Legends Of Motown & Soul Weekender 2006 (Fri 13-Mon 16)
at Pontins, Prestatyn Sands Holiday Centre, North Wales
Saturday 14th October, 2006
Rating: 10/10+
Two thousand Soul revellers,
many from Wrexham, Denbighshire and Flintshire and across the UK descended
upon the Pontins Holiday Centre in Prestatyn between Friday 13 and Sunday 15
of October.
Now in its fifth year as a concept, the event is growing in strength each year.
This was the first time the three day festival was held in Prestatyn. Along
with live acts, there was a host of the top Soul DJs from across the UK, such
as Sean Chapman from Pontypridd and Wrexham-based Soul Sam, and several
record stalls selling classics to rarities on vinyl and CD.
With overnight accommodation available, it allowed fans to stay on campus,
partying in the four arenas until the early hours. The showcase had a real
family feel, with ‘Soul brothers’ meeting up once again for the annual event -
the camaraderie was quite remarkable. People were mingling and rubbing
shoulders with some of the best known names from the USA.
Using the’ Soul Revue’ format from the 60s, Friday night brought the
Masquaraders. Saturday’s bill included Northern Soul legend J.J. Barnes, female
trio The Andantes and Tamla Motown legends The Contours, all backed by the
superb new generation of ‘Funk Brothers’, the seven piece Midnight Hour Soul
Band and two backups, Jo Ankrah and Claire Pilling.
Barnes has a cult following despite never charting in the UK - Our Love Is In
The Pocket is his most popular song. Others from his set included Sweet
Sherry and Real Humdinger all delivered in a masterful performance
with the crowd lapping up the songs and creating a great atmosphere for the
long night ahead.
Motown’s top backing singers The Andantes (backing stars Martha Reeves & The
Vandellas, The Temptations, Diana Ross & The Supremes) they gave a stirring
masterclass, covering standards like When You’re Young And I Love, My Guy
and one of the evening’s highlights I Got A Feeling (Barbara Randolph).
Headliners The Contours’ performance was a dazzling as their jackets.
Including original member Sylvester Potts, the singing quartet put on
trademark choreographed routines and cultured vocals whilst doing originals
such as First I Look At The Purse, Baby Hit And Run, Smokey Robinson’s
Tracks of My Tears, Jackie Wilson’s Higher And Higher, only UK
hit Just A Little Misunderstanding, saving crowd favourite Do You
Love Me? for a thrilling closer.
For the finale, all artists appeared for a stunning reprise of I Got A
Feeling, rounding off a glorious night for the Legends Of Motown and Soul.
For information about the Northern Soul & Modern Soul Weekender March 16-19
2007, call 0870 604 5606 quoting code NS07.
Acts for next October’s event will be confirmed around Christmas time.
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
Using the’ Soul Revue’ format from the 60s, Friday night brought the
Masquaraders. Saturday’s bill included Northern Soul legend J.J. Barnes, female
trio The Andantes and Tamla Motown legends The Contours, all backed by the
superb new generation of ‘Funk Brothers’, the seven piece Midnight Hour Soul
Band and two backups, Jo Ankrah and Claire Pilling.
Headliners The Contours’ performance was a dazzling as their jackets.
Including original member Sylvester Potts, the singing quartet put on
trademark choreographed routines and cultured vocals whilst doing originals
such as First I Look At The Purse, Baby Hit And Run, Smokey Robinson’s
Tracks of My Tears, Jackie Wilson’s Higher And Higher, only UK
hit Just A Little Misunderstanding, saving crowd favourite Do You
Love Me? for a thrilling closer.
Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2010.
