Kathryn Magson

I think most promoters are fully aware that things could change & it's quite possible that we won't be allowed to put on events in June after all - but you have to look on the bright side. If no events are at all are planned then people would all be very disappointed if it turns out that the vaccines have worked like a dream & everything is hunky-dory. I reckon there will still be some sort of restrictions in place when things open up again - probably a cap on numbers/ masks/hand sanitizer et al. I for one certainly wouldn't want to be in a crowded room with no restrictions in place even if the government allows it. After the last 12 months we all need something to look forward to, so if events are planned & all goes well that's great, but if they have to be cancelled - even at the last minute - then so be it. My motto has always been hope for the best but also be prepared for the worst!

I'm really missing all the social side of the soul scene - some friends live miles away & I don't see them very often - others I see at every event I go to - I'm just missing everybody! I can't wait to see all the people that I've not clapped eyes on for what feels like forever..........I can play music at home, but it's the cameraderie & the buzz of seeing a full dance floor that I miss most. Roll on June.......🙂🙂

So sad to hear yesterday on the facebook grapevine that Andy Simpson has passed away - his was one of the names I remember from the crazy, madcap years of my misspent youth as a young Mod in1960s Bradford. I've not seen him for many years, as I lost touch with all my old soul mates when I left the scene & got married in 1970. It's always hard to lose a mate even if you haven't seen them for a long time - we all seem to have had to say our final goodbyes to so many of our friends during the last year haven't we?

My first all-niter at The Twisted Wheel in 1966 - didn't call it Northern Soul - it was just "soul music" to us back then. I was sold on it all as soon as I walked in the door.........the music.......the crowd........the atmosphere.......the chemical assistance......the whole shebang! We used to joke "......can you just see us all still doing all this when we're in our 60s...........?" We used to joke about being on the dance floor with a zimmer frame each lol 🤣

So sad to hear today that Andy Simpson - one of the names I remember as a well-known & very popular face from my crazy, madcap teenage years as a young Bradford Mod - has passed away. RIP Andy😢

I saw James & Bobby at The Wheel in the 1960s - absolutely brilliant! I saw so many great bands there - way too many to mention - but The Purify's were up there among the best - they blew the roof off! R.I.P lads - thanks for the music & I hope you're both rocking it up there xx👌

There's a "Hole in The Wall/Continental" Facebook page that you might find interesting Mick - you might find some of your old mates on there, I'm still in touch with some of my friends from back then.

Happy Christmas & Happy New Year everyone - next year has GOT to be better than this one.....hasn't it?? Fingers crossed anyway xxx🎄🤶

Thanks guys - I'm passing on all the info xx

Cheers guys - I've passed on your msgs xx 👍👍

Thanks for replying Tlscapital - this one's deffo ov promo. I know the guy well - he's just been fitting a new fire for me, but he's also an old school DJ. I'm passing all replies on to him.

Cheers Brevy 👍

Posting this on behalf of a friend - he's got an almost mint condition Silky Hargraves/Keep Loving Me Like You Do - Dearborn label/original promo copy that he's thinking of selling & asking for a value. Any ideas? Thanks for reading 🙂

I've been into it all since the age of 15 - 1966 - It became my life for a few years. Burton Latimer would have bit too far for me to go anyway - Manchester was far enough - took me over 2 hours & 2 bus journeys. The homeward journey on Sunday was always a bit tortuous.....transport links today are so much better. .I would love to see it all go back to the atmosphere & underground feel it had back in the day, but sadly those days are long gone now. We all just need to find our own niche & enjoy what we have.

Not everyone was there at the very beginning Monny, but I was - it was my life! 1960s Twisted Wheel - a tad in the way of chemical assistance & then a Sunday all-dayer - I just lived for the weekend - every single weekend. No more niters for me any more though - running my own soul nights now rather than spending all night on the dance floor, but still loving it all & missing it something rotten! Can't wait to see things start up again - but I have to agree - it would be great to see things going back to the underground feel of the smaller, dingy little clubs that I used to go to in the days of my misspent youth.

Betty La Vette every time for me! 👍

Love it - thank you! Memories of my misspent youth come flooding back.......good times & I'd do it all again in a heartbeat!😜😉😃

I run a small event along with a mate - about 130 in under normal circumstances - but I think we're probably looking at restricting numbers to about 60 when we can eventually get going again. We will just about break even on that - room hire & DJs etc to pay - if my pal & I can manage a couple of drinks each out of it we'll be more than happy. Just to see everybody having a good night out will be enough of a reward - no idea when that will be though...….

I'll feel nervous about it, but I'll be out at soul do's as soon as I feel it's safe to do so - I hope I won't be the only one wearing a hazmat suit & goggles...……….🥽😷🤿 & I'll run a mile if anyone rushes to hug me...….

I've just come across some nice old photos taken inside 1960s Bradford mod club The String O'Beads - I'm not in any of the pics though - most of my all-nighters were in Manchester. 😉

I didn't know Skippy very well - only to say hi to - she always seemed to be happy & smiling when I saw her at soul do's. RIP Skippy - yet another very sad loss to the soul scene.

The Top 20 was quite a small club Drew - think it probably only held about 100 or so at the most - it had a small dance floor & a tiny coffee bar upstairs. The nighters weren't normally very busy - most of us went there on Sunday mornings after a night at the Wheel. At least the Top 20 dance floor was wooden - unlike the Wheel where the floor in the DJ room was flagstones & in the main room I think it was bitumen! No wonder we all have bad backs & knackered knees! I remember reading a couple of years ago that Clarence (Jamaican guy who used to DJ at the Top 20) is still DJing, but can't remember where - somewhere in Mancs I think.

1966 & only JUST turned 15 when I started going to the Twisted Wheel. I normally caught the X12 bus from Bradford - cost 5/- & took 1hr 45 mins to go over the Pennines to Manchester. If I was skint - a not uncommon occurrence back then as I was living in a bedsit by the time I turned 16 - I used to hitch it there & back along with a mate. Wouldn't feel safe for 2 teenage girls to do that nowadays, but when you're 16 you don't see the dangers in life do you? Other clubs I went to were The Plebs (Halifax) Birdtrap (near Burnley) Golden Disc ( Keighley) Lord Jim's (Huddersfield) Blue Note & Top 20 (both in Manchester) & String o'Beads (Bradford) There might have been others, but these are the ones I remember - the Wheel was always my favourite & I was there most weekends. It was just the BEST time to be a teenager I had some fab times - saw some of the best bands - I'd do it all again in a heartbeat!😍😍 PS - just reminiscing - I vaguely remember going to Halifax - squashed god knows how many of us into a battered old Ford Anglia - when the exhaust dropped of halfway there - oops! It had no door handles inside - just bits of string to pull to close the doors - & the wipers didn't work either......Happy days.....