Graham Slater Presents

Like most youths in the early 60's the Beatles and Stones played a big part in my musical upbringing, but it

wasn't long before I realised that soul music from artists like Eddie Floyd, Sam & Dave, Wilson Picket, Otis

Redding and the Motown Sound of the Temptations, Miracles, Supremes, Marvin Gaye & the Four Tops is

what I wanted to hear and go out and buy. There were others of course Sam Cooke. The Drifters, Jackie Wilson

and Chuck Jackson to name a few, these were all being added to my collection of records. Although I was a

regular at Palin's and Big Daddies, I started going to other places that played more of the music I liked. In

Halifax there was the Plebians, Dewsbury - The Bin Lid, Huddersfield - Lord Jims, Bradford - String of Beads

and Leeds - The Blue Gardinia (BG) some of these held all night sessions. The other 2 clubs I went to were the

Cavern in Burnley and Manchester's Twisted Wheel. The Twisted Wheel is noted as the birthplace of Northern

Soul, but this is only due to Dave Godin coining the phrase in the early 70's and the Wheel being the main club

still playing soul music even though there was smaller clubs up and down the country playing up tempo soul.

I first heard some of my favorite records at the Wheel like the Contours - Just a Little Misunderstanding, Darrel

Banks - Open the door to your heart, Bobby Sheen - Dr. Love the list is endless and I saw acts like Edwin Starr,

JJ Jackson, Ike and Tina Turner and Jr. Walker. It's was also the place I met my wife (well on the bus going

there), she lived in Keighley and she and a few other soul fans from the same area caught the bus to Halifax

went to the Vic Lounge (now Yates),met with others from Leeds and Bradford before catching the last bus to

Manchester with the Halifax crowd. The Vic Lounge was packed with soul people every weekend this was due

to the excellent Juke Box full of mostly soul with a little R&B (60's style) and Ska. The pub was run by Milton

Lumb and it was his son Jeff who was a regular at the Wheel who stocked the Juke Box. It was in the Vic I did

my first regular DJing night, I'd done a few parties for friends, my first was because someone wanted to borrow

my records, I wasn't too sure about this so I turned up with 2 record players I had a ball and so did everybody

else, I was lined up or my second party this time I turned up with 2 record decks, amplifier and speakers, 15

minutes into the night the speakers blow up, fortunately one of the lads who lived close had a big speaker the

rest of the night went well. The third I thought I'd get a microphone, everything went OK, until I opened the

mike to speak as I did this it also picked up the taxi rank from downstairs, (taxi for Mixenden, come in car 7),

from then on no more soul parties in the Plummet Line. Jeff and Milton had left the Vic Lounge along with all

the records on the Juke Box, the new landlord Keith wanted to keep the same clientele so he asked me to stock

the juke box for him, he then asked if I would do a Thursday Soul night, the night really took off, then came a

Sunday night as well. It was at this point I teamed up with Gary Chatburn from Keighley, together we did 6

years at the Vic, we also started a soul night at the Wellington and later on at the RAOB Club both in Keighley.

The Vic was great for playing records (no dancing licence) so we could play anything soulful, but Northern Soul

is about dancing so when 2 regulars Janette Brogan and Alan Milnes told me they had taken some soul records

up Tiffanies in Broad Street and the DJ played them, they suggested I should do the same with some of mine,so

we all could dance. The following Monday I did and half waythrough the night the DJ Phil Jay asked me if I

wanted to do a spot from then on Phil and myself worked together there every Monday and Saturday at Rachells

in Wakefield. The Monday nights at Tiffs went that well they opened a teen scene on Sunday night playing

mostly soul and also had Alldayers. At that time I'd met Paul Cooke from Pennine Radio he presented The

Pennine Soul Express he'd been to the RAOB Club in Keighley and asked me if I would come on the show each

week and present soul picks from both clubs,latter I wrote the script and supplied all the records for the A to Z

of Northern and Soul Oldies. Back in Halifax Pennine Radio's Julius K. Scragg had started a weekly teen disco at

the Civic (now the Victoria Theatre), he had a few problems most of the kids wanted soul and northern at that.

Because I was already at Pennine and Halifax he asked if I could come and work with him the night was a big

success, we also ran Alldayers with DJs like Richard Searling and Dave Evison.

Towards the end of the seventies Disco and Jazz Funk was influencing peoples musical taste (mine included) it

pushed Northern Soul back under ground again. My DJing went from 3-4 per week to 2-3 per year, most of

these were guest spots playing my oldies. I could have travelled further a field but at that time I had just started

my sign and exhibition business, Delta Signs & Graphics in Bradford and Sandra and I had also had our first son

Lee. For the next few years I did what a normal parent would do, go to work, we had our second son Mark and

only DJing a couple a times a year and of course dancing in the front room (when nobody's there) to my old

sounds.

In 1991, 4 Halifax Lads Gibby, Guss, Nige and Klarkie who used to go up Tiffanys on Monday night started a

soul night at the Yorkshire Rider Club, I went along and was offered a spot, once again the bug had got me. The

next 12 years saw me guesting at many soul venues all over Yorkshire and Lancashire including Ibiza in 2002

and Teneriffe earlier this month.

Over the past few years Northern Soul has made a big come back, not just the oldies but new releases and

crossover modern soul. The dress code of the seventies has almost gone and people are returning to the scene,

their kids have grown up, they've heard the tunes on the KFC Ads and it's rekindled old memories.

Locally if you want to go to a venue there's the Ritz in Brighouse, 500 in every month be early if you want to get

in. Then in Thornton Road Bradford there's the New Tyke, 150 to 180 get in there each 2nd Friday of each

month, the next one there is a Christmas Special with Soul singer Johnny a protégé of Tommy Hunt who will

also be there, along with DJs Ray, Hockey, Paul Jones, Steve Burke and myself. There's also the Nitty Gritty

Soul Club held at the Yorkshire Rider that's on Saturday the 20th December, the first one they had there this

month was a belter I'll be back DJing there on the 20th. Finally there's the Harold Club on Huddersfield Road,

Low Moor, Bradford.

Christmas is coming up so you might want to buy a few Northern Soul sounds, I know Wall Of Sound in the

Piece Hall and Jumbo Records in Leeds carry stocks of CDs and 7" vinyl. There are more releases on Northern

Soul then any other specialist music form.

There's also plenty of soul sites on the net, just type "northern soul" in your search engine, I can also

recommend Rick & Helens www.hearts-of-soul.co.uk, it has lots of links, info and what's on locally. I do a 2

hour weekly show on www.northernbroadcasting.co.uk which also incorporates Phoenix FM and Swing Radio

both based in the Dean Clough Complex in Halifax the shows being put out over the net from here cover

everything from Swing, Jazz, Rock and Roll and my Northern Soul, we are getting email from all over the world.

The Studios are also used to make Demo CD's, a group called Sonic Soul was in this week putting down tracks

and my son Lee who's at the Leeds College of Music doing music production mixed it down for them. We have

our own studio, he does his mixing and also helps put my soul programme together.

Soul to read, there's the glossy Togetherness and Manifesto and the fanzine type like Shades of Soul from

Bradford's Derek Pearson and Soul Up North from Huddersfield's Howard Earnshaw one of the writer for this is

Howard Priestley who also presents the soul programmes on Phoenix FM and Swing Radio I've guested on his

soul shows a few times, if you want any more info check out the web sites above. There's plenty of soul about,

it's knowing where to look, pick up some flyer at the venues.

It's 35 years since I first played my records in public, I never thought the scene would be still going never mind

being as popular as it is. I don't need to celebrate because every time I DJ it's like a party to me, I still manage to

dance (well I call it dancing) and enjoy the company of the people on the scene. I don't know why I've lasted so

long, it's probably a mix of my enthusiasm, memories I bring back to other people and the quality soul I try to

play, I've only the people to thank who have supported me for so long.

Christmas day I'll be spend with my family, Sandra, my 2 boys Lee and Mark, my Mum and Sandra's Mum, see

its not all northern soul, but when they've all fallen a sleep after a big christmas lunch I'll probably put my

earphones on and play one of my Christmas present CD's, guess what?

I'd love to hear from any of the old crowd I don't see any more, come to one of the venues or email me at

deltagraphic@btconnect.com

once again many thanks for all your support.