Satisfying the Soul

Wednesday 15th February 
Once Upon A Time In Wigan
Hull Truck Theatre

Firstly I’m by no means an authority on Northern Soul, or any kind of soul for that matter. I’m certainly not a veteran of the “Scene” as depicted in the adaptation of Mick Martin’s original 2003 play recounting the legendary Wigan Casino all-nighters.

However, despite this, I like to think that had I been of the right age between 1973 and 1981, I'd have been drawn to the world of Northern Soul.  As a fan of underground music when I first did come of age to buy records and attend gigs - be it rockabilly, blues, ska or indie - I'm sure the relative inaccessibilty of genuine American soul records would have acted as a magnet to me. 
In addition, since my early flirtations with the other musical genres mentioned above, I have grown to love soul music, especially that type which can loosely be termed “Northern”.

Indeed, a move to 6Ts Soul was almost a natural progression from the 40s/50s blues, swing and doo-wop I'd been into as a would-be Hep Cat in the early-Eighties. It was this music that first brought me into contact with the likes of Clyde McPhatter, Ben E. King, Garnett Mims, Chuck Jackson, Gene Chandler and of course, Jackie Wilson.

Oh, Jackie Wilson. A man probably familiar to most people via the number one ‘novelty’ hit, “Reet Petite”, a song which cruelly misrepresentative the man’s real talents. I would urge anyone who doesn’t believe me to listen to any of the tracks reissued by the London-based Kent Records label in the mid-Eighties. Entitled “Jackie Wilson – The Soul Years”, they are two of the finest albums you could ever wish to hear. “Soul Galore” is one of the tracks featured in “Once Upon A Time In Wigan” and rightly so – it’s a belter. However, for personal choice it has to be “Because Of You”, a track that is up there in my all-time top five.

Along with what I saw as the natural progression of my increasingly eclectic musical tastes, the aforementioned Kent label (along with fellow reissue specialists Charly) was the other big influence in turning me onto the sounds of black America.

This new-found love of soul music wasn’t enough to drag me away from my staple weekly diet of live gigs at the Adelphi and weekend indie nights in the legendary Spiders club.

I did dabble a little – dragging a couple of mates along to see Tommy Hunt perform at the former Jacksons Club on Cottingham Road, as well as a Bank Holiday all-dayer at the now-defunct Romeo & Juliets nightclub in Hull city centre. I think the latter was organised by ‘Voices From The Shadows’ a well-respected soul publication run by a Rovers fan from Burstwick and backed financially by snooker legend Steve Davis.

Neither of the above could come even close to capturing the experience of the “All Nighter” of Wigan fame; perhaps the nearest I came to that was a trip to the equally legendary Manchester Hacienda club in the early Nineties.

Of course by this time, Wigan Casino had gone – ostensibly to become part of the re-developed Civic Centre although by the time of this authoritative piece (2002) this was still to be built. It still hadn't by the time this further article appeared.  In fact it is now the site of the Grand Arcade shopping centre, with its illustrious past being marked by the Casino Cafe, themed on the illustrious Soul Club.
And so as we entered the main theatre at Hull Truck on Wednesday (late thanks to roadworks on Hedon Road grrrh) it was with some trepidation as to what awaited. I had decided that at worst, even if the play was pants, I could enjoy the accompanying soundtrack. In the event I took pleasure from both – although I’m not convinced my companions (Mrs Slush plus brother- and sister-in-law) would agree.

Like most musical genres there’s a certain degree of elitist tosh and snobbishness. This can become quite scathing when projects like “Once Upon A Time In Wigan” are launched and I’ve read some fairly scathing attacks, not only on the play but the men behind it. However, if the attention was to try and bring to a wider audience what it meant to be part of the “Northern Soul scene” between 1973 and 1981, whilst opening up new ears to some of the magical sounds that accompanied it then I’d like to think Mick Martin and Hull Truck have succeeded. Perhaps not with the brother-in-law though?! 

Freshly squeezed

Saturday 14th January

CML North Division

Easington United 0 Dronfield Town 1

Ours wasn’t the only cup progress to please me last Saturday.  For as we cruised past the hapless Welbeck in the CML cup, the 'Barmby Army' ensured their place in the 4th round of the slightly more prestigious FA Cup, courtesy of a 3-1 win over Ipswich.  My cup certainly was over-flowing that night…

Or rather it would have been had not a pint (bottle) of Wold Top bitter set me back a staggering £3.60!  Bloody ‘ell, thank God Mrs Slush didn’t want one. 

We were at the new Hull Truck Theatre (how long is it before it loses the “new” tag?) to see “The Flint Street Nativity”.  It’s the first of two planned visits to the venue in the early part of 2012; the second one will see us attending Mick Martin’s acclaimed Northern Soul-based production, “Once Upon A Time In Wigan”.  Might have to pack a hip-flask in for that one!

Sunday brought a live FA Cup game on ITV that had actually bucked the trend by filling the ground as Citeh hosted United in the Manchester derby.  Of course the main talking point for the pundits afterwards concerned the tackle that earned Kompany a red card.  However, for me it was the performance of Rio Ferdinand – Lord help us at the Euros if Fabio still fancies him and Terry at the heart of the defence.  And how Micah Richards can’t get in the squad, well…

After Sunderland had breezed past Posh we were treated to the 4th Round Draw, which is a bit of a novelty for Hull City supporters.  Somewhat disappointingly I already knew that the Tigers’ ball was number 11 (why do they have to tell us that?  It surely removes some of the anticipation?) but a home tie with everyone’s favourite (!) former Non-League club Crawley Town should at least prompt hopes of only a second visit to the fifth round since 1989!

Staying with the Tigers, James Greenwood and Les “Amber Nectar” Motherby’s new Hull City Kits site is proving a real hoot for kit geeks like me.  And the duo excelled themselves this week when publishing an insightful interview with Tigers kit-man John Eyre.  Fascinating stuff…if like me you go in for that sort of thing of course!

The prospect of a run in the cup, along with Papa Allam’s promise not to let Nasty Nigel have any of his former players, was enough to persuade Nick Barmby to shed the word “Caretaker” from his Manager title the following Tuesday.  Here’s wishing him the very best of British.

That local delicacy - The Patty

Of course best of British is something we may not be wishing each other for very much longer if Scotland’s First Minister (& Jambos fan) Alex Salmond has his way. 

Given my mother’s maiden name (Douglas) you’ll perhaps not be surprised to learn I’m quite a fan of the Union and therefore strongly opposed to the current calls for Scottish independence.  However, when listening to the likes of Nicola Sturgeon bleating on as she did on Thursday’s Question Time, I do begin to sympathise with those south of the border who favour letting the “troublesome Scots” go their own way (i.e. the people referred to by Philip Johnston's excellent piece in the Telegraph a few days later); that and the fact that it would show the fallacy of Gordon Brown’s original theory that Devolution would strengthen the ties between us!

Hodgy (left) lines up a spare for when Ben's is returned with interest!

Back to football and our own Baris League Challenge Cup third round draw took place at Monday night’s League Committee meeting.  It gave us a home tie against CML South Division opponents in either Bilborough Pelican or Southwell City.  The teams had drawn 1-1 on Saturday and would meet again at the War Memorial Ground on Wednesday week to decide who’s to make the trip out to the Humber Riviera.  Bet they can’t wait!

The first signs of man-flu were beginning to show as match day approached.  I was in a foul mood with work mate Mike whose refusal to stay at home (typical contractor!) had allowed him to spread the lurgy. 

“Might not be able to do the dance class run tomorrow”, I told Mrs Slush on Friday night.

“Well you won’t be fit enough to go to football in the afternoon then?” came the reply. 

“Ah, I’ll have a hot toddy and see how I go…”

I felt a bit better on Saturday morning – good stuff that Balvenie Doublewood - and what a glorious winter’s morning it was.  A white sheen covered the ground but when I dropped the kit off at Low Farm at half past eight, there appeared no danger of our game being off.

In the event it was a good job the game was at home.  Opponents Dronfield reported a temperature of -4C overnight, which would have left Stonelow Road in serious doubt, while the match officials were also prompted to call me before setting off from Lincoln, such was the severity of the frost down there.

Liam does his "floundering" impersonation but all's well

This was to be our first real test since the ‘Festive Makeover’.  Dronfield arrived in second place in the table thanks to an outstanding run of form.  Ten straight wins had been halted only by the Christmas draw at “derby rivals” Parkhouse, a game in which the visitors had come from 3-1 down with ten minutes left to earn a share of the spoils.

Such form made our draw there in October look a decent result.  The feeling was that both Mack and Nicho would settle for a similar outcome this time round.
The afternoon was perfect for football – bright and still.  Dronfield boss Craig Butler described it as “like the Riviera”.  That’s what I’ve been telling people for ages!

There was a bit of controversy beforehand when Biggy Smalls was omitted from the squad, having completed a 14-mile run that morning before duly posting the fact on Facebook.  There’s no doubting that Craig’s probably the fittest member of the current squad but the management were certainly not impressed that this had formed part of his “pre-match preparation”.  Not the start to the afternoon that was required.

Luke’s continued absence on a skiing holiday and Perry’s decision to take up the offer of regular HPL football elsewhere meant the total number of new faces in the squad was five – Mr Matongo being joined in the starting eleven by new keeper ‘Patty’ (signed in midweek from HPL side Hedon Rangers) while Robbie, Alex and Tom comprised the bench.

Can't see a foul there myself?

Dronfield’s official website would later inform us thay had “eight first team regulars” missing.  Considering they named a 23-man squad for the programme, I’m not sure that was such a blow!
Still, they started like a team who were confident of maintaining their title aspirations; neat and tidy approach play, good movement, confidence on the ball but, thankfully, no end product – at least for the first half.

‘Patty’ was forced into just the one real save, and that originated from his own error.  And although we didn’t create much, half-time arrived with most in the disappointingly small crowd feeling there were some points to be had.

Sadly, such thoughts would be dispelled just before the hour mark when Karl Hobson scored in an incident that also saw the unfortunate Nicho carted off to hospital with suspected knee ligament damage.

As our official report says, we twice came close to levelling matters, while at the other end sub Jamie Wallis should have increased the visitors’ lead.  But his finishing was, to quote a saying familiar to the aforementioned Alex Salmond, “pish”.  It remained one nil.

Although beaten, I took a lot of positives from the day – nobody expects to bed-in seven new players in such a short time and there were plenty of encouraging signs on show...despite what our opponents' report said ;-) 
  

Holy (All) Saints - another one gets away!

My mood was further lightened by news of a much better display (despite defeat) by the Stiffs and a fourteenth consecutive win for the Casuals, Robbie Koren’s spectacular winner against Peterborough and a twitter-feed full of Leicester fans demanding Pearson’s head.  Bitter? Moi?!

As I performed the Saturday evening clearing away duties, to the accompaniment of a glass of sloe gin and the sound of Henry’s Jukebox on local radio, with his fine mix of “classic blues, swing, rock & roll and soul”, I was once again convinced that we were on the up...for now!

Postscript: Given the title of the post it would be remiss of me to leave without posting a couple of gems from those lovely guys at, wait for it, Freshly Squeezed. Ha, get it?
Aw, it's ferkin seamless this blog...

Stoking the passion!

Sunday 8 November - Hull City 2 Stoke City 1
Remembrance Sunday / Up 'N' Under...

It’s not often that I’m “Mr. Popular” in our house, especially with Emma who usually accuses me of taking her younger sister’s side in arguments (she’s got a point, but that’s only because at six Emma’s huffs and sulks are shorter and less disruptive than three-year-old Katie’s, which usually involve the sort of wailing reserved for Palestinian funerals!).
Anyway, the reason for my recent elevation is that last Sunday I took Daughter No.1 to see her first ever Hull City match. And what’s more, she loved it. So much so that not only has she demanded we return “soon” but her ongoing list to Father Christmas now includes a fluffy Roary Tiger, pink hat and scarf set and some Hull City girl’s jim-jams. “I wouldn’t worry, she’ll forget about them in the morning” advised the missus. But she hasn’t, and it’s now nearly a week!
While I’d like to think that the reason for her delight (and my subsequent popularity) was a stunning Jimmy Bullard-inspired City fight back that yielded a much-needed three points in the quest for Premier League survival, courtesy of a last gasp winner by "Vinegar of Hessleroad"; it’s probably more to do with the fact that her trip to the KC Stadium gained her kudos among her classmates…and a “Wow!” from her teacher.
It's all a far cry I might add from when I bounced into school following my first visit to watch The Tigers. All I got following a 2-1 home defeat by Fulham at Boothferry Park in September 1975 was: “Never mind, you probably won’t have to go again for a while”; which I didn’t, as it happened.
Part of the reason why I had to wait so long was that Dad, a “love Geoff Boycott and eat your greens” kind of man, never has been the biggest football fan. And so it was mates’ dads who I relied on for my first glimpses of the lush green Boothferry Park turf.
The results weren’t great during those formative years. Charlton (0-2, Nov ‘77 despite Billy Bremner's best efforts) and Barnsley (0-2, Nov ‘79 after which four of us had to endure the train journey back from Boothferry Halt to Paragon Station with a coach rammed full of South Yorkshire folk) both followed Fulham out of Hull with the points. In fact the only highlight of my early visits was a Keith Edwards-inspired 4-1 win over Walsall; my first ever night match and scene of one of the greatest goals I’ve ever witnessed live. Think Roberto Baggio for Italy against Uruguay in the 1990 World Cup and you’re on the right lines. I wonder if, in later years, Emma will remember much about her first trip to City. Somehow I doubt it. To be fair much of mine is a blur and I was nine at the time. The details of the various scorers had to be looked up in books some years later, even Vince Grimes who put City one up, although I can still see the goal itself: a free-kick tapped to him about 25 yards out and arrowing into the top corner directly below where I was sitting in the front row of the South Stand behind Bunkers Hill.

I seem to recall Fulham counted George Best, Bobby Moore and Rod Marsh among their number at the time although none played. The only player I recall for them that day was bearded goal scorer Viv Busby. Apart from this my memories are confined to the abuse my mate's dad got when pre-empting another Fulham goal (he was a Londoner, they were his team hence the trip) only to be thwarted by a great save from Jeff Wealands which prompted what seemed the whole of the aforementioned Bunkers Hill "choir" to turn round and gesticulate at said mate's dad and those of us unfortunate enough to be in his company!

 I also wonder if time will distort Emma's memories similar to how they've already rearranged her recollection of the numerous rugby trips across the city to Craven Park (although she does remember the important bits - "we beat the black and whites didn't we dad?"). While I will remember the Stoke game as Phil Brown's "Last Chance Saloon", Jimmy Bullard's home debut and Olofinjana's first - and probably best - goal for his new club, my daughter will, I'd guess, retain memories of those cerise pyjamas, Roary Tiger and her dad making an arse of himself by gesticulating wildly at the Stokies following both City goals (like Tig-Chat match reporter Steve Weatherill I don't like Stoke!). Or perhaps it'll be The Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling", one of her favourite songs ("this was on X-Factor dad") and the sound that accompanied our happy exit from the KC.
 Prior to the game I bought the latest (80th!) edition of “City Independent” and a decent read it is too; took me back to my own “It’s not the Programme mate” days recounted in my last blog. And for good measure I also bought an official programme, which to be fair has been consistently good for a number of years now.
Sunday’s trip to ‘The Circle’ formed part of a fulfilling day, which had begun in solemn style with a drenching at Hull’s Remembrance Day service on Ferensway and ended with yet another superb carvery at The Haven Arms in Hedon (complete with two very nice pints of proper ale - Copper Dragon Golden Pippin from Skipton and Willy’s Last Resort, a Cleethorpes brew).
The trip to Hull also allowed me to catch up on a bit of "quality" time with members of my family, something that has been restricted recently by a glut of home matches at Low Farm and subsequent time spent locked away in the study producing match programmes (see next Blog). Thankfully I did manage to "put my stint in" on Halloween and Bonfire Night.In addition I somehow wangled a "night out" of my own although it was a Monday and as it involved watching one of the worst City performances I can recall (the 2-0 defeat at Fulham via ESPN at The Holderness Inn in Patrington) it shouldn't really register. Not even a very nice pint or three of Black Sheep - and a not so nice Golden Pippin ("a word landlord please") - could salvage the evening.

The second occasion was far more enjoyable – another visit to the new Hull Truck Theatre to enjoy John Godber’s 25th Anniversary production of “Up ‘N’ Under” complete with Abi Titmuss! A cracking evening was enjoyed by my better half and I, which also included taking in a pre-show meal in the Theatre’s smart café-bar. As with “Confessions of a City Fan” this latest Hull Truck experience was worth every penny…even if the aforementioned Abi remains far too over-dressed throughout.

But, hey I've just seen City beat Stoke - you can't have everything!

Walking on sunshine

Walking the Wolds, Rovers Cup exit & Footy Presentation Night...
 

Summer is officially here.
I'm not saying that just because the last day of the month saw our family enjoying a succulent Sunday lunch out on the patio in glorious sunshine; but also because it was also the first Sunday since last June when I have not had a single word of football-related stuff to type up for either a match programme or the local Press. For one glorious summer's day football was definitely OFF the agenda...and there aren't many times that happens in a calendar year. At least the missus was pleased!

Not that sport was totally missing from the weekend. Saturday saw me skilfully combine some "quality family time" (i.e. a shopping trip into town) with Hull KR's Challenge Cup quarter-final against Warrington at Craven Park. I won't be alone in describing the game as one of the most exciting I've been to and ranking Jake Webster's try that seemingly put Rovers within touching distance of the last four at 22-12 as one of the best I can recall seeing in a long time.

Unfortunately this in no way compensates for the fact that it is "Wire" who progress to the sem-finals courtesy of Lee Briers' extra-time golden point. At least I didn't have to witness the coup de grace - a slight hitch on the logistics front having forced me and my eldest, Emma, to leave the ground at the final hooter in order to catch the bus home. It was somewhat surreal trying to follow the events in extra time by the noise of the crowd; culminating in a final cheer from one section, swiftly followed by a chant of "W*nky W*nky W*nky W*nky Warrington" from t'other. I knew we'd lost! And to compound my daughter's disappointment, she then missed out on the top deck of an EYMS bus due to some kind soul stopping to offer us a lift (in truth I she was more upset by this than the Challenge Cup exit. Bless her).

To further illustrate how such football-free weekends are becoming more and more of a rarity, the latest one was book-ended by Sundays dominated by activities directly relating to the Club. For example, the coming one (7th) will see a gang of us busy down at our Low Farm ground, carrying out a whole host of overdue maintenance tasks. And between now and the first pre-season game on 18th July we have a huge amount of work to do to get things ship-shape for whichever league competition the senior squad finds itself playing in.

Meanwhile, the preceding Bank Holiday weekend saw our annual fundraiser take place on the Sunday, which this year was the so-called "Million Metre Meander" - a 25-mile sponsored walk along a stretch of the Yorkshire Wolds Way. And "Tough" wasn't the word for it. In fact it proved one of the hardest things I've ever done. Suffice to say, never has a pint of Timothy Taylor Landlord tasted better than it did in The Middleton Arms at North Grimston that evening. Not only was the quality on a par with that I've become accustomed to in The Crown & Anchor at Kilnsea but it also provided the perfect finale to an absolutely exhilarating day.
Twenty-one of us, loosely connected in some way with Easington United, completed the route from Market Weighton to Wharram Le Street. Spectacular scenery accompanied virtually the whole length of the Walk as, more significantly, did several short sharp ascents (Rabbit Dale anyone?) and the hottest day of the year thus far. And in places like Horse Dale and Holm Dale, with the breeze blocked by the surrounding valley sides, it became a virtual "sun trap".
Not surprising therefore that after some eleven hours in my walking boots, Keighley's finest ale provided a rich source of comfort.
I'm not sure just how much our group has raised through our efforts. We're hopeful that the figure will be somewhere in the region of £3K, to be split between club funds and buying something for little Mia Silvey of Brough whose Fund was our 2009 choice of "worthy cause".
At the same time as we were completing one of the toughest stretches of our Walk, Hull City were enduring the most tense ninety minutes of their entire season. In the event, our pain at listening to what must have seemed like a never-ending second half was eased by lack of decent transmission signals around Thixendale. Thus Burnsy's commentary on BBC Radio Humberside appeared only in the briefest of fits and starts, while Fozzy's "£2 special" from Asda kept transferring him to a Teesside station's coverage of West Ham v Middlesbrough! It was in Thixendale village itself and via the support car's stereo that we could finally celebrate salvation, courtesy of Five Live's coverage of Newcastle's last two minutes of Premiership football!

Our season may have ended trophy-less but a fourth place finish for the First Team is their best since 2004/05 and inspires hopes of better things next time around. The Reserves and Casuals both face uncertain futures following bottom place finishes with the Stiffs' precarious hold on a Premier Division place of particular concern.

Similar to New Year's Eve the finale to the football season in May always prompts a feeling of nostalgia in me. This usually lends itself to prompting my shelling out for "must have" books and CD's which immediately transport me back to younger days. This year's choices were the re-issued versions of two albums I never bought in their original vinyl format but instead acquired via that favourite thrifty teenage method of taping off somebody else's copy, namely "George Best" by The Wedding Present and by The Pale Fountains "Pacific Street". Ah, the opening bars of "Everyone Thinks He Looks Daft" and Dave Gedge's vocals immediately had me back in Hull's Spiders Nightclub. Carefree days of cheap beer, excellent music and very little responsibility!

An interview with the aforementioned Mr Gedge was one of the first big muso pieces we did in the seminal Hull, Hell & Happiness fanzine during my days of Tiger Trekking back in the late Eighties. Although from Leeds, the Weddo's frontman provided an articulate view of the state of football in general and expressed a certain empathy with our plight at the time (how things have changed??!!).

I was reminded of my Hull City fanzine days when attending Alan Plater's excellent "Confessions of a City Supporter" at the new Hull Truck Theatre last night. Having seen the original version, launched to celebrate the Tigers' centenary in 2004, the updated version - celebrating a first ever season in the top-flight - proved just as enjoyable, if not more so. Not only was Roy "Get It Together" North as superb as he had been five years previous but the bit at the end recapturing Deano's Wembley winner still managed to raise the hairs on the back of my neck. And I'm sure the bloke who played one of the coppers in "Early Doors", who was sitting a few rows back from us, enjoyed it as much as the 150 or so City fans in attendance.

It was the first time I've attended the new Hull Truck since its move from Spring Street and I was very impressed. Despite its increased capacity it retains the homely feel of the original, a place where I'd spent many a great night over the past two decades or so seeing most of John Godber's hilarious comedies and live music acts as diverse as The Meteors and Jools Holland, Hue & Cry and Martin Stephenson (without the Daintees). Ah, nostalgia again.

The recent Presentation Evening also saw some of the more mature members of the squad gain some well-deserved recognition. The aforementioned McNaught brothers, John Clarke and Craig Foster all picked up special awards in recognition of fantasticx milestone appearances passed in 2008/09 (Maccer & JC having passed 650 apps while Fozzy and Biff have clocked up 600). At any level of football such feats are magnificent - and testament to the loyalty that Easington United AFC manages to inspire.
I can't leave the subject of "old players" without a word for veteran keeper Steve Eldon who yet again picked up a couple of player of the year awards. Will he ever retire??!!

Our own season ended with something of an unexpected bonus courtesy of the Second-string's appearance in the South Holderness Cup Final. And although well beaten - eventually - by Hedon therein, the chance for the likes of Maccer, Biff and Trev to be involved in such an occasion again was fantastic.

Still, the onset of blue skies and wall-to-wall sunshine herald in the start of a brand new era. By the time the next update appears, I will be fully involved in our gear-up for the new season. Looking forward, not back...