spot

Thanks for the reply Teapot, the bit about "flat cap & whippet" was meant to show the stereotyping by the media of "us northerners" & not a comment on individuals, as was the mundane job etc, mine drove me mad & lots of mates had mundane jobs etc. I know the "comedy" tunes were few & far between but it was the influence of outsiders & lure of £££ that got me & I did hear "Joe 90" & Hawai 5-0 & other such dross played out, many times. Perhaps I'm just older & more cynical than you are my friend & your views are as worthy as mine, although as you say "different interpretations" & I still loved the place. Pete I never said it was only relevant for 18 months, for me it just wasn't AS relevant as it had been & I did carry on going (as stated) till 79. It was originally the hub & glue of N.S. but it also (IMVHO) helped fragment it & lead to it's partial dimise. I like you can "close my eye's & be transported back to the main hall" & feel the tingle down my spine, hear the foot stomping & feel the heat of all the bodies. There's definitely a lot of good things in the Casino's favour but also a lot of bad & rubbish things, nostalgia's a funny pink tinted glass & I remember some of the reality of it & you can argue it's case & your entitled to your opinion, totally. I WAS there from the 2nd or 3rd (not sure which?) until we stopped 78-79 & most of it must have been ok or I'd have stopped a lot earlier & I'm not just slagging it off but stating my take on certain times & events in Wigans history. Take care & be safe but remember "Wigan Casino" was only a place, Spot.

Well Teapot it changed for me because Mr Winstanley & Co wanted to bathe in the "Star Light" that the cameras brought & also they allowed media exec's & people such as Simon Soussan to have too much input. Now I'm not against new blood having a butchers at our scene, cos I was new blood once but the cameras & documentries & TOTP etc brought out hundreds if not thousands (seemed like it at the time) of Soul tourists because N.S. was the new fashion accessory & MOST were only there cos it was "Trendy" at the time & the drugs appealed to a lot also, I knew quite a few who went just for that, not the music at all, and that brought wrong attention from D.S & the media, which then made us all out as drug addled layabouts & I know it was a big drug culture but most folk were hard working & quite respectable people.Also it amazes me that everyone you ever talk to about Wigan tell you they went but can never recall anything about the location etc, so it seems more people went there than witnessed the Lunar Moon landing!! So for me at that time the music policy did change, Nosmoking, Wigans chosen few, Joe 90 Theme, Hawai 5-0 & various spurious Instrumentals & it wasn't a "few daytrippers", also I can't believe you thought "This England" was good publicity?? I thought it was appauling, apart from the dance sequences on the Casino floor the rest gave a typical view of London's idea of us "Northerners" in our grim towns & city's, sat in our scabby front rooms(like on Corrie) , with our flat cap/pipe & whippet, talking "lik thow does" in our mundane manual jobs, sadly waiting for just one night a week to break out & be free.Bollocks some of us had lives. One of the original appeals to us was that you had to search for N.S. it wasn't advertised, it wasn't quite normal, it was underground & a little subversive & slightly dangerous (it was at 16) & it was difficult to get to, with no motorways & poor public transport. It's great as you say, it's "Overground" now & the thing with N.S. & commercials will be a fleeting thing, just as Pye Disco Demand was. Other venues don't cause so much debate I think because they didn't run as long or have so many controversial episodes (Granada, Pye etc) happen to them. As I said I have some wonderful memories of the place & the music & didn't stop going till about 1978-79, although not as regular as in the early years & it was the early years here together with Blackpool Mecca that re-enforced my passion & love for Soul music & shaped what I love about it today. So not all bad Teapot, I think? And I hope you get my drift & understand what I meant, cos I ramble a bit. Take care & be safe but mainly, "Keep on loving me like you do", Spot.

Was he tall with short blonde hair ? If so yes he does go to Northern venues, I don't know the guys name but he was in, "Once upon a time in Wigan" & apparently went to some Soul venues for research & to see if he could pass as "one of us", he's actually been in Corrie, Two pints of lager & a recent one with Nicholas Lyndhurst (Rodney) about a guy living with his Mum in law. Can't for the life of me think of his name but have seen him at Prestatyn & Kings Hall, Stoke, the guy even gives it a go on the dancefloor. Take care & be safe but mostly keep an eye out for Dennis Tanner, Spot.

Pete, I agree with the Mr Searling bit but not that Wigan broke more quality sounds, I think that in the early 70's & possibly up until 75-76 that Messers Levine & Curtis broke more & better tunes, at least thats the way I remember it (rose tinted glasses??) with tunes played & not heard again for weeks because of the volume of news stuff to play or was it just Mr Levine being petulant & holding them back , anyway most became classics. As for Wigan, although I loved it with a passion (even though it was a dump) & have wonderful memories of it, the best venues for me was No1. Cleethorpes Pier, just to hear the wooden floor banging as you walked down from the top road & then to feel the Pier move with the movement of all the bodies inside gyrating around, UNBELIEVABLE & still makes me tingle just thinking of it, the music wasn't bad either, a new direction & lots of new tunes broken . Secondly, The Highland Room, Blackpool Mecca, along the tartan corridor & through the double swing doors to watch the Maestro's weave their magic to a full dancefloor , thats before it went all PVC & Lycra with bells & whistles. "Memories are made of this, sweet sweet, the memories you gave to me", Spot. ps. Wigan died "for me" when Pye arrived, the cameras arrived & "Footsee" hit Top of the Pop's, it was time to move on, thank goodness for Cleethorpes, St.Ives, Unity Hall Wakefield & the rest.

Worse trips to Wigan we're all prior to the M62 being built/finished (1973-74) and as we all lived at Goole (between Doncaster & Hull) which even now takes us almost 2 hours in fast cars & on motorways, well you can imagine. Here's how I remember it, Gail's (wife) best friend Andrea was a farmers daughter & her Dad would lend us his Big old Bedford van, which was used to transport his women who worked on the land for him, the vans main feature being it was a column gear change (where indicator stork is now, not on the floor) which took some getting use to. Saturday morning it would be cleaned out & benchs put down each side for the passengers, then if we were going to Blackpool Mecca first we'd set off at 3pm or if straight to Wigan we'd set off about 5pm. So pick up in Goole & then round the villages on the way to the "Horse & Jockey" pub at Whitley Bridge/Pontefract for a pint & pick up "Woody" Woodcock our last comrade.Then it was off down the road using all the "A" &"B" roads until we could get on the M62, I think it was at Castleford, until it stopped at M1 junction which would have been at most 10 miles & we'd have been able to acheive speeds of 60 miles per hour, WOW!! Bear in mind there would by now be at least 12 bodies in the back & 3 in the front, those in the back on the floor & some hanging on for grim death on the unrestrained slipping & sliding bench seats. We'd have to go over the Pennines via Woodhead pass "A628" & inevitably each time we'd end up getting to it via a different route, in other words we'd get lost. Then it was the long drag around Manchester to our destination. In winter it was bloody scary, specially with fog or snow & how we never had an accident I don't know, come to think of it looking at the maze of "A" & "B" roads I don't know how we ever got there & home but we always did, maybe with aching & seized up joints that took an hour to unlock but we did. When the M62 opened it was a god send, we could stop at "Birch" & meet up with mates & have a drink & share a plate of chips between 10 & then travel in convoy to Wigan, it also knocked hours off our journey time, which was even better, specially on the return leg. Was it a pain in the arse, was it uncomfortable, cold,damp,smelly? You bet it was. Would I change one minute? Not on your life, it was part of the whole experience & what a laugh. Take care & be safe but mainly travel in style & comfort, Spot.

Rember the day lads?? When you could dance as fast, maybe not as good but as fast. The joy of youth, eh!! Bloody amazing, sort of part moonwalk,part shuffle & part stomp, I daren't even try it as I'm bound to do myself so major injury involving tendons & ligaments etc, so I'll just sit back & admire & watch in awe. That portly gent who the crowd keep calling for, Simon I think it was? Well I'm with you Paul, absolutely awe inspiring & jaw droppingly amazing!!!! Take care & be safe but mostly watch those knee & hip joints, Spot.

You couldn't resist, could you mate??? Next up you'll be telling us how busy Middleton ALWAYS is, bugger there I go putting ideas into your head Andy, what am I like?? Anyway people "ENOUGH" , on to many & clashing venues, it's making my ears bleed, it's a fact of life that MOST progressive venues are poorly attended & most Oldies are rammed full but if that's the choice of the masses,then who are we to argue & as for clashing, well there's only so many Fridays & Saturdays in the year, so someones going to clash with someone elses venue eventually & as a lot of us travel then that will affect one or the other.And I don't believe trying co-ordinating it on here will make it any better, do you? So lets put this Mother to bed shall we, for once & for all? Just get on with it & remember Xmas is just around the corner, now then there'll be some clashing venues then,eh?? Take care & be safe, Merry Xmas, Spot & Gail.

Got to agree 100%, what a fabulous magazine, Great for anoraks & dare I say "Normal Soulies" but you know what I mean. I read it after getting Issue 4 for a friend & after reading every single word, was hooked. I immediately signed up & got Issue 6 within a few day & now I'm waiting for Issues 1-5 to arrive on back order. Well done Dave & of course Bev, Carry on the good work, Spot.

Got to agree with "Bearsy", what a great post, the word "Nail on the head" spring to mind. I thought we we're all grown up now? Well it says so on my passport. Also lets not forget how lucky we are to be around to still enjoy this music, a lot of mates aren't anymore, so lets be a bit more light hearted, eh?? Take care & be safe but remember to smile , Spot.

Heywood would normally draw 120 to 150 or so, last night was down by a good 50%. I know venues that would have been made up with 60-75 paying bodies, Boat, Ponds Forge, Corner Pocket.Also didn't Chris offer a reduction for punters who went to a local Soul Night first?? So like the saying, "Take the rough with the smooth" & it seems like this is the first time you've had a clash, I could be wrong?? I find it funny that promotors say, "I'm not in it to make money but for the love of the music", but as soon as they lose a bit/lot, they start whining, you know the risks if you don't like them, then don't do it, do you think a bookie would let you back in a one horse race, NO. Oh and while we're whinging, who's knob do you have to suck to get a mention on the radio??? Now that will get you lots & lots of mentions & good publicity for you venue, me thinks not!!!! Why not try Mark B's approach? Come on SS on a thread & mention where you Dj'ing & that you have a radio show (which I'm sure is really good.) or is it a station? Starlight Radio?? Anyway make sure you mention it loads & loads of times. Tony

Best ending I heard was at a local Soul night in Doncaster, "That's it you've had your lot, you should have finished 15 minutes ago, if you don't take the record off I'm pulling the plug." And she did, yes while the record was playing & it had the desired effect & stopped the night in it's tracks. The Dj as you can imagine was not a happy bunny. Take care & be safe & keep dancing while ever the music plays, Spot.

In total agreement with "Tomangoes", I didn't realise how much I'd missed while I was away having my "wilderness years" & probably know less than 50% from JM's books. My in-law, Gary, is a mainly 70's & modern man so between us we know a bit but some people amaze me with their knowledge. Part of the beauty of the scene though is hearing something & going "this is nice, what is it & who's it by?" So keep listening & researching but mainly keep dancing, Spot.

Well said that man, what does the song say, "Only the strong survive", anyway I bet most Soul nights are Oldies, so they don't count really in our case Ezzie. Now I've heard you like your R&B Ezzie, so me thinks (from what I've heard) that Citrus rooms at Barnsley would be right up your street. We're off to "Up Front" weekender at Skeggy but if we weren't there we'd be at "Attic" but Skeggy's been planned for ages, so a walk along the sands is in order. Kev thought Mansfield Town had already "shutdown", specially the attackers, whereas the defence is "Open all hours", boom,boom!!!! Take care & be safe, "Attic Boys" you have a good un, Spot.

Actually Simon it's an Australian marsupial mammal about the size of a badger & much less dangerous than your definition mate. Take care & be safe, Spot.

My thoughts exactly. Surely most Pop music of the sixties was infact copies & rip offs of Black music, just look at Bill Haley, Elvis, Rolling Stones, Beatles & many more. Frank are we really bothered who "Wombat" is/was or why he had a silly name? I just wanted to dance to it cos it was a shit hot dancer & still is but I doubt if I could manage the full record now. Simon, I'm with you on the "Crow", it never really did it for me either, I just think it was a tune of the era, right place,right time,right drugs!!!! By the way mate we're at Skeggy this weekend so won't see you but you have a good one. So in answer to your original question Dave, it came from the Black artists & writers, Yes I know thats NOT what you meant. Take care & be safe & just "Keep on dancing", Spot. ps.LOVE, High Voltage, Babe Ruth & Frankie Valli's "I'm gonna change" is better than Velours, IMO.

For me it has to be; Dave Godin for spreading the word & giving us our own identity. Ian Levine (The early years) for finding & playing to us numerous tunes that put the scene on the map. John Anderson for carrying on, up to this day, the work Levine started with vinyl. Mary Chapman for igniting the East Coast Northern scene. And singers has to be Edwin Starr & J.J.Barnes for me. We all have our favourites & silver coated memories, Spot.

Simon, See the avatar's not changed but like you said to me at Middleton it makes people stop you to ask if it's you, so you meet new people all the time, also it frightens old ladies & keeps kids away from open fires . Sorry gone off at a tangent as usual, get your mate to play you the flip of "Penguin Breakdown" that just as good & the main reason I rang, t'was the "Mood Mosiac's" that I remember being played & seem to remember it played at Cleethorpes a lot, no doubt it will have originated from another venue but thats what I remember from early/mid 70's, which is quite good cos I can't remember much more from that decade .Remember "Sounds Orchestra" version on Pye Int being issued but both other versions we're just copies IMVHO. See you out & about but not Earl till next year, take care & be safe, Spot. ps. Gail (wife) says thanks for the compliment (attractive lady stopped me on stairs & asked was I Imberboy?) in your last Earl of Donny comment.

Wot a tune, as everyone who knows me knows, this 45 IMVHO is the best dance discovery in the last 10 years, better than Joseph Webster, Margaret Little etc & they are superb. This is the only record, since I returned to the scene, that upon my very first hearing it played had me running to the dancefloor to really give it some & made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end & still has this effect now. I had the privelege of Mick H letting me have a good look over his copy & he then offered to play it for me & that was in the beergarden of a pub in Nottingham on a boozy Bank Holiday Sunday afternoon when the decks where perched on a garage base under a bit of poly tunnel, needless to say I declined as should an accident have happened I'd never have forgiven myself & I'm sure Mick wouldn't either. To me it's just the dogs bollox's & more, so whoever gets this 5th (?) copy please ensure you Dj at all the venues I attend, don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing it, must say JM's sound bit doesn't do it justice & I was suprised how good the flip was. Ok I've finished drooling, Spot. ps. Mp3 would be lovely.