Len

Yes or snap them! Well done that man - someone on my wave length! Len

I feel guilty now! Didn't mean to shoot ya mate I find the art of D.Jing fascinating (some will scoff at that I know) Some D.J's have a 'magic' others don't, and not all the D.J's I see that way use the mike - It's 'something else' All the best, Len

The records don't D.J themselves, it's all about delivery / timing - as in, a certain record being played at a suitable point in the night / for that particular crowd. This isn't a dig btw, D.Jing isn't easy as far as I'm concerned. We all drop 'clangers' though - That is part of the 'buzz' All the best Len

Requests can be 'dangerous' sometimes - I've learnt that if I judge a request won't work at that particular time I won't play it, and that is something people should except when asking for requests. Len

Yeh loads of times - It's a compliment....................isn't it? Len

It’s not John’s fault! Almost every time the Auction finishes, someone says……”How does he do it? / that’s ridiculous etc”……It would be better worded more like……”Wow!, etc”…...John has built a really good business because he is good at what he does - and let’s not forget he genuinely loves the records. Sometimes jealousy creeps into this Scene of ours - Most of us are now Middle aged, and if there wasn’t a Scene we would all most probably be arguing over who was judged to win the last vegetable growing competition - It really does get like an episode of Midsummer Murders at times (Well it does ‘around these parts’ anyway) Len P.s - Not that I watch Midsummer Murders

I think this is the case sometimes - and don't forget it depends what they are buying. For example I have only bought one record off John Manship's Auction, and that was a 'Bidding War' over a record I'd wanted for 20 years - I was not going to lose!....... A few years later, the same record went for two and a half times more than I paid for it. Not that it matters to me - I just wanted the record, which sits snuggly next to all the others I've bought over many years - From Free (Gifts from people) to £5.00 / £10.00 and so on. All the best, Len P.s - 'It was Jeanie Tracy - Making New Friends'

I agree - Every single record I've ever bought off John has "come straight from his D.J Box"....and I thank him for that Len

.......Well I for one do Stella (My love) Len

I had it on a Rob Marriot tape from the late 80's, but I think it was played earlier than that....I'd be interested too. Len

I dunno mate, I love 'Broken Heart Attack', and have played it 'out 'n' about' from time to time - Great record! All the best, Len

I think it would be a nice idea to upload his shows to Mix Cloud. Jim is often in our thoughts, and mentioned regularly - He was a lovely man. Len 'n' Nina x

If you have a load of D.J’s whose only influence is each other, it stands to reason that you will get similar records played ……..However, if you get a load of D.J’s that collected records first, you will get more of a variety of records played - Of course they will also be influenced by what they hear others play, but this is only part of their résumé. I’m not saying either is wrong, in fact in my experience the type of D.J I prefer who tries to play something a bit unique to the ‘norm’, more often than not gets bad press, which is a shame. Len P.s - I loved the 'Pyramid Post' btw

“What came first, the Records or the D.J?”........Some people accumulated loads of records because they loved them, then decided to share them (D.J)…….Others decided to D.J, then bought the records..... All the best, Len

……and you never will……But, if someone that I respected actually took me to one side and suggested I stopped promoting because he thought me doing so was somehow having a detrimental effect on things, I can honestly say I would at the very least take a good look at what I was doing. I doubt that would ever happen even if they thought that, because the people I respect have other stuff in their lives - In any case, the people I refer to have always encouraged me (which is important) It was suggested in an earlier post that some promoters that have done so for many years should for some reason stop doing so. I think the opposite - promoters like that have the advantage of years of experience, and have always tried to work together for the sake of the bigger picture. My view has ‘chilled’ over this issue now, all I can say is good luck to whoever can be bothered with the hassle of promoting an event - it is a thankless task. All the best, Len

I don’t know if there are too many venues at present. ‘Northern Soul’ is now on every street corner, some people still go out every weekend, whereas others choose not to, and this depends on individuals personal circumstances. Although fighting this for as long as I could (or as long as Nina ‘held the fort’ for me!) having young children, and also a very busy job (at long last btw) I personally can’t do many All-nighters. It also keeps me from travelling like I used to (and rightly so) It may not be the Soul Scene I once knew and loved, but all these nights keep going so they must pull enough people to be viable (surely) All the best, Len

Thought I’d share this funny story with you…… My poor wife Nina, actually dreamt about ‘Lennys’ last night (can’t think why!) She woke up early this morning, laughing, to tell me that in my ‘quest to offer something different’, I’d booked “Hawkwind” to play live. Alas, in true rock ‘n’ roll style, on the way ‘to the gig’ their van had broken down so they didn’t make it….The next morning (remember this is a dream) I said to her….”Actually Nina, it’s lucky they broke down, in hindsight I don’t think Hawkwind would have worked at a Soul Night” Incidentally, last night Nina and I watched Metal Britannia on catch up, so I’m guessing that was where the rock influence came from! Len

My question answered then Steve Nothing's gonna change All the best my friend, Len

Hi mate, Although I don't doubt these were very enjoyable nights (As you know) 75 isn't a busy night, although reading your post, it was obviously enough to create a good atmosphere. The recent 'Rushden Bowls Club' nights I used to help promote once went down to 170, and we thought that wasn't good enough. But that was for the type of night it was (I'm sure 'Lennys' will be less than that) (Sorry to mention this 'again' btw) The Embankment Club nights I ran had an average of 160 people for 15 years - only once did it go down to 120, and I really did 'take notice' of that. Obviously looking back I was silly to worry, but that was a different time Thanks for your feed-back. All the best, Len P.s - Actually, I've just re-read your post - I think you mean 75 was the lowest ever, and that you mean you usually get 120? + in - Great stuff

I dunno Mark - That's what I'm asking to Len

I shall never dance again! With ref 'Lennys', I will try my best to make it somewhere different, but I've asked the D.J's not to think about it to much and to just enjoy playing exactly what they want (Which in itself is something I feel is missing sometimes) If I think it's 'just another night' I won't bother to carry it on (let's see how it goes) Maybe it is just me, but I feel 'things are a changing' that's all. It may be that it's time for the next generation of returnees to arrive (The 80's Tribe!) who knows? Len

Yes you are right about the upfront events, they have always been harder to attract big crowds, and I know exactly what you describe ref the too many events in close proximity to each other. I thought that may be changing, and it might be because more people are coming out (or maybe a few have closed) When I was scrolling through the calendar to pick convenient dates for 'Lennys', I was genuinely surprised when I came across a few events that were sold out - It's something I'd never seen before. Maybe it's wishful thinking Len

Hi mate, No not at all, I suppose it's a bit of 'market research' on my part, but surely it's not just me who has noticed so many events sold out. Whether anyone thinks that healthy or not is besides the point, I'm wondering if that is a trend that may carry on. All the best, Len