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Northern Soul Magazine Review

Written by Paul Clarke

When the good people at KRL Towers first asked me to write an article for this issue of N.Soul I naturally asked for a brief, “just write about where you’ve been lately” came back the response. Easy enough you might think for a man that gets out as much as I do, except that because I had to go to Ireland for family reasons at Christmas money has been a bit tight and I haven’t been out a much as I would normally. On the other hand though being a ‘glass half full’ type I decided that this could work in my favour and allow me the chance to focus particularly on one night and venue that I have been to, that for me epitomises exactly where I am musically these days.

Before starting on that, there have been two gigs of note that are more than worth a mention first.

First up is the 100 Club Christmas party. This venue already rightfully has a legendary place in the SOUL scene but for me two of my favourite nights of the year are not nighters, but the Christmas and Easter parties. I was not disappointed this time either. The atmosphere was, as usual, absolutely cracking and the floor full all night. I know the London scene has a reputation for being a bit too earnest at times but this event demonstrates more than any other that London SOULies know how to let our hair down and party with the best of them. The evening is dominated by the classics, which I personally don’t think is a bad thing, akin to Sunday night at Cleethorpes and is full of people that, because of my penchant these days for travelling around, I don’t get to see as much as I would like to including Valatone promoter Johnny Timlin, N.Soul contributor and Acid Jazz boss Eddie Piller and the whirling dervish that is the legend D’Arcy Marlborough.

There is no point tracklisting the night, it was a party and you know what to expect, but at the end of the evening when I said goodnight to Ady and I saw he was smiling as widely as his punters had been all evening I thought to myself so he should, another job well done and a perfect way to prepare for the upcoming holiday.

I am not going to dwell too much on the excellent Smooth FM Hilton SOUL Weekend either, as I am sure it will be dealt with in much more detail elsewhere in the magazine. What I will say is that in my opinion this one was the best yet. Highlights include Bob Jeffries’ sets in the ‘dance’ room. Although Bob is a Southport and Hilton stalwart I feel he really does not get the recognition he deserves generally south of the border, but mark my words he is as good as anyone in the UK at putting together a set for dancing to, especially when it comes to SOULful House and Garage, and he oozes good taste. Before this becomes an address by the Bob Jeffries fan club I should also mention Saturday afternoon in the retro room was as usual excellent with the Orwell boys showing what they do so brilliantly every month along with Terry Jones of course, Terry’s set in the lounge on Saturday night Sunday morning had everyone dancing, including a certain Mr Taylor of the Ginger variety, and Dean’s reggae session on Friday night added something a little different that was really well received by the crowd in that room.

The Hilton weekender is a perfect ‘pick me up’ after Christmas and I think it is the variety that makes it so. You hear all types of SOUL music across all eras and although it is a very difficult thing to keep everyone happy, Richard and his team seem to pull it off with some aplomb.

For balance my only criticism is something that the promoters are powerless to do anything about. Unfortunately one of the downsides of opening up a weekender like this to the listeners of a popular station like Smooth FM is, that not being SOUL scene regulars, they do not have the same reverence for the artists that we normally would. This was demonstrated to me on Saturday night when Lenny Williams was performing and chunks of the audience spent the majority of his set talking amongst each other. As I say I am at a loss to think what can be done to stop this, perhaps a leaf out of the Jazz Café’s book and put a sign up with the letters STFU and when people ask what it means, they get told, can you work it out? Having said that, whilst I felt for Lenny, it didn’t spoil the weekend in any way, I wouldn’t let it!!!!

The main focus of this missive though is about a bi-monthly night that has recently started in the North East. Before I start though I had better qualify the article by saying that yes Terry Jones is one of my closest friends, however I can assure you that my thoughts about this gig are not in any way biased by that. If you were to ask Terry I am sure that he would be the first to tell you that I am always completely honest with my feedback to him whenever he asks my opinion on any of the nights he does, and have no fear of criticising him if I feel it is ever warranted, even if I rarely need to. Given that I can be that honest with Terry then, I promise you I would not put my name to anything that is anything less than sincere here.

Without further ado then I refer your attention to The Village Soul sessions at The Voodoo Rooms which is upstairs at Bar Pure in Sunderland.

Colin Johnson and Peter Blacklock are two local guys that used to visit the Norfolk Village, while working in London, when it was in its prime. They in turn told their friends at home about it and Terry became popular with SOULies in the North East, especially with the Southport regulars. One such regular, Kenny Sanger, came up with the idea of promoting a regular night in his home town which as much as reflecting what the Village was all about, primarily was a reflection of Southport, in particular the legendary Saturday afternoon Connoisseurs Sessions, the key word here though is reflection and NOT recreation. In summary then this gig was conceived at Southport, but its DNA is Norfolk Village.

Like the Village the night is mainly Terry playing music, normally for about four of the six hours, with local DJ Gary Pescod playing the first couple. Gary also plays downstairs where the fayre is house, but I have to say on my first visit I spent sometime down there listening and chatting with Gary, and his take on house music was very SOULful too, and it can also be very enjoyable flitting between the two rooms, albeit the locals downstairs aren’t as into the music as the paying guests in The Voodoo Rooms.

The music policy here is all eras with quality being the bi-word, rather than rarity, and the focus most definitely towards the dancefloor, and before you ask, no it definitely is not the ‘same old same old’. I am not one to normally dwell too much on playlists as frankly I find lists of any kind boring whether they are a list of locomotive numbers or a list of records, and they are quite often used negatively by detractors to a gig or a particular DJ. In this case though I feel there is some merit in including one as it demonstrates aptly what the night is all about, so here is a sample of what is played which TJ kindly put together for me and which demonstrates nicely the club’s music policy. Terry tells me that he is often asked where he gets his dance records from and he tells me that the ones listed here can be got from Rob Grant, e-mail him at robgrant@blueyonder.co.uk for more details:

SOULmates - Fred Every

Someday We'll All Be Free - Diplomats of SOUL feat Noel McCalla

That's The Way Love Is (Underground Mix) - Ten City

California SOUL - Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell

Hey Baby - Anthony White

Another Star - The Imperials

The Way You Love Me (DFP TSOP Mix) - Ron Hall feat. Mark Evans

I Don't Love you Anymore - Mark Evans

He Is The Joy BC's (Unissued Mix) - Donna Allen

Love You So - Jesse Outlaw

Let Love - Bert Bevans presents Nermin featuring Ayah.

Let Me Know You're Feelin' Me - Glenn Underground featuring Leroy Burgess

I Never Knew - 280 West & Diamond Temple feat. The Moments

If You Really Love Me - Stevie Wonder

Just A Kiss Away - Buddy Miles Free pt 2

Seawind - Rasmus Faber's Brazilian Journey Project

I'll Be Holding On - Al Downing

Light'n Up - Ty Karim

Date With The Rain (unreleased downpour mix)- Eddie Kendricks

I Was Born This Way (extended Harris Machine Classic Mix) - Carl Bean

Not so long ago I was a died in the wool Northern SOUL boy but through promoting the original Rocket, and hence needing to go to ‘Modern’ gigs to put out flyers and spread the word, I have quickly come to realise there is a whole load of music that I have been missing out on. I still, and always will, love sixties SOUL but that doesn’t preclude me from loving newer stuff too. The Village SOUL sessions appeal to me so much because it is just about SOUL music full stop!!! SOUL music not labelled or categorised. For me this is how it should be, enjoying the best music in the world in ALL of its forms and letting it lift me up and take me on a journey the way it was always meant to. Something recorded last week isn’t necessarily any less SOULful than a recording of 40 years ago, in fact quite often the reverse can be true. This gig not only recognises that fact it positively celebrates it.

Of course a really special night is more than just about music, let’s face it sometimes you can hear all your very favourite tunes, but if it’s in a ‘dive’ full of idiots you still can’t wait to get home, right???

As I said earlier the venue is upstairs at a bar called Pure in the centre of Sunderland, which is owned and run by one of the friendliest bar owners you will ever meet, and is someone who also loves his music. Called the Voodoo Room there is a bar and seating area on one side and a stage/DJ area and dance floor on the other. The décor is perfect for a SOUL gig and the lighting is just about right. On one side of the stage old video footage of various SOUL artists provides a backdrop to the music reminiscent of what we did in the Northern room at the Rocket. Add to that a very reasonably priced bar and only four pounds to get in and you have all the makings of a great venue, and believe me the atmosphere generated in this room is testimony to that fact. I do have one criticism of the venue though and that is that the upstairs toilets are somewhat short of salubrious, so my advice is to use down stairs, well someone had to say something!!!!

The other factor in making a night successful is to ensure you have a good crowd. I seriously don’t think you will find better than you get here at any other SOUL night in the country. And it’s not just locals either. Apart from people who travel up with me from London, there have been people from Scotland, Manchester, Birmingham, Yorkshire and even Germany at the last one. The mix of people is what really makes it so special though. The room is packed with an age range from teenagers to one or two in their fifties, they are all just there to dance to and celebrate this great music of ours. As many of you know I go to a lot of dos around the country and in Europe, but I can honestly say it is rarely that I see such a mixed bunch of people all without exception so apparently enjoying themselves. The adjective that springs to mind is joyous, and that for me is what SOUL music has always been. Being here and seeing it manifested that way on the many smiling faces is simply that, joyous. Perhaps the closest thing to it is the Southport Saturday afternoon Connoisseurs Sessions, but to compare the night with something else does it a disservice as it is very special in its own rite.

The interest in Village SOUL has been so great that Kenny has put up a website which gives details of future dates, CDs, T-shirts etc. and the address is: www.barpure.co.uk/villagesoul.

I have no vested interest in The Village Soul sessions, and, as I alluded to earlier, I believe that being blindly biased towards Terry does neither of us any favours. My enthusiasm for this gig centres on its values and a belief that this kind of event is the way forward for our scene. As the SOUL scene condenses, which it is doing, we need to be less fragmented, not more so, and we need to more encompassing and encouraging to new believers. Tags and labels only serve to fragment us further and promote a preciousness that deters newcomers. One good friend of mine told me how his teenage daughter loves SOUL music but feels uncomfortable with the scene. To be honest I can understand why, but heh there is enough in that subject to fill a whole new article. What Village SOUL does is wonderfully dispense with any such prejudices and out of date protocols and it is for that reason above all else that I genuinely rate the night so much.

If you like your SOUL to be enjoyable and without labels or politics go and see for yourself what I am writing about and maybe you’ll agree with me, but get there early as they get seriously close to needing to lock people out.

- Paul Clarke