Pep

Thanks Mike, for your empathy, having been through much the same situation yourself recently. I'm sure we'll cross paths on the scene in the not too distant future. Your time taken in leaving those thoughts is greatly appreciated. XXX Pep

I thought I'd just bring this up, having just encountered the problem when arranging the post-funeral celebration dance for my beloved wife Helen. I don't know if it has cropped up before, but guess it probably has, and will almost certainly crop up many times again. I booked a very nice hotel function room at the Mount Hotel in Wolverhampton for Helen's celebration dance (on April 26), only to discover a few days later that they required all the DJs to have PLI (Public Liability Insurance). Needless to say I was flabbergasted, and quickly started shopping around for at least one lot of cover. However as they required cover for every DJ, and there could be 5, 6 or 7, this was going to be prohibitive. It was necessary to make a few quick phone calls and move it to the Connaught Hotel, about half a mile away which luckily had the same night available. It turned out to be a godsend, as the bigger Connaught ballroom looks like being necessary now to accommodate all her friends and well-wishers. I was wondering if anyone else has encountered this, and if is it likely to become more prevalent in the future, in which case it could severely limit the number of available venues. I don't promote these days, and as a hotelier myself would never insist on it for a soul event, but not every venue owner is a fan of the music like me. Any thoughts folks? Regards, Pep.

Again Paul, the 100Club incident has become one of those mad memories. They'd call it an 'urban legend' in America. We'll have to put it in print one day, although Helen, bless her, may have taken some of her personal recollections with her to soul heaven. What would life be without such memories? XXX Ian

Paul, Thank you. What more can I say? XXX Ian

Yes, limited parking right outside. Quite a bit of Street parking within a 200 yard radius. Also parking on the Crabmill pub carpark and near The Retreat pub. All within 5 minutes walk. Possibly some opposite Stourbridge Junction ticket office and in residential roads off Chawn Hill and Red Hill. St.Mary's is a beautiful big Church and there should be no problems with anyone parking within a few minutes walk. The very close proximity to Stourbridge Junction also makes it convenient for train users, and I know there a quite a few coming from Wales by train. Thanks everyone for the input (and photos). Lots of love. XXX Ian (Pep)

Dawn & Kev, That little ditty brought you straight back into my mind. Remembered it clearly, and playing it at those those popular nostalgia nights at the Stewponey, Swancote, etc. The Connaught was probably our smartest venue in the nineties, and we had many big northern nights there. Everyone loved the spacious, polished dancefloor and lux surroundings. I remember seeing you both just about every week somewhere or other. Great times. Helen had the hard job (on the door), and was amazingly easy going all things considered. She was friendly and loving by default - and people loved her in return. She was often the only dancer when a new sound was being spun. Two weeks later everyone was dancing to it. Knew what she liked and voted with her feet. Thankyou again for those vivid memories. XXX Ian

Cheers Tiv, Thankyou for holding on to those memories. Greatly appreciated. XXX Ian

Sandi, Paul, Thanykou for your lovely words and help in first conveying the sad news to our friends on the scene. Yes, the 'Old Vic' in 1986/7 was one of only a handful of events flying the flag at the time, so eventually attracted big audiences from very far afield. It was a very important and underrated venue in several respects. Paul (Harpo) was pivotal in its evolution into the most successful soulnight of those dark times. Helen and you on the door. Priceless! Love you both. xxx Ian

Anyone wishing to contact me re Funeral Flowers, Times, Venues or anything else is welcome to ring me on 01654 710264 (but not from an allnighter please!) or send an eMail to: mr.soul@live.co.uk Great thanks for all the love and support shown for Helen. XXX Pep

Back in the sunrise-era (66 - 69) they didn't need to cover anything up. Even if you managed to work out the title, no record shop would stock it, and you needed artist/label info to order it. Impossible. The sound equipment was pretty pathetic then compared to now, wirh BSR decks and ceramic cartridges etc. Acquiring music knowledge was a laborious and costly task... buying blind and hoping! I remember going into record shops when I was 16, and asking for "Ready or not here I come". I ended up with the Delfonics. Of course I was looking for "Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie". I got it a year later, after I'd plucked up enough courage to ask DJ Martin Wheatley (Studio One, Kingswinford) what it was. The Diskery (Brum) would give you a little pile (and a record centre) to take upstairs to the booth to play. A godsend that. I recognised almost every one after the first two bars! The first time I really saw records with beer mats over them was at the Jazz Club (Dudley) and Cats. It was hard, acquiring sounds and knowledge, then. Pep.

While I'm watching the site closely for all the saddest reasons, I'd just like to add an observation or two: When finding/playing newer sounds and discoveries, perfection is a luxury DJs can ill afford, and dancefloor reaction dictates how much play and how 'big' a record gets. Some of them weren't great, but a lot were. Also, in the past, there was a big turnover in music, with records arriving, getting big, getting re-issued, then dying - all in the space of a few months. This created a constant flow of fresh music, similar to the pop charts. That has almost completely vanished, leading to the build up of a huge pool of very good, very rare records which (for the most part) will never get massive. A record gets big when there are a few copies, held by several busy, influential DJs or it is a one-off being played week in week out at a well attended venue. Consequently a one-off played every week at Wigan, the Catacombs or Blackpool Mecca could get big. Such weekly 'lead' venues have gone forever I'm afraid. Also you should always judge a record by your initial reaction, not years later when you've heard it a million times and are sick to the teeth of it. However with the benefit of hindsight, there is no need for mediocrity when selecting oldies. There are hundreds of really good ones to choose from. DJs have a responsibility, a moral duty if you like, to play good oldies. It is unforgivable to pick and promote an oldie which is best left forgotten. The dilemma, once some DJ has already done this, is whether to play the 'so-so' oldie or refuse to play it, on request, risking wrath and credibility with the dancing public. I don't want to talk about individual tracks, but feel I should add that "Suzy's Serenade" was a floor filler, and played purely for that reason. Similarly "Cochise" was an outstanding, powerhouse new release which just had to be played. It was also relatively scarce for a couple of weeks as an US album track. It suffered the fate of becoming too big (a number one northern monster) for its own good, but doesn't deserve criticism from a technical standpoint. They both deserve a place in the pantheon of Northern Soul. On the other hand, we have records like Dawn which should simply never have been played at all. I would not be playing any of these at home in the foseeable future. They have all had their day, unlike the other Bob Wilson classic (vocal) "Feels Good" which I still love and play. My humble views... take with a big pinch of salt. Pep

Thanks Kev, XXX Pep

Thanks Tim, Kev. XXX Pep PS. She rarely looked into a camera lens!

"Help Wanted" If anyone has any old (or even recent) photos or images of my beloved, late wife Helen I would love to have a copy of them. Please eMail them to me at: mr.soul@live.co.uk And/Or post them here on this Soul-Source forum. Or phone me on 01654 710264. (Anecdotes and stories also wanted). Love and best wishes. XXX Ian 'Pep' Pereira.

Mick, People have been asking me about flowers, etc. So please add this information to your forum header: Flowers are welcome of course delivered to the Church, St. Mary's, Oldswinford, Stourbridge on the morning of her funeral on Thursday 26th April. Interflora and others usually do this kind of thing for well-wishers. Alternativel bring the flowers with you to the church before the service at 2pm. They can also be sent/delivered to Sanderson Funeral Services, Merridale Street, Wolverhampton between now and then. Helen will be lying in the Chapel of Rest at Sandersons on the day before the funeral, for anyone wishing to see her once more. Instead of flowers, charitable donations can be made to Mary Stevens Hospice by way of donations at the church service itself, via a collection being organised by St.Mary's. Nearby Mary Stevens Hospice (where my family was born when it was a maternity hospital in the fifties/sixties) were very amenable to Helen's needs near the end of her life, and provide superb palliative care to cancer victims. They rely on charitable donations. All the hundreds of sympathy cards will be kept and treasured forever by me and Ryan. Thankyou everyone for the many lovely cards and messages within them. Please, anyone who will be sending or bringing cards, can you put your contact details in so I can thank you or keep in touch with you in the months and years to come. I am also looking for any old (or more recent) photos of, or with, Helen in them. Please post them here on Soul-Source or eMail them to: mr.soul@live.co.uk Anyone can phone me on 01654 710264. I love talking to soul friends old and new, and will catch up with many of you soon. Love and great appreciation. XXX Ian

Dear Pat & Alan, Thanks for the call. Flowers are welcome of course delivered to the Church, St. Mary's, Oldswinford, Stourbridge on the morning of her funeral on Thursday 26th April. Interflora and others usually do this kind of thing for well-wishers. Alternativel bring the flowers with you to the church before the service at 2pm. They can also be sent/delivered to Sanderson Funeral Services, Merridale Street, Wolverhampton between now and then. Helen will be lying in the Chapel of Rest at Sandersons on the day before the funeral, for anyone wishing to see her once more. Instead of flowers, charitable donations can be made to Mary Stevens Hospice by way of donations at the church service itself, via a collection being organised by St.Mary's. Nearby Mary Stevens Hospice (where my family was born when it was a maternity hospital in the fifties/sixties) were very amenable to Helen's needs near the end of her life, and provide superb palliative care to cancer victims. They rely on charitable donations. All the hundreds of sympathy cards will be kept and treasured forever by me and Ryan. Thankyou everyone for the many lovely cards and messages within them. Please, anyone who will be sending or bringing cards, can you put your contact details in so I can thank you or keep in touch with you in the months and years to come. I am also looking for any old (or more recent) photos of, or with, Helen in them. Please post them here on Soul-Source or eMail them to: mr.soul@live.co.uk Anyone can phone me on 01654 710264. I love talking to soul friends old and new, and will catch up with many of you soon. Love and great appreciation. XXX Ian (Pep)

If anyone has any old (or even recent) photos or images of my beloved, late wife Helen I would love to have a copy of them. Please eMail them to me at: mr.soul@live.co.uk And/Or post them here on this Soul-Source forum. Or phone me on 01654 710264. (Anecdotes and stories also wanted). Love and best wishes. XXX Ian 'Pep' Pereira.

Dear Pat & Alan, Of course you know Helen from her earliest days on the Scene, and she never forgot any of those sunrise-era soulies - nor the more recent soulmates she attracted for that matter. Love you both. XXX Pep

Thanks Sam. Yes we had a laugh or two. I recall first meeting in Max's shop around 1972. Max.. that was a terrible, sad loss too. XXX Pep

Hi Stewart, See my reply above. Many thanks. XXX Pep

Cheers Gary, You HAVE to be there! XXX Pep

Thankyou Stewart, Helen especially went out of her way for people who came along, knowing no one. Thanks to her many people went home knowing many. She was the catalyst for lots of friend-groups, and loved being friends - with anyone and everyone. Greatly appreciated. XXX Pep PS. As you probably know Ian Tyrer, one our best friends from the 80s and 90s passed on last year. A terrible loss to me and Helen at the time.

Thankyou Brian and June, You have been with us through much of her illness and remain even more so now. Like you say she did have a tongue on her. You could even say she was ahead of her time in that respect too! It was all part of her down to earth nature - born of a working class, council estate background. She would always stand up for me fiercely, even when I got it wrong, which was more often than I care to admit. It was kind of "us against the world" at times, and I loved her at my side, through thick and thin. I'm only half a man without her. We go back a very long way and I look forward to continuing that great friendship, the lifelong friendship teenagers forge. Thankyou for your enduring love and support for my Helen. Love you both. XXX Ian & Ryan

Thanks Martin, Carol. I appreciate your special memories (...I wondered why we took nothing on the door that night). Helen didn't care how rare a record was, if she liked it she was out there dancing - on her own sometimes, didn't matter to her. Liked all sorts: 60s, 70s, 90s, 00s. She liked what she liked and voted with her (dancing) feet. DJs who knew that were guaranteed one dancer, at the very least. Great to hear from you. Thankyou for keeping such fond memories of her in your thoughts. XXX Ian PS. I'll have to go through that earlier thread, put up so kindly for me just after she passed away.

Thanks Hippo, old mate. I know you'll remember Helen well from those early Seventies jaunts you and the Glos/Chelt crew made to Wolvo. Keep the soul flag flying down your way. Much appreciated good friend. XXX Pep