THIS
IS
IS
A look at the music, at the
man behind the music and
the music behind the man....
Hi and welcome to ‘THIS IS SOUL’.
Just to give a little background of myself and let you know how and why I became interested in the Northern Soul scene and why it has lasted for so long: I was born in Stoke on Trent (hence the nickname ‘STOKOE’) in nineteen fifty doo dah! .. but my family soon moved to Wales and here I have been ever since. I joined the ‘Friendship’ youth club in Colwyn Bay and there it was that Northern Soul first hit me- I was about 13 at the time and I didn’t then know how much it would change my taste in music, or how long the ‘love-affair’ would last. At 15 or so I visited the Wigan Casino for the first time and WOW! What a place. And what music! And the dancing? It just blew my mind. Totally.
When I was sixteen I did my first ever gig as a DJ- it was in the youth club- and it was such a great experience that I couldn’t wait for the next time and from then on I did as many spots as I could and anywhere that I could get a chance. Wonderful ...being a DJ and playing ‘my’ music!! From then on I went to just about every Northern Soul event I could find, even if it meant travelling to the other end of the country: it didn’t matter how far I went just so long as I could find a venue to visit and hopefully do a spot at. The music was all.
Just to give a little background of myself and let you know how and why I became interested in the Northern Soul scene and why it has lasted for so long: I was born in Stoke on Trent (hence the nickname ‘STOKOE’) in nineteen fifty doo dah! .. but my family soon moved to Wales and here I have been ever since. I joined the ‘Friendship’ youth club in Colwyn Bay and there it was that Northern Soul first hit me-
As time went by I met my wife and we settled down, having kids along the way and the scene drifted away from me. Then one day, about fifteen years later, I was walking back from town and passed by a ‘house on the corner’. Nothing too interesting in that you may say and I would normally agree. But... Out of this house was coming ‘That sound’. THAT SOUND!!
I rushed home and asked my wife to go back to the house and find out who was playing ‘my music’. And so Big Mike and I first met and the following weekend we went up to Blackburn, to the King Georges Hall, and boy was I surprised as to how big the Northern scene still was. With memories of the Wigan Casino days flooding back I danced all night. Had a chat with the DJ’s too and thought of all my vinyl lying in the loft, loved still but unused and gathering dust...MMMMM?.... Wonder if I could get into the DJ business again.
Two friendships were made that night- one with ‘my music’ again and one with Big Mike. And both have lasted.
I rushed home and asked my wife to go back to the house and find out who was playing ‘my music’. And so Big Mike and I first met and the following weekend we went up to Blackburn, to the King Georges Hall, and boy was I surprised as to how big the Northern scene still was. With memories of the Wigan Casino days flooding back I danced all night. Had a chat with the DJ’s too and thought of all my vinyl lying in the loft, loved still but unused and gathering dust...MMMMM?.... Wonder if I could get into the DJ business again.
Two friendships were made that night-
Favourite DJ’s: Ginger Taylor, Chris King, ‘Butch’, Neil Jones.