Where do I start?
My mother ( noticed not many dads get mentioned as influencing their kids in this thread) and yet Djs are in a male majority
Oh yeah my mother looked like a mod in the 60s (as was the fashion)in the photos we have of her.
She went out with a chap called Hilton Valentine, he was a member of The Animals they practiced in The Hut in Holy cross wallsend Newcastle across the road from her house.
These guys were heavily into their RnB and black soul music So I suspect she was influenced by them and what they sang ..She had in her record collection
This is Soul /Otis redding LP( Mine now) also Al Green Desmond Dekker Sly and the family stone The Animals I love bright lights big city ( gone to my babys head)
dusty springfield the foundations ..and so begins my journey
I remember my first PE lesson at secondary school september 1975 we all had them cheesy lessons where you had to interpret the music ...first tune Build me up buttercup the foundations I loved that tune still do
theres me enjoying every minute and the rest of the group tramping about like depressed elephants LOLOL
I was 11.
At the same time I joined the gymnastics club and both local youth clubs
this is where the older kids come in, they did the djaying mainly so they played what they liked Kev Burke who kevH pointed out in my youth club pic did the vast majority of the djing at one of the youth clubs I attended.
He worked in sid booths then HMV mansfield part time when he was young so got his hands on imports and also attended mecca an wigan
I cant name one record that got me hooked really altho i remember
Rita and the tiaras gone with the wind
Reparata and the delrons Panic
Dobie gray out on the floor
Julien Covey A little bit hurt
ine times out of ten (Always hated this )
to name but a few
I had a large break when the palais packed up til 2002 when I noticed the TV ads playing stuff that was "familiar" and the dawning of OMG its northern soul
Early 2003 we returned to the first "do" and since then have been attending nights all over regularly ever since
Im still on a voyage of discovery as being quite young at the start of the scene missed out on all the taken for granted, played out oldies, a lot of you are now sick of hearing
Im still dancing to them I love having a social life that revolves round this music again as it was short lived the first time around for me.
hope you didnt fall asleep reading this
Mand the happy soulie