spike1

Yes found it an interesting read Myself Can't wait to get on that wheel dancefloor Friday night!

Carms try this https://www.soulbot.com/bluenote/ Wel looks like I learn something new every day !! I walk past the waldorf every time I go the wheel Ne'er new that was were the bluenote used to be very interesting read about the old scene I'll be digging for more info from Some of the old guard on Friday night Thanks carms you've woke me up!!

No worries mike

Indeed Soshe,there was an article in the M.E.N around '96 i think,been surfing the web but can't locate it but it reported that the statue of Lincoln was sinking and while excavating beneath it the workmen uncovered what was left of the old Wheel cellars! For Mike-Here's the link to the site which was set up by original Manchester Mods and Wheelers-a cracking good browse with tons of stuff about the R&B and soul music scene and culture in the North and North West in General and Manchester in particular and the clubs that you hear the "Originals" recall. I must warn you though you'll spend hours on all the links on the site,it's a must read for anyone whether they were there in the 60s or just picking up the baton now! https://manchestersoul.co.uk/msoul/index.html __________________ KTF & KOKO, Bernard. IT'S WHAT'S IN THE GROOVES THAT COUNTS! Last edited by bernard02898; 09-08-2010 at 03:38 PM.

Here's a picture ( Pete has upped this before)... Can't copy picture sorry!! https://twistedwheelclub.com/index.php try this link which shows the Left Wing Coffee bar, which became The Twisted Wheel in 1963. Upstairs was a coffee bar, and downstairs, in the cellar, was the dancefloor. So pretty similar to Whitworth Street when that first opened... The building is long gone now. Go down Deansgate and find the square with a statue of Abe Lincoln, and you are pretty much standing where it was. It is said that some of the cellars could still be there under the flagstones. This any help?

Carms I also found brazenose St the otheryear whilst shopping or wasting time till the whitworth St one opened! There was some old pictures on the twisted wheel forum the other year join that and ask some of the guys on there cos some of them went to the 1st wheel and the blue note Happy hunting Ps are you going to the wheel this Friday ? It'll be a cracker Ktf spike

Ooh you are naughty But your too late We already have that at my old stomping ground "the casino cafe"

I agree Ian as long as it's a working museum and we can get our twice a month fix of the best soul club in the land I my honest but biased opinion! Roll on the 30th of December immpishing my dancing boots every day in anticipation Ktf spike

I was at the wheel on the Sunday that mr waterman was interviewing people Pete Roberts asked me and others if we would do an interview for the program I declined A, I wasn't old enough to go the original wheel so I couldn't comment on the sixties scene B, I just go to dance to the music I love and I didnt want to miss a second in the dance floor I have got to know most of the guys who were interviewed over the last 4 years these people are the most ardent followers of sixties soul music and have been for nearly 50 years in some cases this could be the last time that these origal soulies have a chance to share thier recollections of the past with us all total respect! Is due I would love it if the BBC followed up with a visit to say lifeline. Or the 100 club to interveiw some of the upfront and currant poromoters djays and attendees to get a picture of how the scene has progressed over the last 50 years As some of you guys say it's impossible for you to feel what it was like for us back in the seventies and I'm sure it's quite boring for you to listen to all our recollections about wigan torch wheel ect but that's what we have memories and I'm afraid as we get older we tend to tell anyone who will listen the same story over and over sorry for that! Strange cos back in the day most hardcore soulies tried to keep the whole thing under wraps Suppose I'm lucky cos if I wanted I could sample the upfront rare soul newies scene Very much doubt it but I could Would like to see the difference in dress and dance style or is that for another thread?

When I first went wigan in 76 the beachcomber was open after the nighter About September 76 the place flooded one morning It was a weird place remember sitting on box like things? Could have been stage props ? I agree think star wars bar but a bit more surreal !! After the flood they used to re- open mr m's as an after nighter place Greater Manchesters' finest D S used to lay in wait as you came out and made your way to the station Also used to sometimes go in m's before the nighter sort of a night club selling beer !!!

As was at wigan in the seventies I love stories of the wheel mojo torch ect But as I'm a born again I'd love to hesr about the scene from 1980-2000 Sounds fashion dance style ect suppose I should go to some modern dos'???

It's called history without the wheel torch wigan ect would you have a scene now ? I'd love to see a program/documentary that covers the whole scene from the 6ts 7ts 80ts 90ts and onwards to today done by people who were there and those who are at it now But I ain't a film producer

I wasnt old enough to experience the sixties myself but I love learning about what shaped the whole skinhead soul movement that I was part of in the seventies Respect to you original mods

HARD MODS (source John Waters, thanx to The New Breed and Modculture) Most people's views of 60s mods are of effeminate West End dandies. Original 60s mod John Waters gives us the lowdown on a less familiar side of the Mod coin. With regard to the Mod scene back in the sixties, to my way of thinking there were two distinct types of Mod within the London area. The first was the familiar scooter boys which has become the generally accepted face of sixties Modernism. However, there was another type of Mod back in those days. These were the members of the many Mod 'firms'. These were members of street gangs each with their own manor e.g. The Highbury mob, the Archway, Somers Town, Elephant and Castle, Mile End etc. These gangs consisted of anything of between 50 to a couple of hundred in strength at any one time. Turfs were strictly patrolled and borders laid down. Gang members intruding on other's turf risked a severe beating if caught. Gang members were meticulous in their dress, the order of the day being the mohair suit, velvet collar overcoats and as often as not a 'blue beat' hat. Each manor had its own caff's, snooker halls and sometimes dance hall or club. I lived in Upper Holloway and therefore was a member of the Archway mob. One of the smaller gangs numbering around eighty to a hundred. We congregated in two or three local cafes and pubs and our main enemy was the Highbury and Mars (Finsbury Park) gangs. There were many and sometimes violent skirmishes but the odd thing was that on occasions the mobs would align with each other to take on other gangs. I remember one instance that sprang to mind when both gangs combined to 'visit' the rocker enclave at Alexandra Palace. Members of these gangs would not be seen dead on a scooter there preferred mode of transport being a car. Like most other Mods at the time we were fans of Motown, Soul and the Who, Faces etc. We frequented the pubs of the East End and clubs of the West End. Although we visited many clubs such as the Flamingo, Scene, Whisky and Marquee we tended to stick to one particular club. In our case it was the Discoteque and regarded this as 'home' turf. Again on the annual visits to the coast we would often meet up with other firms and head off, in our case, to Brighton. My own particular memories of that era are mainly concerning music as an ardent follower of Soul music. Solomon Burke at the Flamingo; robes, crown and all being joined on stage by Dusty Springfield belting out 'Everybody Needs Somebody'. The Who at St.Josephs Church Hall, Archway just after they hit the charts with 'I Can't Explain' and having a few 'sherberts' in The Cat next door with Moon. Friday and Saturday nights up West. First a few pints down the East End at The Green Man or Blind Beggar then off to the Coffee An in a cellar down the bottom of Wardour St. Then up to The Discoteque to dance the night away to some of the greatest music ever to make it on to vinyl. Early next morning meeting up at the all night cafe 'El Passant' on the Strand (what a great juke box). Heady days ! People often find it hard to understand the reverence that the sixties are held in by many. In these days of clubs on every corner, high tech, computer aided music etc everything is pretty much en-passe. The thing about the sixties was that everything was so new. The clothes, music, clubs etc and for the first time we had some money in our pockets to indulge. I do not live in the past by any means and there is much to be said for the present day but it will never match the absolute excitement of the sixties. Both these articles and more can be found on jack that cat was clean website

2 SEP 2007 MANCHESTER : THE TWISTED WHEEL - Roger Eagle - the godfather of British soul (thanx to Paul Welsby and The New Breed) Roger later found fame running Eric's club in Liverpool in the days of the city's post-punk explosion, and later helped numerous Manchester musicians on their way (Mick Hucknall being but one). Over the years he developed a more eclectic taste in music but Roger never lost enthusiasm for his first love, Black American music from the 50s and 60s. The New Breed carried out this interview at Roger's home in North Wales in February 1999 and because of his poor health, decided to conduct the interview in stages over a period of time. This is a complete transcript of the first interview, because sadly we didn't make a second as Roger's health progressively worsened over the months. This is Roger Eagle's last interview. At the time we never expected it to be a Tribute. TNB : When and how did you first become interested in Soul and R&B music? RE : Well I was originally a Rock'n'Roll kid until I heard Ray Charles. The 'In Person' and 'Live At Newport' LPs from around 1958/59 really converted me. Rock'n'Roll died in 1958. Ray Charles was the first to see the possibilities of mixing different types of musics. He mixed R&B, Rock'n'Roll and even country. There were other acts at the time that were a great influence. Fats Domino, a lot of the R&B releases on London Records. Gary US Bond's 'New Orleans'. Arthur Alexander. LaVern Baker. Chuck Willis' 'The Sultan of Stroll' that was a very, very important LP. I love Chuck Willis. How did you pursue your interest in this (at the time) very obscure music? There were various coffee bars in Manchester, like The Cona Coffee Bar (in Tib Lane near Albert Square) where you could take in your own records to play. You would take your own in and also listen to other people's and pick it up from there. There were a few like minded people around and you would bump into them or meet them in places like The Town Hall pub. As for getting hold of the records, you could get hold of some but it wasn't long before I was importing records directly from the States. I must thank two guys - Roger Fairhurst and Mike Bocock who taught me how to import records from the States. I was getting hold of records from the US even before they had been released there! Tracks like 'You Don't Know Like I Know' by Sam and Dave. I was the first person to play that record in Britain. It even got to such a stage that I was involved in writing sleeve notes on a Bobby Bland LP for Duke Records in the US. How did you first become involved with the Twisted Wheel? Before I got the job at The Twisted Wheel, my only DJ experience was taping tracks on one of these reel-to-reel recorders and taking them along to parties to play. One day I received a parcel from the US that contained all of the Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley back catalogue LPs. I took them down to The Left Wing Coffee Bar, just to have a look at them. I was approached by the Abadi Brothers who said 'we're buying this place and turning into a night club - do you know anything about R&B?' so I said 'Yes' and they offered me the DJ job there and then. To be honest, the Abadis didn't really have an appreciation for the type of music that was popular at the club. They just saw it as a way to get the numbers coming through the door. Only once did they insist that I played a pop record. I argued against it but to prove a point I played it and emptied the dance floor. After that they never interefered again on the music side. I wasn't a particularly high profile DJ. I didn't have the ambition and I certainly didn't have the patter. I was happy playing the music that I loved. I would play six or seven hours solid singlehandedly - with just an hour or so's break for the band - for £3 a night. I was happy playing the music that I loved but with hindsight I would have appreciated a little more money. Seven hours of record playing is a long time and there weren't that many Soul and R&B records available at the time so I had to mix in Rock'n'Roll tracks to fill out the time. In fact Carl Perkins was a particular favourite amongst The Wheel crowd. He even played live at the club. In the very early days, when the club first started, we relied very much on word of mouth recommendations. We had the likes of Roger and Mike and their mates from Bolton, we had people coming over from Liverpool and all over the place. I guess it was the start of the whole scene where people are willing to travel to hear the music that they want to hear. The Wheel was a big scene in the North West, how much did you know about what was happening in other parts of the country? The only other club anywhere that was playing anything like what I was playing at The Wheel was The Scene Club in London. I used to get on well with Guy Stevens and we used to exchange records. Like I said, I was getting hold of some records before their release even in the States, things like Stax and so on. We weren't conciously trying to create a movement or anything like that. We just liked to have a club that played the right kind of music. Obviously the music that you played and crowds that you attracted were very much part of Mod culture. Did you class yourself as a Mod? Did that side of things appeal to you? No, not really. You could say that I tipped my hat towards the things that were happening. But it was the music that came first and was paramount above everything else to me. Of course I dressed in the styles of the day. I was smart but I wasn't at the sharp end style-wise. My money went on vinyl and importing new records. I left the clothes obsession to the kids coming to the club. Did you set out to make The Wheel a Mod club? No, as I said before, it just grew and happened. You knew what was going on though. The punters were generally sharp but some were way ahead. I couldn't keep up with them ! I got respect through the records that I was playing. That to me was enough. Although many people often forget it, The Wheel did have a bit of a reputation for the quality of live acts that played there, many of which were White kids influenced by the kind of music that you were playing. Yes, we had the lot. I used to be friendly with Steve Winwood. He would come round to my place and listen to records when The Spencer Davis Group played the club. Georgie Fame did some good things - very King Pleasure influenced. The important thing is to take the influence and then add a twist and take it on further. It's important to remember that there is a big big difference between Club Groups and Pop Groups. Eric Clapton was a good friend at that time. I remember one Sunday morning after he had played at the club, he brought a good-looking young Mod girl round to my place and she got completely pissed off because all he wanted to do was listen to Freddy King records. In 1965, the 'original' Twisted Wheel in Brazennose Street closed down and a 'second' Wheel opened in Whitworth Street. Legend has it that the original crowd didn't move on to the new club. Is that true? No, that's not true. The music policy at the new club was just the same. I moved over with the club, I spent roughly two years at the first Wheel and a year at the second, roughly. During 1966, you left The Wheel. Why? Well, I left because they wouldn't pay me a decent wage. After three years hard graft for maybe £3 a night I asked for a fiver and they said they couldn't afford it. I was also getting bored with the music and there were a lot of pills going on. Kids were in trouble with the pills and all they wanted was that kind of fast tempo soul dance. So, I was very restricted with what I could play and I thought 'I'm not getting paid enough money to do this - I ain't going to do it no more'. So I left and immediately got paid a decent wage by Debbie Fogel at The Blue Note Club. I got a fiver a night for four nights, besides doing other things. I was able to play the kind of music that I liked. The range of music. Whereas the pill freaks only wanted the same dance beat - which is what makes it so boring. Its okay you know there were some decent sounds but they made it so boring. You're trying to talk to kids who are off their heads all night on pills and its really hard. And the Abadis didn't want to pay me what I felt I was worth. So you just completely disassociated from them ? Gone. Yeah. I was a black music fanatic and I had respect for what I was dealing with - I don't think they did. And then you started the Staxx club. Was that after the Blue Note? Yeah, briefly. It was at the The Three Coins in Fountain Street. The music policy was similar. It was R'n'B and Soul. But you see I was trying to play funk. Early funk. In fact, 'Funky Broadway' by Dyke & The Blazers was probably the last record I played at The Wheel. It was just starting to change and they didn't want it. They didn't want it to change. It just split. I was progressing to funk, very early funk but they didn't want to go with it. So when you started the Staxx Club, presumably you were pulling in a different audience to the one that you had had at The Wheel? I don't know really. They were just people around town. Pill freaks that just popped in and out. You can't look at it with hindsight, at the time it wasn't 'oh we're going to start a movement!' . It was just the place to be. It was the place for The In Crowd...for a while. And then you moved completely at a tangent to the Magic Village Club? I just started getting into rock. It was a completely different track. Things like Captain Beefheart, John Mayall, The Nice and so on. That's just about taken us through your 'Soul Years' but there's just one last question. It's about a story that's become almost an urban myth - and we wondered whether you could clear it up once and for all. It's about the time that The Rolling Stones came down to The Wheel after playing a gig in Manchester... Yeah. I'll tell you exactly what happened. The Stones came down to the club and they were standing in the coffee bar having a cup of coffee. The kids were standing round them - just looking at them. Not talking to them - just looking. And I played all of the original tracks off their first album, which had just come out....'I'm A King Bee' by Slim Harpo, 'Walkin' The Dog' by Rufus Thomas, Arthur Alexander... They knew exactly what I was doing... I played them in exactly the same order as the LP. It was just me saying..there's a North/South thing. I'm a Southerner by birth - but a Northerner by emotion. I prefer the North. I'm not saying I don't like Southerners, but they tend to be so temporary down there. To me if something's solid then its worth looking after. Whereas they're into it and out of it. Which is really not the Northern style. I actually got on OK with The Stones. Brian Jones bought a copy of R&B Scene [Roger's own magazine fom the early/mid-60's] from me when I was in London. Mick Jaggger once bummed a cig off me. That sums up The Stones for me. But joking aside, I'm one of the DJ's that publicised the music, but when when The Stones went to The States they got Howlin' Wolf onto primetime national televison. Fucking Hell. That's the thing to do. I admire them for doing that. I'd be playing tunes in the club and those guys would be listening. You know Rod Stewart and those guys. Pete Stringfellow used to come over and write down the name of every tune that I played. I didn't really know what was going on. I wasn't sharp enough business-wise to realise what I had going. I'm not bitter about it because I am absolutely totally committed to the music. It means so much to me. I recently met this black American guy who came over to see me. He's at University in The States and he's doing a thesis on Northern British Appreciation of Black American Music. He'd been to see everybody on the Northern Scene...all the Northern DJ's and so on they all said 'go and see Roger Eagle - he started it all'. Eventually he turned up here with a camera and I blew his head off completely. I started playing him tunes...he went away with a cassette - with what you would probably think are fairly obvious tunes on it. His mind was completely wrecked. This guy's in his 40's, maybe 50's and he's a serious man ....and he's never heard Ray Charles! I said, if you want to talk about Northern Soul there's plenty of people better placed than I am to tell you ...but if you want the history about white Northern English appreciation of Black American music you talk to me! I'll straighten it out for you. I did. I said: this is where it started in the 50's. When it was exciting. I don't want to know about white artists ripping off black artists ...that's bollocks. Everybody covered everyone else! Nat King Cole - one of the most successful black entertainers of all time - he would cover white show tunes, pop tunes, blues tunes - across all boundaries. He didn't care. Ray Charles was one of the first black artists to see the possibilities. I said to this guy 'have you ever heard "I'm Moving On" by Ray Charles? As far as I know it's one of the first cases of a black artist covering a Country & Western song - a Hank Snow tune'. I had to put it on tape...he'd never heard it. I love the train rhythm through the track building up towards the end. As far as I'm concerned a tune this strong ought to be played. I bet you've heard it so many times without really clocking just how strong a track it is. It's a head record. Atlantic were starting to experiment with different instrumentation. Moving away from the basic drum, bass, guitar, sax and piano. They put a distorted pedal steel guitar on it. It's one of my all time favourite records. Ray Charles is the only artist I've never managed to meet. I was at the Free Trade Hall and he walked right past me. His bodyguards - New Yorkers in pork pie hats and shades - said 'Yeah you can talk to Ray..... in London. Make an appointment son'. I said 'No I want to talk to him here.....'. It's a shame. It was about '63/'64 he had a huge, huge band.....but he'd lost it by then. You know I talk to people about Ray Charles and they immediately think 'Take These Chains From My Heart' and they say 'Ray Charles??'. He was a genius. This interview was originally published in issue 2 of the Mod 'lifestyle' fanzine The New Breed. click here for original source Posted by Jack That Cat Was Clean at 22:02 Labels: blue beat, flamingo club, guy stevens, lambretta, mods, pete meaden, scene club, small faces, soho, soul, sue records, the who, vespa 1 comments:  dolphin dealer said... at last a site that says it as it was!went to the original wheel did the cona on tib lane, town hall tavern all the usual haunts left manchester down to brighton semi different scene but certain similar traits weekends in london first experience of gino, georgie fame,the alan bown set,the ferris in left luggage bags with change of clothes and substances to be stashed in various places and the long walk down the station approach or down the stairs to the underpass to try and get in the queue after crossing london rd if the queue not to long because of act of we go to score.once roger left the wheel there was alittle more variety on the scene,stax,blue note,majestik on deansgate.and also various other fledgling clubs,boneyard at bolton as time moved on cult status and notoriety was percieved to have been gained to having been to the wheel over the years have spoken to many who say that they went and who are obviously deluded they are just caught up with the northern soul hype more will follow one question i leave what colour suit did georgy fame were when he last played the wheel by for now dolphin dealero,similar acts time and substance dulls the memories upon returning to manchester the wheel had moved. whitworth st new location new hangouts, the white hart. the bull ,piccadilly station, the mogambo.lots of people had now found this scene.tourists from all over england with their little bags to be left 25 December 2007 14:21 Post a Comment Newer Post Older Post Home Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom) Subscribe To   Posts   Comments

Grovsnor rooms sutton signs saying" no talc" Then they provide box of talc at the side of the dancefoor "dab and dance " is the slogan!! Seems to work ;)

Mr m's Rene Renee barbecue this used to get me, Julie bebb and a guy called vinny racing tomthe dance floor Big floor Frankie vallli I'm gonna change awesome sound when all the dance floor was clapping to this Samanthas skull snaps I'm your pimp small packed dancefloor stomping like bad devils The re -openend twisted wheel bill black little queenie first record indanced to after 28 years absence from the scene felt like I'd never been away Steven ( born again stuck in a time warp dinosaur)pike

Try this web site https://jackthatcatwasclean.blogspot.com/ Hope this is the correct way to do this?? Spike

I stopped using the white powder in about 1980 Now talc that's a different matter!

Yes I found both of steves articles very interesting i love hearing about the roots of our soul scene as I did not stelart going to allnighters till 1976 I like stories from the clubs that I never went to. Pisses me off when folk on here slag off artists like Georgie fame,Spencer Davis ect as pop artists I feel that these guys had a great influence on the early mod/scene Cab Calloway in Manchester ??? Would love to have seen that!! Don't think anyone I know would remember that!!

That Driving Beat Detroit may be the home of Tamla Motown and Memphis the home of Stax but for my money the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg did more for English Mods than either of the other two. Let me explain. It's 1960. Rock and Roll from Sun records rules the America airwaves. Elvis is King and in Detroit and Memphis the sound of Soul music was just getting off the ground. People like Berry Gordy (of Tamla) and Jim Stewart (of Stax) were recording the R&B and gospel acts that had, up to now, only been on the local circuit but were destined for the Soul hall of fame. Marvin Gaye, Jr. Walker, Wilson Pickett, and Rufus Thomas to name but a few. It was a seminal era for 'that driving beat' Meanwhile in England it's still World War II at the BBC. Vera Lynne is still singing 'We'll meet again' Billy Cotton is still doing his 'Armed Forces Band Show' and the hottest dance tunes are played on the BBC light service. Real toe tappers like 'Chattanooga Choo Choo' and 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B' There wasn't a top ten of *anything* and kids like me didn't have any say whatsoever in what 'tin pan alley' was foisting on the public as 'pop' music. Things weren't looking too good for our Sheffield hero, Steve. Then my uncle Alf (bless him) gave me a transistor radio for my birthday. Wow, my very own personal sound machine that actually ran on batteries and I could carry around with me. Very nifty indeed. Of course, the choice was still limited to the four BBC radio stations on the long wave and whatever you could pick up on the medium wave, which consisted of mostly foreign language stations broadcasting cooking recipes in Czechoslovakian for all I knew. Then late one Sunday night I hit that magic 1440khz and suddenly out of the ether the voice of my personal saviour DJ Chris Denning was saying 'hey kids, get your dancing shoes on, your tuned to the US Top Forty show on fabulous 208, Radio Luxemburg' Good God in heaven! Was I dreaming? Little Richard, The Everly Brothers, Fats Domino, The Coasters, The Drifters, The Contours and of course Chubby Checker doing 'The Twist' all poured out of that magic box and into my heart and soul. I was hooked. For the next five years I was one of the late night 'under the bedcovers' kids that made Radio Luxembourg the lbed coversegend that it has become. We listened nightly to DJ's spinning new chart records from the US. There were R&B shows with Howling Wolf and John Lee Hooker. Jazz shows with Ramsey Lewis and Ray Charles and the one that truly made it all worthwhile 'Soul Sounds' from the US billboard charts. It was from Radio Luxembourg thaLuxembourgt I learnt about the Detroit sound, The Philly sound and that new funky Soul music being made in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Later on the famous UK pirate radio stations added to this bounty of dance music that was being pumped into my ears. In particular Mike Ravens R&B show was a 'not to be missed' broadcast especially as he opened with Phil Upchurch's 'You can't sit down' - my kind of guy. Of course I bought a record player and started going out with the girl who worked at the local record shop. Hey, a Sheffield soul man's got to do what he's got to do, right. It was with this wonderful girls help I managed to order ultra rare imported records direct from the US. How she managed to do it I will never know but when toothy Ken Dodd and those insipid, always smiling 'Bachelors' were topping the charts and putting Britain to narcoleptic sleep I was rocking my kitchen roof off with Fontella Bass's 'Rescue me' and Shorty Long's 'Devil with a Blue Dress on' Unfortunately, although the music said 'you can't sit down' I had to. There was nowhere to go to dance to 'that driving beat' except the local youth club and the church hall dances held every Saturday afternoon but, trust me here, you really don't want me to tell you about them. It was, again, a bad time for our boy Steve. Talk about all dressed up and nowhere to go, I was all tuned up and nowhere to go. And then my other uncle, who was a Sheffield bus driver at the time, came to visit us and upon hearing one of my precious records said 'bloody hell fire Jack sounds just like that jungle music them idiots play at that fucking Esquire club round the back of the bus station'. Words that changed my life. Thank you Uncle Frank. Eloquently put. The next day I declined the charms of Mr. White's English language, P.E and Physics, took the day off from school and went in search of the Esquire. Didn't take too long to find it. I mean it had a reputation in Sheffield and everybody over 40 who you asked, knew just where it was and why it was to be avoided. - my kind of place. My first night at the Esquire was in many ways better than my first night of sex. Well almost. I walked into the club to the beautiful sound of Sam Cooke singing Chain Gang and saw a dance floor full of kids, all my age, actually dancing and enjoying themselves. Talk about coming home. Talk about my generation. I felt like crying. In fact I think I did. It was a revelation. So, I wasn't the only 'nutter' in the city after all. "I'm in with the in crowd, I go where the in crowd goes, I'm in with the in crowd and I know what the in crowd knows" From then on I lived only for the nights when I could jump on the 6:30 bus to Sheffield, pay my two shillings and sixpence entrance money and dance the night away. I made some great friends, learnt about clothes, drugs, girls and above all the music. The Northern Mod scene started there and I was part of it. We travelled around to other clubs (The Wheel, Clouds etc) and wherever we went we met other kids, who dressed like us, talked like us and above all liked our music. We were bound together by a common love of the music. We were Mods and this was our generation. So while England and the rest of the world were going Beatle crazy we at the Esquire were in a way insulated from it. After all we knew who the Beatles, Stones, Yardbirds and Small Faces were copying and we preferred the originals, thank you. It was a good time for our boy Steve. Now, I don't claim to be an expert on R&B or Soul music. I don't have an encyclopedic memory of record titles, artists and labels. Dave Godin once tried to turn me onto some 'real deep soul' recorded by some obviously very depressed guy in Chicago who sounded so miserable I really thought he was having a nervous breakdown on the record. I like my soul music fast, snappy and above all danceable. I suppose I am a shallow self-centred old school Mod but we all have our faults right. Eventually I had to go to the US and see it all for myself. I went to New York's Apollo theatre and saw The Impressions. I went to Chicago and saw Sam & Dave. I went to Detroit and actually sat in the studio while Martha and The Vandellas recorded 'Heat Wave' It was all good and I had a great time. Sometimes my oldest kid likes to quote Cicero (106-43 B.C.) at me "No Sane man will dance" but what the f*ck did Cicero know, he never went to the Sheffield Esquire now did he? source Well, it's dance time Out on the floor each night I'm really moving The band is wailin right, I feel like groovin The chicks are out of sight, and I am approovin The crowd is in tonight beggin for more While I'm getting my kicks out on the floor' Mod Dance!England won the World cup in 1966, Alf Ramsey became a knight and every kid playing football in the school yard and in the park wanted to be Geoff Hurst or Bobby Charlton. I didn't. I wanted to be Charlie Foxx. Well every kids got to have a hero right, mine just happened to be a bit more esoteric than most. Ah - such is the stuff of an OM (original mod) Read on..... By 1966 I was well into the Mod way of life. My backcombed hair was the spitting image of Steve Marriot (ala Small Faces), my shirt collection was the envy of the western world, and my scooter had more headlights on it than Fireball XL5. To say that I lived for the weekends would not be an exaggeration because after an amphetamine fuelled Saturday and Sunday I felt like death for the rest of the week. Yet strangely, what I had become seemed to be out of sync with what was going on in the wider world of youth culture. The Beatles had all grown mustaches, started wearing Mexican rugs for clothes and singing about 'purple raindrops in my eyes' Phrases like 'peace, love and brotherhood' and 'turn on, tune in and drop out' could even to be heard on BBC radio I - my God even Tony Blackburn was wearing a paisley shirt and bell bottom trousers. Mike Raven (my R&B hero) had been usurped by John 'hey cool man' Peel (who I personally consider to be the fucking Anti-Christ when it comes to dance music) and trying to talk to my dad about my life was leading nowhere as you can imagine. 'Dancers are the athletes of God.' -- Albert Einstein Steve, our hero, was happy enough but frustrated. After all I was Mod - which means modern, not a hippie freak, not a nasty greaser, a Mod, a sophistiCAT, at least in my mind that is but nobody seemed to appreciate it or understood it except my weekend mates. Then I had an epiphany. My uncle Alf (of portable radio fame) came over for Xmas dinner and in-between The Queens' speech and the Morcombe and Wise show we got to talking. Turns out my mom and dad had a secret past, well at least one they could talk about to their friends, but never with me, after all I was just their only begotten. They were - wait for it... Ballroom dancers. Don't stop reading just yet - it gets better. They had been Yorkshire champions five times in a row and my dad had represented England in the World Championships. So that's what they had been doing Friday and Saturday nights. Of course I never knew - I was never there. Even if I had been - all I knew about ballroom dancing was from a TV show called 'Come Dancing' - which might still be on the TV by the way. From what I saw Ballroom dancing was a bunch of stuck up women being pranced around a wooden floor by these fellas dressed up like Fred Astaire and who I seriously suspected of being 'poofs' - the PC word these days is gay but these were the more coarser 60's. Ballroom dancing - f*ck me. I could dance but I didn't think mom and dad had any idea what kind of dancing I was doing. Still it was something to talk about Sunday afternoon sitting around the telly watching match of the day reruns. 'One may judge a king by the state of dancing during his reign'.--Chinese proverb So in between runs to the bathroom to throw up my guts (remember it's the day after the all nighter) I got to talking about what my dad had done for entertainment before the war (could have been cave drawings for all I knew) - so he says..... 'Oh I did a bit of socializing' 'Oh yeah - how'd you mean?' 'Well you know go down to the local dance club a few nights a week' 'Oh yeah - dancing eh' 'Yeah - nothing much - just the odd waltz - foxtrot, tango you know' 'I like dancing' 'You do?' 'Yeah, that's what I did last night' 'All night?' 'Yeah - lots of fun' 'Oh well I know what you mean, let me tell you.......' Suddenly my dad remembered he had a son, he turned off the telly, called my mother in from the kitchen (washing up) got out a photo album I'd never seen and we spend the next five hours just talking and talking and talking. I never had to explain myself to him again. I was a dancer and my dad was proud of me. 'A good education consists in knowing how to sing and dance well'.-- Plato Going to the Mojo in Sheffield was like attending the holy mother church of dancing. Mods dressed well, rode scooters, liked soul music and took blues and bombers but all that wasn't the heart of being a mod - dancing was. It was on the dance floor that everything made sense. It was no good being high without something to do with the energy. It was no good loving the R&B beat without being able to jump up and express it through physical action. The whole reason for all-nighters was dancing. Get dressed, meet your mates, wait outside the dance club, meeting and greeting all the out of towners as they arrived by scooter, car or bus. Hello to 'the Notts crew' 'the Donny boys' (hi Mick) 'the Wheel crew' all of them mates and all of them there for just the same purpose as you. Get blocked, dance all night, and go home. Funny no different from today if you think about it. I met all my friends in the Mojo toilet. No, hold on don't stop reading, Yes, the toilets were dank, smelly and crowded all night but they were the haven you went to when it all got too much, when you wanted to cool down and catch your breath for a few minutes. Of course you were as high a weather balloon and just about everything you said came out sounding something like from 'Bill and Ben the flowerpot men' but who cares, you loved everybody and everybody loved you. You could stand there your mouth as dry as a bone , masticating furiously (I said MAS ticating) your eyes as wide as Blackpool tunnel and you felt as if you were on top of the world. 'Of course I like you - I dance with you, don't I?' - Me The Mojo was a converted all time dance hall - when I say converted I mean all they did was to turn down the lights, remove the revolving ballroom globe and put in strobe lights which made all the girls panties shine bright white through their mini dresses. Actually that's about the only time girls got noticed, nobody really was bothered too much with 'chatting up the birds' and even if you did nothing was going to happen. Amphetamines have a rather startling effect upon your 'wedding tackle' - a fact which tended to make male bonding all the more fraternal. Twenty functional eunuchs standing around the Mojo toilet all talking about how great a time they were having and nobody is talking about sex. Try explaining that to your kids. 'Every day I count wasted is one in which there has been no dancing'. -- Nietzsche The Mojo stage was recessed into one wall at the front of the club with the DJ's corner off to the left and a raised runway stretching across the front. This runway was the realm of the Gods. It was here that the best dancers climbed up and showed off their stuff. It was here that reputations were made or broken. Nobody, no matter how charged on blues they were would have had the temerity to get up there without the tacit acceptance of the dozen or so 'gangplank' regulars. Yes folks I was one of 'em and we guarded our status like Gordon Banks guarded the English net. We knew we were 'the faces' we knew we were the leaders, the guvners, the elite. We were the Gods and it was a like nothing I have every know since. Forget the anonymous adulation given to rock and roll stars by the stadium mobs and stage door groupies. This was acceptance and fawning admiration by your mod peers. Your mates looked at you with awe and respect and yes a little fear. Your word was law and you had kids falling over themselves to talk to you, dance with you, eat and drink at your table. You 'could have' had any bird in the place but we've already covered that particular depressing aspect to the Mod scene at the Mojo haven't we. Ho hum 'La danse, c'est le mouvement, et le mouvement, c'est la vie'.--Ludmilla Chiriaeff The highlight of the dance scene at the Mojo was the Christmas all nighter. Pete Stringfellow (owner, operator and DJ) lined up all the best acts for that one night. Geno Washington, Zoot Money, and Georgie Fame all on the same night with one big name US act headlining. Ike and Tina Turner, The Drifters, The Miracles, The Temptations all played the Mojo Christmas 'nighter' plus the whole staff of 'Ready Steady Go' were invited up from London. It was during this night that the Mojo dance contest was held. First prize was always something like free admission for year - don't laugh we considered that a very valuable prize but actually it was the format of contest that provided all the interest. You see RSG had several resident dancers whose job it was to circulate through the studio crowd beforehand and sort of get everybody charged up for the live broadcast The undisputed 'Queen' of the RSG dancers was a 16 year old blonde chick called 'Sandy Sargent' - I never knew if that was her real name or not. (Later in life Sandy got married to Ian McLagan of the Small Faces in a secret ceremony at Marylebone registry office. Unfortunately the planned honeymoon was dashed when McLagan was caught with a lump of hash on him at the airport and they both got arrested. The band had to get them bailed out) 'Those who dance are considered insane by those who can't hear the music.'. -- George Carlin The idea of the contest was that after several rounds of dancing, in which the best dancers were selected by the milling crowd cheering or booing for them as Pete Stringfellow pointed a spotlight at them, the finalists would have two minutes to do their stuff up on the gangplank partnered by, yes you guessed, Sandy Sargent. Kids would live for months beforehand dreaming of those two minutes of fame. I know I did. Finally, when the winner was announced the whole floor was cleared and the winner together with Sandy would do a two minute dance of honor - Those two minutes were as close as any Mojo Mod could come to beatification - you were made for life. I won in 1967 and I have lived on that reputation ever since. No shit. Thirty five years later grown men, now fat, balding and distinctly over the hill (which of course I'm not -grin) still come up to me at Soul do's throughout the world and say 'Fucking hell - Steve Bellamy. I saw you win the Mojo dance contest in '67, you were great mate - buy you a pint?' Hey, life doesn't get any better than that, now does it? source

Very nice dancing difficult to dub music on after but a good effort Natural history mueseum?? Is that where us dinosaurs and stuck in a time warp oldies should dance chalky??? ;)

;)

Thanks Hope that he's okeh