It’s nearly the weekend and to celebrate this I’ve got some exciting news…. As mentioned in the last post, we’ve been working hard to secure the services of some great guest Dj’s, We’re really excited to announce the inclusion of Luxembourg’s very own Dj Blueprint for our February night.

For those of you that don’t know, as well as being a long time Dj/collecter, Dj Blueprint also runs the informative blog This Is Tomorrow which is a continuous source of information and mixes. He’ll be winging his way over to London to join the rest of the Hook and Sling resident Dj’s at The Brown Sugar Bar in London on the 9th February 2008. Don’t miss this, it’s going to be a big one!

Dj Blueprint - Sister’s Got Soul Mix

Anyway, on with business and today’s track is a 45 I’ve been meaning to share  with you for a while now.

‘Twenty Five Miles’ by Bill Doggett is a big favourite on the mod scene but also fits in nicely here too. I guess you could call this a nod to Edwin Starr, who had a hit with the original on the Motown subsidiary Gordy Records. Its an absolute Hammond monster and is significantly heavier and faster than Edwin Starr’s release from 1969.

Bill Doggett had actually recruited Starr to join his band as a vocalist when he returned from the army in 1963.

Famous for his 1956 release Honky Tonk which sold in excess of four million copies, which is a huge amount by today’s standards but even more so back then!

An accomplished musician Doggett had numerous releases on labels including Roulette, King, Sue and Parlaphone.

Bill Doggett used his fame to help the civil rights movement and returned to his jazz and swing roots before dying from a heart attack in 1996, aged 80