first before it spreads around the country. Some may agree / some may not.

100 people out in one region is nothing. Certainly not a patch on where it was a couple of years ago.

It's not just cutting back. After the resurgence in the late nineties I guess it's dying off naturally, more and more people keep saying to me, I've been doing this for 10/15 years now, I want to try different things at weekends, still go to soul nights but not as often, and they're more choosey about which events to attend rather than going to local soul nights each weekend.

There is a deffo shift. Normally to see the crowd that were in the tower at weekend, you'd have to go to Whitby or a yorkshire weekender. The north west crowd that used to dominate the cala gran just wasn't there. I hardly knew anyone in the main room, maybe a couple of hundred people at most.

Jayne.x

OK, there could be two threads here one could be discussing the apparent absence of the 'North West Crowd' at Blackpool and the other could be discussing the drop in attendances at North West Venues.

Regarding Blackpool i'd have to take your word for it Jayne, although if you knew " a couple of hundred" that dont seem that bad to me, BUT I think I get your drift in that, that there was less NW peeps in there than you expected?

I was there but never went into the ballroom as I was firmly ensconced in the Modern Room. There was quite a few of the North West crowd in there, but that would be expected in any weekender modern room as the North West seems to still have that hard core modern crowd. There was a fair few travellers (out of the North West) in there as well, lotsa unfamiliar faces, which could back up your assumptions that the Tower in the main is supported by a large contingent of 'out of towners' or even dare I say 'non frequent flyers' who only 'board a plane' for a weekend break or holiday by the seaside!! especially to the Northern Room. I would definitely say a large number of people there where not, what I'd say regulars at gigs i've been to, so maybe they are from the areas you say are 'thriving' at the moment. Now if that's true and they are late coming back to the Northern scene in comparison to people in the the North West (we ahve been very lucky in this neck of the woods) then you could (should) expect the music to also take a backward step too as people request VERY familiar records from their past, which again seems to be borne out by the comments on the Blackpool lookbacks thread. This will in turn piss people who have come to expect better music at gigs, right off.

There is a positive in this, in that some of those late returnees will fall in love with what they fell in love with years ago ie the music, and will stay on the scene, as once again they'll want to hear the kind of records that gave them a rush when they heard them the first time. In the past it might have been the Velvet Satins, today it might be the Venturas! Here's hoping...................

Which brings me on to the next part of your observations, the Manchester oldies scene. Again I think I know what you mean ie the Soul Nights in Greater Manchester in particular. It's a question of choice. I think there has simply been a polarisation between those that want a real hard core fix ie All Nighters like Middleton and Burnley and those that are happy to go out till 2am to a Soul Night, ie Prestwich, Blackburn, Monacco, Grasshoppers etc. There could possibly be a middle ground into which (IMHO) the likes of Lowton and Bury have in the last 12 months fell, (I say fell because it wasn't a descision to move into) ie great musically but not supported by enough of one or the other crowd. Unfortunately, for Bury it's too late and Lowton probably needs to go more for the oldies crowd in the main room to continue (watch this space).

There are of course other pressures on the scene at the moment, all of which have been mentioned , smoking ban, credit crunch and clashing, all of which is having an effect generally. People will as you say 'get choosey' so venues will need to be better value, offer more, give the people what they want, some are doing it others will need to change, after this weekend and the third month of Weekender clashes, I just hope that we do not need to go back as far as some would like to take us......make of that what you will

I'm about to post up what's going on at two Greater Manchester oldies gigs in the coming month, in the the belief that there are good soul nights and good gigs to attend in Greater Manchester and were the music definitely still comes first.

Best to all

BazM

[Suzannek]

Sorry Ian but I really can't agree with you on this bit.

When we took over the Modern room it was on it's knees. And I would say that instead of the DDA taking numbers away from the main room at the beginning it seemed to boost them for a while.

One person I spoke to (who I didn't know) about the numbers thing said the reason they stopped coming to Lowton was because the music was too 'rare' in the big room and that they didn't know any of the tunes being played?

I can't really comment on that - but would value the views of those people who do / did frequent the big room at Lowton. All views and comments would be most appreciated.

I don't suppose things have been helped any by people putting on another soul night, the same night as Lowton, not three miles away.

Joan

I went to Lowton last month and I loved the DDA. I love to hear music I don't know, were a few that I knew in the DDA/a few I didn't know I think it was half and half. I thought it was class, I am never put off either by how many people are in the rooms. Couldn't care less overall personally whether there are 500 or 20 in the room (I know it matters to the organiser/the person/peeps who are runnin the venue). I know it seems to matter to a lot of punters too which is a shame. I am more bothered about what the music is like in the place, I like to hear 60s and 70s music that I don't know or don't hear much. I also like plenty of friendly folks to talk to and there were plenty at DDA/Lowton. I will certainly be back.

I've been really lucky this year I haven't been to a soul do I haven't enjoyed.

Suz

x

[Guest]

OK, there could be two threads here one could be discussing the apparent absence of the 'North West Crowd' at Blackpool and the other could be discussing the drop in attendances at North West Venues.

Regarding Blackpool i'd have to take your word for it Jayne, although if you knew " a couple of hundred" that dont seem that bad to me, BUT I think I get your drift in that, that there was less NW peeps in there than you expected?

Evening Barry,

Yep, sounds fair enough. There were far fewer NW people there and I was stood on the balcony thinking that it felt more like Whitby than previous weekenders, I was later convinced when Kev started doing the dancing competition. When he introduced the finalists, he announced their names and where they were from, getting support from the area's that the dancers were from. The lads dancing from south yorkshire and midlands(sammy) had at least 70% of the room behind them... Kev shouted out Lancashire and the dancer from Lancashire and from the response of the room, the lancashire folk & other counties were deffo in the minority!.

I reckon my original comment of 'a couple of hundred' was on the high side too. Someone had me question that this afternoon, and maybe I didn't even know that many..

Jayne.x

[Guest gfarrington]

yea jayne, bet you can't name them all , that could start a new thread, i counted eight from southport (ex lancashire)

[Zed1]

I don't suppose things have been helped any by people putting on another soul night, the same night as Lowton, not three miles away.

Joan....

I was a regular at Lowton from pretty much the Start and have had some fantastic nites there, we even attended the New years eve events when numbers were well down (for obvious reasons) now of course to start with Lowton had very little competition and was realy the only 'proper' soul nite in the area for a good few years - however as you know more and more Venues have meant more and more competition for 'Everyone' not just yourselves.

Now I stopped going to Lowton a few years ago - along with Prestwich, BTH and Blackburn - not because I had any problem as such with these venues, I just grew a little tired of the scene itself and perhaps a certain amount of apaphy crept in where you think 'I just can't be arsed tonight' (which I'm sure everyone goes through)

Now I do attend the venue down the road you mention because it's run by a long standing Mate of some 30+ years on the scene and I can assure you it's not been put on in anyway to pinch your punters as it were - indeed given the amount of other local venues ie Joes, Burtonwood, N-L-W, Culcheth, Warrington (X2), Runcorn, Widnes (X2) etc, etc, the 2nd friday was about the best they could get with the available slots without clashing with the countless other venues in our area.

Having said the above and perhaps just to contradict myself ( ) I would agree there are just to many venues now chasing to few punters, indeed one of the above venues is only staggering distance from our house yet we rarely attend because as said above we've just perhaps had 'To Much' soul in recent years (never thought I'd say that) and some weeks we just need a break...

Perhaps one day the status quo will return where we all have to go searching for our 'Soul' instead of having it thrust down our necks at every turn........ maybe half the fun was in the chase.

Edited November 17, 2008 by Teapot

[Jumpinjoan]

Now I do attend the venue down the road you mention because it's run by a long standing Mate of some 30+ years on the scene and I can assure you it's not been put on in anyway to pinch your punters as it were - indeed given the amount of other local venues ie Joes, Burtonwood, N-L-W, Culcheth, Warrington (X2), Runcorn, Widnes (X2) etc, etc, the 2nd friday was about the best they could get with the available slots without clashing with the countless other venues in our area.

If you say so.

I must say though - they are not 'my punters'.

Kev and Baz promote Lowton. We're dead lucky - we just turn up on the night and have fun!

Edited November 17, 2008 by jumpinjoan

[BazM]

One person I spoke to (who I didn't know) about the numbers thing said the reason they stopped coming to Lowton was because the music was too 'rare' in the big room and that they didn't know any of the tunes being played?

This was echoed by quite a few people Joan hense the logic of playing rarer, less well know music in the back room as championed by the DDA and playing more well known tunage in the big room while maintaining the quality, ie Tomangos with Temptones, Eddie Cartlton with Eddie Floyd, Curly Moore with Johnny Moore, Executive Four with Ellusions and so on. The general consensus of opinion these days is the music is the best of any soul night around at Lowton, in BOTH rooms, so time will tell.

Baz

[Iancsloft]

[quote name='jumpinjoan' date='

If you say so.

I must say though - they are not 'my punters'.

=================================

I,m your punter mistress i will do owt you say madam

( Apart from lick yer 3 b4 8 ashtray )

xx

[Iancsloft]

I will say this tho Lowton Civic has been responsible for SPREADING THE FAITH

over the past 12 yrs because you only have to look around the Northwest within 10 miles of Lowton

how many SOUL NITES have sprung up by ex Lowton Regulars only problem now there are too many local

nites targeting the soul fans who pay money to come to venues ..

To get soulies coming you have to play the best music for their taste while mixing a few new 45,s they dont know in the dj,s spots you have to create a great atmoshere and finally give the paying soulies

what they want a good nite out with no hassle ..+ low bar prices if possible that always goes down well

[BazM]

I will say this tho Lowton Civic has been responsible for SPREADING THE FAITH

over the past 12 yrs because you only have to look around the Northwest within 10 miles of Lowton

how many SOUL NITES have sprung up by ex Lowton Regulars only problem now there are too many local

nites targeting the soul fans who pay money to come to venues ..

Interesting Observation Mr C

To get soulies coming you have to play the best music for their taste while mixing a few new 45,s they dont know in the dj,s spots you have to create a great atmoshere and finally give the paying soulies

what they want a good nite out with no hassle ..+ low bar prices if possible that always goes down well

Agreed.....let's not forget the fact that Lowton is still well attended BUT has DEFINITELY been hit by three Weekenders on consecutive months since September. The good news is that it would seem Weekender season is now over and the December night should be a goodie. Then its onward and upward to the THIRTEENTH ANNIVERSARY in February and you only have to look at the piccy below to see what that was like earlier this year

[Iancsloft]

Great piccy Baz u forgot to add it was taken at 10pm loads more came in after

[Guest]

To get soulies coming you have to play the best music for their taste while mixing a few new 45,s they dont know in the dj,s spots you have to create a great atmoshere and finally give the paying soulies

what they want a good nite out with no hassle ..+ low bar prices if possible that always goes down well

I'm being told increasingly that you have to keep the admission cost down too. More and more people are sighting that as a factor as to whether they attend or not. We fell foul of that to a degree, to cope with the increasing costs at bury, we had to increase the admission, so, to offer value for money and to feel we were ripping people off we extended to 4am (giving 2 extra hours for an extra £2) but then at £16 admission per couple before you've bought a drink, we lost an element of our soul night crowd because they want earlier finishes and cheaper admission.

Jayne.x.

Edited November 17, 2008 by Miss BurySoul

[Guest]

yea jayne, bet you can't name them all , that could start a new thread, i counted eight from southport (ex lancashire)

LOL - course I can! - 100 called 'Hiya mate', 50 ' Hi luv's and 50 ' hello m'dear's' & of course 49 ' aye up pal's' and one " Hiya glad that Bolton goal wasn't given"

Jayne.x

[Pete Eccles]

LOL - course I can! - 100 called 'Hiya mate', 50 ' Hi luv's and 50 ' hello m'dear's' & of course 49 ' aye up pal's' and one " Hiya glad that Bolton goal wasn't given"

Jayne.x

Who might that one be then?

[Guest Mark Holmes]

or pie n peas!

Jayne.x

Don't laugh, I did that in the middle of Hitsville Weekender in Florida in 2007 and it went down a storm, mind you it was free.

[Guest]

Who might that one be then?

i'll get my coat!

[Guest]

Don't laugh, I did that in the middle of Hitsville Weekender in Florida in 2007 and it went down a storm, mind you it was free.

used to go down a storm at The Greatstone too.. not sure if they still do it actually.

Jayne.x.

[Mark B]

used to go down a storm at The Greatstone too.. not sure if they still do it actually.

Jayne.x.

Hi Jayne sadly no the hot food stopped when martin decided to jack it in, adrian still puts on sandwiches but nothing would ever beat the speads Martin used to put on Just ask Big Mick, he used to bring tupperware with him to take some home to freeze.

Sadly we too are suffering with attendances and we cant put our finger on it the number of nights that clash with us are negligible as our music policy would not attract the normal oldies crowd, there is the odd clash but you just have to live with them. the wierd thing is one month it can be quiet and the next month really busy it is not the cost of entry as at £4.00 we are probably one of the cheapest nights around (entrance fee wise). I think tthat like Joan, Karl & Paul at the DDA Lowton we are possibly our own worst eneemies as the turn over of tunes is sometimes too quick we may only play something once and then, next month something else we have bought takes it's place, or is it just that people are fed up after all we are now in our 10th year, 10th anniverasry is April. Without Doubt The North west is probably the best area for the rare soul scene. Could it be that a lot of people are like me and can only get out once or twice a month (due to family commitments) that is why i pick my nights out very carefully. I used to enjoy Prestwich but the last time i went it just felt empty and there was no one in the foyer (which is where i spend most of my time chatting) only 2 dealers were there henry and glen, i never went to Prestwich for the Music, Got into trouble with Terry last time i wrote that. i still enjoy Lowton when i go there but i spend most of my time in the DDA room. I think that the scene has probably split into too many factions now, and there is probably no way back.

mark

[Little-stevie]

Really good topic and lots of valid points...

Mark B says it all really... "I think that the scene has probably split into too many factions now, and there is probably no way back"

Yes there are many splits with so many people keen to dj and promote, but i can only speak about the more progressive soul nights as i don't go to any oldies events now...

Sorry if a little off topic but thats the way the thread was going..

Edited November 19, 2008 by little-stevie

[Jumpinjoan]

LOL - course I can! - 100 called 'Hiya mate', 50 ' Hi luv's and 50 ' hello m'dear's' & of course 49 ' aye up pal's' and one " Hiya glad that Bolton goal wasn't given"

Jayne.x

:lol:

[Pete Eccles]

Wasn't that funny

[Rob Wigley]

Isn't the "Granddaddy of them all" going strong at The twisted Wheel, loads going from THIS area, Notts , derbys ,S yorks.

rob