Neil Gits Blasted !

Like a good number of other people I’ve spoken to on my travels over the last six years, I don’t watch, read or listen to the news any more so I didn’t know if what I experienced last Friday had received much coverage on TV, radio or in the papers outside of Essex. I make very selective use of Facebook (the only social media platform I can just about get my head around!) and have it set so that I rarely get subjected to ‘fake news’ and scaremongering ‘shock stories’, but by 6pm that day I became well aware that something big was happening !

A huge fire had broken out on a farm in Rettendon and soon after caused a massive exposion when a fertilizer store went up in flames. I was sitting quietly in my front room at the time and though I live nearly 6 miles away from the inicident, my front door felt the force of it, causing my door knocker and light fitting alongside to rattle – it sounded at first as though someone had lost their bearings whilst out jogging and run straight into my porch ! With an enormous plume of white & grey smoke filling the sky over our street, my neighbours were speculating on the cause and the popular suggestion was that the local petrol station less than a mile away had gone up, but of course it was nowhere near there …

Getting sucked in to all the videos, photos and speculation rapidly appearing on a local Facebook page, I was completely consumed by events unfolding ‘just down the road’ surely the most dramatic thing to happen in our quiet, peaceful litle part of Essex for many a year. It may or may not have appeared on your radar if you are one of my ‘long distance listeners’ and I may not hear the news these days, but on Friday I certainly felt it !!

Every Monday from 7.02pm, once the Sky bulletin is out of the way, you can escape all the worry & trauma of the real world and join me in losing yourself in two totally uninterrupted hours of soul, jazz-funk & disco nostalgia – just you, me and some superb music ! Here’s the latest playlist :

The Tunes – Monday 20th July 2026

Rick James – You & I
Three Degrees – Take Good Care Of Yourself
Darien Dean feat Tiffany T’Zelle – Last Song
Kool & The Gang – Fresh
Prime Time – I Owe It To Myself
Jean Knight – Mr Big Stuff
B B & Q Band – Don’t Say Goodbye
Phyrework – You & Me
George Benson – Please Don’t Walk Away
Hi Tension – Hi Tension
Earth Wind & Fire – In The Stone (Groovefunkel Remix)
Down To The Bone ft Natasha Watts – Shining
Diana Ross & The Supremes – You Can’t Hurry Love
Hi Gloss – It’s Up To You
Mascara – See You In L.A. (7″ Edit)
Foundations – Build Me Up Buttercup
A P Connection ft Princess Freesia – Hopin’
Joe McBride – Baby Come Back
Roberta Flack – Killing Me Softly With His Song
Lukas Setto – A Ghetto Kind Of Love
THS – The Horne Section – Lady Shine (Shine On)
Shalamar – Friends
Aretha Franklin – Jump To It
Michael Gray feat Audrey Martells – Beautiful

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” !