Neil Gits Blacklisted !

All is running smoothly at ‘Old Gits HQ’ today although that definitely wasn’t the case a couple of weeks ago ! The sun was shining, the temperature was warm and the bucketloads of rain we’ve had since then were still safely tucked up in the clouds above – it was hard to believe it was the August Holiday Weekend ! Until you tried to use the internet that is …

Maybe it’s just me, but I inevitably find that whenever half the country puts its feet up for a three day break, that is when I am most likely to have inexplicable issues when doing stuff online. Websites will be “inaccessible for essential maintenance” , streaming programmes on the telly via my (usually) trusty Firestick produces weird glitches and Alexa definitely won’t do what she’s told when I try and get her to play music in the bathroom for me ! This time’s big issue was sending emails – I just couldn’t for 2 days!

Each time I attempted to ping one out whilst tidying up a few loose ends, I got a bizarre message in a big red box accompanied by an ominous yellow triangle containing a black exclamation mark and some secret ‘error code’ – SMTP (550) – with the terrifying words “Sender rejected – blacklisted by local policy”. No doubt our highly skilled techy team at Gateway would have barely blinked at seeing that and dealt with it in a nano-second, but as a 63 year old, left behind by modern technology about 20 years ago, I was quite hurt to read that message … what had I done to deserve that ??

Anyway, I have two main remedies for these type of situations which have served me well in the 21st Century so far – either unplug the machine and turn it on again (known in certain circles as “The Daddy Pig Method” !) or the one I opted for in this case – ignore it, leave it alone and it will sort itself out in a couple of days after the holiday … which it did. No idea how, but it did ! So, the sun is out again today, all is quiet and peacful around Old Gits HQ (apart from a neighbour putting a new roof on his shed !) and I am in the mood for delving deep into my collection of 70s & 80s soul, jazz-funk & disco this weekend and pulling out another two hours of goodies for you to enjoy on Monday. Here’s what I came up with last time :

The Tunes – Monday 1st September 2025

Mystic Merlin – Mr Magician
Pasadenas – Riding On A Train
Tracy Hamlin – Nothing Can Stop Me Now
Ray Dahrouge – Steppin’ Out
Ray Dahrouge – Hangin’ On
Soul II Soul – Joy
Meli’sa Morgan – Now Or Never
Matt Cusson ft Yulia Musayelyan – She Don’t Mind
Blue Moderne – Do That Again
Jesse Green – Nice ‘n’ Slow
Central Line – You’ve Said Enough
James Brown – People Get Up & Drive Your Funky Soul
Petawane ft Vell Da Artist – We Outside
Delegation – Darling (I Think About You)
Billy Ocean – Who’s Gonna Rock You
Real Thing – Can’t Get By Without You
Windy Karigianes – A Thousand Miles Away (Georgie B Remix)
Nardia – Is It You
Manhattans – Kiss & Say Goodbye
Lukas Setto – My Lady
Lillo Thomas – I’m In Love
Julia & Company – Breakin’ Down (Sugar Samba)
Hot Wax/Hi Tension) – Love The Way You Feel The Funk
Lonnie Liston Smith – Divine Light (ASL100)

Feel free to get in touch with your soulful request or just for a mention on the show – put a post on “The Old Gits Soul Show” page on Facebook, text (01268)833978 or message me via e-mail : [email protected].

The Old Gits Soul Show is broadcast LIVE from 7pm–9pm every Monday, repeated on Saturday evening from 5pm–7pm, on Gateway 97.8FM in Basildon & East Thurrock, across South Essex on DAB and available nationally via the Radio Player on your TV as well as online via www.gateway978.com You can listen on your smart speaker or your phone too … plus you can hear it again anytime you like via the “Listen Again” button on the Gateway website – just search “Cool Soul” !