Len

Len

Pre-internet much more fun, and being younger it was our top priority in life! The amount of time and effort lots of people put in was amazing. Everything has been made easy for kids now, they're glued to their phones......"I want somat to eat".......'click'. Gotta feel sorry for them really. Wasn't it great playing your new tune down the phone to a mate?......"Wow that's great, hang on you got to listen to what I just bought".......(An hour later)....."Yeh, I won't be long mum!"....... Len

That's fair enough, ref you didn't know the modern was included in the night. But, don't you think a bit of tollerance is due sometimes? (Don't let it ruin ya night out) Had it been just the one room, not having that Motown Room to 'escape' to, you could have popped outside or to the bar to have a natter and a crack, before you know it that one hour is over, and you're back on the dance floor. I'm sure some people would have enjoyed that hour. I used to promote, and I've had bucket fulls of critism over the years, including during the night's proceedings, and it's soul destroying, especially when it's somewhat aggressive (Not saying you are) I've had people shout abuse at me, then walk out. It used to really upset me, but then I would get quite angry about the fact that some people thought each and every night should be exactly what they wanted all night. That's impossible to achieve for everyone! (I've had the same whilst DJing, which also isn't nice) I loathe the early R'n'B that sometimes gets played, and I used to get frustrated when it was played because I had to stop dancing, so I do sypathize, but I soon learnt to laugh about it instead - I've had a fun long running feud with Roger Banks over the 'awful stuff' for years, and he would take great pleasure in saying stuff on the Mike like......"Yes it's R'n'B' time, go Lenny"....... No offence in there at all (Except for the sound of the R'n'B) Whether we like it or not - Modern and R'n'B is part of 'Northern Soul' (At least Modern has soul) Give the Modern more of a chance, I honestly think you will get to love some of it Len

Hi Keith, I think promoters mainly rely on people generally getting to know what events play, and you return to those events that suit you, building a kinda 'personal circuit'. Before there were so many events, there was just one 'circuit' where you would see many of the same faces at every event, but it's different now of course. You also get to recognise what each DJ plays, and that influences your decision making - Failing that, contact the promoter before trying somewhere that you haven't been before, and ask them what their music policy is. I get your point though. Len

I’d seen the 'walking side to side' type dance at ‘The Dog ‘n’ Duck’ in Wellingborough being done by the scooter boys. But the time that really sticks out for me was at a place run by Cliff Steele and Crew in Northampton called ‘Friendly’s’ (Late 80’s) I sat there (in my parka) gazing out at the lovely dance floor and this guy who looked like Mick Hucknal from Simply Red was dancing on his own early on. I was absolutely memorised by it I really was - He was twisting his arms, sometimes he was not just bent double as he was dancing away, but his hands nearly touched the floor. His facial expressions were also showing that he was really ‘feeling it’. I hadn’t seen anything like it; I just knew he was completely wrapped up in the music. NB - We all hate it when ‘outsiders’ come in to our events and start prancing about taking the p*ss (They just don’t understand) Len

It'll put some people off from going to either Steve, as they will presume either will be low on numbers. ......"But the music was good"......Sorry, who cares? We want atmos to boot! Len

I respectfully beg to differ - "Let My Heart and Soul be Free" is just beautiful (100 Club memories for me) I heard that Robbo (legend) was the person who told Shifty to turn it over to start playing it. Len P.s - I like depressing records and (as Nina the Mrs states) ones that are monotonous and go nowhere

Putting it in a skip can be pretty costly, but doing so sure beats queueing for the tip. If interest does decline due to our generation getting old, and of course 'stepping off this world', it will be a really slow gradual thing. But I hope this music continues to be enjoyed for generations to come. It would be interesting if there was a sudden 'stop' and your skip does get filled up though. Love the title to your thread btw Len

Hi Tim, I hope you're doing ok, and your business is surviving. I had this conversation with a mate just yesteday - I said, I was thinking that because this lock-down has been so long, maybe people won't be bothered about coming out to play again. Whereas he said it will be the complete opposite (as you have allured to) Adding that the only thing that may well effect it, is the amount of venues that manage to stay open (Availability) Watch this space I guess. Len

I've been acting upon both of your's strict instuction (Not given it loads of thought, but you know me. Ahem) I have the complimentary CD 'on loop' in the car. It's a nice 'clog' anyways Well done on this project! Len (No 2)

I'm hardly buying any presently, instead enjoying stuff I have that hasn't seen the light of day in years (When I get the time that is) I would imagine lots of people could be having sort outs then selling a few during this lock-down. Len

Hi Ed, I really enjoyed the 'Spot-light On' series that we got going. There was some really interesting / funny / affectionatte input from members in ref to whoever a particular one was about. Members sent me many great suggestions, which were not all the obvious well known people - Of course some of the well known people would have been included as their stories are also great, but it's just as interesting and enjoyable to hear about those that are 'under the radar'. That said, it was decided that it was too hard to moderate - The last thing intended was for a person to be offended by what someone may have written about them (Which can happen even with good intensions) Yes, those that have sadly passed away would have been regularly included, and by doing so I know that it would have acted as a nice tribute to them - 'Bub' was one of the many suggestions for example, as was 'Derek Allen' Len

Hi Ed, We also did one on Roger Banks (Link below) Len

(It was that time of night) I remember sitting next to Keb Darge at The 100 Club, ‘Alphie Davidson - Love Is Serious Business’ was being played. A while in to the record I turned to Keb and asked….”Have you ever heard the 12” of this?”…… (Scotch accent of course) “Nor, I canna say I have”……There was a pause…….(Queue me) “Well…It’s very much like this…but longer”….......Another pause………”Well thanks for sharing that”……. We both cracked up - Doh! I did say no matter how trivial they may seem - You can’t help the things that stick with you Len

Hi John, I never met Nev Wherry as he was part of the scene before my time - To me he is one of the legends, I only know of him because he was named on the Destiny records LP 'The Record Collector' (Loved the cover on that) It's good to hear from people such as 'Hammy' who knew him personally. Hope to see you some day soon mate All the best, Len

I like your attention to detail - It qualifies Thanks for input. Len

Not my era as you know Trev, but to me it seems Wigan must have been full of parked nicked cars when the All-nighter was on I did go in a nicked car on one occasion though - I remember this 'permed hair bloke' (It was the 80's) who was a freind of a friend (Who had just got out of prison) picked us up. I noticed all the wires hanging out below the steering wheel - I immediately pulled my sleeves down over my hands so I didn't leave any finger prints. 10 minutes later we ended up in a ditch, then running like the clappers because we were convinced 'the car was gonna blow!' But that's another story...... Len P.s - The car didn't blow.

Sounds bizare this, but I know exactly what and who you mean - I remember a guy called 'Andy', who used to 'spin with fag' - I bet it was he...... Thanks for input thus far guys Len

Northern Soul Memorable Moments. Not sure how this thread will go, but this lock-down lark has given most of us some thinking time. We all have lots of amazing experiences of our Northern Soul life, so thought it would be nice to share them - Here are some of mine that spring to mind to start the ball rolling… 1) Life-line 6th Anniversary - It was a packer of a night with an amazing atmosphere, and there seemed to be so many people there that I knew. I went outside the back for a quick break (probably a smoke at the time) I started to talk to Rob Holmes, then a tune started, we both ‘paused’, looked at each other, grinned, then shot back to the dance floor to Soul Sam playing ‘John And The Weirdest - Can’t Get Over These Memories’ (Apt) We were smiling while we were dancing 2) The 100 Club - I was dancing to ‘Chuck Jackson - What’s With This Loneliness’ (Or somat like that) when Dave Clegg (RIP) tapped me on the shoulder and said……”Nina, Rob and Sam said they will meet you at McDonalds once you have finished”....... 3) The Burnley All-nighter - (Silly one this) In the car on the way home, I awkwardly tried to explain to ‘Irish’ that during the night I had been ‘dancing hard’, and at one point Bob Cornack (Gloucester) came up to me and simply put his thumbs up to say that he was on the same wave-length as me, which seemed to take me up to an even higher level than I was at. I added…..”Does that make sense?”……’Irish’ calmly turned to me, smiled, and replied……”That makes complete sense Len”……It was nice to know I hadn’t gone completely bonkers (Although that was the night that I had caught a taxi there) I could go on and on, and maybe I will add more, but for now it would be great to hear of anyone else’s memorable moments, no matter how trivial they may seem - That something stayed with you for a reason... All the best, Len

Always 'darkest before the dawn' as they say - We're defo past the half way mark! It'll be nice looking back this time next year as we're gonna make some great memories at some point this year. Happy New Year to you all. Len

A personal HAPPY CHRISTMAS to all from me. Let's hope this time next year things are much better for everyone. All the best, Len

I thought it was a Shifty discovery. As in, the DJ Shifty, not 'a shifty discovery' Len

I'm missing taking for granted that I could go to a do every weekend more than once if I so wished - I'm even missing moaning about there being too many events on. Who'd have thought this would happen? I miss chatting outside an event Len

Yup defo a young Ali Mayer. He used to run the Central England Soul Club. Leicester Oddfellows was his baby, which was just before my time, but I caught the Loughborough Town Hall All-nighters. Len

I think it was around 1985, although the title of the vid says 1987 ish. Len