Sheffield’s
Big Soul Night, presented by GoldSoul, returns to the City Hall ballroom for
Valentine’s weekend, on Saturday, February 15, 9pm to 2am.
Three
rooms of classic dancefloor favourites will be presented by some of the North’s
best-loved soul DJs including Richard Searling, pictured, Kev Roberts, Hallam
FM’s Steve White and BBC Radio Sheffield’s soul man, John Kane.
Others
include Sean Hampsey, Tony B, Ginger Taylor, Snowy, Andy Bellwood, Nige Brown,
Steve Foster and Melvyn Walker.
It’s for
over-18s only.
Tickets
in advance are £10 each, £12.50 on the door, booking fees may apply. Buy in
person from the Box Office, call 0114 278 9789, visit www.sheffieldcityhall.co.uk & www.goldsoul.co.uk
& www.wow247.co.uk
Richard,
who presented Soul Sauce on the then Radio Hallam, between 1980-85, has been
telling us how he and Kev Roberts decided the time was right to launch soul
nights in the prestigious venue.
He’s also
been looking back at special soul memories he has for Sheffield in this
Q&A.
Q: Can
you give me some background on both of you (where are you from, did you both
come up with the idea for the club nights, who else is involved, how did it
start, how long have they been running etc.)
A:
Whilst Kev lives locally, I’ m actually from the other side of the hills, a
born and bred Lancastrian, however I do have very strong connections with South
Yorkshire due to my “Soul Sauce” radio programmes which I presented for Radio
Hallam between 1980-85.
Kev and
myself came up with the idea of running these 3 room soul nights a couple of
years ago. We thought the time was right to put Northern Soul, Modern Soul and
Motown into a prestigious venue and where else but the City Hall? There are
many smaller club nights in and around the area, and from day one we have been
delighted that the Big Soul Nights at the City Hall have brought everyone
together under one roof.
We use the main Ballroom for classic Motown, 60s club soul and Northern Soul anthems, while the side rooms are more specialist musically featuring current Allnighter rarities and Soulful Dance respectively. We are pleased to have a very strong line up of DJs including top local names such as Sean Hampsey, Tony “B”, David Needham and Radio Hallam’s Steve White, plus BBC Radio Sheffield’s soul man, John Kane.
Q: Where
have you DJ’d before (career background)
A: Both
myself and Kev were resident original DJs at the legendary Wigan Casino All
Nighters from 1973-1981 , and we still carry the torch for Northern Soul with
huge events at the Kings Hall, Stoke, The Tower Ballroom , Blackpool, The
Whitby Pavilion Weekenders amongst many others.
I’ve
also appeared at the much-missed Clifton Hall Allnighters in Rotherham which
were absolutely brilliant back in the early 1980s. We also used to run terrific
Soul and Jazz Funk Alldayers at Romeo and Juliet’s in Sheffield , around
1983/84.
Q: What
inspired the Big Soul Night?
A: We
were inspired by the response we have had to similar 3 roomed soul events in
Blackburn , Blackpool and Stoke . Additionally, we were constantly being urged
to approach the City Hall so that people who loved the music could appreciate
it in superb surroundings and enjoy a really good social night out meeting
friends they may have lost touch with since the days of local soul clubs such
as “Samantha’s”, “ Rebels” , “The King Mojo” the “Esquire” the “Clifton Halls”
, The “ Heartbeat”, “The Penthouse” “The Birdcage” , “The Charade” , The “Up
and Up”, the “1812” and Manchester’s famed “Twisted Wheel”.
“Were
you in with the In – Crowd?”…if so, you’ll no doubt remember these clubs and
will want to relive the great memories at a City Hall Big Soul Night Out!
Q: What
are the influences for the club nights- what music can an audience expect to
hear? (a few typical Motown and Northern Soul songs?)
A: On
the night, there will be a wide and varied selection of classic and
contemporary soul featured , here are just a few examples of what you can
expect to hear in each of the 3 rooms:
Ballroom – Classic 60s , Motown and
a taste of Northern Soul:
Billy
Butler - The right track
Ramsey
Lewis - Wade in the water
Marvin
Gaye - Little darling (I need you )
Chuck
Wood - Seven days too long
The Four
Tops - It’s the same old song
Allnighter room:
Joy
Lovejoy - In orbit
Little
Anthony - Better use your head
The Dell
- Run for cover
The Tomangoes - I really love you
Marie
Knight - That’s no way to treat a girl
Modern Soul room:
Bob
Sinclair - Tribute
Phyllis
Hyman - You know how to love me
Teddy
Pendergrass - You more I get, the more I want
Harold
Melvin - The love I lost
Lonnie
Liston - Smith Expansions
Q:
What’s the audience like, what’s their reaction to the club nights? (want to
stress it’s not just a club night for twenty-somethings)
A: We
are attracting a very wide audience. Lots of locals obviously , but as word is
spreading about how good these twice yearly events are, we are starting to get
followers from all around the North and Midlands, and due to the breadth of
soul music on offer, they are aged anywhere between 18 and 68!
Q: How
is it different from other club nights in the region?
As far
as I know it’s the only 3-roomer, giving three distinctly different scenes
under one roof. It’s also by far the most spacious venue and well- served with
great facilities such as the splendid dance floors and fabulous “meet and
greet” bar area. Most of all, I think we differ from a normal club night in as
much that 100% of our customers are there for one thing only – 50 years of top
class soul music, from 1964-2014!
Q: How
does the City Hall’s Ballroom lend itself to the club nights, is it a location
that works well?
A: Hard
to beat the location, you just cannot miss it - and I’m sure this has been one
of the main reasons for our success. Inside, the dancers could not ask for more
– fabulous wooden dance floors in 3 rooms, great sound systems and top class
DJs.
Q: Why
do you keep coming back? (hopefully because it works well!)
A:
Because each event gets better than the last one………we have also been careful
not to over expose the event – keeping it to two events ( February and August )
each year has kept it fresh and folks now look forward to their City Hall Soul
Night “fix” when it comes round every six months.
Q: Are
either of you involved in any other projects (record
label/promoting/presenting?)
A: I
have my own record label, Go Ahead records specialising in re-issuing in demand 60s and 70s tracks. Kev presents an array
of soul shows, most notably for Signal in the Midlands and Solar Radio on DAB,
nationally.
I
regularly consult with record companies on soul projects, for instance I’ve
recently released a box set of Tamla Motown rare 45s and a Wigan Casino “40th
Anniversary” double CD for the Universal Music Group.
Q: Will
the nights be on for years to come!? Where else are they in case customers want
to travel to others too?
A: We
hope so! After the February one, we are back at the City Hall on Saturday 9th
August 2014. For more details of other nights we run, it’s probably a good idea
to check out the website www.goldsoul.co.uk where there is a full calendar of
events.
Q: Have
you got any funny/interesting stories from your career?
A: Can’t
think of any off the top of my head………………hopefully enough with this though?
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