What's New in 2002?

2000 and 2001 have been amazing years for Soul music and the scene. A veritable explosion of music, radio and clubs to satisfy our souls. Maybe it's because the Dance scene has taken to using old soul and disco tunes in US Garage style music and this has introduced some new blood, and revived an interest in the old stuff. Maybe it's because so many new clubs and promoters have sprung up to give us more of a choice in what to do and where to go. Maybe it's because us old punters are at an age where our kids have grown up (or we've got a divorce!) and we're looking for something new to do. Maybe it's because we have great websites like this one to bring us all together and point us in the right direction. Maybe it's all of the above.

We move into 2002 with great expectations. Our old favourite doos are continuing and evolving, and we've broadened our horizons by meeting some new and great people from all over the World through this new-fangled Internet technology. We're looking forward to new events from our friends at Queens of Soul, a new monthly London based Northern & Modern Allnighter and an exciting new Weekender in June. The Soul Train for the new Millennium is still rolling along and it shows no sign of stopping..... but then, who wants to get off?

We would like to thank each and every Soulboy who has supported this site over the last 20 months, and wish you all a very happy and successful 2002.

Niki & Kaya

Spirit & Chocolate Soul Continued Success

Make a note in your diaries for the first and last Fridays of every month throughout 2002 for Spirit & Chocolate Soul respectively. After block-busting December events, both continue their highly successful runs into the New Year at the forefront of the contemporary Soul scene.

Terry Jones and the Sourmash Collective go from strength to strength @ Catch, 22 Kingsland Road, Shoreditch. Bringing you all that's best in the Modern Soul universe and continuing to invite the finest guest DJ's every month, Chocolate Soul has established itself as the definitive event in London for the connoisseur.

Spirit @ The Clinic, 13 Gerrard Street, W1 brings Soul into West End clubland with a passion. The Soulboys and Soul Movement crew join forces to bring you the finest upbeat soul, boogie, disco in the Loft and connoisseurs cuts in the Bar. Niki & Kaya welcome Maria P. aboard as resident DJ, mixing up only the most soulful Garage cuts in the Loft and the crew are also proud to announce that Dr. Bob Jones has agreed to appear as a regular guest DJ, time and work commitments permitting. The crew also welcome special guest 'punter' DJs every month, to include Johnny T in the bar and Jim the Syrup in the Loft in February - so get yourself down to Chinatown and you might get invited to play! And the bar is open til 3am!!!

Miss them at your peril.

All change at Queens of Soul and the Lacy Lady

Queens of Soul has ended it's phenomenal run at it's spiritual home The Queens in Grays, and the event is moving lock, stock and barrel to it's new home at The Orsett Cock. The new dates have yet to be confirmed, so keep checking the Event Calendar and Forum for more info.

Meanwhile the QoS boys are busy getting together their brand new monthly 'double club' event to take place on the second Saturday of the month @ Bar Med in the heart of the City - starting on February 9th. This is a great venue, which saw host to the Soul 24-7 Christmas Party. It's set on two floors and will welcome Bob Jones and 'Lift' downstairs, and Terry Jones and 'Village Soul' upstairs along with the QoS Resident DJs Chi & Neill Rydings. Bar Med is @ 14 Triton Court, Finsbury Square and the doo runs from 10.00pm-4.00am.

Finally, QDoS is set to return in March with the fourth of it's amazing three roomed events. More details as we get them. Phew! Bravo to the hard working and fabulous Queens of Soul crew for their commitment to the Soul music cause.

The Lacy Lady's stint at the Epping Forest Country Club is also drawing to a close. The general opinion seems to be in favour of a move for our old favourite cheesy soul doo. Certainly Epping's not very atmospheric venue and extortionate bar prices will not be missed! Rumour has it that it's relocating at Secrets Nightclub in Romford, but we'll give you more details as we get them.

Soul @ The Seabright

Soul 24-7s John 'The Jester' Willis and Gilo have struck upon a haven for old Jazz-Funkers in North London. The December event saw the Seabright bursting at the scenes and almost broke the record for bar takings! Andy Weekes flew half way round the world from Los Angeles, California to be their special guest DJ along with Niki, who enjoyed the experience so much that she begged John & Giles to do it every month!

Catch Jester, Gilo & Niki every last Sunday of the month @ The Seabright, Alston Road, Barnet. You will be wowed by the intimate, cosy venue - not to mention the sweet Soul sounds. Soulboys own Lee Rothman, all the way from St. Evenage, will be special guest DJ on 27th January.

More TJ in London

The Celestial Messenger, as he is known to those of us in the know, will be spending more time close to his roots in 2002. As resident DJ at two brand new monthly events - Village Soul @ Bar Med (as above) and the Northern & Modern Allnighter Metropolitan Soul @ The Rocket.

Billed as the "biggest regular Northern Soul Allnighter since Wigan Casino", Metropolitan Soul opens it's doors on 26th January and every last Saturday of the month thereafter. The venue boasts a whopping 950+ capacity in the Northern Room and a sprung maple dancefloor, and a 450+ capacity Modern Room. DJs in the Northern are headed by Ian Levine, while the Modern Room is taken care of by TJ, Ralph Tee, Stevie Cee and Andy Davies. Tax is a hefty £12 on the door (bit steep for a monthly event?), but the venue is licensed until 2.00 but stays open all night, so bring the talc and get swiffing! Looks like we're on until late again, gang :O).

Summer Soul Weekend

The Bank Holiday on June 1st this year sees the first Soul Village Organisation weekender at the Corton Holiday Village, nr. Lowestoft, Suffolk. Unlike many other weekenders, this one boasts a MAXIMUM crowd of 700 people. The venues are intimate and yet spacious in the 'old school club' vein. Situated one above the other (with the Jazz/Alternative venue on the top), the clubs are 'clubs' and not 'rooms'. The main venue is on the edge of a cliff, so the upper club boasts breathtaking sea views!! And the camp has a PRIVATE BEACH!

DJ's include Dr. Bob Jones, Snowboy, Bigger, Max Rees, Bob Masters, Steve Wren, Jim 'The Syrup' Day, Kev James & Chas J, The Sourmash Collective, The East Coast Collective, Niki & Kaya... and loads more! The Radio is going to be run by SOUL24-7.COM and all this for a mere 60 quid including accommodation. Day passes are £20 and limited. Places will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis. Once they're gone, there'll be no more!!

Soulboys on TV
At the moment there are at least two separate Television documentaries being filmed by Channel 4 and LWT on the Soul scene of the 70s and 80s, and there are rumours of a third in the making.

Soulboys.co.uk are happily assisting the producers and researchers for these programmes, and you may be seeing some of our older and uglier associates on a television screen near you soon!!!

Soul 24-7 still off air:
Soul 24-7 has been off air since December 1st, when it's streaming provider went out of business. This came at a time just when things were looking optimistic for the future of the Station for the first time. A certain amount of legal issues and restructuring is taking place at the moment, so we can't say too much with absolute certainty, but what is certain is that it will be back. At present 24-7 is on schedule for a re-launch in early February 2002 - fingers crossed.

Keep the faith and keep on showing your support for Soul 24-7 and the music we love. Please visit www.soul24-7.com, and wish them a speedy return!

New stuff for the Soulboys site:
We've decided to have a little bit of a reorganistation on the Soulboys site. We're swapping the empty sections for some new empty sections with different titles! The new Memorabilia section will contain old flyers and Caister programmes and relics of our history. In the new Clubs section we will be attempting to provide a definitive list of all the old soul clubs we attended from past to present, and the Articles section will contain essays on Soul music and the Scene from anyone who cares to contribute.

If you have an article, or would like to write one on any Soul subject, send it to us at articles@soulboyz.com and we'll publish it on the site.

Music Updates:
It's been a while since we put any new tunes on the site, and Terry Jones still keeps threatening to put together two music selections, exclusive to the Soulboys Website..... We're gonna keep pestering him so watch out for this soon. It's gonna be worth the wait!

We will soon be introducing a 'Visitors Choice' selection where YOU suggest (or even better, supply) a choice of music which will be up on the site for a limited time. If you would like to select 10 tunes for the music page please e-mail your choice to music@soulboyz.com. If you can also supply the tunes by mp3 or CD even better! Contact us for details and our address.

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