ImberBoy

Richard Searling Book - Setting The Record Straight - Music & Memories From Wigan Casino 1973-1981 Before I start my review I dip into a cup of sadness and remember the funeral I attended of local legend Dave Owen who for some reason passed the time of day with me and I started thinking about the people who I feel have made an impact on so many and I have no idea why some of them suffer this fool but I am glad they do, Brent Howarth and I managed to sort a charity Allnighter for BLESMA the Limbless Veterans and in doing so I get to hear from Brent some amazing stories of what I will read in Richards book but onto that in a moment, back to the funeral and I am sat talking about music and the evolution of Northern Soul with John Manship who I hope will publish his book soon, I want to “name drop” a few people because Richard references the many characters who all pushed this music along and he is right and does capture the , dare I say love, in this book without over egging the pudding. The book oozes respect and I kind of want to acknowledge a few things that may be widely known and may not, Stafford and the “Stafford Sound” gets given the lion’s share of changing the impact and delivery of Northern Soul but it was Richard Searling who dared to be that little bit , no that big bit of different at the last part of the Casino giving a different slant and one that certainly made me go “oooooooh!” and I wanted to get that out there and also credit Richard for being The Godfather of Modern Soul. The book… Richard has managed to pull a trick , he has accomplished taking what at first glance could be a boring list and turned it into a personal , emotional account of not just matrix numbers and price tags but what the record meant to him and it is here that I am charmed and impressed , it is sweet and innocent as the love of music is , he also includes the cold facts but does so without losing the “spirit” of the music and that is often lacking when faced with a cold calculated list of records , you honestly want to hear those track as you read and tap into Richard Searling and it is here that I think this book stand taller than most. I know that Wigan Casino also came with a cup of pain for Richard and you can read between the lines but there is also great restraint without leaving the reader to guess, I shall leave you, the reader to find this yourself, you will not be disappointed, and the intrigue is justified I promise. I keep going back over and over some of the vignettes Richard writes about his records and marry them up to my own list of favourites and it is a joy to understand how he felt when hearing that track and deciding if to play what was going to become so precious and I felt it an insight to the heart and soul of Richard Searling. The book can be purchased It’s available now in soft back at £24.99 plus P+P from www.raresoulvinyl.co.uk I can’t see any lover of music not enjoying this be it a Northern Soul fan or not, the approach and intelligent detail along with the emotion makes it a must have read Simon Cuerden Imber Boy

RIP

The last time I heard any racial comments was at Prestatyn year before last and aimed at a wedding party I was with, the comments made by a couple were not passed onto the bride and groom nor the main body of the wedding for fear of people getting very upset .

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=339212632943195&set=a.109577992573328.1073741833.100005633823783&type=1

There is a debate as to who is the first white artist to be signed to Motown; so far we have as contenders, R Dean Taylor, Kiki Dee, Chris Clark, Debbie Dean ????? Mike and the Modifiers.................. Nick and the Jaguars?????????

Northern Soul the Film a review : Before I stroke the key boards I am reminded of the emotive pie fight “SoulBoy” caused and I do not wish to be the recipient of a Soulie "fatwa" so I shall proceed with caution ………… I managed to get tickets today, Friday’s Matinee in Sheffield’s The Showroom, a cinema that shows a lot of independent films, I walked towards the cinema and noticed that the poster for Northern Soul was not displayed outside, bad start I thought but I spoke to both the Box Office and the Manager and they told me that they hadn’t seen such a response for a film for a very long time so this was encouraging, I took my seat and noticed the cinema was not exactly full but it was a Friday Afternoon, the audience was middle aged couples and about thirty youngsters who I presumed as students? OK onto the film, deep breath and I’ll do the negative first, lighting, or should I say lack of lighting, the film is dark. I am in little doubt that this was intentionally done to give it a bit of grit and earthiness which I totally get and this works excellently in films that are edgy and dark but in Northern Soul it kinda gets lost and becomes a bit unnecessarily and becomes a distraction and to be honest there are often moments where cast members are lost to an over use of filtering. Now depending on which description you read of this film you are left to ponder whether this is a “film about the Northern Soul Scene with a story line” or a “Story line with a Northern Soul backdrop” It came across to me as a story of the drugs scene within the Northern Soul Scene and I was left with a furrowed brow to see the intravenous usage given the spot light which puzzled me as the film struggled a bit to decide what direction the story was going and flattened off before sprinting off to tie everything up which was a little lazy. Ok that is the negative, now the positive. I’ll start with the casting, what a triumph! Seriously, who would have thought the line up would, could and did deliver such convincing characters, the scrip writing was faultless with lots of layers, humour and clever dialogue of which I enjoyed immensely. Our two young main players work excellently together with a real chemistry, kudos to the director, the supporting cast create the seventies and the costume and design is joyful and you immerse yourself into the period effortlessly, the attention to detail is phenomenal! Credibility is in abundance whilst watching the dancers and you do not get any whiff of cheese, the music needs no comment from me but the selection and sound flows like a river, sounds easy but each track is appropriate and perfectly balanced and placed like an engineering artist, again this gives the film an oomph factor that I believe will be appreciated by any audience, you get a real feeling that the extras gave their souls and we must remember that they are youngsters recreating a phenomena that is Northernsoul and they smash it! Worthy of note is the dynamics between each of the characters, I felt that the story line was a bit poor but it was delivered powerfully and with great skill, I loved the edginess of the drug dealing Southerner who beguiles in a true anti hero way, you feel as if you know all of the characters and I can empathise with all. In summery I enjoyed the film, it is a flawed diamond but a diamond none the less, would I recommend the film YES YES YES YES YES Get to the cinema, this is the one to watch.

Whoops didn't see this thread, I'll post my review in, Mike can you delete the other

I saw these in Meadowhall and my heart leapt like a salmon! I went into the shop to buy them only to learn they were only available in bird’s sizes which is like totally illegal or summit and sexist against Jazz Funk and cool boys like me! These shoes were the coolest fookin thing on the dance floor and I have now taken to bandaging my feet up on a night time like them Japanese birds so I can like fit into them and ting

Me personally, what are my views? Well I am a regular Allnighter goer, I am out most weekends and miss very few Allnighters apart from those Saturdays where two clashes, and I won’t drive past a decent Nighter to go to a further one in distance. I do have loyalty but that is a two way street and the dance floor is my litmus test not to be confused with my own interpretation of the quality line. Why did I start the thread? I was telephoned by a promoter who can name him self if he so wishes, I shall not. The phone call was made to me after a Nighter had clashed and I listened intently at concerns and we discussed if anything could ever be done. We debated a scheme and a voluntary code of conduct, all have been tried on the Scooter Scene with National Scooter Runs clashing with break away runs and this didn’t work. I said that I would start a dialogue on here to see if there was any ground to be gained from the promoters.

Allnighter Dates Clashing can anything be done? Why do some Allnighter dates clash and is there anything practically that can be done to prevent this happening or is this just a regrettable reality? Can we have this discussion without it turning into a pie fight please x

Manifesto Soul Magazine Manifesto Soul Magazine I need a contact for Mike Ritson please

To all you so call dancers who have just done The One Show well I have been asked to appear in Casualty so you can all suck my knobbly stump and shit! I am to play a bloke dancing to Northernsoul who slips a disc and shit! I told em I wasn't a DJ but they insist on me slippin a disc and shit so who's fookin stoopid now!!! IN YOUR FACE IN YOUR FACE IN YOUR FACE

Have we got a new Middleton? What do I want from a Northernsoul Venue? I suppose Andy kershaw's quote in the early eighties "We're not here to give the public what it wants. We're here to give the public what it didn't know it wanted." is the ethos I want the promoter and the DJ's to have, thankfully I can find this at many Allnighters and the thrill of hearing something new or dusted off keeps me out there searching for sweet soul music. On Saturday Night at Lifeline Real Deal Rare Soul Allnighter At The Brookfields Club (The Stables), Cannock Road, Shareshill, Wolverhampton, I was absaloutley impressed with the complete package given at Lifeline on Saturday Night, the music was danceable and the rule book was completely shredded!!!!! For me it was a delicious joy and I left with my batteries recharged and I am as excited about returning to this venue as I once was for Middleton! The Northernsoul Scene needs, no deserves another venue that is not a dreary pastiche of what the media believes that we are about, thank you sincerely to all involved in this, daring to do what we once where all about is a brave thing especially as there is a financial consideration but thank god we still have a Great British Allnighter with people determined not to sell out! Middleton was a beacon of light shining like a diamond in a bucket of shat, I do not wish to completely compare Lifeline to Middleton as it has its own character and personality, I am saying that I felt a new vibrant spirit that I welcome.

I know Brian and the lovely Angie get out and about as much as I do, Bri does Soul nights and I do Nighters, no high or low ground claimed or implied Bro X, I do know what you mean and if I and my travelling compadres are treated with indifference we don't return, simples and it is their loss. There are some Allnighters that I just will not do as I feel they are cliquey and I always feel like a gate crasher, one of the big ones has a regular invite back to their house for the chosen few which is ace but when that becomes a kind of selling point for their Nighter you can't hep but feel excluded, maybe our group hasn't got the right kind of social skills? The front of shop is vital, massive own goals can be scored by not greeting someone who has just spent two hours driving to a venue, it is both ignorant and quite short sighted. Once in the venue, I care little for socialising, I am there to dance like the devil him self but I do kinda want to feel comfortable and not feel dread, the only time I have ever felt dread was at the Coalville Allnighter when I honestly thought it was going to go pear shaped with the locals!