I was there to see the Supremo of Soul, Jimmy James and the Vagabonds, and from the moment he stepped on to the stage the audience was his. The dance floor was heaving as the crowd surged towards the stage, and there they stayed for an hour and a half of non-stop brilliance!

Jimmy James

Musically the Vagabonds were everything you would expect of a serious soul band, solid, tight with a driving bass and sparkling brass section.

And the man himself – after 40 years in the business, he still has the energy and drive of a 20 year old. From his opening ‘That’s Where the Music Takes Me’ to his closing number, ‘Now is the Time to Say Goodbye’, he took his audience on a musical motorway of memories of 60’s and 70’s Soul. His imaginative sing along section segued the unlikely combination of ‘Amen’, Whole World in His Hands, ‘If I Had a Hammer’ and Michael Row the Boat Ashore’ into a choral number which had the fans swaying and clapping their hands in the air, like a gigantic gospel choir.

Speaking to Jimmy before the show, he remembered the first time he came to the Starlight Room, he said, “We were an unknown quantity. We just did what we did, having fun on stage, asked the people to have fun with us, they did and the night turned out to be one helluva successful night”

Jimmy went on to say how much he enjoyed coming to the Gliderdrome, “It’s so full of history, of pop music and soul music of the 60’s, talk to anyone who’s been around since then and they always remember playing the Gliderdrome in Boston.

When I was watching the audience pouring into the Glider I noticed, that although many were of the 60’s generation, many were much younger, I asked Jimmy why he thought soul music appealed to so many across the generations. He told me, “Soul is a one to one type of music, we try to get people involved. It’s a party, I’m just the host for the party for the night. That’s the thing about soul music; it involves you. You listen to it. Everyone used to walk out the gig singing.”

And that proved as true on that night as it always has.

My thanks go to David Peatling and Pat and Andrew Malkinson for their hospitality.