Several years ago I visited a friend's house and while we were pottering around in the basement, I couldn’t resist checking out a box of 7" singles that belonged to her soon to be ex-husband. I spotted a record that I'd never seen before, or since. In fact I can't find any mention of it online, which is extremely unusual these days.
RADIO DOOM AND FRIENDS AT THE CARIBBEAN CENTRE, LIVERPOOL 8
I wish I'd borrowed it, as since the couple have now split up, I've no chance of getting another opportunity to see the disc. But I did take a snap of the sleeve. If anyone reading this knows more about the music on the record - please let me know!
In the meantime - here is some background information that I've found online about the background to Radio Doom in Liverpool 8:
DANCE AT THE BLACKIE, Great George Street Congregational Chapel, Liverpool
In the years after WWII, the number of worshipers declined, many leaving the city centre for pastures new. In 1968, the building was bought by the Peter Moores Foundation and became home to the UK’s first community arts programme, known as the Blackie - the name derived from buildings discoloured by a century of soot from tens of thousands of domestic coal fires.
The Blackie provided a feast of community projects, mainly for the local population. Today, it's known as the Black-E staging anything from boxing to fashion shows to exhibitions and demonstrations, and appropriately a church group holding Sunday services in the building.
From the late 1960s the Blackie hosted soul discos created in partnership with Radio Doom Discotheque and Nova Express Lightshow for youngsters principally from Liverpool’s African-Caribbean communities in L8 and L1, dancing to the music of James Brown, The Temptations, Sly and the Family Stone, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, The Supremes, Gladys Knight and The Pips...
