Craig Strongman

Due to the illness of its MD, Kev Roberts,, VIP is no longer on air. I will ry and update you when i can.

See!....i almost had it.well it did begin with R!! joking apart, the mate i mentioned did in fact work for Ridgards, but did they have premises elsewhere? Or it might have been i was only aware of its location when i started to work in that vicinity..........which was a few years after i knew him..................

No it isnt, that logo was pre GWR/GCap days, and was replaced by the corporate logo where every station in the group has the same one with their own name on it, i suppose a little like their output, doesnt matter whether youre in Nottingham or Torquay, it all sounds exactly the same. Local radio?? I dont think so.

The only album i recall with that name was put together by my former Trent colleague Graham Neale, early 80's featuring local rock talent, it had a predominanty blue cover, could that be it? Looking at the pic below confirms it isnt!

Virgin were never there, they were always where they are now, not opening a retail store in Nottingham until the 80's i actually did an outside broadcast from the shop when it first opened, fronted by my then colleague Erica Hughes, and his highness Richard Branson was in attendance As for a record shop in that area, i actually managed what was my former workplace Dixons, as a shop that sold off all the old records,cassettes, and 8 tracks that the other Dixons couldnt move, could that have been it?

Crap! i can see it in my minds eye! did it have a 2 part name, you know, like Griffin and Spalding had? I seem to recall a mate worked there.............hmm......now ive said about its name....im not sure about the 2 part bit..................oh Boll*x!!! I used to walk by it when i had to park my car down the road where the grave yard was/is. Was it Reynolds?

How the hell could i forget Selectadisc?!?! I used to spend most of my hard earned in there, and knew all the staff,from Brian Selby (owner) down......And Stocks were opposite where i worked, and had the cars parked on the street, back when we could park for free.

That was it!! ta !

Sign Of 4. Yep, i remember that one, and wasnt there Rileys snooker hall too?

No, thats not the one i mean.....i reckon it was sub 250 cc if that helps? both i recall beginning with A One was good, and the other not so, in terms of wanting one anyway!

During the early 70's, i worked on Goldsmith st, at premises formerly Nottingham Tape Recorders, ( NTR) next door, away from town was a curry house, The New Taj Mahal, where i sampled my first ever proper curry (not Vesta!) There was also The Ace book store, which sold naughty mags and films, as well as being a good place to source ska music. Just before The County Hotel was a sweet shop, the name of which ive forgotten, along with other shops, that im damned if i can remember.....can you fill in the gaps? Just across from there,on Wollaton st, was Joes cafe, where a "one up" (pie, peas and

Id forgotten the swept back exhaust! it looked so good as it .erm....swept upwards as it went towards the back of the frame, unlike the standard one which was more horizontal to the ground, and that place was where my mates got their stuff from!

I never actually bought a bike, but a mate had a Beezer Bantam he'd let me have a go on, it had a tigers tail attached to the filler cap..remember the "put a tiger in your tank" ad? The one i really wanted as a bike before the test, when you could have a 250cc er was the Royal Enfield GT, my uncle said he'd buy me one, but never did. As for Ariels, there were 2 around at that time, the Arrow, and the...........bu99er....forgotten what it was called! help here?

Possibly because it wasnt a hit, whereby Max Romeos song was. Could also be that i didnt spell his name right, its Hinds, sorry. He died 2 years ago. Hmm....his name is on the same site spelt the way i did it first...... confused.cant be a different one as the Dominos are mentioned both times, as is an early song of his.

Hes at The Royal Regency valentines night, with his Rat Pack show, dinner dance job, £28 for 3 courses. He lives in West Hallam

Round at my mums house today, and perusing an old book of hit records, and to my surprise, there was another version of King of Kings, in the chart of 64, by Ezz Recko, (forgive the spelling, it could be wrong!) So, not sure which came first.........

Could it be Big Bamboo, or something similar from the ribald calypso side of West Indian music?

Just thinking how "rude" this song seemed to be when i first heard it back in the 60's, but by comparison to Akons i wanna f*ck you, is actually rather innocent dont cha think?

I havent read the link in the previous post, so might be repeating whats already known, but, i did Kev Roberts 50th birthday doo, and Wayne was also there spinning northern tracks, not too many folk know how much hes into the scene, plus, hes part of a stage show called The Rat Pack, and has been near and far doing his Dean Martin stuff. He lives a couple of miles away from me, just into the derbyshire border.

I had an interview at the Derby rd head office, 243 wasnt it? anyway, elsewhere i recalled how my first job, actually it was an after school job, was at the Co Op in New Basford, stacking shelves and delivering groceries on a bike like Ger Ger Ger Granville, in open all hours! I only left when a bloke said to me that shop work was for women, and that i should get a job in the building trade, this came from a man who was a shop keeper, so i figured he knew what he was on about!

My grandad used to stand Bulwell market, and i would very often accompany him and go off to paddle in the Leen, where according to my mum( i dont recall it at all) i was pulled out of by gypsies having fallen in!, Dont know if it was the Bulwell bit or Billy Bacons, anyway, armed with me 6d fishing net, id often go and catch a jam jar full of minnows or sticklebacks!. Being adventurous too, id often go under the bridge, and head towards where Argos is now, somehow managing to pick up loads of leaches on my legs, despite wearing wellies! As a Basford kid, id also go to the wakes on Billy Baco

Actually, before i was a mod, i wore a leather jacket, it was about 7 or 8 guineas, from Wakefields, and my favourite bike was the BSA Gold Star, preferrably the 350, not the 500, as it seemed to have lower revs than its bigger bro, and sounded woderful when pulling away, the sound through that megaphone style exhaust was music to my ears, and as for the smell of the Castrol R oil.........! 2 mates had these bikes, one in each engine size, and they had both put on the obligatory clip on handlebars, racing tank in red fibreglass, and a racing seat to match, fabulous!

Erm...............im up and down Mansfield rd all the time.and appear to have missed this! Yet another coincidence tho' cos when i first started DJ'ing, it was NJD who i worked for, before they had moved to these premises, and were on Lace st in Dunkirk. Just checking, that is the dj shop next door to Noor Jahan and Victoria kebabs isnt it? On a personal note, i think graffiti, even as skillfully done as these, really do look Sh*t !!!! It just makes the area look like a slum, and gives the go ahead to any oik with a can of paint

I wasnt aware that Jeffs sold parkas, note correct spelling! The smart place to get one was Wakefields army surplus and camping store. Although i bought mine from the guy whos scooter i borrowed for my trip to Cambridge that ended up in a way i hadnt planned! (see seperate story somewhere else here!) Fur trim round the hood, and an "op art" bullseye in the middle of the back.

Hi Pimcree, as far as im aware,it was the New Welbeck, as i recall it was the only licensed premises at that exact location.