People's History of Pop BBC Music

Around 1974 my mates Walt & Chaddy ( David Atkinson & Peter Chadwick ) invested £40 into a mobile disco set up.

Using their ever growing record collections and borrowing top northern sounds from friends such as Ian Cunliffe & Kev Fox, they played the Oval Ball Club (formerly the Bomb & Dagger ) in Leigh every Friday night. It was one of the few places at the time that you could hear Northern Soul. After a while Saturday night was added. I remember the last night when the police raided the club and closed it down for licence infringements (there wasn’t one).

We used start the weekend there before going to the Friday night session at Wigan Casino and then going onto Samanthas at Sheffield followed by Blackpool Mecca and Wigan Casino on Saturday night. Those were the days…….

The first time I saw Steel Pulse perform was in the 1970s in a Birmingham City Centre nightclub called Rebecca’s, I was about 10 feet away from them, there wasn’t even a stage, but the music was incredible, and I became a fan from that night. Handsworth Revolution was the first album I ever bought back in 1978; and I still have that album today.

I never really heard music by Steele Pulse being played on the sound systems in the dancehalls, and although back then, the reggae music scene was predominately about black culture, Rasta, Marcus Garvey and going back to Africa, with deep lyrics, the more popular tunes were by Dennis Brown, Culture and Burning Spear amongst many others out of Jamaica. Then when it came to UK reggae you predominately heard London Lovers Rock on the sound systems.

I joined on 25th September 1971 had to to see David Bowie, having not been able to get in to Slough College to see Wishbone Ash. Glad I did- never looked back.

Although Van Halen only had about 2 foot of stage supporting Black Sabbath, it was enough for them to bring the house down. Best support band i have seen.

This is my beloved “School’s Out” album, complete with its original paper knickers. I bought it from a tiny branch of Virgin Records which was in Queen Victoria Street in Leeds. 1972 was the year I left school so this album and the single which came from it were especially significant. I can never hear School’s Out without thinking of that feeling of adventure I had that July when I went from being a schoolgirl to being a grown-up (of sorts) who worked in a bank.

Bought most of these in place of buying my family Xmas pressies cost Woolworths were selling them off cheap…… No friends made that year…….

This is promotional give away for the vinyl album another music in a different kitchen released by Buzzcocks on United Artists Records. The actual date of release 10th of March 1978 however this clearly states that it was to have been released on the 18/12/77.