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The 100 Club History Reproduced with kind permission from 'Shades Of Soul #13' April 1988. Written by Geoff Whitfield. The birth of the 6T's Rhythm & Soul Club took place on Friday 17th August 1979 at the Bedford Head Pub, Maiden Lane, Covent Garden. Now well into it's 9th year it looks, thankfully, like carrying on for many years to come. The 6Ts club was the brainchild of two Soul fanatics, Ady Croasdell and Randy Cozens (The name 6Ts was conceived by Randy) who had been attending similar nights run by Barry Quinell in Brighton. On that memorable first night at the Bedford Head around 150 punters turned up and paid the mere 75p admission price, the night ran from 8 pm until late. The DJ line up was Tony Rounce, Randy Cozens, Tony Ellis and Terry Davis. Tony Rounce was first at the decks and the first record spun was Johnny Taylor 'Just The One I've Been Looking For' (Stax). Other records that night were in the main obscurer early Rhythm & Soul: Little Walter - My Babe - Checker, Solomon Burke - Stupidity - Atlantic, and Carolyn Crawford's 'When Someone's Good To You' and 'Forget About Me' (Motown), rather than the better known records of the time The 6Ts Club held one more night there, thenon October 19th, 1979, they moved to an upstairs room at the Railway Hotel in West Hampstead (Known as Klooks Kleek Club in the Sixties). At this time while Barry Quinell and Terry Davis finished DJing for the 6Ts, Pete Widdison and Mick Smith started. By now the 6Ts Club had acquired a loyal and dedicated following, mostly from the London area. but they did get a few regulars from the backwaters of Britain, such as Russ Taylor from Flint, Richie Andrew and Bob Foster from Llandudno, John Farrel from Wocester, and the legendary Ian Popple (Ric Tic) from Wolverhampton. What Ady and Randy did was to get all the members' names and addresses and send out a newsletter to them, informing them of forthcoming events: These consisted of a page of Ady's ramblings (See below) and a page of very impressive artwork from Ian Clark.
The 6Ts Club was to stay at the Railway Hotel for 15 months (Ian Clark started DJing halfway through this period) the nights took off straight away and were always packed with 250 people cramming into the place. In the summer of 1980 though they did have a short break from the Railway Hotel and tried three or four different vemues: one was even under a convent in Leicester Square ! If you had
visited the 6t's club whilst it was at West Hampstead
(Below is a list of some of the records you would have
heard) they were more R & S orientated rather than
out and out Northern: The 1980 Christmas piss up at West Hampstead went too well with everyone getting into the swing of things, especially Pete Widdison who decided to leave the DJing to the others whilst he did his Tarzan impression by swinging from the rafters. At this point the manager came in and saw Pete - he mustn't have been a Tarzan fan, as he was less than impressed: so this was the last 6T's night held at West Hampstead This was not the end of the 6T's Club though, they simply moved to the 100 Club in Oxford Street at the beginning of 1981 and started having 8 till 1 nights on Fridays whenever theu could, due to the 100 Club having other commitments. The music was still mainly Rhythm & Soul orientated but more Northern sounds were being played ie Major Lance 'You Don't Want Me No More' - Okeh, Moses Smith - 'Girl Across The Street' - Dionn, Eddie Parker 'Love You Baby' - Ashford. )n the 31st January 1981 the 6T's Club held it's first allnighter, which was to be a one off at a club called Studio 21 in Oxford Street. This was a dream come true for Randy Cozens, as this used to be the famous 'Last Chance ' Club where original Mod / Soul allnighters were held in the Sixties and he spent his youth there. The 6T's allnighter was a great success with 250 turning up. The night ran from 3.00 am until 10.00 am. The DJs that night included Randy Cozens, Mick Smith, Taffy, Richie Andrew, and for the first time Ady himself. The 6T's carried on with their 8 till 1 night still attracting good crowds. On October 8th 1981 the 6T's Club (due to the success of the Last Chance allnighter) started allnighters at the 100 Club: and they have been there ever since. They soon realised that the early Sixties and R & S were more suited to the early sessions so the music became more Northern orientated. The 8 till 1 nights finished soon after the allnighters started. Tony Rounce finished DJing for the 6T's and Roger Stewart began when the allnighters began. Tony Ellis DJed for the first two years at the allnighters and then finished. In 1983 Keb Darge and Dave Greet started, Dave stopped though in 1986, as did Pete Widdison. Randy Cozens left around 1984, and in Ady's words is sadly missed. The regular DJ line up now is Ady, Ian Clark, Keb, Mick Smith and Roger Stewart: Plus, at each allnighter they have two guest DJs - one being a top name and the other a lesser known DJ who usually frequents the club. Over the years most of the top DJs have guested here, including Gary Rushbrooke, Dave Thorley, Guy Hennigan, Brian Rae, Dave Evison, Roger Banks, Butch, Keith Minshull, Adam, George Sharp, Dick Coombes, Jim Wensiora, and Rob Smith. Local DJs have included Val, Ion, Sean McClusky, Matt, Ivor, and Bricky. In the summer of 1984 the 6T's held a Northern night on board a riverboat on the Thames, since then they have held two more, and by all accounts they seem to have been pretty boisterous affairs. The music policy is a mixture of Sixties oldies and Newies with two or three Newies sounds being spun by Ian Clark. Also since 1985 Ady has spun two or three Latin Soul records each month, this was inspired by hearing Gary Rushbrooke playing Bobby Valentine 'Use It before You Lose It' (Fania), the 6T's Club regulars love them and they always pack the floor: but the purists slag it off. Popular Latin sounds since they have been played include Johnny Colon - You Gotta Love Me - Cotique, Roosevelt Grier - Pizza Pie Man - D-Town, Hector Rivera - I Want A Chance For Romance - Fania, and Monguito Santamaria - Hey - Fania. Since I started attending the 6T's allnighters at the 100 Club (about 2 years ago) I have thoroughly enjoyed them. I think the mixture of Oldies and Newies is just right. The 100 Club itself is a great venue with it's low ceiling and gawdy six foot high 100 Club sign on the wall along with pictures of Jazz greats gives it a Sixties atmosphere, especially when the dancefloor is a sea of dancing bodies and the music is blaring out. Although the 6T's have had no artists appear at the club yet Ady hopes to get a couple over in the future. Below is a list of some of the records which have been popular since the 6T's started their allnighters at the 100 Club. 1981 In these days of Wigan and Twisted Wheel revivals nights I don't think it would be a bad idea if they held an early 6T's Club revival, playing the records that have been forgotten that were played by the DJs who have now left. Geoff Whitfield |