BazM

Aim to start the proceedings as we plan to go on, with a mix of rare, underplayed as well as familiar... speakin' of which lovin' this again

Times at the mo for Saturday looking like 9 Baz, 10 Bob, 11 Ian, 12 Carl and Maria, 1 Les, 2 Mick, 3 Daz, 4 Tony, 5 Jordan

Hi Steve, yep will post up this evening...look forward to seeing you Matey

It's gonna be a whirlwind Les, all the DJ's set to go, quality from start to finish

After a brilliant weekend, (Prestwich, Florrie etc) looking forward to this coming up on Saturday, the first of 2020

So where to start? Well the first thing was that storm Dennis held off till Saturday so that was a result! That meant that all roads (bar the two that the local council closed without much notice) really did lead to Culcheth on Friday. Gotta say well done to all those without sat navs for navigating their way onto deepest Culcheth, once they’d realised the direct route off the East Lancs was closed. Anyway, people persisted and got there, no matter what obstacles were presented to them, so thanks for that. Once there, all the early birds settled in and we soon realised we were going to need more tables and chairs as peeps just kept comin’, soon enough there was a good crowd in both rooms, meeting, greeting and generally getting ‘in the mood’. As it was Valentines, I had the pleasure of presenting the ladies in the house with a single red rose (sorry if you didn’t get one I could only get 60) I spent the early part of the night drifting between the Main Room and the Back Room, which had been changed to feature ‘Rare and Underplayed’ 60’s and 70’s due to a number of high profile Modern events on in the North West over the weekend featuring some of our resident DJ’s but gotta say, how good was that? Residents Ian Cunliffe and Simon Ingham holding the fort, while special guests Alex Jones and Phil Wainwright, both Lowton regulars from days gone by, tore it up with a fantastic selection of tunes over 5 solid hours with tunes like Tiaras Loves made a connection, Minors Lonely Boy, George Hobson Let it be real, Kings of Soul is your love for me, Optimistics Say that you love me, Willie Dee it looks like rain, Cake let your body go, Ramsey and Company Love call, Freddie Butler Save your love for me, Robert Tanner Sweet memories, John Harris Hangin in and many more great sounds The main room was just as good on Friday with the crowd keeping the floor busy all night, in fact I thought Les Harrison was going to turn it into an All-Nighter at one point, until the lights came on at 1.15. Again great sets from the residents, Kev Murphy, Bob Hinsley, Robbo, the aforementioned Les Harrison and our special guest, Ginger Taylor, who featured his monster floor filler, Fantasy, Walter and the Admirations, Lil Major Williams, Kenny Gamble, Joey Lorenzo, True Image, The New Wanderers, Henry C, to name but a few and the great thing about it was people were saying the music was just like Lowton of old. So, the night was billed as the ‘Spirit of Lowton’ 24th Anniversary Special, so I guess with those kind of comments, I can only say ‘Job Done’ so it just remains for me to thank each and every one who came along on Friday, to help make our little celebration a great success. Thank You and Hope to see you all on April 10th for our Good Friday, Bank Holiday Special…Watch This Space

Ginger chomping at the bit, got some great tuneage lined up for the masses tonight... one of the biggest in the country at the moment...

8-9 tonite dont miss it Phil and Alex playin from the box ahead of their main sets later in the evening...sayin' nowt

Couldn't believe the similarities between the old Lowton Civic Hall and the new venue Culcheth Sports Club when we moved. If you are coming along for the first time on Friday, you'll be amazed! Plus there's bars in each room, full dance floors in each room and great sound systems in each room... The 'Spirit of Lowton' ? for sure...

So, one more sleep as they say...and our first night of 2020 will be here and it's a biggie...the 'Spirit of Lowton' Anniversary celebration. Two rooms, 10 DJ's including special guests, in the main room GINGER TAYLOR and in the back room, rare and underplayed with PHIL WAINWRIGHT and ALEX JONES, not forgetting our great team of resident soul spinners, Ian Cunliffe, Robbo, Les Harrison, Simon Ingham, Bob Hinsley, Baz Maleady and Lowton stalwart Kev Murphy. Why not join us, this Valentines at Culcheth Sport Club for a great Soul Night Out!

Got a special treat for the ladies joining us on Friday....

Gotta feelin' this might get a spin on Friday BOOM!

Great record, one that was pushed at the SAINTS Club many moons ago and has definitely had spins at LOWTON in the past. Sale backing as the very rare and sometime Andy Dyson spin 'I've Got Something of Value' by Eddie Rey

Be our Valentine THIS FRIDAY 14th Feb

There's not many places you'll have a chance of hearing this little gem this Friday but rest assured the 'Spirit of Lowton' Anniversary at Culcheth will definitely be one of them... Stomper? No Quality? YES!

As the weekend comes to a stormy close, time to look forward the the next one and some of the wonderful music that's goona grace the decks over two rooms from guests and residents celebrating 24years of LOWTON at Culcheth Sports Club What about this one, just found it on the LOWTON 8th ANNIVERSARY cd and topical with recent spins from LOWTON resident BOB HINSLEY

Whatever you're doing have a great weekend and don't forget NEXT weekend starts with a cracker! Or have I mentioned that? Two rooms of pure soul pleasure in the true 'Spirit of Lowton' at Culcheth Sports Club (a mini Lowton Civic) Don't Miss It!

Crossover classic, crossing over to the big room BIG TIME! Qualidee Tuneage

They say 'Cream always rises to the top' and that's definitely the case for this gem from one of the best vocal groups of all-time. Had the pleasure for seeing them in Bilbao and many saw them at Prestatyn, great memories and a track that's gonna get a spin from Alex on Feb 14th

A great memory from, what was for me the best days (nights) at the Casino, it almost faded into obscurity albeit infrequent plays at some venues. This ditty from legendary Philly writer/producer Kenny Gamble is set to become one of the biggest re-activations on the scene courtesy of our main room guest Ginger Taylor...Join us on Friday 14th and share the love

Staying with the (in)famous LOWTON 'Back Room' and a record I first heard there, which became synonymous with not only Lowton but the Manchester rare soul scene in general. Championed by Phil and Alex and regular main room guests Carl and Maria Willingham, this never really made it through to the 'Soul Night' soul scene due to it's rarity, not a bad thing really One Phil promises to play on the 14th... Take a listen

Great pics, thanks for sharing, more to come

As it's the Anniversary Special, paying homage to the great nights at the 'Hallowed Halls', we revert to the original format of the early sessions at Lowton, with the main room and the original, 'Rare and Underplayed' room. One of the original DJ's from those sessions, Ian Cunliffe, who along with Steve Connor and Bill Harrison, started the 'Back Room' at Lowton, will be kicking the proceedings off on Feb 14th. He will be joined by Special Guests Alex Jones and Phil Wainwright, who over the years have built a solid reputation of sourcing and spinning some of the creme of 60's and 70's rare soul at venues in Manchester and beyond. On the night they will be joined by Culcheth residents, Simon Ingham and Robbo, so a great night for those who like their soulful selections a little more 'Cutting Edge' A favourite spin in the back room from Phil W.

So, into 2020 and straight into what would have been the 24th Anniversary at LOWTON CIVIC HALL. Obviously, we would have been happy celebrating this event at the ‘Hallowed Halls’ but circumstances conspired to rob us of that opportunity. But, from adversity comes opportunity and a new venue was found just as close to Lowton as possible and about the same distance from the East Lancs Road, albeit in the other direction, again in a village but this time, Culcheth. To our pleasant surprise though, Culcheth Sports Club was in fact, a slightly smaller version of LOWTON CIVIC HALL, two rooms, one with a large wooden dancefloor with seating all around, a high stage to the front and a bar to the side. The back room is a bit smaller than that at LOWTON but with the benefit of its own bar, so those enjoying the music in there don’t need to leave the room to get a drink which, in fairness was a bug bear in the latter years of the Civic. Culcheth Sports Club or ‘The Daten’ as it’s known locally, is a well-run and well-kept building with many facilities and actually has three rooms and three bars, so there’s even more scope there. The club has been the home to ‘The Spirit of Lowton’ nights now for two years and in that time, a loyal crowd has supported the events and enjoyed a continuation of the music policy of LOWTON CIVIC, that has been evident with great nights in 2019 and some of the most prominent DJ’s on the scene, including Ginger Taylor, Ted Massey, Phil Threllfall, Joan Livesey and Carl and Maria Willingham, to name a few, putting Culcheth ‘Spirit of Lowton’ at the top of their soul night, must do list. I’m pleased to say that is to continue into 2020, myself, together with the resident DJ’s including LOWTON main man KEV MURPHY, LOWTON mainstays, BOB HINSLEY and IAN CUNLIFFE, as well as LES HARRISON, SIMON INGHAM and one of the scenes’ real characters ROBBO, all devoted to bringing the best music from their expansive collections to the CULCHETH/LOWTON crowd old and new. So, what about the 2020 24th Anniversary Event? Well, first of all our Special Guest in the main room is probably the Northern scenes busiest and most in-demand DJ, GINGER TAYLOR. When GINGER comes to LOWTON he likes to play the kind of records he has in his box that he just can’t seem to get away with at other venues, a true testament to the open-mindedness of the LOWTON faithful! So expect the unexpected in the main room on the 14th There’s a bit of a change in the back room as well for this event. We are giving the Back Room, which is normally, ‘Modern’ under the guide of the ‘Soul on the Edge’ team to a special ‘Rare and Underplayed’ session. John, Jem and Chris have stepped aside for this one night as we welcome special guest DJ’s Phil Wainwright and Alex Jones who ‘back in the day’, were mainstays of the North West and Manchester Rare, Northern Soul scene. Both these guys were highly respected, with superb collections and equally good taste in music, so bringing them into CULCHETH for the Anniversary is something we are looking forward to immensely. So, if you like going to soul nights or all-nighters to hear something different then CULCHETH on the 14th will be for you. We will be posting more details nearer the date so please check back here for updates and feel free to share this post with like-minded soul folk. Let’s start 2020 with a BANG!