Ace Of Clubs
Hi all and I hope you’re all fit and well. Summer is over and Autumn will soon be in
full force, Summer is Mod season don’t you think? Plenty of weekenders to attend
countywide. Lots of scooter related events too. Safe to say the scene is vibrant, no
matter what aspect of it you enjoy. Isle Of Wight and Brighton being the most recent,
the pics and videos I’ve seen of both were just absolutely great! Unfortunately I didn’t
attend Brighton but hope to make next years weekender. I did go to Dreamsville up
in Great Yarmouth in July as a few of my DJ colleagues were spinning there and I
wasn’t going to miss that. Brilliant weekend, top laughs and time spent with friends is
always special. The common theme amongst the wide variety of events on offer is
and always will be the music. To me, that’s the main driving force of our culture,
whether it’s gritty R&B, Club Soul, Motown, Ska, Revival, Jump Blues ETC, it’s the
lifeblood of Mod culture. This edition isn’t about music per se, but more about where
it gets played. The clubs. So let’s dive in.
Undoubtedly the Mod club and the type of music played there eminated from
London. But it quickly spread nationwide and later globally. So, it’s not as
Londoncentric as you may think. In the very early 60s Jazz clubs were catching on
(possibly late 50s even) The other thing at play at this point in time were coffee
shops (cafe’s if you prefer) but these sold predominantly hot drinks and would often
stay open late. Pubs at the time rarely had jukeboxes installed, but the coffee shops
often did. So, the Jazz club crowd would very often go onto the coffee shops after
their club had closed and could choose a few of the latest chart records to listen too
at their leisure. The Jazz they had been digging on earlier in the evening at the club
was known as Modern Jazz. Upbeat, syncopated, current, new. As the Modern Jazz
craze faded, those clubs and venues needed filling. Promoters of a few select
venues, rightly thought the next music of interest would be Blues based, talk about
finger on the pulse? The Rolling Stones are a prime example of the tastes of the
time, putting their own spin on Blues standards, the Blues explosion can’t be over
emphasised enough at this point.
The Mod club was born. In London, The Scene club based at Ham Yard, Great
Windmill St in Soho pretty much set the bar. And that blueprint was soon copied.
Many well known clubs sprang up, OK, it may have took the rest of the country a
while to catch on, but the fire was lit. Just a few years back I knew a collective of
Mod DJ’s known as The Ham Yardies! Still doing exactly the same thing, but
guesting at other club nights being held, mainly around the London area. The Scene
at Ham Yard began in 1963!! Amazing really. Another club that needs a mention is
Klooks Kleek (a former Modern Jazz venue known as Klooks Clique). Based at The
Railway Hotel, West Hampstead, North West London. Many a Mod group had played
there, The Who plus a plethora of others. So these venues were playing records with
DJ’s plus live music with sometimes 2 groups on the bill, maybe more on a Saturday
night. These weren’t personal appearances, miming their latest hit, these were full on
in your face gigs, usually a 30 minute set. It wasn’t uncommon for popular bands to
do an early slot at one club, then off to another venue for a later slot there. The Small
Faces very often played twice in a night, but mainly up around the North of England
in their early days. It must have been such a buzzing scene. These venues soon
cashed in and many would open on a Friday and Saturday night plus a mid week
dance. The mid week dance as far as I can gather was a DJ only event.
Now I’ve covered the start and hinted that this London based scene eventually
spread northwards. A notable club to mention is The Twisted Wheel, Whitworth St,
Manchester. Again, that formula of DJs plus live bands was employed and was just
as popular in the North West of the country. As the 60s gathered pace, so did Mod
culture and the club scene played a massive part in spreading the style of clothes,
records being danced too and connections being made. Although that regional
identity remained evident. Tweaks and changes took time in those times. So, there
were variations in what London Mods were dressing in and dancing too compared to
what Mods in the West Midlands were in to.
The West Midlands, my home county seems to have always had a healthy Mod
scene. So, I did some reaching out to some of my hometown Mods, both original and
revivalists. Here’s a few quotes:
Les Pickerell – “I used to DJ at The Blue Flame in 1966/67. The sessions were
Wednesday evening, Saturday evening along with live group and Sunday
afternoons. Had some great times there. Happy days”.
Barbara Martin – “Sunday 3pm The Blue Flames afternoon dance sessions,,, very
much a Mod venue in the mid to late 60s, this venue later became The Lafayette”.
Tony Price – “Out Of Time (former Wolverhampton based Mod Club) A very sad loss.
Also The Laffayette used to put on Sunday night Mod nights during the 1979/80
revival. UB40 and Dexys played there just as they were hitting the charts. Kevin
Rowland of Dexys famously got locked up after punching a fan who’d got up on the
stage”.
Margaret Neville “In the 60s the place we all went to was The Cryot and The Milano”.
(The Milano was a town centre coffee shop).
John Jonah T Jones – “ The Neptune, The Laffayette, Digbeth Club (B’Ham),
Orange Tree, Skybolt and The Longacres. 1979/80”.
Romana Jack –“There were dances at The Woolpack and the Polytechnic bar that
we Mods used to go to”.
Thanks to all the above for their valued input.
From the early 60s right up to the early 80s, my hometown was kicking it, I’m sure
yours was too.
Wolverhampton's former Mod Club was name checked above by Tony Price, a club
night I went too countless times. Extremely well attended by folks from across the
country. But sadly ended around 2022.
Which leads upto right now. 2025. The gap left by O.O.T. has now been filled by a
club night that I DJ for, a resident spinner for the mighty Black Katz Mod Club. The
events are quarterly with a Summer mini all-dayer. The next event is only a few short
weeks away, 26 th September. I’m extremely proud to be a regular DJ for Black Katz,
but that’s not the best part, I’m real good friends with the couple that conceived, run
and organise the Black Katz events. I’ll introduce to them. Lee Rochester (Rocho)
and his partner Vicki Richardson. Both have their backgrounds in both the Northern
Soul and Mod scenes. Lee got into the Mod scene after attending Darlaston Town
Hall, and was instantly impressed by the older lads dressed up in their finest attire,
hanging around outside the Town Hall in their Parkas, Lee was around 12 at the time
and was hooked. He started to frequent local Mod nights at youth clubs and discos,
within a few years, he’d seen Quadrophenia and had a scooter. He was attending
places such as Outrigger and The Barrel Organ in Birmingham. He, like many of us
also liked Northern Soul and would attend many an all-nighter. He was an active part
in a very strong Mod scene here in the Black Country. Owned a few themed
scooters, such as his High Time Baby Lambretta in 85 and his Grow Your Own
Vespa. Vicki has more of a Northern Soul heritage. Which she became aware of
aged around 14, going to local discos, when she was a little bit older attending
Willenhall Baths, Royal Hotel Mod nights. Places such as the Assembly Rooms,
Derby all-nighters, Locarno, Birmingham, Outrigger, Barrel Organ ETC. 3 Mile Oak
Mod events which would see coaches from across the country attend.
A few years ago they attended a small pub in Walsall, The Victoria, known locally as
The Kats for some unknown reason which was having a Northern Soul vinyl night.
Lee later ended up playing at future events at The Kats and snuck a few Mod style
tunes in his set, which got people’s interest. Now this pub was tiny, but did have an
upstairs room, with a somewhat small dancefloor. So, as these nights grew in
popularity it was spread over the two rooms. Lee’s musical selection really gathered
momentum and the attendees asked for more. So, it came about that Kats Mod club
came about, with Lee and Vicki organising it. They decided on The Black Kats as a
name and ploughed on. So every six weeks there was a Soul night and six weeks
after that a Mod night. Out Of Time at Wolverhampton was still running at this time,
which Lee and Vicki would often attend, same as me, but strangely we never noticed
or saw each other.
It was around this time I myself attended The Black Kats at The Victoria pub in
Walsall. And I was taken aback at what I was hearing. The music was just ace, I left
there already looking forward to their next event in 3 months time. In the meantime
O.O T. Announced they would be holding their last event.
There was now even longer to wait to get my fix. The 2 ND time I went to Black Kats
the music was even better, but the thing that I really picked up on was the
atmosphere, it was so friendly, really welcoming. I watched Lee and Vicki and
realised it all eminated from the both of them. As I got to know them, talking
endlessly about music, clothes and records, also we did an awful lot of laughing I
became aware of their club nights core values. Their ethics and outlook. No egos
involved. Just a pure passion for the music. It took me ages to pluck up the courage,
but eventually I just came out with it “Lee, give us a go on the decks, I can do that”.
Amazingly he said yes! This club night, without me knowing was being made ready
for a new chapter. A move to another, bigger, better venue was in the pipeline. I
played my 1 st and last gig for Lee at the Black Kats. Last October/November the new
set up was announced. New slight name change too. Black Katz Mod Club, it simply
had outgrown The Victoria, organically, naturally. The new venue is massive, huge
stage, great dancefloor, it’s just ace. I’ve since played every event and feel very
privileged and lucky to play a small part in people’s night out. The event on 5 th
December is the 1 st anniversary at the new venue for Black Katz. We’re even doing a
club take over up in Nottingham in October, The Black Katz collective on tour.
The events have been so well attended and as I gathered some quotes earlier on
Wolverhampton Mod scene, I’ve actually done the same for Black Katz:
Leon Merrick – “Oh yes! I had a brilliant night”.
Sue Danks – “Had a fab night at Black Katz Mod do. Brill music, lovely people,
everyone looked proper bostin, men in suits and ladies in lovely dresses, great
atmosphere”.
Tony Price – “It’s started to fill a void following the closure of Out Of Time, great
playlist”.
Dave Smudge – “Dawn and I first went to The Kats at the old venue, The Victoria, it
was brilliant then! And it just gets better and better. The music is bang on and the
DJs really compliment each other. Lucky to have some really good friends there too”.
Laura Winter – “Love the music, the vibe and the whole socialising aspect of it. And
when it ends I’m always chomping at the bit for the next one to come around”.
Robert Coulman - “Come over on the advice of my well respected pals Ade Hawkins
(Black Katz DJ) and Ade Langston to the original venue, great relaxed fun place.
Was asked to spin a few records by Lee and Vicki which was a pleasure (and still is)
now part of the dynamic duo with Mr. Hawkins, double decking (known as Soggy and
Biscuit). Being asked to be a permie behind the decks remains an honour and
pleasure to be part of “.
Full circle.
In these uncertain times, with 5 pubs a week closing and venues struggling, this
pedigree of club culture is being squeezed so a huge thank you to Pete Whelbourn
and www.modclothin.co.uk for not only putting on Melton Mowbray Soul Weekender
but also providing sponsorship to not one but two Mod weekenders, Troon Mod
weekender held in May, and Bristol Mod weekender in July, which a few of The Black
Katz are playing at in 2026. It’s deeds like this that really help to keep this aspect of
our culture thriving.
Many thanks for taking a read. Next edition I’ll be delving into what makes a great
club night. The music.
Aston.