IT began as a one-off party – a group of middle-aged men who had all been club DJs in Bristol in the Seventies, deciding to relive their glory days. But the founders of Soul Train had no idea what they were starting back in 1992 when they lit the blue touch paper for soul nostalgia and, overwhelmed by interest in the event, they watched as their party turned into a regular club night.
As they celebrate 20 years of Soul Train, the city's most enduring club night is still going strong.
One of the founders of the event, Paul Alexander, says the success the night has seen over the last 20 years is beyond anything they ever dreamed of being possible.
"Back in the Seventies we were all soul music DJs on the Bristol music scene," Paul, 58, explains. "We imported American soul into the city – we would order 45rpm singles from the States each week. It was music that people hadn't heard over here – this was at a time when most clubs were playing ABBA music.
"We were playing at pre-club venues then, like the Guildhall Tavern and The Assize Court, and we developed a real following.
"We certainly played our part in the Bristol music scene of that era – in fact, Massive Attack later said we had been a major influence on their work because of the kind of music we were playing back in the 1970s.
"But by the 1980s, we had all gone off and got proper jobs, and were raising families and settling down.
"It was only in 1992 when a group of us got back together – all soul DJs from the old Seventies circuit, and we decided to organise a one-off reunion – a night of pure nostalgia, when we would all get up behind the decks once more and play the sort of music we'd all loved back then.
"We hired Chasers in Kingswood, but we never imagined the sort of response we would get – all 600 tickets sold out by 11 o'clock on the morning they went on sale."
It was such a hit that the six former DJs – John Stallard, Adrian Ashby, Steve Ashby, Steve Phillips, Jason Lumber and Paul Alexander – decided they had to make it a regular event.
"That's how Soul Train was born," Paul says. "It was never about trying to make a profit, although it later became big business as it took off and grew and grew. On our biggest night we had 1,800 people. We've evolved over the years, and changed venues a few times – from the early days at Chasers, to the Parkside club on Bath Road, to McClusky's, then Evolution, followed by Panache, before we finally arrived at our current home, Motion, in Avon Street, a couple of years ago.
"It's a great venue for the night because there is space for us to have a few different rooms on the go, each playing different kinds of music – 70s/80s in one room, 90s in another, reggae in a third room, and our own personal indulgence – early Seventies jazz funk on the smokers' terrace.
"Of course when we started the club night 20 years ago it was all about playing Seventies soul, and that's always stayed at the core of what we do – but it's interesting that the 90s music that was the contemporary stuff back then now has enough of a nostalgia following that we can devote a room to it.
"It's important that we keep the Soul Train moving in that sense – my generation are going into their 60s now, and while many are still up for going out for a night, we have to be realistic in thinking that fewer and fewer will want to be going to a club night in the coming years.
"So that's why we have brought in the 90s music, and we have also started to take a step back away from the decks to allow younger DJs to take the lead, while we, the founding DJs, tend to organise the front-of-house – getting out there and meeting our supporters.
"Many of them have been coming to Soul Train for 20 years without fail.
"We were always aiming at an older generation of club goers, who wouldn't want to go to the younger clubs where they might bump into their own children.
"These aren't people who are out clubbing every weekend, that's why we have always kept Soul Train to just four times a year – always on a bank holiday Sunday – so there is no work the next day; after all we have a 4am licence."
But over the years Soul Train has grown beyond a quarterly club night – it has twice played Glastonbury, in 2004 and 2007, and has brought some of the biggest names from the Seventies soul scene to the city for performances, including The Fatback Band, Edwin Starr, Womack and Womack and Mica Paris.
The next Soul Train night, which will take place at Motion on Sunday, will feature a performance from the recently reformed Loose Ends.
But Paul believes that while the Soul Train will keep on moving forward, the next station may be time for him to step off.
"I'm seriously thinking about calling it a day, and letting the younger guys take it on a bit more," he says.
"I've loved every minute of it, but it is a lot of work – you have to remember that this was something that started out as a hobby.
"But we have had a wonderful time over the years, and there is no doubt that whatever decision I make after this next event, the Soul Train will keep going strong."
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