utrecht

EVENTS

Utrecht Blues Estafette - by Colin Dilnot

It was another 5 day packer - I started out in 1997 going for a couple of days but it is now extended to 5.

Friday

Met up with a few people from the UK and Holland at a small club in Utrecht where you can listen to the artists for free, have a couple of drinks and meet people like Jimmy Ellis who just happened to drop by!!!

I also met Fred James who is great guy - he owns all the rights to many Nashville labels and is responsible for licensing stuff Ace/Kent and Black Magic - he was also responsible for the Earl Gaines/Herbie Hunter/Freddie Waters/Roscoe Shelton 60/70's collections on the Dutch label Black Magic. He is a guitarist and producer and has been responsible for all those recordings by Earl Gaines/Roscoe Shelton/Charles Walker/ Freddie Waters CD's from late 90's. He has also brought over many of them to Utrecht - unfortunately Freddie died before he could get to Utrecht.

I love talking to him because he is so enthusiastic and is a big soul fan.

This year I didn't drink too much after my exploits the previous year when I nearly blew the whole holiday on the 1st night!!!! So I was wrapped up in bed by 1.30am

Saturday

The big one - started off with meeting Jimmy Ellis - he made some great records for Kris/Jewel/Cotillion and his mega rare Century City 45 Happy To Be Me which is huge on the rare soul scene over here. All the artists stay in the Smits hotel near the Vredenburg where the Estafette is held. Jimmy talked to us for about 30 minutes and sang Happy To Be Me and several other songs for us before posing for photos. I also met Steve Washington - his manager and son of Fats Washington who was a writer and producer on the West Coast in the 60's and a big collaborator with Jimmy.

Then it was off to the world's biggest record fair - this is a small part of a collectors fair which would blow your mind - imagine 10 football stadiums and you get the picture - people come from all over Europe - the records occupy about 10% of the stalls and all together. The problem is that it just too much to take in - the Dutch save their money and blow it here 2x year.

Last year was the first time it had ever coincided with the Estafette and is now an essential part of the weekend - I didn't go too mad because there wasn't as many 45 stalls this year - I bought some great Euro picture sleeves last year Mighty Hannibal on Yugoslavian label!!!!!! This year I bought some Motown pic things and a great Freddie Scott on French Colpix.

Well I only spent a couple of hours there before I had to head off for the big interview with Jimmy Church - it went great - 75 mins on MD - he gave me a CD of all his 45's and told me lots of interesting things about the Beat TV show, he isn't Singing Jimmy Churchwell, he is best friends with Carl Marshall and Gorgeous George, had to record his Peachtree 45 to get on a tour and that he owns the studio where Ollie Woodson recorded part of his last CD and Jimmy has just recorded a new CD of soul with a real band.

Well by now the Estafette was under way - starts 3.00pm - I had a backstage pass which is great because it makes life much easier - you can sit around with the artists and go in their dressing rooms etc.

I had brought copies of Willie Walker's new CD to hawk round so I dropped off copies with Jaap Hindricks who runs the event - hope he may be interested enough to get Willie over - also dropped off copies with the dealers inside the event.

I caught a bit of the San Antonio's West Side Horns with Little Joe Washington and Major Lee Burkes on vocals. Next up was Larry LaDon - he was new to me but a Nashville contemporary of Freddie Waters and Jimmy Church - he's just recorded a new CD for Black Magic with Fred James. He did a very good set of tracks from his CD - especially a track called Brandy and Champaign.

I went backstage at this point and talked to Larry - hopefully interview him in future. Then I bumped into Jimmy and another guy who introduced as Sweet Charles - yes the same - Mr Sherrell himself!!!!!!!!! A very friendly guy who now lives in Holland - he agreed to an interview as well. Well talking to these guys meant I missed Warren Storm but I think it was worth it - I raced up stairs to the small event to catch some living legends The Motor City Rhythm and Blues Pioneers - Joe Weaver - who slayed the audience back in 1999 with I Found A Love of utter mega proportions; Stanley Mitchell - Get It Baby man!!!!!!! and Kenny Martin - they did a marvellous set and a wonderful version of I Found A Love with all 3 of them singing - oh this was good and will remain in memory for a long time. Shot downstairs bought the CD went back stage got them all to sign it and got a group photo - they came out - got 3 high stools and posed with me!!!! I did get a minute each of them for the radio but I forgot to press record button on all 3 !!!!!!!!!!!

Then it was back upstairs to the big hall - caught part of the Counts who are not the famous ones but the old doo-wop group - OK but the main man was due to come on - Jimmy Church - I couldn't believe it that he was going to do all his soul cuts - Okeh, SS7 and Peachtree - well he was brilliant and the crowd went mad with his Otis Redding influenced slowies and his storming uptempo numbers - very soulful - hard to separate this from Kip Anderson last year - the only thing which he hinted at later was that if he brought his own band it would have been better!!!!!

Well I got caught up again talking after his set and missed Rudy Ray Moore who apparently was a poor substitute for the missing King Hannibal who I reckon would have blown the place down - I was sick he couldn't get over because of passport problems - owes taxes back to when they jailed him in the 70's.

Another sickener was that Ross & Hunt clashed in times with Jimmy Church was a real pity.

Bumped into Arthur Adams - got a photo with him - he is so disappointing now - just plays blasting guitar - what a waste.

Jimmy Preacher was very good - he even played short snippets of his soul records for me and Martin Goggin an Irish friend of mine who was responsible for setting up the interview.

Then it was backstage again - it's 2.00am now and the going gets tough!!! But I sat around until 4.30am talking to Fred James and a Detroit producer/drummer RJ Spangler - he gave me 6 freebies which was kind of him - he loved me because I knew so much - he is setting up interviews for me with Cody Black and Sir Mack Rice who he looks after!!!!!!!!

Well I dragged my carcase back to the hotel and fell asleep about 5.30am!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday

Well I was up at 10.00am but I was shattered!!!!!!!

Went outside the hotel and thought I couldn't be bothered to go the record fair!!!!!!!!!

I went back inside and sat on a sofa and fell asleep - I think Barb - my wife must have asked the hotel to slip me something!!!!!! So I didn't catch the Belgian dealer who specialises in European pic sleeves - well he is expensive.

After my sleep it was off to my friend Tom De Jong's and also met up with a guy from UK called Dave Thomas who does stuff for In The Basement. We had an afternoon of soul and I heard lots of new things - he gave me a CD of his recent purchases. He had picked up from the Record Fair a very rare Polydor LP by Dee Ervin recorded in Muscle Shoals in the early 70's - Kent put out a track on their 1st collection of Aware etc. Dave is friends with guys who run a soul club in Wrexham UK - I missed Jimmy Burns and Freddie Hughes there because I didn't know they were on!!!!!!!!!! Freddie has supposed to have new product out and someone has discovered an album with unissued stuff - I am awaiting one of these.

Later that day I headed off to Amsterdam - chilled out in a cafe and had wine and food.

Monday

Hit every record shop in Amsterdam!!! This takes some doing - I was trying to hawk round Willie's CD - all the shops took a copy and one bought 5 - these old Dutch people are amazing in a shop called Sounds of the 50's - they issued that marvellous Barbara Lynn 2x CD on Bear Family - did you ever get these? They told me that they had been in negotiations with Rodney Hall - son of Rick - for the unissued Fame masters - they had struck a deal until he changed his mind!!! He even sent them snippets of all those unissued Candi Staton, Clarence Carter etc - they said they were great as we all knew they would be. I also met the guy who plays with Arthur Conley (who lives in Holland) and recorded an album by Lee Roberts (Arthur's new name). I actually met Arthur at Utrecht last year but didn't realise who was
talking!!!!

I also met a distributor who was interested in Willie's CD for Holland and Belgium - well we can only hope.

I bought a few things very cheap - Don Bryant Complete Hi - this had passed me by!!! I didn't appreciate that there was unissued on it - some great tracks and the sound was good as well. Also a West Side compilation of Ace tracks inc unissued George Perkins etc - great 2x CD

Got a lot of 80's pic Dutch sleeves for 25 cents each - got to start collecting these now!

Well I was tired after walking round - went back to the hotel rested up before heading off right across Amsterdam to meet up with Hans and Harry - I first met them at the Cala Gran last year and was about to make my 3rd appearance on their radio show.

Hans has a massive album collection with loads of wonderful items - he's moving to the Hague and was packing them up when I arrived. We went out for a meal and a few drinks before the show at 10.00 to 12.00.

Well they gave me nearly 90 mins This is what I played:-

1. Marvin Smith Who Will Do The Running Now Mayfield
2. Wales Wallace That Aint The Way Bashie
3. JJ Barnes I Think I've Got A Good A Chance Organic
4. Ronnie McNeir My Baby Setting Sun
5. Roscoe Shelton What Is It Baby? Tee Jay
6. Don Varner Sweetest Story South Camp
7. Jimmy Church You've Got Me In The Palm Of Your Hand SS7
8. Hugh Boynton No More And No Less Lanor
9. Sandra Phillips Hoping You'll Come Back Okeh
10. Marjorie Ingram I Have The Right To Love Bennett
11. Jackie Montre el Doomed By Jealousy ABC
12. Jimmy Robins So Confused Convoy
13. King Diamond A Message To The Black Woman Power House
14. Walter Washington Heavenly Vibrations Three Oaks
15. Billy Frazier Let's Face Reality Capitol
16. King Hannibal Ain't Nobody Perfect Miracle
17. Dee Dee Sharp The Bottle Or Me Gamble
18. Debbie Taylor I Have Learned To Do Without You Polydor
19. David Leynard It's Never Too Late Flying Eagles
20. Billy McGregor It's My Turn Now Mellotone
21. Grover Mitchell Midnight Tears Decca
22. Willie Walker I Can't Tell You Why CD

I always try to play a cross section of things.

Well fun was had by all - Well the studio is only round the corner from the hotel I stay at - so it
was into bed and a good nights sleep.

Tuesday

I always go to my favourite bar on the Utrechtstrasse now - become a bit of a ritual and drink Belgian beer and a roast beef sandwich!!! and watch the world go by and make sure I get Barb a nice present for letting me go!!!!

This year I went to yet another record shop which has just opened - Harry had told me the night before - some good stuff - I bought a few interesting things and wish I had spent more time there but had left it a bit late - got a Donnie Burkes Lp - an interesting 80's Vivian Reed album and a 70's German Watson T Browne - some good tracks on these - an Italian Dionne Warwicke Just Being Myself Lp - Gary US Bonds Club City Soul, Timmy Thomas on Gold Mountain, a Ray Goodman Brown and Valentine Bros I hadn't got - all about 2.50 Euros.

Then it was Mercedes ride to the airport and home!!!

Well can't wait until next year and hopefully William Bell will be the star!!!!!

Next up Willie Hutch at March's Togetherness unless something else comes along.

Best wishes and take care

Colin

(Pictures - Colin & Detroit R'n'B Pioneers, Joe Stanley & Kenni, Jimmy Church & Sweet Charles, Jimmy Ellis, Joe Weaver)

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