The Dells - Trentham Gardens Stoke 24th July 1999

At Trentham Gardens the Dells-gig was combined with a typical UK Northern
Soul all-nighter, which was highly entertaining in its own right. At 2.00
a.m. it was show time and Otis Leavill warmed the audience up with some of
his hit records. The band was ultra-tight, padded with five brilliant UK
Jazz horn-players, courtesy of David Yeats, who selected them personally.
No ordinary pick-up band for the Dells! After Otis Leavill was a short
guest appearance by Dean Courtney, who had performed at another soul night
earlier that night and came over to Trentham Gardens to do his northern
classic "I'll always need you" a cappella with the whole audience singing
along. Impressive stuff, indeed. But then it was the Dells, and they blew
everybody away. Probably the best thing we've ever seen. Many people in the
audience were longtime fand and for them a dream came true.
Out of their vast catalogue they did the following set:
-Wear it on our face
-The love we had stays on my mind
-This heart is a house for love (from the movie 5 Heartbeats)
-Oh what a night
-Always together
-Run for cover
-Give your baby a standing ovation
-There is
-Stay in my corner

There were tears in many peoples eyes.
The whole group is just so tight and brilliant. If anybody stole the show
for us it was the awesome Johnny Carter with his falsetto that can go
through the sound barrier, but it would be unfair to the others to single
him out.
Many many thanks to Chris Burton to take the risk to put them on, showing
up all the blind and deaf mega-promotors and festivals across Europe that
always ask the same six acts over, when there is acts like the Dells still
going so strong.
If you've missed it you can now go kick yourself.

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