Admittedly it lacks a degree of Albionawesomeness but its my own fault for not getting my @rse into gear, and Seren did kindly give Albion a sequel all to himself.But this is the club I witter on about the most in this blog; and these are the wonderful people who populate our marvelous little mod metaverse with magnificent avatars full of good humour kindness and style. Roll film......
we all have real life issues going on. All the sods wish our dear friend Lupo the best and offer our condolences.
Now back in the virtual world Lupo had to cut his brilliant set short after some personal issues arose. Slate took over and was doing great right up until I crashed so I'm guessing everyone continued to have fun, whilst sparing a thought for Lupo.
I hate my computer, its typical i miss lots of Soul Mods events and thejn when I finally make it online the bloomin' thing crashes. Never mind Second Life I'm thinking of inventing terminal life for this poxy PC, curse you PC World for replacing my defunct faulty PC with this pile of poo. Ahhhh vent over, so lets see what shall I witter on about. Not much to say really, set cut short at Soul Mods followed by my crash, and that's about it. Hardly worthy of a blog post but I note I have been a bit tardy of late with the posting so felt compelled to put one up. I was feel slightly '67 mod yesterday so went with a mish mash of items to affect that kind of pop art dandyism sported by the Small Faces and Who amongst others, plenty of ruffles on show.
The jacket is an old favourite from Meriken, the shirt and ruffles are from the SF Designlord lace in black, the shoes were FREE from Kalin, [I am aware you cant see them but what the feck] and the stripey trousers are new from ,,,hmmmmI forget where but will update this post next time I log on and get the details. Anyway not much of a colour splash just greys and blacks but it still has a very '67 feel at least I think so, style over substance every time, but only in Second Life obviously. Typing this Saturday morning after missing another night at Soul Mods, I miss so much not sure I'm entitled to call myself a sod anymore anyway hope you all had fun at the Slate extravaganza!
So how was your virtual Friday night? Hope it was kinda groovy. Mine? Well mine was shite!
The day started well I logged on to Second Life to have a stroll and received an IM from Dugi telling me Soul Mods was having a big party night for Jellie and Josie, plus there'd be a virtual guitar-fest. All sounded cool and I said I'd see him at the club later. Now Albion being so vain I teleported over and began sifting through my wardrobe keeping it simple I opted for a plain polo and jeans then grabbed my hidden treasure my Hawley guitar as played by the man on his tentative dip into virtual gigging. Yes my only encounter with real life rock stardom in Second Life [that's Albion in the grey jacket lounging in the deck chair]. So all was set clothing plus guitar now go and loiter in the cupboard, log off and take the dogs out cool.
However, I had not anticipated a bits of pollen floating about in the air which meant rather than listen to cool tunes and have a laugh with all the sods; I spent my Friday night lying on the bed in the gloom with my eyes shut, thinking I'll open them in a minute and log on. Then through the blur I figured I would give them another ten minutes to sort themselves out, I kept giving them ten minutes right up to 22.45 when I finally capitulated pulled the duvet over my head and went to sleep.
Anyway, hope all the party goers had a great time, hope those whom the party was thrown for had an even greater time and apologies for not making it, especially after I said I would. Would happily have swapped the eyes for marbles and plunged them in the washing machine last night,,itch!!!!!
So, missed another Friday at Soul Mods as a week early I was home for a Wedding, £9.25 for a Guinness and large white wine think I'll stick to virtual nights out, back again in three weeks or so I better start saving up.
As for Second Life my logging in is on the whim of the old eyes if they're good I'm in if they're not.....fingers crossed there'll be more good than bad. Oh and by the way Albion even made it onto the BBC for the Hawley gig. Stardom at last.
No guarentee its mod, or cool. But the poster looked sharp its based in swinging virtual London so what the feck I'll give it a plug. Fills up some space, if you attend hope you enjoy, I'm a couple of days late but nobody here cares anyway, chill.
I attended Soul Mods on Thursday for the first time in a couple of weeks, wouldn't say I was the most active member there but I strung together the odd line of chat. It was a treat just to be there and hear a great set delivered by the coolest of the cool virtual mods, Lupo the mod from Madrid. A very healthy turn out of sods heard some great music and delivered some great chat, topics this week were:smoking, Canon versus Nikon; oh and whether Stevie Nicks had coke blown up her @rse, yes we are eclectic in our conversations at Soul Mods. I was mostly a silent participant but as ever the chat was busy and funny and everyone was having a laugh. Shauna paraded another of her wonderful subculture outfits, those damn girls [Eden, Shauna, Kim as so clever being able to produce cool sixties outfits] and master fixer Slate was modelling a nice jacket based on a real life Weller jacket, surrounded by so many talented people - arrrgh makes me want to boil my head hahaha. Anyway head boiling apart I had a good time, forgive my silence folks I am honestly having fun I just find it easier to listen in these days, keep the tunes going.
Hunting prizes seems to be an endless activity in the virtual world, with hunts organised for fashion items on a regular basis. Some are themed for specific genre others are based around the stores on a sim and they are generally heavily biased towards items for the girls. However a while back a few hunts started targeted directed at men, the prizes all being for men. One such hunt is the Mens Stuff Hunt currently running until the 3rd of July 2011. Whilst these hunts are stuffed to the brim with items to find, spending hours scouring various stores to locate the gift item its not often that there are items suitable for the aspiring virtual mod. I had a brief potter about and located the odd one or tow items. So, if you're bored and fancy a look why not participate, join the group find the Blue T-Shirt symbol click on it and away you go.
So what did I find, I liked the Alphamale prize, the preppy sweater which had a revivalist feel to it, I also liked the trousers from another prize, the Brocade Tiger cargo shorts looked good for my Style Council Long Hot Summer romp, plus the Philo shades looked awesome contemporarydesign but so sharp I'd add them The Duh shoes look cool plus I'm sure there'll be a few other pieces out there just need to filter through the items to find them. Have fun.
Amazing what a few days away from the screen does, missed Thursday at Soul Mods and a few other trickles of entertainment, but this IT abstinence meant I was in peak condition for Fridays fun fest at Soul Mods. And, it was Shauna's birthday so what a great night to return for. Slate was DJing, there were a good crowd to celebrate the birthday girls aging and the chat and action was nothing but fun. Dugi had a chocolate cake with a dancing pole installed and obviously went balloon insane....he likes balloons y'know. And, its amazing just how many avatars can fit on top of a large slice of cake. You just don't get this kind of present in real life. Shauna got to select pole dancers as befits a birthday girl and danced with lots of sods and seemed delighted with her birthday treat. Another fun fuelled fest at Soul Mods, everyone appreciating the hard work put in by Slate to DJ on these nights, after all he has a real life too, although how he fits it in with his dedication to the virtual life. Second Life stamina, few can match him,,,,party on like it '67.
I had a lot of fun and made it past 11pm for the first time in a while so that was good, great tunes great laughs great people and cool avatars. The future is retro, party til its ninety sixty nine!
The sun is shining at last and yes I have taken this sunshine opportunity to sit on my @rse and type inane comments into a blog that has a readership of about half a dozen weary souls. But its a laugh! Anyway as I have nothing really specific that I could drag out for more than a ten word paragraph I have opted to lump all the little pieces together in this seventies style update, borrowing from my childhood this is my first ...and last, virtual mod newsround.
First up I was pleased to read Shauna' piece of on Moonletters concerning New Brighton, one of the coolest sims on the grid. All virtual mods should visit this place at least once for that essential mod snapshot with the pier. C'mon we've all done it, some of us more than once, don't blush. Its a fantastic build and the pier looks great complete with a promenade to parade along. I am still waiting that group call for a mod scooter rally along the prom, who knows maybe this week is the week. Shauna's piece however illustrates the difficulties of hosting a sim and the gargantuan costs involved, thought provoking as ever and perhaps the sim is still insecure. A great place to visit one that should definite be on your list. Blogged before but as I mistakenly mentioned that it has vanished this seems an opportune moment to recant such a statement and remind everyone that its still out there. There are more details at the New Brighton website, check it out.
Other stuff I have been up to, I went along to the Hangout club again on Monday which was cool; although Janis is unavailable for these sets due to real life commitments we had a great substitute who played a great blend of soul and sixties standards although how or why the Boyzone track got in there eludes me. I enjoy the tunes at the Hangout and was able to join everyone else on the dance floor this time as the dazzling particle lights were turned off, one [of several] drawbacks of the keratoconus is that my eyes struggle in bright light and so I have been hiding myself away up in the gloomy lounge, its also why I don't participate much in chat as its easier just to listen and keep my eyes averted from the screen. This means I miss out on a lot of laughs and get lost as I often have no idea how conversations have developed and they can be confusing as you read them never mind dropping in and out. But the music is great and at this stage I can read enough to have a laugh and join in occasionally.
Talking of laughs, blogged earlier Graz our favourite mocker held a rock 'n' roll night at the Killing Moon at the weekend and as he is such a good bloke several sods turned up dressed as rockers in our best fifties freebies, err well mine were. Keep it to yourself but I quite enjoy the odd classic fifties tune, unlike in my youth where my tastes were rigidly mod I now accept my rather catholic tastes and just enjoy tunes regardless of their origin. It was a fun night and everyone got involved and dressed for the theme, so many quiffs in one room however cannot be healthy, at one point I thought there was going to be an environmental disaster there was so much oil floating about. Albion succumbed and put on his best Elvis wig, said ahuh a lot, and donned some very cheap threads and free shoes and become a closet ted for the evening. As expected with Graz at the helm it was funny with great music and even the ignominy of dressing like a rocker wasn't to bad, surrounded by friends. Look forward to the next one.
Whilst I am discussing themed nights out in the virtual world I'll throw in a little fashion information. Recently I attended a Blues Brothers tribute and to blend in mix and matched various items to give me that Blues Brothers look. And yet whilst I was snapping the trainers at Hoorenbeek I idly wandered around the store and saw they had a complete outfit that is ideal Blues Brothers material. I believe its labelled Angus but surely Jake would be better. As its Hoorenbeek its unlikely to be cheap but if you're unafraid of splashing the lindens I think you'd struggle to find a better outfit. Even competing against specific Blues Brothers outfits I think this one is a tricky one to surpass. It has all the elements of a great costume, the shades, the hat, the suit and even the loose tie and shirt. Definitely worth a punt if you like costume parties or just like being a Blues Brother, go on treat yourself.
Well I think that waffle should suffice you can all go back to CBBs now.
Flicking through my Facebook links I came across some news that Uncut magazine was giving away a FREE Mod CD and also has a cover photo and lead article on the majestic Small Faces. So it may be worth grabbing a copy and having a read whilst you listen to all those free tunes. So while you're clicking your heels in real life wondering what to do while waiting for the next virtuoso virtual mod night in why not head off to the newsagents and grab a copy. Scanning the details on both the Facebook page it looks well worth a read and I shall be jogging off to get a copy in the morning. Reading the article will be a pain so don't look to me for quotes but hearing the tunes should compensate. I'm just too good to you three readers y'know.So, if your on Facebook check the link:
An odd week in Second Life shuffling along trying to find things to do. Logged on and visited Moonletters and had a wander around. Evelyn was there in her sharp looking E-Type she gave me a rather slow ride around the Moonletters streets. Then I rezzed my Porsche and we had possibly the slowest sports car race known to the virtual world. After a couple of laps and the rezzing of a few more cars Shauna arrived and rezzed her London Taxi cab and we took another trip around the wider Penny Lane sim. Not your typical taxi journey as we ended up in a pond, stuck down a ditch, and lost in a marshy jungle type prim mess; luckily for us Shauna was able to pluck us from our midden and plonk us nicely on a better piece of land until we finally found tarmac and completed our journey. A very interesting car journey, then Shauna informed me that there was a soul night at the Hangout with Janis Short as DJ.
So, I said my goodbyes and hopped on a teleport to the Hangout to listen in to some great tunes, there were a few sods present and Janis' usual crowd all enjoying some fantastic tunes. A great night and everyone had fun, some great chat in the chat line as people had a few laughs and jokes. A great night in; however, I retreated upstairs to the lounge bar to escape the particle lights which were a tad too bright for me now. Rather strange conducting a conversation from upstairs with those downstairs.
I thoroughly enjoyed myself at the Hangout listening to some marvelous tunes. Janis will be DJing less regularly in the virtual world as she has aquired a real life job, that damn real life interfering with our entertainment, how bloomin' dreadful. I dressed in my best Oirish paisley green mod outfit, and grooved away alone upstairs like a sad Billy no-mates. After a while all got a little tiring and I took my leave and logged out after having a great time. Having so many good nights in Second Life of late its almost a crime to get so much great entertainment for so little effort, log on and have a raft of great DJs play me great tunes. However being a greedy geezers and still like to call out for more, lots more soul lots more mod and more mod fashion but I'm a difficult geezer to please! Check out the flyers and attend the events as the DJs relish the support and everyone appreciates being appreciated! Sermon over....
I also jogged over to Soulsville to listen to a few soul tunes at the club on Tuesday. As ever I tended to stay quiet in the corner and just listen in to the great music. Marvelous music in the virtual world, just wish their was a lot more of it, oops I'm off on my rant again.
But Graz is barmy so its likely to be a great night out, take a punt and have a laugh, Friday mad house with Slate followed by the loon fest with chief mocker Graz on Saturday, I canna tak' it cap'n.
Well I missed Thursday at Soul Mods, had a lot of real life stuff buzzing around in my head. But, I believe Kim was on the decks so no doubt everyone got to hear some great tunes and had a lot of fun. I did make it to Slate's Friday madhouse and had a lot of fun. Some great laughs and great tunes, the usual sods were in attendance and the quotes flowed, that Seren is like a wikepesdia of Slatisms. Aye the poor lad was at it again, dafter than the Krankeys he types and Seren quotes, memorable. However, I did notice its mostly blokes who get quoted. Conclusion we are just more verbally stupid than our lady brethren. Anyway, next time you attend Soul Mods don't be phased by the amount of Slate chat, after all most of it is not him....
What else have I been up up too, rooting through old inventory items, obviously. Wandering around Moonletters and getting lost. Oh and grabbing thirty minutes at an impromptu party over at Soul Mods on Sunday. I had hoped to spend longer at the club but the missus demanded I spend time with her watching Mad Jack Sparrow on TV. I suggested I spend ages with her asleep in bed but she wasn't wearing it so I left the sods to enjoy the grooves and watched TV, which was nice.
Finally, anyone who reads all the drivel I put up on here will note I'm quite adept at the odd typo, as I am in world. Well I feel legitimised in my typos now as I've been diagnosed with keratoconus so its likely I will start to write less both here and inworld as things deteriate,just have to see how things turn out I'll still be a dedicated sod even if its all a blur.
Frantic real life day abso-feckin-lutely knackered, looking for some virtual light relief so was delighted to read Shauna's piece over on Moonletters that there is a Blues Brothers Tribute taking place this evening at the Wu Wu Bar so I logged in earlier to discard my pirate clobber from Slate's great pirate themed night at Soul Mods; and, donned a cool black suit and hat, all I need now are shades and I'm your man! So if your thinking what can I do this evening grab a virtual taxi and get yourself over, I am hoping for a strong Chicago bluesy nights entertainment listening to some sharp R&B, so shake a tail feather and get on down.
See, I told you I was bloomin' knackered, I don't even know what day it is. Mentally frazzled I thought it was Tuesday today, feck me its Monday!
No virtual night out yesterday, I spent the evening ...asleep now tonight, Tuesday as Shauna has said, I'm putting my shades on and getting virtual, see you all there!
Well it was a truly spectacular show full of glitz and excitement, however on my arrival I was unable to hear the stream and so whilst it was a marvelous spectacular and yet without the tunes it was turning out to be a damp squib. Then triumph I got the stream the tunes roared through and the whole experience lifted off; Dugi and Shauna were present but both left early - other commitments, as I had myself and after just under an hour it was time for me to go too. But, it was a fantastic night, brief but great! Such is the virtual world a brief but bright shining star, top entertainment all over the grid just check it out.
The computer gremlins were out to get me yesterday and I fell victim to their evil ways several times. First they robbed me of the stream and I opted to relog; but then my modem or some other techy malfunction stuffed me and I lost my connection, reboot time. Following basic IT helpline procedure I turned the damn machine off then back on and waited. Click click log back on, errr no I got some waffle about DNS or some such techygarble not connecting, bugger repeat on/off sequence. Ahhh and I'm back in the room, lost the stream a couple more times and crashed as my Internet connection went down, ranted a little but my Thai Chi mentality meant I threw nothing out of the window. Eventually I got back, stream locked in and no further crashes, although there were a few clouds in the room. That just seems par for the course in Second Life these days.
So, why was I so desperate tom get in world afterall sometimes after such torment I say feck it and go and watch TV, or if I'm desperate talk to the wife [only kidding m'dear obviously I'd never voluntarily chat to you, OUCH!]* Simply because the couple of tunes I heard before my Internet ordeal sounded so cool I was desperate to hear more, and so like some strung out virtual music addict I thumped tables viciously stabbed at buttons and indulged in a little swearing all in the pursuit of returning to Soul Mods.
Anyway enough of my tribulations. Eden was up on decks for the first time in a while and blasted back in fine style. Though my listening pleasure was disjointed I heard enough and followed the chat sufficiently to endorse the set as another mod triumph. Some great tunes were played and a good crowd of people turned up to hear a great set. A lot of "wbs" were being typed amidst the usual mayhem in the chat line so perhaps it wasn't just me who was having problems. Surprisingly Soul Mods became wimmin central for the evening as Dugi and Albion were severely outnumbered. We did our best not to offend the chicks, no David Cameron blunders here, and thus rescued ourselves from a possible beating - although something tells me Dugi quietly regrets that! Anyway I mindlessly digress, its a dreadful flaw but its my blog so yer stuck with it, tough. Where was I? Yeah, back on track now. Great night with fantastic DJ, super tunes and wonderful people and despite the troubles I had still had fun and a few laughs. Next time Eden is on decks get your act into gear and get over its bloomin' marvelous.
Then to top it all Dugi announces that Slate Friday DJ and general loon wants to have a theme for Fridays soiree, PIRATES! Time to dig through my inventory and locate a few pirate outfits but who do i go as. As the girls bemoaned the lack of time I rifled through my inventory, I have plenty of junk in there so getting some pirate garb is not an issue, but....
However the dilemma is who do I go as? Do I go as the madcap Captain Jack, put on my neat Johnny Depp skin and woo the laydees; or do I opt for the more sinister Henry Barbosa, nasty pirate captain and spooky looking avatar. Or, should I go as the coolest of them all - my good self and merely slap on a hairy wig and some pirate clobber and scowl a lot. Whatever I opt for it looks like its going to be a night of mayhem. Slate's regular gigs are crazy enough and we were reliably informed he has a few surprises planned. It may not be strictly mod, but the tunes will be and the people too so if your feeling jaded, grab a pew throw on a cutlass type arrr matey a lot and join in the mayhem, see you there!
*I have no idea why I do these Dandy/Beano comic aside conversation, the wife's at school teaching and I'm on my own drinking tea. Is it early onset dementia? I 'll let you know,,,err what was I saying, do you take sugar?
Its unusual for me to log into Second Life on a Monday but I decided to have a wander around the grid mid afternoon and received an IM from Dugi Rubble informing me that there was a sixties night at the Hangout Club with Janis Short on decks. It was a kind of retro battle of the bands formula with Janis only selecting tunes from the Small Faces, the Yardbirds and the Rolling Stones. Great music and some wonderful people in attendance which lead to a great night out sat in my armchair. Several Soul Mods sods were in attendance and we joked and mocked each other most of the night; I surely saw Seren and Shauna taking studious virtual notes and feel certain some of our less than wise utterings will find themselves gestured to all on subsequent Soul Mods nights out. I had a riot, the music marvelous and the company fantastic. Janis is doing it all again next week with a different selection of sixties artists, if you can be there I advise you too its great.
Top mocker Graz has constructed a great new club, the Cavern. not strictly mod [he is a mocker after all] but it is very sixties and our mod brief is wide and encompasses many things loosely sixties inspired. Graz has been helped in his creating by Clare Eglund and you can read about his trials and tribulations in debut club building over at the Moonletters blog. On Tuesday Graz and Clare through cool sixties party to celebrate the clubs opening. After two days ill in bed I didnt make it to the event, however I'm pretty certain everyone had a laugh and a great time listening to some fabulous tunes. I look forward to attending an event next time, once I'm back in the virtual world. I had a sneaky look around and its small and atmospheric a great sixties vibe in the club. Its well worth checking out so jump on the lm and have a laugh.
Tired of the same greys, blues and blacks I head into the SLMarketplace to find myself something new. After a long haul trawl through many items which were either unsuitable or awful or just more linden dosh than I cared to splash on a single small item. Eventually I found a great range of jackets from Giovanni and I opted to buy a white blazer style jacket. The jackets come in two variations one with a blazer style pocket patch and a second without. Its a classic three button style with neat prim cuffs. Worn with a black FS polo shirt and some neat black trousers it creates an effective mod look.
Finding different mod styledmod items is getting more and more difficult, I either find myself repeating items with slight twists or I grasp at straws using items that at a stretch can meet a NeoMod criteria.
Just discovered this on Radio Four a trio of short stories about Northern Soul at Wigan Casino; I enjoyed listening to them and hope you enjoy it too. Have a listen:
They say the floor at the Casino is amazing - a sprung wood floor! And they can fit 1200 people in the ballroom there. Twelve hundred people dancing!'
David's mate Batty converted him to Northern Soul: lending him obscure records, teaching him dance moves and describing the legendary club. The plan is to hitch-hike to Wigan to experience the Casino for themselves.
Between 1973 and 1981 Wigan Casino was arguably the ultimate venue for Northern Soul music. Young people from all over the UK regularly made the trek to Wigan to dance to the latest Northern Soul artists. Queues to get in were sometimes five or six people deep, and stretched quite a way up the road.
The highlight was the weekly all-nighter, with Russ Winstanley as DJ, which traditionally ended with three songs that became known as the Three Before Eight: "Time Will Pass You By" by Tobi Legend, "Long After Tonight Is Over" by Jimmy Radcliffe and "I'm On My Way" by Dean Parrish.
These three specially-commissioned stories by Laura Barton (herself from Wigan) hark back to a time when the town threw off the image created by George Orwell and the Casino was voted 'Best Disco In the World' by American Billboard Magazine.
Laura Barton was born in Lancashire in 1977. She is a freelance writer of features and music columns, notably 'Hail, Hail, Rock 'n' Roll' for the Guardian. Her first story for radio, The Carpenter, was broadcast in 2009 as part of Sweet Talk's We Are Stardust, We Are Golden series for BBC Radio 4. Twenty-One Locks, her debut novel, was published in 2010. Laura lives in London.
Written by Laura Barton. Read by Bryan Dick.
Producer: Jeremy Osborne A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.
Rita works in the cloakroom of the Casino, and hasn't been on the ballroom floor since the days when it was called the Wigan Empress. But then Frank starts calling.
Between 1973 and 1981 Wigan Casino was arguably the ultimate venue for Northern Soul music. Young people from all over the UK regularly made the trek to Wigan to dance to the latest Northern Soul artists. Queues to get in were sometimes five or six people deep, and stretched quite a way up the road. The highlight was the weekly all-nighter, with Russ Winstanley as DJ, which traditionally ended with three songs that became known as the Three Before Eight: "Time Will Pass You By" by Tobi Legend, "Long After Tonight Is Over" by Jimmy Radcliffe and "I'm On My Way" by Dean Parrish.
These three specially-commissioned stories by Laura Barton (herself from Wigan) hark back to a time when the town threw off the image created by George Orwell and the Casino was voted 'Best Disco In the World' by American Billboard Magazine.
Laura Barton was born in Lancashire in 1977. She is a freelance writer of features and music columns, notably 'Hail, Hail, Rock 'n' Roll' for the Guardian. Her first story for radio, The Carpenter, was broadcast in 2009 as part of Sweet Talk's We Are Stardust, We Are Golden series for BBC Radio 4. Twenty-One Locks, her debut novel, was published in 2010. Laura lives in London.
Written by Laura Barton. Read by Melanie Kilburn.
Producer: Jeremy Osborne A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.
It is all about ritual. Saturday comes and Rob, a seasoned DJ at the Casino, is sorting through and packing his records for the night.
Between 1973 and 1981 Wigan Casino was arguably the ultimate venue for Northern Soul music. Young people from all over the UK regularly made the trek to Wigan to dance to the latest Northern Soul artists. Queues to get in were sometimes five or six people deep, and stretched quite a way up the road. The highlight was the weekly all-nighter, with Russ Winstanley as DJ, which traditionally ended with three songs that became known as the Three Before Eight: "Time Will Pass You By" by Tobi Legend, "Long After Tonight Is Over" by Jimmy Radcliffe and "I'm On My Way" by Dean Parrish.
These three specially-commissioned stories by Laura Barton (herself from Wigan) hark back to a time when the town threw off the image created by George Orwell and the Casino was voted 'Best Disco In the World' by American Billboard Magazine.
Laura Barton was born in Lancashire in 1977. She is a freelance writer of features and music columns, notably 'Hail, Hail, Rock 'n' Roll' for the Guardian. Her first story for radio, The Carpenter, was broadcast in 2009 as part of Sweet Talk's We Are Stardust, We Are Golden series for BBC Radio 4. Twenty-One Locks, her debut novel, was published in 2010. Laura lives in London.
Written by Laura Barton. Read by Daniel Rigby.
Producer: Jeremy Osborne A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.
Northern Soul life in literature, not sure how much longer these will be available for but have a listen if you can, I enjoyed the stories and think they may trigger a few memories for some of you.
Been very quiet blog wise for quite some time, but its a lazy bank holiday weekend and before I plunge into the hectic maelstrom of real life Easter activity I figured I would blab on here about whats been happening in my virtual bubble.
Obviously most of this revolves around the great club nights at Soul Mods and the crazy wonderful people who bring the pixelated world to life with their music, their chat and their laughter. Lupo and Slate; Eden and Kim and now Shauna all entertain us with their great selection of tunes but those in attendance play their part whether its Josie dressing as a tuna, or Seren rifling back our idiotic sentences, yeah be scared of what you say the stupid within you will be revealed. Everyone in the club plays a role in making it what it is, and I for one appreciate everyone who turns up and contributes to making Soul Mods such a fun place to be. Right that's the simpering gushing praise over with I shall return to my ego ridden, grumpy self.
Before that though, I must comment on last nights set at Soul Mods. Last time out Kim had horrendous software issues that prevented her from delivering her set and we were very lucky that Eden stepped in to fill the gap. Last night was Kim's return to the decks with all such software issues resolved. And what a joy her set was; so many outstanding tracks were played Kim was really applying the pressure to Slate who is DJing tonight [expected the unexpected from him, as we are all too well aware, Ive seen the boxes of Bud so am anticipating a riot of fun and musical mayhem, but I digress]. I had a great time listening in ,the chat lost me a little on the computer game discussion as I am still struggling to come to terms with the demise of old favourites that I did understand. Go on treat yourself you remember these :
Stand out track for me was a sharp French disc that I was utterly unfamiliar with, and that's the marvelous thing about Soul Mods Ive been introduced to so much new music, I am happy in my aged musical orbit and then the DJ will spring something new on me that sends me spiralling off into new sounds, its bloomin' great. Still grooving to this track today although its been replaced by the wonderful Redskins at the moment. Enjoy the tune and thanks to Kim for delivering it, hopefully see you all at the mad house that is a DJ Slate Soul Mods gig!
Tuesday had me rifling through the search facility looking for some entertainment, and I inadvertently stumbled upon the Fabulous Wailers gig at Hangar 39. Slipping on my slickest groove clothes I teleported over there. The Fabulous Wailers? Who are they, I'm no expect but they are a classic sixties US garage band, check them out:
Obviously the gig wasn't being performed by the real Wailers it was a virtual tribute band who had put together a set that their avatars mimed too. But, the tunes were great there was a decent crowd in attendance and fun was had by all.
The sound was gritty Rock 'n' Roll tinged with sharp Rhythm and Blues overtones, classic sixties garage, and I enjoyed the neat uniformed avatars strutting on stage with their array of instruments and attitude. A great little gig. I have seen tribute performances in Second Life before and can say this was one of the better ones, its not a live performance but it felt like it could be one. Most enjoyable and I think I'll be checking out this sixties treat again sometimes, if you get an opportunity I suggest you do too.
They have several video clips up on YouTube so check them out to see what they bring to the club scene on Second Life.
