Sweet Soul Online

NEXT SWEET SOUL

NOVEMBER 14TH
VERY SPECIAL GUEST DJ THE LEGENDARY
ROB SMITH

Plus - Doug, Jacko and Jez

for more details call 07957 115777 or email jacko@sweetsoulonline.co.uk

Even though we were in a different hemisphere, and it was early summer, it was still English weather. Deep down, I was quite happy with that. With the prospect of an all nighter looming I didn’t want Aussie temperatures, and secretly neither did the rest of the gang.
So after our encounter with the animals at the zoo we headed back to our apartment for sleep, food, ironing and arrangements for the main event.
Adelaide, is like most Australian cities which are like most American cities, laid out in a very orderly manner. Very few bendy bits with the streets and avenues criss crossing their way through the city like a giant chess board. I guess the reason for this is the age of the city, makes navigation very easy. So we thought to ourselves, rather than getting a couple of taxis to the nighter, we would walk and see a bit more of Adelaide.

Maps in hand we set off and at about 10pm arrived at the Dom Polski centre, Angas Street.

Up a couple of flights of stairs and OH MY GOD IT’S THE PALAIS!!
All of a sudden I was 14 again. A huge sprung wooden dance floor, stage, balcony, seating round the outside and Northern Soul belting out of an excellent sound system. I might as well have been wearing a pair of Roxy Threads and loafers. Blimey I was!?!?
There were already about 300 in the venue, the dance floor was busy, and we were fortunate enough to get a seated as a group near the dance floor.
As was par for the course we were warmly greeted by the ex pats and made to feel very much at home.
As is traditional now for Sweet Soul Trips, I had T shirts made for us all to wear at the nighter. So, when the night got too much for us people would know we belong to each other!
So off to the bar for 9 beers.
You know those occasions when someone says to you ‘you want to try this’ and you go through the ‘well I am on holiday’ and ‘don’t be stupid’ fight with your conscience. Well, there were plenty of good European beers on offer, however at the time the suggestion of sampling some of the delights of Polish beer was all to strong (like the beer as I was to find out).
I should have remembered what I was told back here in Newark when I went to the local night club Time And Diva (or crime and beaver as we call it) on an eastern European night to see if the local DJ was good enough to come on the radio station. The manager, Jason, handed me a Polish beer and told me that they only serve it on these nights because the locals (i.e. the usual Friday night numpties) couldn’t handle it. One sip of it and I understood why, man it was strong and 6% as well.

So there was I walking back to the awaiting and thirsty Sweet Soul crew, with my Polish beer experience 12 thousand miles away with nine bottles of Okocim which was 6.5% ABV! The bottles were bigger as well, and very cheap. One gulp from the neck of the bottle and I knew I had no hope of making it to 6am!
But the quality oldies were filling the dance floor and the beer was filling my head with the fact that I was 14 again, so my feet found there way to the dance floor upon hearing the first 8 bars of The Younghearts, A little togetherness. As per usual the girls had their supply of talc on hand, but they should have left the space in their handbag for something else because the dance floor was like glass. Not so bad as you couldn’t dance, but it was slippery. I can safely say I had never seen a floor so well polished. Apparently before we arrived someone had already come a cropper and had the flying doctors in (sorry couldn’t resist that one).
The Okocim must have been working because I managed three tracks in a row before my body said ‘enough for now you idiot, get more beer’, and I went back to my seat. Only to see Wheels with not one but two women knealt by his side, chatting. ‘Tart!’ I shouted at him as I walked by. He simply stuck two fingers up and carried on cavorting.
We were all called over for a photo by the stage next to the commemorative weekender banner and ex Newarker Barry Squires did the honours with the camera. An excellent commemorative photo, Sweet Soul plus 1?
Between this and about 3am the beer, the music and the company kept us all totally wrapped up in the event. The sounds were fabulous and all played by DJ’s (with the exception of guest jock Mike Ritson) who did it just for the love of the scene. Gradually we drifted away in small groups, and by about 5am what was left of us (physically and mentally) had given up waiting for a taxi and were walking back.
Looking back, this nighter was exactly what a Northern Soul event should be like. Great venue, no politics, great music and most importantly of all welcoming people who, even though you have never been to their venue before, gladly accepted you as a soulie with the ‘my house is your house’ philosophy’. I cannot emphasise enough to those of you that haven’t been to this weekend to save up and go. Apart from being the ultimate weekender it is the friendliest by far. But you know the best thing, it wasn’t over yet.

In Part 4...

More Chaos!

We head for the Gold Coast!

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