Solar Radio

 We are sorry to have to announce our decision to reschedule the SOUTHEND SOUL event that was due to take place on Saturday April 25 at the Park Inn by Radisson Palace Southend-On-Sea, Essex, until Saturday, September 5, this as a consequence of guidelines published by H.M. Government advising AGAINST a) non-essential social gatherings and b) non-essential travelling in the ongoing battle against the spread of Coronavirus.

You are offered two options, one being transfer of the booking to the new date, and the other being a full refund of payment for tickets should the September date not be convenient.

Customers who have combined their event booking with the special hotel offer should call 01702 455 100 quoting SOUL PARK INN to make necessary arrangements.

Thank you all for your continued support and understanding 

Following discussions with the boat hire company, and in line with continuing public health strictures, it will probably come as no surprise to you that, with great regret we have to advise of the cancellation of the Early May Soul Cruise that was due to take place on Sunday, May 3, this as a consequence of instructions published by H.M. Government with regard to social gatherings and non-essential travel in the ongoing battle against the spread of Coronavirus.

Customers are offered two options, one being transfer of the booking to an event aboard the Golden Jubilee or Dutch Master later in the year and the other being a full refund of payment for tickets should an alternative date not be convenient

We are sad to report the passing of four artists from the world of soul music in recent days-

MANU DIBANGO died  March 24 in Ile de France, Paris, aged 86 years after contracting Covid-19. Manu came to fame in 1972 with chart hit Soul Makossa on Mainstream, and continued to record African jazz-funk through the following decades.

SKIP MAHOANEY died Friday March 2o in his hometown of Washington, D.C., cause of death not disclosed- Skip and his group the Casuals charted in 1973 on DC International and in 1976 with Land of Love on Abet.

PHIL PHILLIPS died of natural causes on Saturday March 14, aged 94 years, in his home town of Lake Charles, Louisiana. Phil, with his group the Twilights, charted in 1959 with Sea of Love on Khoury's, picked up for national distribution by Mercury. He had several further local hits on Mercury, early 1960s, then moved to Lanor in 1968.

We also have news of the passing of Sound Stage 7 artist (Sir) TED FORD, with other singles on local labels including Shotgun, Barak and Stallion in the 1970s. 

PUBLIC HEALTH MATTERS; We wish to reassure listeners and customers that, with regard to Solar Radio events, the situation is under constant review, and ticket buyers will be advised by email if there is any change in status.

Here are the dates for Solar Radio events for 2020.. Please note that our London boat events usually sell out within a couple of weeks of going on sale, so do look out on our website and on social media for news stories advising of tickets going on sale - and book early to avoid disappointment!

DATES FOR 2020: 

Sunday July 26th Mid Summer Soul Cruise - DUTCH MASTER

Sunday August 23rd  August Soul Cruise- Golden Jubilee

Saturday August 29th SOUL on the TYNE on the FORTUNA - NEWCASTLE

Sunday August 30th SOUL on the SOLENT on the OCEAN SCENE - SOUTHAMPTON

Saturday September 5th SOUTHEND SOUL - PARK INN by RADISSON PALACE, SOUTHEND

Sunday September 20th  September Soul Cruise -  Golden Jubilee

Sunday October 25th  October Soul Cruise -  Golden Jubilee

Sunday December 13th  Christmas Boat Party - DIXIE QUEEN

At the end of 2019, TONY MONSON asked all connected with SOLAR RADIO, including DJs, listeners, artists and all friends of the station to submit their ALL TIME TOP 10 favourite tracks and albums. Contributors totalled some 500 people, from whose suggestions the TOP 500 chart was compiled.

The first 100 can be seen here-Top 500 # 1 to # 100

The next hundred, 101 to 200 - ...the next 100, # 101 - #200

Positions 201 to 300 are here-..third segment, #201 - #300

Available NOW-  our SOLAR SOUL CD, a collection of 15 tracks by singers and groups who have featured on SOLAR RADIO in the past couple of years, and including some exclusive mixes. The CD is in digi-pack format with 4-page gatefold sleeve and full colour 8-page booklet. Full track listing is above. The price for mail-order is £12.50 including postage and packing, and orders can be placed now  HERE

Solar Radio is  available to listeners on a range of  streaming platforms including our free branded apps for iPhone and Android mobile devices, and similarly with smart speakers such as Echo Dot and Google now available from web dealers and electrical retailers, plus Internet Radios. Solar Radio is also readily available via  other apps including TuneIn Radio and RadioplayerUK, and directly from our website at www.solarradio.com.

Solar Radio has also been involved in the path-finding small-scale DAB experiment, and is currently available on DAB+ in the Inner London area (within the North and South Circular Roads), Birmingham, Brighton and Norwich.

With the ever-increasing number of people tuning to Solar Radio, we are happy to welcome new customers to our events including the ever-popular Soul Cruises, and it may be timely to advise new folk (and remind valued 'regulars'!) of our ticketing procedures. TICKETS ARE SOLD ON A 'FIRM SALE' BASIS. There is no automatic refund for cancellations unless we have published a 'Buy Back' message - any returns will be offered to any Waiting List customers for re-sale. We do not send out tickets for our river events, either by post or as e-tickets, but we do hold all tickets for collection on the day, just before the event. After the initial acknowledgement, the buyer will  later be sent another email, advising of collection time and boarding information. We hope this helps!

SOLAR RADIO now has a dedicated SKILL app on the ECHO DOT device to enable easy access.

Listening to Solar Radio on an Amazon Dot or Echo and Google Home device:

AMAZON DOT / ECHO:  If you have an Amazon Dot or Echo (or any other Amazon smart speaker device) you can listen to Solar Radio by enabling the Solar Radio Alexa Skill.  All you have to do is say “Alexa, Launch Solar Radio”.   You may need to repeat the sentence a couple of times before it responds but once enabled you can simply say  “Alexa, Play Solar Radio” to play the station.  You can also enable the Skill via the Amazon store HERE.

GOOGLE HOME:  For Google Home simply say “Okay Google, Play Solar Radio”.   You may need to add  “… on TuneIn”  at the end if it fails to respond

A reminder that the dedicated SOLAR RADIO app for Android devices is available NOW to download and install FOR FREE from the Google Play Store, featuring choice of 64k or 128k streams, schedule information, contact and social media links, available at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.SolarRadioAndroid  Also available from the Apple Store, is an UPGRADE to the SOLAR RADIO app for i-PHONE.

Solar Radio can be heard on DAB in Birmingham, Brighton, in the London area, with the boundary of the North and South Circular Roads,  and Norwich, all part of the Small Scale DAB trial as promoted by OfCom. If you are new to DAB radio receivers, it is worth noting that the most complete range of available stations will be found by doing a full scan near to a window and in the highest available location in your property.

Our Sunday morning 'In Orbit' man, CLIVE R, has written his autobiography - entitled SOUL CITIZEN- relating his memories and experiences over his fifty years as a soul fan, record-collector, music journalist, club and concert-goer, oh, and soul radio DJ! 

Following the excellent response to his set on the April Soul Cruise, Clive is now making the book available direct to Solar Radio listeners. Purchase the book HERE