I have extracted a few good pages from the May 1985 edition of Concourse. By that time, my Education and Welfare sabbatical year was coming to an end, so the paper was interested in ushering in the new and ushering out the old. Hold the front page…
Superb picture of John White on the front page, the main (nay only) reason I have uploaded this page
There had been some sort of hoo-ha about the FY exams that Easter, so it seems that I got busy and Margaret Gordon (a lovely lass, I wonder what became of her?) interviewed me about it:
FY stands for Foundation Year, the late lamented “try a bit of everything” course, sadly no longer taught at Keele. Gresham College is perhaps the closest thing to it.
I like the next two pages – a double page spread on the new sabbaticals. Nice to still have pictures of faces I remember. Hayward Burt’s comments on my style raised a smile with me.
I don’t think the term “stress head” had been invented back then, not least because, if it had existed, I think that is exactly the term Hayward would have used to describe me.
I love this little article about John White, Kate Fricker and the Students’ Union cleaners. John looks like a rabbit startled by headlights in the picture. Little did he know that he would subsequently become seasoned for photo shoots, such as his gig as the poster boy for Food Retailer Monthly magazine (or whatever it was called, why can’t I remember?)
Top tank top, John.
Finally the following review of the UGM. These days, the (anonymous) author of this piece would surely not get away with the ethno-physiognomy remark made about me, especially in that context. Where was editor Krista Cowman’s red pen when I needed it? Surely the UGM and Concourse should have been safe space from such comments for people like me? Is it too late for me to seek redress?
Strangely, I have no recollection whatsoever of reading that comment before, although I must have read it, so it must have seemed like water of a duck’s par for the course back then.
John White and I quite often did our sixties soul discos when DJ-ing at Keele. Those “happenings” are among our favourite memories of spinning the plates at Keele.
My diary entries didn’t always mention the style of disco involved, but my diary entry for 11 May 1985 was specific:
Saturday 11 May 1985 – Got up lunchtime and came into office to meet Ashley [Fletcher] etc. Went for walk with Petra [Wilson] in early evening – came to union and did 60’s disco [with John White].
John and I have stayed in touch ever since we left Keele. Indeed, as I write this up 40 years on (23 May 2025), we’ll be seeing each other tomorrow.
These past few weeks we have been liaising over the sounds that we played at those sixties soul discos. People sometimes referred to them as Northern Soul discos, but in truth most of the stuff we liked and played was not quite so rare as Northern Soul purists would like – mostly Motown and Atlantic/Stax. We were somewhat constrained by the content of Keele SU’s impressive but not all that unusual record collection.
Intriguingly (for us), we separately listed the stuff we remembered playing back then before pulling this playlist together – the overlap was extensive.
Anyway, dear readers and listeners. You can decide for yourselves what you think of this three-and-a-half hour marathon sixties soul disco. Janie (my wife) and I have been dancing around the living room to it – no doubt John & Mandy have too.
Comments from people who remember these discos, or from people who wish they had been there, or simply from people who love this kind of music will be most welcome.
Judging by my diary, I spent most of my time at the start of Keele’s summer term 1985 cooking meals for Petra Wilson (or occasionally being cooked a meal by her), or sitting through interminable meetings, as was my wont as SU Education & Welfare Officer.
Although, if the Concourse and Geordie mag wags are anything to go by, I must have been generating huge quantities of verbiage in the publicity circular and the like, as well as crafting my magnum opus, Sexplanations. I also was spending time rehearsing the new improved Ringroad with the enhanced team, including Dave Griffiths, John Bowen & Warwick Cairns – more on those topics to come soon.
This article is covering a dull-sounding period at the start of term in all of its exquisite diary dullness. It livens up as the piece goes on…honest.
Monday 22 April 1985 – Busy day in the office – interviews and What Subsid. Worked late – had early night.
Tuesday 23 April 1985 – More interviews today etc. Got quite a lot done – earlyish night – Petra came back [to Keele] in middle of the night.
Wednesday 24 April 1985 – Early start – meetings etc today. Cooked Petra dinner in evening.
Thursday, 25 April 1985 – Busy day with meetings and interviews etc – early night tonight.
Friday 26 April 1985 – Rushed day with Union Committee Meeting etc. Petra came round later.
Saturday 27 April 1985 – Rose late – went into town late – ran around the shops etc. Cooked Petra dinner in evening.
Sunday 28 April 1985 – Rose late – did some work later on – saw Petra for a while later.
One of the union cleaners, Kitty, retired around that time, so I suspect those interviews were about replacing her. I was busy researching Sexplanations and for sure I spoke with lots of medical people about that, but I don’t think in those days I would have called such research meetings interviews – for those I tended to write the name of the hospital or medical practice I visited.
For sure we launched Wot Subsid 1985-87 at the start of that term.
And the more I think about it, the more I think I should publish a collection of my Keele recipes in a booklet entitled “Wot Subsist”, for students everywhere henceforward.
In truth, boiled beef and carrots would not have tended to appear on my menu. I would occasionally cook beef for Petra but she preferred lighter fare – mostly chicken or fish – sometimes pork. Not spicy food (although I did have a canon of spicy dishes for others). Mild creamy sauces, for sure. If I were to cook beef it would be Chinese style – normally stir fry – although I had already cultivated a wicked Guangzhou style brisket of beef cooked in a “to die for” stock. I suppose that is sort-of boiled beef.
Monday 29 April 1985 – Worked quite hard today – got quite a bit done. Petra cooked meal in evening.
Tuesday 30 April 1985 – Rushed and busy today with meetings etc – Petra came round later.
Wednesday 1 May 1985 – Very busy day with meetings till late etc – Petra came round after.
Thursday 2 May 1985 – Got quite a bit done today as meetings were cancelled etc. Petra came around later.
Friday, 3 May 1985 – Busy day in office today – lots of hassle in afternoon. Shopped and went pictures (A Private Function) then Petra cooked meal.
Saturday 4 May 1985 – Did very little today. Rose late etc and cooked Petra dinner in evening.
Sunday, 5 April 1985 – Didn’t get up till late – did a little work in the evening and popped over to L54 briefly.
Ah, A Private Function. I remember that movie – about a chiropodist rearing a pig for a party:
Who’d have thought that, within 10 years, I’d be mixed up with a chiropodist, Janie, throwing a pig party. Trigger warning on the album that follows – some of the pictures are seriously piggy and I don’t mean the Janie & Phillie picture on the cover:
But I digress.
As for visiting Barnes L54, that had been “my flat” for two years: 82/83 and 83/84:
Still there in 84/85 was Alan Gorman, who the only one who had been there throughout my time in that flat. Also Chris Spencer, who had been there for most of the time I was in that flat, plus Pete Wild who joined us in 83/84. Hayward Burt had taken my place…quite literally:
Oy, Hayward. That’s MY seat.
Monday 6 May 1985 – Worked hard despite bank holiday – cooked Petra meal in evening.
Tuesday, 7 May 1985 – Busy day with Union Committee morning, meetings etc till late. International Affairs – drank after until quite late and then went to see Petra.
Wednesday, 8 May 1985 – Hard day in office – Welfare Committee etc. Ringroad rehearsal in the evening – went well – went to see Petra after.
Thursday, 9 May 1985 – Busy day in office with enquiries etc. Busy evening – met Vice Chancellor [new VC was Brian Fender] – Union Committee meeting and Shirley and Kitty’s party. Went over to Petra’s after briefly – came back later.
Friday 10 May 1985 – Busy day in office – rushed off feet – especially in the afternoon. Went to theatre to see The Nerd and cooked Petra meal after.
I remember that we called Brian Fender “Uncle Fester” in those early days.
Jackie Coogan playing the role of Brian Fender…I mean Uncle Fester
Shirley & Kitty’s party got a whole page in Concourse that month. But surely the most newsworthy element, forty years on, is John White’s mop top hair and tank top garment.
JOHN – WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?
As for The Nerd, I remembered little about it until I looked it up. Clearly this production went on to Coventry after Stoke:
We saw it at the Hanley Theatre Royal. I remember being pleased that I had seen Jasper Carrott perform live but not thinking too much of the show. The Evening Sentinel slammed it in a way that only the Sentinel could:
A DALL-E image based on my 20 word description of our Keele scene
I have written a few times about John White’s and my exploits as DJs in the Keele Students’ Union Ballroom throughout our sabbatical year 1984/85. For the initial story, which explains how we ended up as DJs that year click here or below:
Over the last few months, forty years after the events, John and I have been corresponding occasionally about those discos and the music we played. Our favourite type of gig was our “60s soul discos”, which I shall write up later/separately. We had no trouble agreeing playlist material for those as we both remember our own favourites and the results of our crate digging.
I have already written up and published a playlist of the sort of material we would play at Bust Fund Discos – click here.
But what of the more regular type of disco in the ballroom? There our memories took slightly different paths. John’s strongest memories were of his favourites from the early 1980s, that he would regularly want to play at those discos regardless of whether or not students wanted to dance to the music. There was a reason why the Geordie Mag symbolised John as “the only one dancing” sometimes – especially the early stage of the discos, before the main bar closed, when there would be few punters anyway.
My memory took me more to tunes that I remember specifically from around our sabbatical year that would often be requested by attendees and that I felt would fill the dance floor. I believe the modern parlance is “bangers”, m’lud.
Hence, two YouTube music playlists below, neither of which represent a complete disco set, but from a combination of which 1984/1985 John White & Ian Harris discos would mostly have comprised. The first is about four hours long, the around second half that length. Click either the description link or the picture below it for the playlist.
John & I would love to hear some student memories or thoughts on these playlists. Not only from students who were around at that time but from more recent or current Keelies. I wonder whether you could fill the SU dance floor with any of these grooves now? If we get lots of belated requests, I might even make up a fresh playlist based on requests!
Below, a small sample of tracks from the above playlists in video form. Enjoy.
