Theresa

That's so true - my husband calls it pre-Minstrel tension, as it always seems better after a large bar of Galaxy...

I see you can get it on CD. That's got to be a post-niter 'in the car' album if ever I heard one. Spacey zodiac spoken word is right up my street on misty mornings wending my way home from dusty northern civic halls! A few Geminis on here then. Annoying self-obsessed twats aren't we? Clever, but annoying nonetheless...

Some great ones guys, and one truly awful one Mossy. Did you know that Leo Sayer isn't even a Leo? His parents should be done under the Trade Descriptions Act. On a number of counts. Toni Braxton has got to be infinitely preferable in every way. So, no-one's fessed up to being a Virgo yet? Come on Mr Dopson, I know you're one. On Dusty Groove America I noticed a 1972 LP by Cannonball Adderley called Soul Zodiac, featuring a different tune for each sign, but I've never heard it. Has anyone got it? Theresa x

Wasn't 'Float On' on Disco Fever from K-Tel? "Cancer, and my name is Larry!" I was 10 years old and it's stuck in my consciousness for ever.

There are loads of record labels named after astrological signs, but how about artists, or the tunes that have them in the title or mention them in the song? Here are some to start us off: The Stars - Barbara Lewis Gemini Lady - Ron Henderson & Choice of Colour He's an Aries Man - Star Bright Let's have your contributions plus your own star sign. I'm a Gemini by the way, and quite happy to accept that you fellas think it's a load of old toss! It's not manly to appreciate astrology, we know that. Theresa x

Has anyone got a link to these Spearmint tracks? I haven't heard them, and though I think The Four Tops could be sacrilege, I still need a listen as that's one of my all time top twenty tunes and I'd love to hear what they did with it! T

I went to Stoke, and there were large numbers there, but after my fourth pint of wine I lost count... Maybe 800-900? You literally couldn't move on the dancefloor for the first few hours it was that busy. I'm sure someone will come on and slate me for being miles out. Theresa

Hi Stevie boy, yes - five years off for good behaviour, back to the rallies and I'm still the centrefold! Both of our mouths clamped shut - now that's unusual. Did you also see a certain ex-husband in the Mersea write-up, looking like one of the Dubliners? I see Loz sneaked in there too - they must have needed to up their ginger quota or something They were some proper good nites at Hilsea Lido though. I'm sure Colin Barratt got banned because they thought he blocked the toilets up... Was just reminiscing about the place to Justin when we went past for the IOW. That South Coast crowd were so friendly and welcoming. The road down there always seemed endless, although it's not actually that far, but we always seemed to fly home in about 10 minutes Great to see you recently, and looking so happy mate x

Oh Uxbridge Man, how I love it when ginger men get all masterful with me, *sigh*. You're right, I know nothing about soul, but I do love little kittens... Are you out this Saturday then? We'll be up at Stoke. Did you have a good birthday? T x

Ha ha. Is that you then Mr Foreman? How you doin?

We really like to vary it a bit - it's nice to go to something different every week. But saying that, I definitely prefer a 'full-time soulie' niter crowd, if you know what I mean. They don't go home early, and clap in the right places . Love watching groups of really talented dancers, and they need a bit of space usually. The big venues tend to have the sprung dancefloors, which is always good. Remember the Ritz when everyone would be stomping together and the floor was literally bouncing? Small intimate venues are more atmospheric, and if all your mates are there, plus a couple of sexy DJs, you don't need much else. Some of the best nights ever have been like that. T x

We're getting off topic here, but it's not a joke, honest! You get a bit of all that at every scooter rally, depending on which do you attend. It's not to my taste either, but it obviously floats some peoples' boats. Plenty of skinheads who'd get up to any of those genres, they don't see any dichotomy. Personally I find a dancefloor swilling in beer and littered with drunken boneheads a massive turnoff, but I love scooters, northern & modern. The folks at the ferry company said there were 17000 at this year's Isle of Wight, so it continues to be popular.

Tis true, I can't be doing with that there skanking on a northern floor... Plenty of scooter nights available for that mixed market - bit of northern, bit of ska, bit of psychobilly, bit of mod, oi, whatever.

Definitely. And Soulsearcher's 'Can't Get Enough' pissed all over the crap lyrics of 'Let's Lovedance Tonight' by Gary's Gang. Respect to the Carshalton Massive... I used to go to St Phils! Theresa x

We obviously just knock about with a lot of late starters then. If only I'd had the internet when I was younger then maybe I wouldn't have spent so long in the heavy petting phase and I might've got on to sex before I was 36...

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...