Theresa

You were the best looker there Molly, so Russ conveniently chose to forget you as he didn't like the competition Can I ask your identity then 70sfreak? Were you referring to Tony Lee? First Aldershot guys I met at the BL propping up the bar were Gary Lee & Big Ian, the latter sadly no longer with us. T x

Hiya lass, we'll have to agree to differ on that one. Niter folk are niter folk, they don't stop going because of the internet! I'm 41 and have three under-fives. Most of our friends fall into the same bracket with primary school age kids. I've had 5 years off, just occasionally going to local soul nights (because I've been mostly up the duff or breastfeeding lol), but have been back with a vengeance the last couple of months. It's work and family that stops us going out as much as we used to. There ARE more events than ever out there, and it's easier to find out about them & see who else is going, but it does mean the punters are spread more thinly. The internet is just a part of the marketing mix for everyone, and won't ever replace flyers and word of mouth. Some promoters use it better than others, but I still got lots of mailshots through the post. I knew DJs in times gone by who wouldn't make tapes because they said it would stop people coming to niters! The scene has peaks and troughs of popularity, but it shakes down regularly. And how can anyone complain about glossy flyers when you've quality the like of the soulcommandos' Cardiff Allnighter ones? Sheer genius. And don't you scribble numbers and notes down on your Blackberry now rather than on backs of flyers ? T'interweb. Couldn't live without it. Theresa x

Great days, proper across the board policy, but also a pretty groundbreaking alternative room in its day - here's a tiny pic of the hubby Justin doing his stuff at Keele in his dungarees - the original rubberlegs man, hope it comes out OK. We've got a couple of hours video footage from Sat 26 March 94 - will see if we can get some copies done.

Or what about Armand Van Helden's You Don't Know Me, from Carrie Lucas' Dance With U? And Stardust's Music Sounds Better With You from Chaka Khan's Fate? I loved all that Disco House stuff from the late 90s. Wasn't keen on the Freemasons' take on 'This Time Baby' from a couple of years back (Love On My Mind). Massive on the gay scene though apparently. Mind you, I always thought that Jackie Moore's version was better than the O'Jays in the first place. T x

If nothing else, the invention of Multimap has meant that we no longer spend 2 hours circling alien northern towns trying to find niter venues , so I give the internet a massive thumbs up

Was just thinking today, that sometimes when you get over the initial choking reaction to someone 'stealing one of our tunes', the result of a sampling can be better than the original, or at least different in a good way. For instance, despite Johnnie Taylor's 'What About My Love' being one of my all-time favourites, once I'd recovered from the shock of hearing it on mainstream radio, I quite liked the way Shapeshifters Lola's Theme made an uplifting song out of a heartbreakingly sad one. Shame Johnnie never got to see it at No.1, bless him. I loved Deep Sensation's treatment of Sly Johnson for 'Somehow, Somewhere (There's a Soul Heaven)', and of course Angie Stone's 'Wish I Didn't Miss You'. What about some more recent ones? T x

We used to go in the early 90s. Always had a great time. Nice floor. We had a 2-seater at the time and Dru sometimes had to sit under my feet in the passenger side footwell all the way down the A3 to get there! Theresa x

It's not often I cry at the keyboard, but I can't help myself today, no pun intended. There aren't many singers who have travelled with me from 70s youth club disco to Australian mod scene and back, 80s scooter rallies to 90s Cleethorpes weekenders, South coast soul nights to Southport Saturday afternoon sessions. Has anyone got a pic of that lovely scooter that used to be Karl Russell's? Post it up for me would you please? Theresa x When the world falls apart some things stay in place She takes off the Four Tops tape and puts it back in its case And when the world falls apart some things stay in place Levi Stubbs tears...

Spankingly fine tunes there Joel, except Benny Troy which in my head just launches ten thousand scooter boys dancing like marionettes! Anyway, how's it hanging with you honey? T x

Lovely! My eldest Leon is named after Messrs Haywood, Ware & Huff... not forgetting that most excellent film of the same name. Here's my little Leon. Beeks I'm sure 'Don't push it don't force it, let it happen naturally...' ought to be on the playlist at your naturist northern niter mate.

Ahhh, just read the whole thread - so many fantastic tracks, including some proper smile-inducers and heart-stabbers I'd forgotten about but will always associate with different nights around the country. Yes, lots are overplayed or not in the least bit rare, but who cares? Here's a small selection from my squillions of favourites, in no particular order: Charade - Four Tracks The game is over - Brown Sugar To be in love - MAW feat India What's your name? - Leon Ware Your love's so wonderful - Natural Four One-nighter - Dynamic Superiors The inner side - Shazz Optimistic - Sounds of Blackness (is there anything much more uplifting than this?) Somehow somewhere there's a soul heaven - Deep Sensation Papillon - Luther Vandross Sweet tears - Roy Ayres What the child needs - Terry Ronald Next lifetime - Erykah Badu (still gets me you b*****d!) Another star - Kathy Sledge Gemini lady - Ron Henderson Spread love - Al Hudson And not forgetting the only track that'll get me up at the work's Christmas do or dodgy wedding - Native New Yorker by Odyssey! T x

Hi there, think there might be a mixup here with another guy. Russ Breen is alive & well and still living in Beds area - I just spoke to him a few days ago as he was hoping to come to Bisley with us. Still gets out to some soul dos, rides a Lambretta and always goes to IOW scooter rally, but has 2 small kids so not quite so often as he used to. He did have a terrible road accident back around 2000 but made a pretty good recovery and is working etc. He'll probably never throw a backdrop again, but that might be a blessing PM me your phone number & email and I'll pass it on to him. Theresa x