History

The 99 Soul Club Scarborough started in 1999 when Adrian Stelling, and Mick and Lynne Burnett got together to run a night at the Corner Complex (aka “The Corner”) in Scarborough’s North Bay. In May 2006 following the closure of The Corner Complex, the 99 Soul Club moved to a new venue, the Palm Court Ballroom in The Grand Hotel.

Palm Court Ballroom Grand Hotel May 2006

 

The 99 Soul Club – a personal history by Ade Stelling

Mick and I formed The 99 Soul Club Scarborough in February 1999 (hence the name).
We first met at the Talbot Soul Club in Scarborough where I had been involved with landlord Paul Toole and Nick Ward two stalwarts of the Scarborough soul scene.

Sadly the Talbot closed and is missed to this day as a venue dear to the hearts of real ale drinkers and “real” music lovers alike. The club briefly relocated to the local Conservative Club but met with baffling disapproval from the members. It then had a brief tenure at The Royal Hotel but for various reasons The Talbot atmosphere was never quite recreated.

Mick and I agreed to form a club at The Corner Complex (known locally as The Corner Caff) which had always been acknowledged as a potentially great venue but one which was a challenge due to its size and location outside the town centre. Just fewer than 200 people attended the first night in 1999.

For the next 7 years the club operated on a bi-monthly basis with an annual All Niter to mark the anniversary of the club albeit that it was normally held in June. During this time a database of over 300 members has grown and the club has been supported by a staunchly loyal bunch of regulars drawn from outside Scarborough and a smaller but equally valued numbers from the town itself.

During 2005 if not earlier rumours were rife that The Corner was scheduled for demolition but an almost farcical situation developed in that not even the staff actually knew when it would actually cease trading. After an irritating period of “it’s closing, it’s not closing” our last night was held in February 2006 by which time we had begun the search for a new venue. This extended outside the boundaries of Scarborough but we both felt that the attraction for many patrons outside of the town was the chance to combine a soul night with a week-end by the seaside.

A surprisingly large number of alternative Scarborough venues presented themselves but we agreed that overall The Grand was the best option. Whilst the Hotel has seen better days it is now under new management and in the middle of an extensive £7M refurbishment programme The improvements have been notable even in our brief period of tenure.

What is hopefully the start of a new era began on Saturday 6th May with Charlie and Mort as special guests. As you will see elsewhere on the site it was an encouraging start on the back of which further dates for 2006 and 2007 were confirmed.

The secret of the success of our club (and running a soul club for more than 8 years is a success in my book), is that it is a team effort. Mick is the senior partner given his DJ’ing experience, (he runs other venues in addition to DJing at weddings including mine and birthdays), an impressive vinyl collection and an equally impressive music system.

My role is more on the admin side, compiling and distributing the newsletter organising media publicity and sharing the job of booking DJ’s.

I describe myself as a soul enthusiast rather than a fanatic. I have no pretensions or aspirations to become a serious collector or DJ and as my profile indicates I have competing interests which take up much of my time and money but hopefully I am proof that you do not have to be a fanatic, anorak or top of the range DJ to be involved in or to enjoy the running of a soul club.

Finally a special word for Mick’s wife Lynne who voluntarily overseas the financial aspects of the club and has the thankless task of sitting patiently at the door to collect admission monies on the night. Keep an eye on the website, further recollections, profiles, and information will be added.

Ade
6th July 2006

The Corner

The Corner Complex on a grey 7th May 2006 nearly a month after its closure

The Corner Complex was built between 1924 and 1925 to provide entertainment for children visiting the holiday resort. It had a bar (Little Jack’s Bar), a tearoom, and a function room with a fine dancefloor and stage for entertainers. In recent years rumours were always circulating about its impending closure. However The Corner had several stays of execution and incredibly was the home of the 99 Soul Club for 7 years. The last 99 Soul Club event at The Corner was fittingly the 7th Anniversary Night in February 2006.

The Corner staged its last event on 17th April 2006, when Magic Mike and DJ Dave Marshall entertained more than 250 children and parents. It proved to be a memorable and sad occasion as the following day the venue’s manager Margaret Jackson, a Corner stalwart for 21 years, closed its doors for the final time. The Corner is due to be demolished in June 2006 to make way for a controversial new £130m leisure development called The Sands, the site being needed for 100 luxury apartments. With the end of The Corner goes many happy moments of 7 years of enjoyable Soul nights, and no doubt those of thousands of holiday visitors over the decades. Farewell to The Corner, gone you may be, but the memories live on.

Artist's impression of new apartments at The Sands

 

 A virtual tour of The Corner (click images to enlarge)

Corner Entrance

The unmistakable Corner Entrance, with Little Jack’s Bar to the left and the Tea Rooms to the right. 99 Soul Club regulars will no doubt miss gathering out here to cool off in the early hours of a Summer’s morning getting a breather from the hot work of dancing. The venue’s close proximity to the sea gave a dramatic end to an Allnighter, allowing a walk on the beach after stumbling out into the morning light. This shot was taken after the venue’s closure and its life and soul seems to have slipped away.

Entrance Door

 

Once through that entrance into the foyer came the climb up the steps to the double doors to the ballroom. (Usually after a few early pints in Little Jack’s Bar to the left!) Opening up the doors would leave the punter hit with a wall of sound as the fabulous strains of Northern Soul music filtered out in the Scarborough night.

 

 

Entrance

Having passed through the double doors Soulies would be faced with the welcoming figure of Lynne with her trusty cash-tin, requiring a few bob for the night’s entertainment. There was also the strange automatic electronic attendance counter on the wall that was so wildly inaccurate and seemed to go up with the alarming regularity of a taxi cab’s meter on overtime!

 

 

Rear view

Through the doors, paid in and eager to get dancing, the Soulie would be met with this sight. It was time to pick your table or find your friends. Then it was to the bar for some drinks, and on to that fantastic dance floor to cut some shapes to the Scarborough Soul sounds.

 

 

Side view

 

A view of the side looking towards the entrance and the corner where record sellers would offer their wares.

 

 

Stage and floor

 

The stage where the DJs lived, and the wonderful dance floor waiting for its first dancers of the evening.

 

 

Stage detail

 

A close up of the stage and the 99 Soul Club logo. The domain of the top dancers.

 

 

The view from the stage

 

A view that many didn’t get to see – the one the DJs had from the stage. Looking out towards the entrance and bar at the back on the right. An empty floor now, as the doors hadn’t opened, but this would soon be a full writhing mass of bodies moving to the beat of the finest music in the world – Northern Soul.

 

What the DJs saw

 

 

What the DJs saw. The equipment that brought you those fine tunes.

 

 

 

Bar view

 

Another view from the stage, showing the bar more clearly.

 

 

Dressing room

 

Not many got to see this, one of the dressing rooms at the side of the stage. Imagine how many performers used these over the years.

 

 

Slippery floor

Very hot water!

 

The people of Scarborough are obviously keen on their Health & Safety! The slippery floor notice from the venue wall near the stage was a valid comment. The floor was an effortless surface, and indeed could be lethal early on before the shine had worn off, or if needless talc had been scattered. The notice in the Gents toilets warned of very hot water, and it wasn’t wrong! Ouch!

 

 

North Bay Photo

 

A piece of history on the walls of The Corner. A picture of Scarborough’s North Bay early in the C20th

 

 

Farewell to the Corner

 

Farewell to The Corner. A simple and sad sign placed in the venue’s window following its closure in April 2006. Gone but not forgotten.