Other
Ralph Randell a.k.a. Norman Ralph Mayles
Legend
1981

Another session;gonna upload some playlists from Legends.I.ve got a whole stack of these and a few from the Ritz.It seems odd now that clubs would hand out playlists but thinking about it, pretty much the first time you’d hear most of these tracks was in da club and possibly on John Peel ;(when his show finished at midnight;after the days of his 12 till 2 slot, I sometimes used to switch over to Dave Fanning on Radio Eireann .He did a similar thing from across the waters.This was through a proper old battery wireless with the old white deaf aid type headphone while lying in bed.Now that’s dedication!I feel tired just thinking about it.....).
Well these playlists were also like news letters so the punters felt like part of “the gang” I suppose.As I went almost every Thursday in the first year or so I can see the playlists cross over quite a lot but there are subtle changes.I reckon this might be relevant in a trainspotty way ‘cos you can see what was happening in this type of music at the coalface,as it were,so to speak etc...And of course there are Manchester bands on there.I liked going to Legends;there was never any bother.Although it might have been tainted slightly with that awful term “new romantic” (a media term referring to down South type bands I think) ,I don’t recall anyone ever calling it that.I think it was more post-punk dress-up time and a bit of a lark too.
The first time I walked in there,pretty much like anybody else,it was a “wow” moment.I’d never seen anything like it in me life.State of the art; ,lasers,smoke machines (whatever happened to them?),strobe lighting and loads of “dead fit birds “ to boot;what more could you ask for.The sound system was ace and as I mentioned somewhere before you got a free drinks ticket as well;proper bargain!I’m not sure if it wasn’t recognised as the most advanced club in Britain,for that month anyway;made the couple of ultra-violet lights across the way at The Cyprus Tavern look very lame indeed.
What else do I remember...I said before how popstars of the moment would pop in if they were in town.One case I recall was Siouxsie,but she was particularly hard to spot as there were probably 20 or so lookalikes to choose from.Bands played too......Talkin’ with Fad Gadget (not his real name),on the stairs of the D.J. box thinking he’s a nice,pleasant young man, not knowing who he was till he did his performance bit.And Paul Ray;now if my memory serves me I think he was an ex copper from Warrington or such like;nice fella as I recall.The first time I remember seeing him he was wearing like a dressing gown thing with some sort of bad make-up and a moustache to go with it;he looked like he’d escaped from The Rocky Horror Show;not a good look,but we were all on a steep learning curve in those distant and hazy days...(I might be getting me peops mixed up,apologies if so,I’m sure I’m not making this stuff up though...).Ralph was a good egg;he’d been a D.J. champion (whatever one of those were....long before beat mixing etc...and of course ended up starting it all over again at the Ritz;must have been politics involved.That’ll do for now.Gonna upload;heart in mouth,hope I don’t lose it !!!!
Flippin' ace,it worked!That hour was finally worth it.