Dancin' Cat Connoisseur Collection Volume 4 - Once Upon A Time, Va Va All Nighters - Rare Soul (MP3)

Va Va,s was quite unique in that it had an all-nighter on Fridays. i only went a couple of times but you knew you were in a special venue!...But in 1973 Richard Searling relished the chance to make a name for himself playing the music he was so passionate about in his hometown of Bolton (near Manchester). Richard said: "I remember taking the call one afternoon when I worked at Global Records in Manchester from Wick Barrett, asking if I wanted to DJ and I jumped at the chance. Had it been six months earlier, I wouldn't have been interested because it was only when I went to Global that I started to accumulate records during a trip to Philadelphia". One of the records that Richard had in his box was an obscure single by American recording artist Gloria Jones "Tainted Love" that he had bought there. The song, which was 7 years old at the time was completely unheard of in the UK, but Richard used it to pack dancefloors at Va Va,s and it eventually became an anthem on the Northern Soul scene. That record which has since taken on a life of its own due to various covers, including the most popular by Soft Cell. Va Va,s had a capacity of around 400 and by the summer of that year was attracting around 300-400 people every Friday night from all over the north of England, partly helped by the management advertising in Blues & Soul magazine, the top read for soul fans in the UK. But as always seems to be the case of night clubs with what could be termed a ‘cult following’ drugs were instrumental in its downfall. It lasted just 4 months before the police closed it down as it went into northern soul folklore. Richard went on to DJ at Wigan Casino, the rest is history.

AMM

 

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