Post by coops on Apr 13, 2008 11:58:11 GMT
St. Ivo Centre, St. Ives a venue bursting with memories for many who visited this Cambridgeshire hallowed ground in the mid 1970s.
Recently there have been annual ‘re-unions’ staged by Steve Bounden of the Soulmotion web site, always packed, always pulsating and always a night to remember, each and every one.
But now, to compliment the annual reunion (not compete with it) the Cambridgeshie Soul Collective (headed by Dave Hayden and Max Reese) have put this venue once again at the forefront of our evolving and endearing northern and rare soul world.
This event, sub-titled “Evolution not Revolution” was the first night of what I’m sure by the reaction of most that attended, many St. Ives get-togethers with a music ethos to compliment the progressive style of the old St. Ives some thirty four years ago.
One main difference (besides the event finishing at two a.m. and not being an all nighter) is we, the ever faithful paying public are often able to enjoy our northern and rare soul outside it’s former constrictive parameters, and this is well catered for during the event.
Three rooms assisted the veritable heavenly choice of how one could have one’s soul served up this night.
Upstairs there was an RnB room which was doused in the sounds of Harold Jackson, Bruce Cloud, Eddie Bo, Don Sargent, the Symphonics, Betty Harris and many, many quality RnB sounds which are all quite new to me, but after a brief visit to the room and receiving a CD from “Cambridge Jon”, will I’m sure become as familiar to may ears in the near future as any northern and rare soul sound I’ve danced to, hummed to and sung to over the last thirty five years of my life, such was the excellence of noise emanating from this self contained RnB haven.
The Main Ballroom at St. Ives held the dancers from beginning to end, room to dance but never empty the sprung wooden floor bounced all night long to the footfalls of a mixture of current Northern and rare soul ‘monsters’ and, not so much classic but classy old and more recognisable friends to our ears. Rare and not so rare, expensive and not so expensive, know and not so known records provided by the likes of Hammie, Molly, Carl Fortnum, Soul Sam, Mick ‘H’ and Sean Chapman, as finer line up for top notch soul as one could find anywhere in the U.K. at this moment in time.
As if this wasn’t enough, in the “Theatre” (you remember, the ‘dark’ room that used to be the host to the oldies way back when) is now the home to modern and crossover soul the like of which dreams are made of.
I couldn’t be in all rooms at all times but managed to catch a little bit of most of the dee-jays in these two rooms.
Not one of them reneged on their responsibilities to deliver some of the best northern and rare soul under one roof. Dave Hayden, Max Reese, Soul Sam and Adam Buchanan were easily a match in this modern and crossover room for their colleagues in the main hall.
The biggest problem one seemed to have was quite simply the choice!
If you like the a first class evening containing whole genre of our scene served up to you in a venue with the majesty of the St. Ivo centre in St. Ives I suggest you look out for tickets for next years Evolution not Revolution, pay your pennies and enjoy the experience which is, and always has been St. Ives.
And if you can’t wait that long there’s the next reunion to be held on the 1st of November with all that is old St. Ives in the main room and 70s, crossover and ‘modern-oldies’ in the theatre. Go for it, you know it makes sense.
Micheal d. Cooper Dip/RSA
images on: ournorthernsouls.org/default.aspx
Recently there have been annual ‘re-unions’ staged by Steve Bounden of the Soulmotion web site, always packed, always pulsating and always a night to remember, each and every one.
But now, to compliment the annual reunion (not compete with it) the Cambridgeshie Soul Collective (headed by Dave Hayden and Max Reese) have put this venue once again at the forefront of our evolving and endearing northern and rare soul world.
This event, sub-titled “Evolution not Revolution” was the first night of what I’m sure by the reaction of most that attended, many St. Ives get-togethers with a music ethos to compliment the progressive style of the old St. Ives some thirty four years ago.
One main difference (besides the event finishing at two a.m. and not being an all nighter) is we, the ever faithful paying public are often able to enjoy our northern and rare soul outside it’s former constrictive parameters, and this is well catered for during the event.
Three rooms assisted the veritable heavenly choice of how one could have one’s soul served up this night.
Upstairs there was an RnB room which was doused in the sounds of Harold Jackson, Bruce Cloud, Eddie Bo, Don Sargent, the Symphonics, Betty Harris and many, many quality RnB sounds which are all quite new to me, but after a brief visit to the room and receiving a CD from “Cambridge Jon”, will I’m sure become as familiar to may ears in the near future as any northern and rare soul sound I’ve danced to, hummed to and sung to over the last thirty five years of my life, such was the excellence of noise emanating from this self contained RnB haven.
The Main Ballroom at St. Ives held the dancers from beginning to end, room to dance but never empty the sprung wooden floor bounced all night long to the footfalls of a mixture of current Northern and rare soul ‘monsters’ and, not so much classic but classy old and more recognisable friends to our ears. Rare and not so rare, expensive and not so expensive, know and not so known records provided by the likes of Hammie, Molly, Carl Fortnum, Soul Sam, Mick ‘H’ and Sean Chapman, as finer line up for top notch soul as one could find anywhere in the U.K. at this moment in time.
As if this wasn’t enough, in the “Theatre” (you remember, the ‘dark’ room that used to be the host to the oldies way back when) is now the home to modern and crossover soul the like of which dreams are made of.
I couldn’t be in all rooms at all times but managed to catch a little bit of most of the dee-jays in these two rooms.
Not one of them reneged on their responsibilities to deliver some of the best northern and rare soul under one roof. Dave Hayden, Max Reese, Soul Sam and Adam Buchanan were easily a match in this modern and crossover room for their colleagues in the main hall.
The biggest problem one seemed to have was quite simply the choice!
If you like the a first class evening containing whole genre of our scene served up to you in a venue with the majesty of the St. Ivo centre in St. Ives I suggest you look out for tickets for next years Evolution not Revolution, pay your pennies and enjoy the experience which is, and always has been St. Ives.
And if you can’t wait that long there’s the next reunion to be held on the 1st of November with all that is old St. Ives in the main room and 70s, crossover and ‘modern-oldies’ in the theatre. Go for it, you know it makes sense.
Micheal d. Cooper Dip/RSA
images on: ournorthernsouls.org/default.aspx
and cross-over sounds. 