Richard Searling came to the 8 Bells in Mansfield (firmly in the east midlands) in 1979 (twice) to do a guest spot at what was just a small do above a pub on a midweek night .
At the time he was by far & away the best DJ on the scene, his plays included Cecil Washington (aka Joe Matthews) Vickie Baines (aka Christine Cooper) Billy Hambric and many more top, top tunes of the day -also he played one record on Palmer/LA Beat (not sure which) - a certain Al Williams - I Am Nothing, absolute quality and a massive well known tune to all those around at the time!!
Its a pity its taken 34 year for some other people to cotton on