25% Extra Hip Huggin' Free

Thanks to our new licensing laws we will be open until midnight on Saturday. That’s 25% extra soul and still free entry.

Hip Huggin' - Sat 3rd December

We're back at the basment bar of the Sussex Arms on Satyrday 3rd December to fire up the dancefloor with our rare 6Ts soul.

Expect to hear The Fascinations, The Volumes, Tina Britt, Barbara Randolph, Chuck Wood, Major Lance, Little Milton, The Shirelles, Jackie Ross, Jackie Wilson, Little Esther Phillips, Betty La Vette, Linda Jones, Dean Parrish, Nella Dodds, Ike & Tina, Ella Fitzgerald, Al King, Little Carl Carlton and many more.

Full details are as follows:

Hip Huggin’

@ The Basement Bar, The Sussex Arms, Sussex Mews, The Pantiles, Tunbridge Wells, Kent (01892 549579)

Saturday 3rd December

DJs: The Blush Organisation
Adm. Free
7pm 'till 11pm

A map of how to find us can be found here

Hip Huggin' Launch Night Photos

Some photos from the Hip Huggin’ launch night on Saturday 1st October. Thanks to all of you who came along. Our next night is on 3rd December.

Hip Huggin’ Launch Party - Saturday 1st October

We now have the full details of our new night at the Basement Bar of the Sussex Arms. The first night will be on Saturday 1st October and our guest DJ will be The Major, who will be better known to some of you as Andy (owner of the coolest scooter in Tunbridge Wells).

The new night is called Hip Huggin’ and will be more northern based than Uptight was. Expect to hear The Fascinations, The Volumes, Tina Britt, Barbara Randolph, Chuck Wood, Major Lance, Little Milton, The Shirelles, Jackie Ross, Jackie Wilson, “Little Esther” Phillips, Betty La Vette, Linda Jones, Dean Parrish, Nella Dodds, Ike & Tina, Ella Fitzgerald, Al King, Little Carl Carlton and many more.



Full details are as follows:

Hip Huggin’

@ The Basement Bar, The Sussex Arms, Sussex Mews, The Pantiles, Tunbridge Wells, Kent (01892 549579)

Saturday 1st October

DJs: The Blush Organisation & special guest The Major
Adm. Free
7pm 'till 11pm

A map of how to find us can be found here

New Night, New Home

Our search for a venue is at an end. We will be launching a new night in the Basement Bar at the Sussex Arms on Saturday 1st October.

The Sussex Arms in on Sussex Mews on the Pantiles. The Basement Bar is a vastly superior venue to the Office and we have sole use of it for the evening. It’s got a great sound system and plenty of room for dancing. The Sussex Arms has recently had a refurb and looks great. Their website can be found here

The new night will have a new name and slightly different music policy. We will be looking to bring in guest DJs in the future, if you are interested in playing then drop us a line.

Sign up to our mailing list to be the first to know the details of our launch night.

Full details to follow…

Ben's Set List 13th August

use it before you lose it - bobby valentin
shake 'n' fingerpop - the soul lovers
time - edwin starr
seven days too long - chuck wood
forget it - the sandpebbles
what - judy street
all turned on - bob wilson and the san remo quartet
bernadette - the four tops
breakin' down the walls of heartache - johnny johnson and the bandwagon
nothing but heartaches - the supremes
do i love you - frank wilson
ain't too proud to beg - the temptations
we'll be makin' out - jesse james and the outlaws
hide nor hair - earl jackson
soul finger - the bar-keys
you keep me hangin' on - the supremes
you're a wonderful one - marvin gaye
this old heart of mine - the isley brothers
do it one more time (the twine) alvin cash and the crawlers
tainted love - gloria jones
s o s - edwin starr
ain't nothin' but a house party - the show stoppers

Moving On

Saturday was sadly our last night at the Office. We are looking for a new venue and hope to have something sorted out very soon. I will post something up here as soon as we know anything. The easiest way to guarantee being the first to know when we sort out our new venue is to join our mailing list by emailing me at roger@blushorganisation.co.uk

Thanks to everyone who has supported the night over the last year and a half, we’ve really enjoyed doing it and are looking forward to starting afresh somewhere else.

Uptight - 13th August

Uptight returns to the Office on Saturday 13th August with the Blush Organisation spinning northern favourites, rare soul stormers, tamla treats, 6Ts R&B movers and some funk for your feet.

Uptight
@ The Office, Goods Station Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent (Tel 01892 534822)

Saturday 13th August
& the second Saturday of every month

The Blush Organisation DJs playing Tamla Motown, Northern Soul, Boogaloo and Deep Funk.

Adm. Free 7pm 'till 11pm
A map of how to find us can be found here

Leon's Set List - 9th July

Leon played Uptight for the first time in July and did the 7 'til 8 slot. In a break from our normal 60's soul and r&B sound, Leon plays mainly 70's soul. His set was a blinder and we're pleased to say that he's back again in August.

1.Bill Withers-Make Love To Your Mind-Cbs-1975.
2.City Limits-People(We Need A Change )-T.S.O.P./Cbs-1976.
3.Rudy Love And The Love Family-Take Nothing For Granted-Calla/Cbs-1978.
4.Linda Clifford-Runaway Love-Curtom-1978.
5.Billy Butler-Alone At Last(Part 2)-Curtom-1977.
6.Ty Karim & George Griffin-Keep On Doin' Watcha' Doin'-(Longversion)-Sheridan House-1980.
7.Smokey Robinson-Virgin Man-Tamla Motown-1974.
8.Creative Source-You Can't Hide Love-Sussex-1973.
9.Gladys Knight & The Pips-Love Is Always On Your Mind-Buddah-1977.
10.Sir Joe Quarterman And Free Soul-Get Down Baby-Mercury-1974.
11.Brother To Brother-Chance With You-Turbo-1976.
12.Luther(Vandross)-Funky Music(Is A Part Of Me)-Cotillion-1976.(Who sadly died earlier that week).

Roger's Set Lists - 14th May

Here’s my set lists from Uptight on the 14th May, hopefully they’ll give you a flavour of what we play. I going to try and get Ben to note down his sets next month, he plays a lot more Northern and Motown than I do and a lot less funk and r&b.


First Set - 8 'til 9 pm

Majestic Choir And The Soul Stirrers – Why Am I Treated So Bad
Sugar Pie DeSanto – Can’t Let You Go
Lee Dorsey – Get Our Of My Life Woman
The Shirelles – Too Much Of A Good Thing
Jimmy James And The Vagabonds – Ain’t Love Good, Ain’t Love Proud
The Lamp Sisters – No Cure For The Blues
Mable John – Running Out
Warren Lee – Climb The Ladder
Robert Parker – Everbody’s Hip Huggin
Alvin Cash And The Crawlers – Twine Time
Jackie Wilson And Linda Hopkins – Say I Do
Little Carl Carlton – Competition Ain’t Nothing
The Miracles – Gotta Dance To Keep From Crying
Jackie Ross – I’ve Got The Skill
The Ambassadors – A.W.O.L.
Edwin Starr – Headline News
The Contours – Just A Little Misunderstanding
Dusty Springfield – Can I Get A Witness
“Little Esther” Phillips – While It Lasted
Barbara Lynn – You Left The Water Running
Jean Knight – Anyone Can Love Him
Herb Johnson – I Know
Jean Wells – With My Love And What You’ve Got (We Could Turn The World Around)


Second Set - 10 pm 'til close

The Raeletts – Leave My Man (Woman) Alone
Robert Parker – Barefootin’
Etta James – Seven Day Fool
Barbara Lynn – I’m Good Woman
Big Maybelle – 96 Tears
Irma Thomas – Don’t Mess With My Man
Patti Drew – Hard To Handle
Carl Carlton – I Can Feel It
Dean Parrish – Tell Her
Ellie Greenwich – I Want You To Be My Baby
Marlena Shaw – California Soul
Betty La Vette – What Condition My Condition Is In
The Village Callers – Hector
Pucho And His Latin Soul Brothers – Got Myself A Good Man
Barbara West – You’re No Good
Little Mary Staten – Steppin Stone
James Brown – Night Train
Wilbert Harrison – Let’s Stick Together
Betty Adams – Make It Real (Ride On)
Betty Harris – Mean Man
Thelma Jones – Stronger
Linda Jones – I Can’t Stand It
The Reflections – Just Like Romeo And Juliet
Monk Higgins – Watermelon Man
Isley Brothers – Shout Pt 1
The Bamboos – Tighten Up
Cecil Garrett And The Fascinations – Bearcat Pt 1
Mary Jane Hooper – I’ve Got Reasons
Roscoe Robinson – What Makes A Man Do Wrong
Little Eva – Stand By Me

Roger’s Top Ten – May ‘05

Some of my current favourites.

Jean Knight – Anyone Can Love Him (Staff)
The Raelettes – Leave My Man (Woman) Alone (Tangerine)
Thelma Jones – Stronger (Barry)
Little Mary Staten – Steppin’ Stone (GME)
“Little Esther” Phillips – While It Lasted (Lennox)
Smokey Robinson and the Miracles – If You Can Want (Tamla)
Linda Jones – I Can’t Stand It (Loma)
Roscoe Robinson – What Makes A Man Do Wrong (Tuff)
Pat Lewis – Can’t Shake It Loose(Golden World)
Jean Wells – With My Love And What You’ve Got (We Can Turn The World Around) (Calla)

Mailing List

Mailing List

I've set up a mailing list, so that I can keep you updated on what we're up to. Just enter your email address below and you need never forget when the Blush Organisation are behind the wheels of steel again. Your email address will not be shared with anyone else and you can remove yourself from the list anytime you want.

Photos

Here are some photos from last nights Uptight. It was a top night and it was really nice to see the South Coast Soul Club in attendance, we shall be popping down to one of their nights very soon.

Jimmy Smith - RIP

Sad news, Jimmy Smith died yesterday (10th February) at the age of 79. I have been a big fan of Jimmy Smith since nicking a compilation of his stuff from my Dad when I was a kid. I went to see him at the Jazz Cafe a few years ago and he blew me away. Whilst looking for material to include here, I chanced upon this exert from Bill Milkowski's Rockers, Jazzbos & Visionaries on the Funk 45 Forum. The man was a legend.



I know you got into some kind of karate.

Yeah, for 25 years now.

I've seen your album Respect , where you got your kung fu robe on the cover.

Not kung fu, motherfucker. That's shotokan. And that means sho-kill-yo'-ass. I studied that particular method. Shotokan is when you go to the diaphragm and pull out the fucking food, show him what he ate for dinner, you understand? And I mean that shit. Go in there, pull them fuckin' greens out, put 'em right in his face and watch him faint. You know what I mean?

Yeah, that would come in handy on the subway.

Hey man, shit, you don't need no damn gun. Pull them fucking intestines out...and they be movin', you know, like worms. That shit be running all over my damn hand.

On Elvin Jones

Elvin's too ugly to look old. That's an ugly man. You know what happened, when we first met it was Haight-Ashbury in Frisco, and man...I was off on Monday...I was playing at the Jazz Workshop and he was playing at the Blackhawk. So anyway, I wasn't working on this Monday and he was on. So I walk in the door to catch Elvin's gig and the guy says, "Jimmy Smith, come on in! Elvin Jones is here, man. I hope you guys can hook up tonight, man." And here comes Elvin, "Hey, man, we're gonna get into something tonight, OK?" I said, "What? I ain't never played witch you, man." So he just grabbed me, and he's strong anyway...I had to put all my little karate shit on his ass. I grabbed his dick. He say, "Turn my dick loose, motherfucker." I say, "Man, don't fool with me, boy." Everybody say, "Jimmy Smith is crazy, don't fool with him." 'Specially when I'm not playing...and I'm 'off,' I'm really off. It's what the black people call you. It's not o-f-f...it's o-f...they say, "The nigger's o-f." That's from the South. Say that. It sounds good. It's got a ring to it. So anyway, we play. Elvin broke the sock cymbal right off, man. He done broke that sucker, 'cause he's so strong, man. And when we got done, I was soaked, he was soaked, our socks were wet. I'm serious, Bill. Our socks were soaking wet. I messed that suit up...you know, all that salt you get from sweating. You ever see a musician with those white armpits? These motherfuckers with all that salt beadin' their ass up? Just like race horses? Exactly.

For a more sober look at the life and times of a legend try these:

BBC

The Guardian

Soulful 7s

Here is my first instalment of soulful 7s, a list of some of my favourite 7 inch slabs of plastic, some of these tracks are old favourites and some are ones that I’ve picked up over the last few months. I hope that this will become a regular feature and I will do another one when I have bought enough new stuff or dug out some more stuff from the back of my collection. All of this batch has been played at Uptight over the last year and they all rock. I’ve included sound clips, courtesy of Soul Club or Funk 45, wherever I can.

B.W. Souls – Marvin’s Groove (Round)

Marvin's Groove

Man, what a record and not difficult to pick up either. Starts with a great piece of percussion and builds on a groovy little horn line. The break is class and guaranteed dance floor dynamite. A must.


Ike and Tina Turner – Bold Soul Sister (Blue Thumb)

Bold Soul Sister

This is hard, it starts hard and gets harder. I’ve started sets with this record and it pummels the crowd into submission, once you’ve played this, they’re yours for the night. I love Tina’s opening line of “Stuff and things and things and stuff”. She’s a bold soul sister indeed.


Betty Adams – Make It Real (Ride On) (Notes Of Gold)

Make It Real (Ride On)

I’d been after this Aretha-a-like ever since hearing it on a David Holmes comp a couple of years ago but had no luck tracking it down until those nice people at Budget Beats did the business. This is a storming track and the call and response chorus gets me every time. Nice breakdown to boot.


Jean Knight – Carry On (Stax)

The dance floor doesn’t lie, this is one funky single. Top sister funk. A nice cheap record to pick up, mine only cost me a couple of dollars.


Jackie Wilson and Linda Hopkins – Say I Do (Coral)

I don’t know whether this is the A or B side of this single but I love it. It’s from ’63 and it’s got an early soul / R&B type sound with a skippy rhythm. Jackie is on top form here and the point where his vocal comes in for the first time sends shivers up my spine. In the right club this would go down storm.


Prince La La – She Put The Hurt On Me (A.F.O. Records)

She Put The Hurt On Me

New Orleans R&B at it’s best. If you’re familiar with the Spencer Davis Group version of this tune, you’ve got to track this one down because it’s loads better. With a name like Prince La La, it was always going to be good and it doesn’t disappoint. It’s a swampy, sweaty track with the vocals reminding me of Dr John in places.


Lamp Sisters – Sweet Daddy Soul (Duke)



I picked this up after reading about it on Soul Generation and it just goes to show that Martin is a man whose recommendations should be taken seriously. This has an Aretha type feel to it and is a real grower. Great chorus, strong vocals throughout. I’ve got a couple of their other singles and they are all good.


Etta James – Tighten Up Your Own Thing (Checker)



I love Etta James and buy just about everything by her that I come across. I bought this one blind and wasn’t disappointed, it may not quite be up there with Seven Day Fool, or In The Basement but it isn’t far behind. It’s got a really strong funky backing and a great vocal, what more do you need?


Mitty Collier – I Can’t Lose (Peachtree)

I Can't Lose

I’ve got Ed to thank for introducing me to Mitty Collier, like with Etta James, I tend to buy a lot of her stuff blind and to date I haven’t picked up a duff track. I Can’t Lose is the pick of the pack. Funky, funky, soul that is highly recommended.

Mary Jane Hooper – I’ve Got Reasons (Power-Pac)

I've Got Reaons

This has become an in demand record since Soul Jazz comped it and getting hold of a copy at the right price has caused me nightmares. There were plenty of early morning alarm calls in order to be at my computer to bid for it on eBay, only for it to pass my cut off price at the last minute. Well I’ve managed to get hold of a copy now and it was worth every sleepless night and early morning.

The track was written by and produced by Eddie Bo, a guarantee of quality if ever there was one, and is one of my favourite tracks that he has been involved in. It starts with a quick run up and down the keyboard before Mary kicks in and does her thing. This is a seriously funky record and if it doesn’t make you want to dance, you must be dead from the neck down.


Ellie Greenwich – I Want You To Be My Baby (UA)

I first came across this song on the Kent compilation On The Soul Side about twelve years ago and I’ve loved it ever since but it is only the last month that I’ve picked up a copy.

This is a high-octane track with a brilliant call and response intro and is really immediate. It’s a real call to the floor and I’m looking forward to playing it for the first time at Uptight this month. This is going to be a cornerstone of my set for months to come.