Electronic Benitachell - An Aladdin's Cave of Electrical Joy!

 Check out their webpages - HERE

Professional musician, entertainer, DJ or just anyone with an interest in musical electronic gadgetry; I defy anyone in those categories to not be impressed when they enter this Aladdin's cave of electrical joy.


Easily located on the main street, Electronic Benitachell has been the family business of Harald Werner and his daughter Martina Krause since they moved from Nuremberg in 2015. They have gradually built up the business to a degree they have almost run out of space - such is their amazing range of stock. It is also a one stop shop for any cables and electrical accessories you may just need as a replacement or back up.

I personally have received excellent customer service from Harald and Martina when buying

Meeting up with Martina and Harald in the shop.

equipment from them with the added bonus of knowing if they haven't got an item they can quickly get it in. Also, need a specific length of cable? Harald will make it for you.

They are the sponsors of my Monday "Mick Dennison Project" on Galaxy Radio. We also use them for any bits and pieces we need for the studio. But don't just take my word for it, pop along to the shop and see for yourselves - they have everything!

Check out their location, photos and great interactive views of the business premises here

Opening hours:
Monday - Friday: 09.30 - 13.30
17.00 - 19.30
Saturday: 09.30 - 13.00
Sunday: closed

Phone support
[+34] 966 493 832

New Radio Station - New start for me!

A lot has happened to us in seventeen months as newbie ex-pats living on the Costa Blanca but as far as I'm concerned nothing more radical than leaving one radio station to start all over again with another.

As most of you are aware, I was at Total FM in Javea for a year and I'm extremely grateful to them for giving me a chance to work as a radio presenter. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with them and learned so much (yes, even in my advancing years). Things, as they say, eventually come to a conclusion and at the end of September I moved over to a new station - Galaxy Radio.

The station had previously been known at Heat FM and was broadcasting out of Benidorm, they were co-located with a Costa Blanca newspaper called the Weekender and had planned a move north to Javea and a new studio and office set up. First of all though, it had to be built.

During the early weeks of October 2017 a premises was leased, a studio constructed and an office fitted. Hard work but well worth it in the end. Now it was time to organise radio output and a daytime posse of presenters.

Adam, me and Ray - The Daytime Crew

Veteran radio presenter and singer Adam King headed up the radio side of things. He took on his historical old spot on the Breakfast Show, I slotted in as the Mid-Morning - Midday presenter and eventually Ray Peters, another veteran of the radio game completed the daytime crew.

The Galaxy Radio brand is now getting out there in the consciousness of listeners along the Costa Blanca from Benidorm to Denia and works on a split frequency to allow greater coverage and of course personalise the adverts between two different geographical areas. The output is available on the website at www.galaxyradio.es and via the Tunein App on smartphones and tablets.

As well as working out of the Javea studio we have taken the station out onto the road with a Sunday afternoon outside broadcast at Benitachell Bowls Club in aid of their Autumn Fair. A great day for them and a thorough test of our remote capabilities.

Adam King interviews Gemma Saunders from his show sponsor Telitec Communications

So, what remains in the pipeline for me? Well, I have my old Saturday afternoon Sports Show back and am presently negotiating a slot for a two hour Soul Show (Open for sponsorship!). In the broadcasting world you cannot rest on your laurels and all of us presenters are continuously looking at ways to tweak and improve our shows.

So, what about Galaxy Radio itself? In my opinion it can only get better as it continues to gain more of the audience share along the Costa Blanca and in effect with the internet and Tunein - the world, especially as Adam King has rostered in many well known DJ's for the nighttime and weekend shows. Onwards and upwards? The galaxy is certainly achievable!

The blue glow of completion.

Somewhere over the rainbow!

Nature hit the Costa Blanca with all it's might on Wednesday 18th October 2017 with gales and torrential rain. It was reported to be the sting in the tail of the storms that had raged over western Spain, Portugal, Ireland and parts of the UK.

From my roof terrace in the village of Jesus Pobre the view of the Montgo National Park had been obliterated, it was just a wall of grey during the mid-afternoon period.

Towards early evening and then at about 7 o'clock the clouds cleared to reveal the Montgo in all it's glory as a beautiful rainbow had formed over it. On closer look it was actually a double rainbow and, since that day up to the end of the month the weather has been glorious in it's mid twenties every day. Surely nature giving us something back!

The view from my roof terrace of the Montgo National Park and all the way down the valley to Javea and the Mediterranean.

Northern Soul on the Northern Costa Blanca

It's not every day you get a chance to shape some groovy soul moves in this neck of the woods. Lets face it, the chances of attracting a soul night in the Javea area are very slim - venues are just not prepared to take a risk. One promoter from Valencia though did just that and set up an All Nighter at one of the longest established night clubs in the area.

Josse Lledo had the Mardi Gras record shop in Valencia for 13 years until 2012, gave it all up until 2015, then started afresh within the confines of the Cracovia Bar on Calle Alcira. He now sells mainly second hand jazz, blues, soul, disco, reggae and a whole lot more - all on vinyl. It was from here he planned this years soul All Nighter carrying on from the success of twelve months ago.

Josse Lledo's record bar and DJ Station in the Cracovia Bar

I was alerted to the night via a posting on my White Coast Soul page on Facebook. Seasoned soul follower Dod Riley posted the link and I got the date etched into my diary. I also began promoting it on my Totally Soul show on the Thursdays leading up to it.
Nearer the time I arranged to speak to Josse on the phone to confirm the details for the final push on the Thursday before the Nighter.
The evening began at Montgo Di Bongo, a perfect setting for a "Warm Up". Great atmosphere, beach-side location and a full moon, What more could you ask for!


Josse arranged for a coach to bring the revelers from Valencia and they were enjoying the pre-All Nighter relaxing tunes being played on the terrace. I met up with fellow soulies, Ian and Denise Spittle from Fustera and Mick Clifford and his partner Annette from Jesus Pobre. I was also introduced to Tim Smithers who'd flown in from the UK specially for the night.

Near to the midnight hour (now there's a link to a soul classic) the crowd from Valencia were bussed to the venue whilst I followed Mick up the twisting mountain pass to the Hacienda. He didn't warn me I would need oxygen to make it to the summit.

On arrival we were greeted by some funky vibes being put down by Valencia based DJ Jeronimo who

DJ Jero - owner of the best beard in Northern Soul!

soon had the early birds up and dancing. Hipster like, wearing a vest and baggy shorts Jero was nothing like any soul DJ I'd come across. This is Spain however and he was, as they say, dressed for the weather.

Next up was DJ Vanesa Espi from Granada, a real soul-chick if ever there was one. She not only played some exquisite R&B and Northern Soul tracks but she looked the part as well. Resplendent in her checked button down shirt and high cut oxfords, she also danced the moves behind and in front of the decks. She played absolute classics such as Baby Please Come Back Home by J.J. Barnes to Heartbreaker by the Showstoppers. The mainly young crowd were fulfilling their obligations and filling the dance floor. There were of course some "old farts" present, me one of them but I was shocked by the youthfulness of the audience.

DJ Vanesa, multitasking. DJ and dancer!

Next up on the rotation was DJ Josep A from Valencia. He was a complete master of the decks as he dropped in goodies like Dr Love by The Whispers and Try My Love by Toni and the Showmen. however he got everyone dancing with Gladys Knight's sultry No One Could Love You More.

Us Brits were in Soul Heaven including Javea based Andy Morris giving it very large on the dance floor, with all the classics being belted out and I must say the venue was a corker. Set up on top of the hillside above Javea Port and 5 kms from Denia the Hacienda lends itself perfectly as a soul night venue. It's built around the trees leaving gaps in the ceiling, very helpful when the temperatures had been touching 30 odd that day.

DJ Tim Smithers - The Poole based spinner.

DJ Tim Smithers finished off the first rotation and then it was time for me to say goodnight. It was coming up to three in the morning and my old bones were not used to this late night stuff.
The crowd from Valencia would be dancing until breakfast.

So, my first soul gig in Spain and what a great experience given that it's not one of the places I would recognise as a hot bed of this genre of music. However my preconceptions were turned on their head as I witnessed a knowledgeable and appreciative crowd. A crowd with no history to refer to and therefore no prejudices regarding soul music. They have grasped all genres and thrown themselves headlong into the scene - it's so refreshing.

Josse - he spins a tune as well.

 Hats off to Josse or Mr Splen Dini as he's known as on Facebook. He brought the music to Javea and it certainly was a soulful night.

If it's here next year I for one will be doing my utmost to get it promoted out to the masses on the Northern Costa Blanca. An opportunity like this to appreciate great soul sounds in Javea doesn't come up very often.

Check out the following links:

Caracovia Bar, Valencia - here

Cracovia Bar Facebook Page - here

Spain Northern Soul Scene, You Tube video - here

Fiestas in Jesus Pobre - Take 2!

Day 4 - Monday 5th June (More pictures HERE)

We were woken, early, to sounds resembling the start of World War 3 - this was supposed to be the religious day!

The church in Jesus Pobre is located behind my housing complex. Anything parading into town from there will inevitably go past our house. This was to be the case today as a piper and a drummer led a two man procession along the main road. Followed inevitably by a fire storm lasting for about five minutes. No chance of a lie in this day!

At about lunchtime a procession of the village folk, all dressed in their Sunday best passed along the road to the church. They were accompanied by the band as the bells rang out around the village.

It turned out to be a busy day for the band. They were called into action during the early evening as the whole village came out to watch the procession of the Holy Jesus through the streets. By chance the procession walked past my house and gave me the chance to take some areal photos. We then hot footed it round to the village centre and capture some more.

Having lived in the village for over a year I recognised many in the procession and of course all the regulars from the bars - everyone was out to see this event. It all ended at about 10.30pm with a firework display, immediately opposite our house. The top terrace made a great vantage point.  Suddenly you begin to realise what the Fiestas are all about!

Day 5 - Tuesday 6th June (More pictures HERE)

More firecrackers announced the start of a new day, the day people in the village would hook up with those born on the same year, another opportunity for a day on the drink then!

In the afternoon we came across several groups of people gathering around the Riurau accompanied by the same jazzy band which had led the fancy dress parade on the Saturday. There was also a shopping trolley laden down with drinks, well, you never know when your going to get thirsty!

I noticed that people were gathering, drinking and dancing in separate groups. All the groups were wearing different coloured t shirts and each group had a differing date printed on it. So, that's how they do it, what a great tradition. Sadly there were very few, if any, displaying my birth year.

In the evening we decided to have a walk into the centre of the village to check out how all these different age group gangs spend the Tuesday evening of the Fiesta. What met us was a full blown Ibiza style rave/dance night - whatever you want to call it. The locals were enjoying it to the max. So, I've worked it out. You get a group of your peers, design a T Shirt with your birth year printed on it, parade round the town in the afternoon getting drunk, possibly have a meal with all your age group then party on into the night in the village square. No driving to worry about and a short stagger home - result!

These people know how to party and I suspect many were going strong into the early hours.We would've loved to have stayed but work was calling for us the next day. I now appreciate why most of the locals take the full week off.

More Pictures of these two days can be found - HERE

Our first ever Fiesta in Jesus Pobre! "Does that make us virgins?"

This time last year Lynn and me had been in the village approximately a week. We'd missed the Fiesta's however, they'd been on in the middle of May. With Easter being a bit later this time around they've fallen on this first week of June and has given us a chance to soak up this annual music, drink and culture fest - will our livers last the course?

It all started on Thursday 1st June. Not officially though, this was the night of the village decoration, a chance for streets to compete with each other for the best design concept and obviously an opportunity to start where we meant to continue; in the local bars.

On the Friday evening the party got into full swing. Of course, with these Fiesta's all having a religious theme a parade from the village church through the streets, accompanied by the local band heralded the beginning. The whole village was out on the streets to hear the inauguration speech then it was into the bars to meet up with friends and family - a gentle bedding in.

On Saturday afternoon things began to hot up. That's the atmosphere and the weather. A free bar and

tapas was going strong in the middle of the village outside the Casa De Culture. It was manned by the committee or Festeros as they are known. They fund-raise all year round to put on this week of celebrations by organising events in the village. There were also street vendors selling toys, leather goods, food and a darts game - all the fun of the fair!

After a few beers in the local bar (The free beer area was getting very busy) we headed home for a siesta. Well, it was going to be a long night. At 6.30pm (okay about 7.30pm Spanish time) a fancy dress parade got underway through the streets. Sadly there weren't as many floats as in previous years but those that entered made a great effort..

The winning float was designed by a group of thirty somethings from the village. They all had children and thought of using the movie Up as their theme. Dancing girls! Ibiza style ravers and camouflaged hunters were also in attendance as well a a beach themed group. Orange shirted bandsmen played funky jazz and salsa as they slowly made their way through the narrow streets of the village. Sweets and confetti causing all the children to dive into the road to gather it all up.

 With the parade over it was back into the bars for the main event of the evening. Well, that's if you're

a Real Madrid fan. We met up with friends in Casa Rosita. the main Real Madrid bar in the village. It was heaving with supporters and the restaurant was also doing a roaring trade. This was the same for Bar Pedro over the road.

It was fitting, the final on the first weekend of the Fiestas, a great excuse for the village to wander the streets and choose their bar of choice to watch it. The game lived up to the pre-match hype as the Spanish side turned the heat up on their Italian rivals. A 4-1 scoreline ensuring the firecrackers would be exploding all night.

There was still the matter of live music at midnight, but not for us. We thought we'd leave the music

to the youngsters - you need more beauty sleep at our age.

The following morning we headed for the weekly market, temporarily housed in the square outside the village council building. The normal venue,The Rihrau was the setting for a band concert and was packed out. What a lovely way to start a Sunday morning.

The local bars were all doing a brisk mid-morning trade as villagers prepared for another free sponsored bar at 2pm.We decided to give this one a miss. It's going to be a long week ahead, and, as an ex-pub landlord, I was aware of the need to pace myself. One thing is for sure though, these Fiestas are a different thing altogether!

Check out more photo's from the first weekend of Fiestas 2017 here

My Quiznite moves on - to the Arenal

Calling all quizzers in the Javea area!

The Thursday night quiz I hosted in Bar Rosita's in Jesus Pobre has a new night and a new venue. Trev and Julie the amiable hosts of Sandra's Bar on Javea's Arenal have booked me to present fortnightly on a Tuesday night from 8pm.

Working closely in partnership are Scottsdale Overseas - independent financial advisors who have generously offered to sponsor the night and to facilitate a free prize draw.

The quiz will follow a tried and tested format after ten years of my hosting the regular Thursday night quiz in the York Hotel Morecambe. The emphasis being on fun!

Of course there will be a competitive element and the 2 euro cover charge will be used to develop a cash prize pot. But please, no Googling!

I'll also be spinning the soul grooves in the interval and at the end of the quiz - an extra bonus for all you soul fans out there.

So, grab a team of four, put on your thinking caps and show the world how smart you all are - okay, how much you thought you knew! 

Please click on Sandra's Bar and Scottsdale's logos on the right of this post to show your support.