Fingerpoppin' Soul reaches 30

I must congratulate Amsterdam's soul superstars Harry Van Vliet and Hans Diepstraten on reaching the 30th anniversary of their first Fingerpoppin' Soul radio show. Their weekly broadcast has racked up 1545 shows so far and hopefully it will continue for many years to come. How they manage to maintain the high quality week after week is quite amazing. I was fortunate enough to take part in a show back in 2014 and it's clear that their enthusiasm and knowldge about soul music is second to none. They presented me with a pack of picture sleeve soul 45s - a generous gesture which they have done on many occasions over the years, including at shows that they have been to and at the Porretta Soul Festival, which Harry and Hans sometimes attend. Not sure if I will see them there next month but I hope so. Harry contacted me the other day to share a photo of him with Gladys Knight, who visited Amsterdam as part of her farewell tour which also saw her play at Hampton Court Palace on Tuesday. As ever, Harry presented her with a record pack and the photo above commemorates the moment. In a Facebook post today they showed two paintings presented to them by a local artist named Annelies Bannenberg, one of which, I was intrigued to see, was based on a photo I took of Harry and Hans with their bicycles in 2014. Here's the photo and the painting.

Here are a couple of photos taken with Harry and Hans when I visited. Congratulations to them both!