Roburt

The October / November SOUL EXPLOSION tour. I caught it @ Sheffield City Hall on 31st Oct 67. Seem to recall that Percy Sledge was too ill to fly to UK, so Lee Dorsey took his place. Sam & Dave were the real stars of the show though. At one point, one of them went off with the mike, leaving the other to sing unamplified. He went into a gospel styled performance and filled the whole auditorium (which was massive) with his voice. For a young (just turned 18) Donny lad, it was captivating. They were on in Manc the following night.

SORRY, but I just couldn't stop myself ... pics at the bottom: the 60's Hull crowd @ the Mojo, Hull lads @ the Wheel & Hull lads recently

My package from John arrived today. 2 x 45's missing that had been showing as IN STOCK on his web site when I ordered ... BUT maybe someone else went for them at almost the same time as I did.

Seems not. I ordered early when the sale started (early in the day on 26th Dec) & ordered direct off JM's web site. Got an e-mail from Paypal today stating a refund from JM is on it's way to my Paypal account. No notification from John's team as to what I will not now be receiving or when my order will be dispatched (but at least it must be being processed at the moment). I do recall the postage charged for my order was quite high even though it was to be sent by 1st class mail.

Never made it to Aruba & Curaçao (part of the ABC islands). They have a Dutch heritage though, so can't think there'd be much of interest (record wise) there now. Saying that, Surinam was also Dutch and not too far from the ABC islands -- and they had a big soul 45 scene. I've visited all the other locations but never found any record shops or 45's there. Used to be loads of soul 45's (local & US) in Barbados, Jamaica and the Bahamas (Nassau). Still some in Jamaica. Most in Barbados were sold off cheap when the local record company's warehouse was cleared and sold about 20 years ago. I've looked in Nassau a few times (not too hard though) but didn't find any record shops or 45's there.

Most of the info is freely available on the web and I 'constructed' the picture from other stuff I found on the web (though you do have to trawl through many editions of old music mags to find some of it). A really good online site that contains loads of useful info is GARAGEHANGOVER (again you need lots of time & patience to find some of the old ads -- but I've been retired for almost 17 years and need sumat to prevent me from trying to catalogue my collection). Leicester's Nite Owl was one of my niter haunts back in 67, so that's why I included a few of the club's ads in my collage.

As well as the upstairs coffee bar room, there was a 2nd room upstairs. This was beyond the stairs down to the dance areas / stage room. This room was usually almost empty & always cold, but you had to go through it to reach the gents.

It was published in Glyn Thornhill's fanzine many moons ago (around 25 years I'd guess). Somebody copied it (not too well) & put it up online (on the JACK THAT CAT WAS CLEAN blogsite).

Hank Ballard's "The Twist" was released in December 1958 and that side of his 45 made the US R&B charts in May 59. But the dance craze only really started after Chubby Checker's cover of the song was released in June 1960. Chubby's version had charted by JULY 1960, with Hank's original version back on the R&B charts (& on the pop charts) by SEPTEMBER 1960. As Chubby's version was taking off and was kick starting a dance craze that swept around the world, two solo soul singers were getting together to perform as a duo down in Miami ... at the very beginning they were still performing under their full names. SAM MOORE's singing helped me get into soul music back at the start of 1966; he will be missed ...

A few tracks were popular @ the Mojo coz Pete realised the crowd would sing along with them, but could substitute 'Mojo' in the lyrics instead of the correct ones. Stevie Wonder's "Love A GoGo" was a big tune at the club with us all singing "Love The Mojo" instead of the proper lyrics.

Sonny Childe had a few backing bands before he teamed with the TNT. Another one was the Cool School. He then teamed with the Sidewinders in early 66. He joined Freddie Mack and his band soon after; This -N- That. He stayed in that position for around 8 to 10 weeks and then went out on his own, taking Freddie's band with him as the TNT. Sonny & the TNT soon established themselves as an exciting live band and got repeat bookings at clubs such as the Beachcomber, Nottingham in summer 66. They went on a big UK tour in March / April 67 with the Small Faces & Roy Orbison. Still in demand in their own right, they got return bookings to play the niter session @ the Nite Owl, Leicester in spring & summer 67. They also played other noted venues such as the Golden Torch & California Ballroom + the top London clubs. In 1966 & 67 the outfit had a recording contract with Polydor. But Sonny split with the TNT in August 67 and the group went on to tour behind P P Arnold in late 67 & 68. Sonny signed with MGM / Music Factory (as did another Pye soul group, the Alan Bown Set). He recorded some tracks but they were only released in the US (in 68) -- so I presume he'd returned to the US by then Sonny Childe was only with Elders Consolidated till summer 65, so that acetate must date from around then I guess.

An article I wrote about the club around 25 years ago ... Although it is now more than 30 years since the club closed down, the memories of the King Mojo Club in Sheffield are still fresh for the people who used to go there every week. Those memories are stirred every time that news about Peter Stringfellow appears in the press. The club was opened in 1964 by brothers Pete and Geoff. They first made a name for themselves thanks to a booking they made of the Beatles just before the group's initial 45 release took off. The Beatles show was a big success and this resulted in them signing similar bands to appear at their events. They promoted gigs for the Rolling Stones and other British R &B bands. The brothers were then offered an old hall, Day's Dance Hall, and they rented it for £30 a week after refurnishing it. They choose the name Mojo after hearing the song "Got My Mojo Working" and the club soon attracted a new set of people who followed blues and soul music. It quickly earned a great reputation because of the enthusiasm of the two brothers. At the beginning, it only was open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, but soon an allnighter session was added on Saturdays, just about always with an American soul artist being the live attraction. On Sunday it was time for British R & B or soul bands, the session running from 8pm until 11pm. Sometimes, Pete and Geoff could not afford the money a great artist demanded, acts such as Wilson Pickett, so they asked him to appear at 2am, after he had sung at a bigger club earlier the same evening. The artist always charged them less for doing so (two bookings in one night increasing the profitability of a UK tour). All-nighters began in 1965 with a £1 entrance fee and the sessions commenced at midnight. Soon, a regular crowd began to attend, with people from Sheffield and nearby towns like Doncaster, York, Hull, Scunthorpe, Lincoln and Nottingham turning up. The main meeting point at the start of the night's action was the Favorita Coffee Bar, in the centre of town. At 11pm everybody headed off to the Mojo and began to queue in order to ensure they got an early entry. Of the two brothers, Pete was always the showman and he also liked to DJ. In 1963, ITV had started "Ready, Steady Go", where you could see lots of black artists such as Major Lance, Otis Redding or Inez & Charlie Foxx perform. Pete Stringfellow enjoyed the programme so much that he went to the ITV offices to talk with one of the producers, Vicki Wickham. The show gave Pete the task of entertaining the audience in the studio before filming began and also put him in control of the dance floor. He worked on “Ready, Steady, Go” for a year. During that time, every Thursday he travelled to London for the filming. Peter was supposed to remain in the shadows, but he took every opportunity available to be in front of the cameras while he was marshalling the dancers. If you were a Mojo regular, Pete would get you tickets to the show, but I never took that offer up because you had to spend all Thursday in London and also had to pay for the trip up to the capital (I was always cash poor back then). The Mojo soon changed its name to the King Mojo. It was on Burngreave Road, with parking for cars and scooters out front. The club premises were single storey and it was quite small, with capacity only for 250 people (although it had a total membership of 3,000). The record players were located on the left hand side of a stage which was only 25 feet long and 6 feet deep. No alcohol was sold at the club. The decor on the walls was often changed, to reflect current fashion. At first, the decoration had an African warriors theme. Next, it changed to Pop-Art based and then to gangsters (due to the popularity of the Untouchables tv show & a Prince Buster 45). Finally, it was changed to flower power paintings in the summer of 67. The club’s policy was to play 95 per cent soul music and some Blue Beat and ska. At the end, there was a record ("My girl, the Month of May"- Dion) that became the most well known flower power track played by Stringfellow. The song was covered by The Alan Bown Set, one of the main English soul bands of the time, purely because of the popularity that song had at the Mojo. Some of the records that caused an impact at the club's all-nighter sessions were things like "Love a Go Go" by Stevie Wonder, "You've Been Cheating" (Impressions), "Determination" by The Contours", "365 Days" by Donald Height, "Oh Baby You Turn Me On" by Willie Mitchell, plus the new releases of the time from artists like Jackie Wilson, Homer Banks and Motown acts. The Artistics cut “I’m Gonna Miss You” was the most important song: it being spun to signal the end of every all-nighter. The best American artists played there: Ike & Tina Turner, Billy Stewart, Alvin Cash & the Crawlers, Ben E. King, The Spellbinders, Garnett Mimms and Stevie Wonder. The top English bands also appeared there: Geno Washington, Jimmy James & The Vagabonds, Chris Farlowe, Alan Bown Set, Georgie Fame, Zoot Money and Jimmy Cliff (who was then still in this soul phase). Even the Small Faces had one of their first gigs outside London at the club. The stage was at the opposite end of the club to the dressing rooms, so when the club was crowded it was a problem for the artists to get onto the stage and back off. The night Ike & Tina Turner were at the Mojo, the pair had to push their way through the crowd to the stage with the three Ikettes and the 13 piece band following on. That helped creating an atmosphere for every show. Pete was a real Yorkshireman. He wanted as much as he could from every band he booked. He would sometimes encourage the audience to block the way for the artists, preventing them from leaving the stage. That way, he got them to perform a couple more songs. That night with Ike & Tina Turner, they had to sing three more songs. Then, Pete told the crowd to let them get to the dressing room. As the club had no air conditioning, sweat and condensation fell from the walls during most sessions (especially on hot summer's days). Around 1966 and 1967, having a great record collection was not too important for your status. To be in with the in crowd you had to wear the correct clothes: Mohair suits, Levi’s, brogue shoes, leather gloves… you also had to be good at the latest dances. Back then, dances changed every seven or eight weeks. The best dancers performed on the stage. If you were brave enough, you could dance on top of a barrel that next to the stage. The main problem the club had was it was located on the outskirts of the city and it was complicated to get there late at night (especially for out-of-towners). Being out there also spelt the end for the club. As it was surrounded by up-market residential properties, the neighbours always complained. In a bid to stop the complaints in spring 1967, no more allnighters were organised. The last one was staged on April 15th with Geno Washington being the live act. To keep the members happy, alldayers were held on Sundays. This enabled top live acts to still be booked and they also meant a younger crowd could also go to the club. When it was clear that the police would not support a license being granted to the club, an allniter session with Jimmy Cliff & The Shakedown Sound was organised for September 30th (1967). That night there was an incredible atmosphere in the place. The next week it was time for the last ever show at the Mojo: an alldayer with Stevie Wonder as the live attraction. This session had lots of younger people in attendance and that spoiled the atmosphere a bit for the niter crowd. Thanks to his status in the North and the Midlands, Peter Stringfellow was always required to spin at other mod / soul clubs. He used to DJ at the Dungeon in Nottingham. By doing that he could earn some money after the Mojo closed. He soon began to run new all-nighter sessions for his loyal supporters at the Crystal Bowl, Castleford. Lots of the Mojo crowd moved on to other clubs; the Nite Owl in Leicester, the Bin Lid in Dewsbury and the Twisted Wheel in Manchester. The Stringfellow brothers did not leave the scene though and soon opened new clubs in Sheffield, but these weren't allowed to hold allnighter sessions. The old Mojo building was turned into a Bingo hall and with the money from that deal, the brothers invested in a Sheffield basement property, the Down Broadway. Another club they opened was the Penthouse; here they had licensing problems yet again and couldn't run all-nighters. Years later, in the 1980’s, all-nighters were held at the Penthouse, but by then, the Stringfellow brothers had nothing to do with the club. Pete moved on to Leeds and then Manchester, becoming a millionaire along the way. In London he opened "Stringfellows", a place for the rich and famous. He also managed the massive Hippodrome disco, located in the old Talk Of the Town nightclub. From London, he went to the US and the brothers are still there in the club business. The bingo hall in the old Mojo building lasted until 1982, when the building was demolished. Now, a modern apartment block stands where the legendary club once stood. The Mojo might be only a name from the past for the soul music fans of today, but I can say that the legend that built up around the Twisted Wheel in Manchester would have been smaller if not for the demise of the King of Clubs, the King Mojo, Sheffield.

To further muddy the water; when "But It's Alright" was a big hit the LA J J Jackson (June) would perform the song in his live act, so his audiences would think he was actually the guy who recorded it.

I met Helene Smith & Willie Clarke (+ Jackie Moore & Timmy Thomas) in Miami back in 2017 (at the launch for a book on Florida soul music). Never really had the chance to talk about Deep City with either, though they did talk about their time at the label in a Q&A session that day.

JJ worked a lot with Sidney Barnes in the mid 60's -- in New York; before JJ came to the UK and Sidney relocated to Detroit & then Chicago. JJ returned to the US around 1970 but soon 'disappeared' from the music scene. In the 80's / 90's Sidney tried to reconnect with JJ but was never able to track him down. The guy that worked out of Florida & Brazil around that time (& later) wasn't the Calla guy. Sidney & JJ wrote lots of songs together and so are due the royalties that still acrue. Sidney collects his money, if JJ did then Sidney would have been able to get JJ's current contact details. As said above, most info on JJ on Wiki, etc is incorrect.

The biggest problem the Mojo had was it's location. It was right in the middle of an affluent residential area of north Sheffield -- miles from the town centre. The locals got worried that just as they were locking up for the night & going to bed, 100's of strangely clad teenagers were milling about outside their houses (as they waited for the niter session to open it's doors). Also, it seems, lots of milk bottles used to go missing off door steps early on Sunday mornings. A good thing about being a member of the club was, as Stringfellow ran the dance floor at Ready Steady Go, if you asked you could always get a ticket to attend the tv show. Of course, Stringfellow (after he was hounded out of Sheffield) went on to bigger things. But he never forgot his 'start' and was always happy to return to celebrate reunion nights. One such was held in the 80's at the Leadmill in Sheffield (the location of Sheffield's biggest rival club to the Mojo in the 60's-- the Esquire).

I was a member of the Mojo & attended on a regular basis in 1966 & 67 (till it was closed down) ...

In the mid to late 60's, lots of strange tracks got played. Some died & were quickly forgotten, but others caught on. "Scratchy" by Travis Wammack being one of these. I seem to recall "Groovin' With Mr. Bloe" getting niter spins before it made the UK pop charts. Of course, in the Casino era, loads of tracks were played that you wouldn't dream of putting on the decks at a soul nite these days. Ender tracks were also a bit out of ordinary but were played at most soul clubs -- at the Mojo from 1966 it was the Artistics "I'm Gonna Miss You" .. too slow to dance to but just the right type of soulful offering to let the crowd know that it was time to go.

In the mid 60's, most venues booking soul acts (US & UK based) were 'cellar like' clubs -- the Mojo, Wheel, Nite Owl, Club A Go Go, Gliderdrome, California Ballroom, Dungeon, Beachcomber, Boulevard, Blue Moon, Birdcage & numerous London clubs + various Uni venues across the UK. Venues like the Place, Hanley, Clouds, Derby & Golden Torch were already involved too. It soon became evident, even to the 'square' bookers for the big ballroom chains that they'd do good business following suit. So a few dipped their toes in & booked acts like Geno Washington, Jimmy James, Jimmy Cliff (who was still doing soul back then), etc. Stevenage Mecca (a Locarno ballroom) & the Palais (Newbury) were in early. The Locarno, Streatham; Top Rank, Reading & Locarno, Coventry soon also joined in. The Coventry Locarno must have done well as they soon started to book such acts on a regular basis. Word must have spread to other ballroom chain managers as next up was the likes of Sheffield Locarno, Locarno, Bristol, Locarno Wakefield (I went to a couple of nights there), Top Rank, Brighton & Royal Pier, Southampton (a Mecca venue). Others quickly followed; the Locarno, Derby and Tottenham Royal (Mecca), Donny Top Rank (my local ballroom venue), Leeds Mecca, Top Rank, Bristol and the Skyline, Hull (a Co-op owned venue - another I used to go to). With all those other Locarno's (& similar 'chain' ballrooms) doing good business booking soul acts from 1966 onwards, I'm sure that the Brum venue must also have gotten involved -- especially with the like of Coventry's Locarno rebooking acts such as Jimmy James on a regular basis from early 67 onwards.

When one of my letters to the mag got published ... Invictus & Hot Wax hadn't yet landed UK licensing deals & I was after info on 45's such as the Fuller Brothers "Times A Wating" and Lorenzo Manley's Original Sound outing ...

Thinking of my trips to the Flamingo when I could afford it ,as the Many US acts that appeared there were expensive to see em .you name it and they appeared there. Don't think this statement (copied from above) is correct ... I checked out the Flamingo in January 66 and they didn't seem to have any decent US acts on ...

Surprised that Danny White "Keep my woman home" is classed as very rare on UK Sue, as I (& others I knew) picked up copies quite cheaply back in the late 60's.

Wonder what Fluff Freeman would have made of this version (had he still been around) ...

I opened this thread by referring to the time I'd gone to see Zoot perform @ the Boulevard in Tadcaster at the end of 1966 (Friday 30th December). He was still in Yorkshire the next night, but this time he was on @ the niter at the Mojo ... of course that Saturday session ran through to the Sunday which was New Years Day ... unfortunately for us (Tom Sleight & myself), the Spellbinders weren't on at the Boulevard with Zoot (neither were the Foretops).

Yes, I saw that. I guess the money ran out & the project withered on the vine. VERY SAD. They deserved to have their story told.