Inspired by music - Marvin Gaye: Soul street

For the next stop, The Viking and I were in the Langestraat, which means “long street”. In the 60ies and the 70ies, there used to be a dancing here, called The Groove, which played black music, like soul and funk. It was actually the only one in Belgium, that for a long time played such music, so it attracted visitors from all parts of our country, but also from abroad.

The Groove was originally only a dance floor in a basement. It had a very good reputation though, not only for the music – often played by black American deejays -, but also for its sound system. In the beginning, The Groove attracted mainly (black) Americans, who could listen and dance to music, that you couldn’t hear on Belgian radio. And who was the man who started this club? Freddy Cousaert, who in 1981 went to London to look for Marvin Gaye.

We are not sure if The Groove still exists. At least, The Viking and I couldn’t find it. Freddy Cousaert has already passed away and the Langestraat has seen better times. There are still pubs, restaurants and clubs, and new supermarkets and shops have appeared, but in general the street has a bit of dilapidated look. One can only imagine what it must have been like a couple of decades ago.

You can find the pictures here.

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