Soul music is making a comeback, led by Kent-based DJ Robbie Vincent. The soul and talk-radio pioneer spoke to Chris Price ahead of his first gig in a decade.

Whether it was at Flicks in Dartford, Greenways in West Malling or the Hunting Lodge in Larkfield, soul music was the sound of Kent nightclubs in the 1980s.

The man at the forefront of it was Robbie Vincent, a radio pioneer who launched the career of acts like Maze with Frankie Beverley on his BBC London Radio show and later Radio 1.

From Marvin Gaye and Luther Vandross to Chaka Khan, Billy Paul and Bob James, Robbie has interviewed them all.

He became something of a legend in Kent and Essex particularly – a hotbed of the nation’s soul scene – with a weekly residency at Flicks in the late 1970s and early 1980s, plus numerous appearances across the county’s nightclubs.

Those days of yuppies and Filofaxes might be long gone but Robbie has never lost his love of soul, still playing records on Jazz FM every Sunday. But soul, and Robbie, are making a comeback.

“I have done a lot of stuff in Kent and Essex because they have always been soulful counties,” said Robbie, who will play a DJ set at Maidstone’s Banks Bar.

“Flicks was a massive success. I remember the early nights when we had searchlights in the club there. It was an amazing place. Thinking about it gives me a warm feeling.”

His appearance at Banks will be Robbie’s first live DJ set for more than 10 years and will be his only one this year, in what he is calling the shortest world tour ever.

“It starts in Maidstone and finishes in Maidstone,” he laughed. “I have a soft spot for Kent and I had a good feeling about this one, so I thought ‘why not?’”

That special affection for the county is partly because Robbie was brought up in Biggin Hill as a boy. A private man, he lives in Chislehurst and had a job in a news agency in Tunbridge Wells as a youngster before he began his formative years in journalism at the London Evening Standard.

He then got a job at BBC London Radio, where he became known as the first DJ to host a phone-in radio show, talking about issues like the miners’ strike and the three day week. Yet it was playing soul music which turned him into one of the nation’s most prominent jocks.

“On BBC local radio you had more freedom in the early days,” he said. “London and Kent had a demand for the stuff I was playing, which was not known nationally.

“When I started, there was no black music on the radio. Nationally, they had no idea what I was doing. I feel sorry for the majority of DJs today, who are playlist-led and have little personal input. They have to sound as if they are enjoying what they are playing. That is a real skill whereas I came from a group who wouldn’t be able to do that.

“I always programmed my own music, even when I was on Radio 1 and the World Service.”

His love of soul caused a fair amount of problems in Robbie’s time. He remembers causing mayhem when the then-unknown Maze with Frankie Beverley sold out the Hammersmith Odeon because he mentioned the gig on air.

“That was amazing,” he said. “Everyone there sort of knew everyone in a way and yet no one had ever heard of Maze. There were great big queues. You couldn’t buy the atmosphere at that gig for £10 million.

“I would like to think that I contributed to raising awareness of a whole group of artists who would not have got the exposure on the radio otherwise.”

He can still get as excited by a record as he did when he first started and goes giddy when he talks about a recent interview with Bobby Womack.

He enthused that he was the man to nab the first UK interview with Luther Vandross and talked enthusiastically about meeting Kenny Gamble recently.

Kenny is part of Gamble and Huff, the songwriting and production duo behind more 170 gold and platinum releases at Philedelphia International Records. Robbie interviewed him to celebrate the label’s 40th anniversary and ended up singing some Lou Rawls with him live on air.

“He can sing and I can’t but I went out of that studio like a big kid,” he said. “That was a fantastic thrill for me. He is big, big news.”

Robbie was approached for the gig after Banks asked its punters who they would most like to see playing songs from the soul era. His name got the overwhelmingly largest response and it did not take him long to accept the offer.

He said: “I’m choosey of where I play but this one looks like it will be fun. I don’t want a great big space. I want it to be cuddly.

“There is a generation who grew up with me who are disenfranchised because a lot of stuff played through those decades doesn’t get radio exposure. There are individuals aged between 45 and 65 who find it difficult to find somewhere to go where they can relate to the music. When it comes to going out for a great night, they find they have nowhere to go.

Soul had a huge underground musical following in Kent. It was all underground in those days. I want to make older people feel comfortable. We also have a creche for the 20 to 30 year olds – it’s called the bar.” He added: “The world tour might be extended if things go well.”

Robbie Vincent plays a DJ set at Maidstone’s Banks Bar on Saturday, September 1. Support comes from Jeff Young. Open 8pm to 2am. Tickets £15. Call 01622 676799.