Weekender 2003: Review
The 11th 6Ts Weekender

Review by Karen Bridges

 

FRIDAY
Optimistic excitement welled up from the moment the last weekender ended as quiet knowing lay in the farthest quarter of my memory storage ready to be recalled at will. This memory was recalled frequently as the months and weeks rolled by.

Suddenly, as though I had wished the whole year away, the 2003 Cleethorpes 6t’s weekender was upon me and I fervently packed my new shoes, bags, belts and the trusty Spencer’s together with my glittery soul strings.

“I’m on my way” I sang as I made the short round-trip to pick up the girls for our trek up North… the home of Soul!

The journey was long but enjoyable. Girly chat and lashings of soul music eased the 8 hour pilgrimage to the North-East seaside resort arriving at the Beachcomber Caravan Park at approximately 8.30pm.

Greeted by Ady with a smile we were affixed with our wristband passes and given the directions to our caravan… Cor, it was really posh! We met up with our fellow lodgers and unpacked. Having all showered and downed a few bevies we made our way to the main dance hall with a skip in our step.

A rather chilly June evening it was – well, it had rained most of the journey... but, the minute my foot edged into the main dance hall it started sweating. The night was in full flow as by now it was about 11pm. The record room was buzzing, the floor was heaving and the bar was solid.

My eyes, sore already from all the driving, flitted from left to right. Taking it all in, listening to the music that pierced my eardrums and trembling from the feet up, I supped my first pint – or was it a bottle?. My lips were quivering it was hard to purse them to my glass. A few minutes passed and I stopped quivering enough to be able to hold my drink steady. Suddenly, a tune started playing and I hurriedly chucked my belongings on the floor and my glass on the bar and headed for the crowded dance floor. I can’t remember what the song was as over the weekend, so many records were played, and mucho beerus drank, that I cannot recall them all. Except Freddie Houston of course, but I will explain that one later.

At 12.45 the dance competition commenced. There was a great turn out number wise and the records were queued as the dancers strutted and shuffled their stuff around the talc’d floor – as each record finished you were either kept in by having a token hung round your neck or asked to leave the floor.

The final of the dance off left a few individuals excited for that prestigious award that is “6t’s Weekender Dance Competition Winner 2003”. That award was bestowed upon our one and only Chris “Trickster” Harvey in full view of his gorgeous new wife Etsu (belated congratulations you two… may a long, happy and healthy marriage ensue).

2nd place was awarded to a great girl dancer (embarrassingly, although I spoke to you for ages on Sunday, I still didn’t ask you name)… you know who you are though as did everyone else there.

Made a few visits to the modern room to say hi to a big congregation from the South and also a couple of visits to the R’n’B room upstairs. Top music, but a tad quiet in there this year. Perhaps the menu from last year should be repeated again?

I managed to make it to the end of Andy Rix’s set and then my soul-bludgeoned body came to a halt and a voice in my head said “Karen! No! You have to rest now in preparation of tomorrow’s afternoon session…” So, like a wimp I obeyed that voice and trotted off to bed. Bed… more like a marshmallow!! I hate every other bed but my own. I speak for many I’m sure. However, along the way – which wasn’t far as we were only about a 1 minute walk to the main hall, Lindsay and I obeyed another important human function – eating! Yes, we braved another annual visit to the Beachcomber Café for the inaugural fried chicken sandwich of the weekend (me) and prawn roll (her). Nasty, but filling a void that needed to be filled we sat in quiet contemplation of the night’s entertainment as we supped our tea and coffee. Wearily we headed back to the van and lay down our sleepy heads.

SATURDAY
Up with the larks me…. 8.30am. I sat in the lounge smoking menthols and peering out into the early morning sunshine. Too quiet, I chucked on a CD and one by one the others emerged and we sat chatting and laughing till mid morning. Cups of tea, more menthols and more music the time came to brave the shower room. Smaller than a wheelie bin and just as efficient in the cleaning sense, we all made ready for the afternoon session.

It was probably around 1.30pm by the time we got into the dance hall. Most people must have been suffering slightly as not many adorned the floor at this point. It was the famous battle of the countries session where DJ’s from Scotland, France, Sweden, Austria, Spain, Ireland, Italy and Germany entertained us until 6pm.

Come 3pm the floor had filled nicely but still leaving room for a decent jaunt without fear of stepping on peoples toes or spinning and hitting someone. A liberal splattering of talc ensured a sticky-free slide to the sounds of soul that left our shoes looking dusty but smelling great LOL. See, we all need the ‘white powder’ at some point… mine just gets sprinkled on the floor though.

I think I had succumbed to a few too many beverages by 5pm but by god, a few beers and my spins get better! Not sure how but hey – suits me sir! Anyway, I sauntered back to the van with every intention on hitting the sack for a bit of R’n’R but was waylaid by a van of neighbors from Macclesfield – I promised to say a big hello to you all in my review and a special mention for The Don from Mac You’re a great bunch and of course, the winners of the Sunday Afternoon Soul Mastermind Competition… I have to tell you though, that last bottle of vodka Ice thingy gave me massive heartburn LOL.

All the rest were back in the van by the time I stumbled in and we all went to bed for about 3 hours. Must have re-entered the dance hall around 10pm for yet another ear-bashing and foot stomping evening. I wandered around the record stalls and purchased a So Soulful 70’s CD. Well, need to have some music that takes full advantage of my neon tweeters… mono just doesn’t do that. There is one particular track on there by Betty Lavette called “You’ll Wake Up Wiser” that is absolutely amazing – such a haunting vocal and full orchestral back up… I know I didn’t hear that played during the weekender but as it’s the first time I have heard it, it is going to be in my top 10 this year. In fact, I’m just gonna chuck on my earmuffs and have a listen all by myself without anyone talking through it. Ahhhh… Love will dance in on a sunbeam, when you give your heart away – how beautiful. It’s not often these days that I hear something new and think – god, that’s fantastic… but this is one.

So, we enjoyed a brisk set by Bob Hinsley followed by Ginger Taylor (whom I was really looking forward to as his record collection is just my cup of tea)… not disappointing at all and I gladly sweated to most of his set until my thigh muscles burned with pain. Thankfully 12 o’clock signaled the start of the live acts that had been lined up for this year. The one and only Dean Parrish together with Maxine Brown.

Deans appearance started off with the Northern Soul classic “Tell Her ”… the crowd cheered so loud it was deafening… he sang his way through “Broken Bottles” "Determination” "Im On My Way" and a new song he had penned just for this appearance called “Northern Soul Survivor”. Some hardened soul fans probably thought this was very cheesy but I saw it as a great compliment in as much as the time and effort he must have gone to in compiling all the “mentions” of the soul scene. Thanks Mr Parrish. I also have to say – 30 odd years may have passed but those years have not taken their toll on his voice. He sounded absolutely fuckin amazing! That performance will stay in my memory for a long time, helped of course by my video recording of him. You can see that as a live stream at the link mentioned at the end.

Maxine looked wonderful and sang all the old favorites, mine of which is "Oh No, Not My Baby", finally doubling up with Dean for a duet and then she sang backing for Dean as he belted out “I’m On My Way” for a second time.

So, with the live performance’s over I wandered again into the modern room to say hello and then back up to the R’n’B room to sample more raw 60’s sounds. I was miffed that I missed Jo Wallace’s set and also Dave Flynn’s set but by the time he hit the decks I had hit a deck of my own, the marshmallow! It wasn’t intentional but after Keith Money’s fantastic spot me and Lindsay decided to head back to the van for a cup of tea and to dry off (clothes sticking to me in a sweaty waterlogged baggy ensemble). We sat down, Steve Lyons came back too and we started chatting… before I knew it Lindsay was snoring next to Steve who was also snoring and my eyes were like lead so I bowed to my master and hit the marshmallow like a whimpering slave.

SUNDAY
A respectable 9.30am awakening on Sunday morning saw us all in the lounge drinking tea, smoking ciggies and talking about the night before the morning after. Dave Abbott was in top form with his one liner’s… thanks Dave

I took the scoob for a blast to get in some supplies and we all sat and ate lunch together before heading over to the dance hall for the Sunday Afternoon festivities. Sunday afternoon is my favorite time of Cleethorpes. It’s so mellow yet so manic - spooky. We arrived near the end of Jody’s set for a stomper by Messy Robber (not my words – printed in the events brochure… the excellent Rob Messer. I was absolutely knackered but as the songs rolled by I was almost drugged with eager excitement… I must learn to pull myself together!

Dave Rimmer was up next… he said “Some said this next track would f*ck you all up but I know you will all dance to it” (or similar wordage – 2 days later I cannot recite the whole sentence correctly). On it went – the inimitable crackle then “wham!” It was excellent… haven’t a clue what it was called but it was so rock’n’roll but soul at the same time… veering more toward big band rock’n’roll in my opinion but I danced my little bobby-socks off as did a lot of others. It was a very refreshing sound and very different. Hat off to you for playing it… great stuff.

There was a break in the afternoon for the Soul Mastermind 2003 competition, and as mentioned earlier, the Macclesfield lot won that. Janine came 2nd – good for you girl.

The last 3 hours(ish) was great. We were graced with the presence of the beautiful Soulful Cris and Jo Wallace respectively. Who says Northern Soul is just for the lads?! These two talented and respected girlies know just how to work the floor and keep us engrossed and dancing… that’s what it’s all about after all. Thank you Jo for playing one of my all time faves… Freddie Houston “If I Had Known”… such an awesome track of indescribable excellence. Thank you! That’s another for my Top 10!

So, having stayed till the end of the afternoon, and with the evening starting a mere 2½ later, there was no time for beddy-byes... just a quick shower, chat, smoke and laugh. I went over the hall early to grab a table in full knowledge that a chair was definitely the order of the evening by my menu. By 8pm the hall was buzzing and the jollies began. It was fancy dress night but none of the south lot made any effort this year. Maybe next year?

The night was a little misty from where I was sat. I was absolutely shattered. I managed one and a half pints before saying “Nope... I can’t drink any more”.

The annual embarrasing moment for the DJ's arrived... this year had them all playing musical chairs (which you can see in my video) and of course, the best looking one won. Congrats Cris and Rimmer, your a Gent :o)

The fancy dress competition winners, worthy by far, was a crowd wearing Kentucky buckets about their middles and on their heads… fairly pertinent considering Kentucky’s recent ad campaign... Ady’s comments about Simone, who romped in 2nd, were laughingly accepted by all including Simone… I think *grin*. All her skirt lifting and mime finally paid its toll and I shut up my personal shop, packed the camera and headed back to my marshmallow… but I couldn’t stand it any more… I plumped for the sofa and snuggled down in harrowing horribleness of knowing what was happening when I woke up a few hours later. Yes, home time

I know I should have tried to stay till the very end but being responsible for the safety of my passengers I had to make sure our 7 hour journey home was a safe and enjoyable experience – oh, and fast LOL.

MONDAY
Playing the 3 new cd’s I took charge of this weekend the atmosphere was more, much more, subdued than the journey up. Understandable of course and undeniably a wonderful, exciting fun packed weekend. Liz said it was great and didn’t want it to end… being her first time she now has the next 12 months to get excited about next year

Hope Jason’s head doesn’t scar… that Lindsay’s trousers don’t fall to her ankles again anywhere else, that I remember the new tunes I heard (but don’t hold your breath), that Steve was glad that we kept him in check so he was able to remember each miniscule detail of his weekend without being half drowned in the lake and that Dave isn’t sick… from his mouth, again Thanks for sharing that Dave Abbott!! And, sorry to the Italian who says I don’t make carbonara the correct way… I like garlic

Right, having just played Betty Lavette for about the 15th time... I think I have covered most of the weekend.

Thank you so much Ady for all the work you and your DJ colleagues put in to make this weekend the stormer it was… I’m sure I speak for everyone *bows down*.

Top 10 This Year - In no particular order... click to listen - WMA format

Luther Ingram - If It's All The Same To You Baby
Betty Lavette - You'll Wake Up Wiser Baby
Brenda Holloway - Crying Time
Freddie Houston - I Should Have Known
Tune Up - Jr Walker
Terry Callier - Look At Me Now
Wendell Watts - You Girl
Vibrations - Cause You're Mine
Del Larks - Job Opening (did they play that? Im sure they did LOL)
Bobby Bland - Shoes

Karen's 2004 weekender photo's are >>> HERE <<<