A NEW club will be launched this Saturday, September 13 when Penarth’s very own soul club will be open. Penarth Soul Club is brought to you by Penarth residents Shelley Norton and Liam Curtin.

Shelley met Liam when he DJ’d at her 40th birthday in June at the Ex Servicemen’s Club on Penarth’s Windsor Road. They soon discovered they both had a mutual love of 60s and 70s soul. They hit it off straight away and haven’t stopped talking about music since.

Liam is an avid record collector and an experienced DJ with who has co-founded several successful club nights across the UK. He has also DJ’d at a number of festivals including the London International Ska Festival, BoomTown and Skamouth. Shelley is the Artistic Director and co-founder of The Big Talent School and Agency, an independent drama school and talent agency based in Cardiff Bay. Shelley says "My life revolves around children and the performing arts so it’s really nice to start the Penarth Soul Club with Liam and have this new hobby. It's a lovely distraction to running a business. We wanted to create something that had its identity very much in Penarth."

Shelley and Liam were both brought up and educated in Penarth. Liam is proud to be a part of Penarth’s rich musical heritage and has DJ’d at a number of events in Penarth including this year’s Summer Ball in the Paget Rooms.

The Ex’s was the natural choice for Penarth Soul Club because of its wooden dance floor and hospitable staff. Doors open at 7:30pm and entry is only £3. Expect an exciting mix of Northern Soul, Motown and Stax classics to keep you dancing all night, all played from vinyl.

To celebrate the launch of Penarth Soul Club Fiona Smith will be holding a Northern Soul dance class at the Ex’s 11am-4pm on Saturday, September 13, for just £20. Fiona travels all round the country teaching Northern Soul dance moves.

Shelley is looking forward to having Fiona join them for their first night "I love dancing; I can't see how anyone could just "listen" to soul music. Northern Soul has a great back story and the dancing really captured me when I first became aware of it a few years ago. So I was really keen to incorporate a dance class into our plans."

Make sure you don’t miss the incredible launch of Penarth Soul Club.