7th February, 2010: Biddstastic!

Spat by Soulgirl at 12:56 pm | Comment here! Comment (0)

Hello there! If you are new here, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this topic. Otherwise you'll miss out! If you're looking for a specific subject then use the search box that you'll find to your right.

As I stood there, in that dark shit hole room, nobody would have ever guessed that to keep my shirt neatly tucked in, it was actually stuffed in my knickers! I did confess this to Mace later in the evening but I thought I’d share that snippet of useless information with you so that you’re able to have neatly tucked in shirts of your very own! :D

Again, I drove up North on my own… Wiltshire to Stoke took around 2.5 hours. Would have been much quicker but it went a bit like this… M4, the entire length I had to travel on was roadworks at 50mph. M5, half the entire length I had to travel was roadworks at 50mph. M6, half the entire length I had to travel was FUCKING ROADWORKS AT 50MPH! Get the picture? Honestly… if you could actually see some evidence of ‘work’ it would be all the more palatable but no, no evidence whatsoever. Grrrr.

Anyway, no matter. Arrived around 10.15pm just after opening (didn’t want to miss a single tune) to be greeted by the wonderful Mrs Couldstone, Linda. A brief chat and I was magically stood at the bar ordering a pint of lager. Bought my friend Steve Green a pint of Cider and settled myself on a table near to the dance floor (where else!).

The couple I blogged about last week, the excellent funky dancer Rowena and her husband Dave, arrived shortly after me. They’re new acquaintances and it was lovely to have a good old chinwag to get to know them some more.

Quite a few people were already in when I arrived so the hello’s and handshakes were sorted ready for me to knuckle down and get the dancing started.

Musically it was absolutely stunning. Des Parker, Johnny Beggs, Mace, Roger Banks, Ted Couldstone, Alex Jones, Rob Smith and Killa delivered meaty, well thought out and perfectly executed sets. I couldn’t honestly pick just one DJ who stood out because they were all, equally, first class. Johnny titillated me with some superb Latin that I didn’t know (but I do now!) and Des played for me yet again, twice too, that fantastic record I harped on about last weekend. The chorus is ‘Honey and Wine’ and he promised to send me a CD of it. I’ll not rest until it’s in my sticky eager hands!

Rob kindly played the Fiestas for me and one of them played Calvin Grayson but I can’t remember who. Anyway, funk, Latin, R&B, beat ballads and raucous Northern battered my body around that dance floor… sublime! Loads of stuff I didn’t know but danced to them anyway and some excellent rarities that I did know. Johnny played a wonderful Harvey Averne track that I don’t know the title of but I’ll find out and let you know.

I honestly can’t comprehend why there aren’t many others that embrace stuff they don’t know. Week in week out dancing to the same familiar recordings. Where’s the surprise and excitement in that? Each to their own and I know they enjoy it which is the most important thing. Still, I embrace the unknown and said to Ted, when I was about 13, the first time I heard Dobie Gray’s Out On The Floor I just stood there with my mouth wide open, trembling and not able to move because it was sex on 7 inches to me back then. I want that same feeling every time I attend a soul event and I do get it!

Disappointingly, the majority of shells and pebbles had fallen off the top of the loos! Maybe they didn’t fall off but were stolen as ‘keepsakes’ :D

I had some lovely chats with Steve Green (you were missed Vicky!), Mick (who isn’t a Draycott Drifter lol), Kev, Ted, Rowena, Dave, Trev… god, I can’t remember the others. My brain is a bit mashed to be honest and my body is actually quivering as I sit here typing this.

The evening went so quickly. Confirmation that the night was immeasurable in its unique and captivating delivery. The punters were quality, not quantity. A hoard of like-minded eager individuals wanting to hear new, mesmerising records and we weren’t disappointed.

If you’ve not sampled Bidds yet I urge you to stop thinking about it and DO IT! Certainly not your run of the mill, safe, golden oldies reunion; more of a kick you in the face experience leaving you heady and stunned for all the right reasons! I creamed my pants on several occasions even though my shirt was tucked in them LOL :D

So, the night came to a close at just after 7am where Ted Couldstone played some gritty and uptempo R&B. Fitting end to a night full of eclectic and soulful musical homage of days gone by and a great education into the bargain.

Now, if 9 hours of top draw tunage wasn’t enough, Kev complied a CD for my journey home. Jesus! My head was wobbling like some nodding dog all the way home. It was so good It went round at least 3 times. I cranked up the volume so much I couldn’t hear anything outside the car at all. Pure indulgence and the perfect end to a perfect nighter. Thanks Kev! I’ve uploaded it >>> HERE <<< but sadly I don’t have the track-listing and can’t be arsed to look them up. Just enjoy them!!

Anyway, here are the photos. I’m off now because quite frankly… I’m fuckeroo’d! :D