Tops at After Party in Belgium

[ms_m]

Photos courtesy of DJ Funk o Nots

[chidrummer]

Soooo what you're tell us is that they moved The Tops from a perfectly good dining table and made them go eat in the kitchen. I, for one, am outraged!!!!

[ralpht]

Great shots. Thank you Ms.M. and DJ Funk O Nots.

[ms_m]

You're welcome Ralph.

LOL@ Chi.....I should have explained that. Apparently the guys were running short on time because they had a five hour drive ahead of them for the next city. They all wanted dessert and it was quicker to go to the kitchen than waiting for it to be served. I'm told it 's one hell of a dessert.....LOL

[soulwally]

Lovely shots. We see some of the guys we love for what they are - real people. Now this, Ms_m [[referring to the other thread around), is what SDF is all about.

[ms_m]

Glad you like it Soulwally. When the guys get back I hope to have more. Drew [[the drummer) has taken quite a few great shots. I've got some footage of the Tops and Tempts [[Duke and Otis) doing an interview for a UK morning show as well but I need to convert it unless I can find a way to by pass youtube.....

[smooth]

Great Photos putting those of us who weren't there right in the action.

We need more of this on the Forum...Appreciate it Ms M and D.J Funk O Nots.

Abraham Smooth Wilson

[ms_m]

Glad you like it Smooth. I have to be honest, I tend to place this sort of thing on Ronnie's Facebook page for the exclusive factor but I may start thinking about sharing more here since there seems to be an interest.

[soulwally]

Now Ronnie is REALLY tucking in. Saw the interview on the BBC Breakfast programme live in the UK, and Duke, Otis and everybody came across really well. Loved Ronnie's Ask The Lonely when I last saw the Tops live.

[ms_m]

HAHA...yeah he is.

When did you see the guys Soulwally? I'll be sure to pass your compliment on but unless their was a recent change Ronnie doesn't do "Lonely" anymore, Spike does. These days, Ronnie's solo is a What's Going On/Brother Brother Medley that he dedicates to Obie. Again, there may have been a change for the UK Tour but they switched up a few months back.

Interesting anecdote about "Lonely" though, when Ronnie was doing it, he said just before going on stage, sometimes he would really feel Obie's presence ..on those nights he hit the song out of the ball park....even got misty -eyed at the end. I use to have people ask me if he was faking it but its was real....he misses Obie more than many people realize, even now.

[juicefree20]

EXCLUSIVE, huh?!?

Good stuff lady & I'm glad to see Fred, Ronnie & my man ROBEY!!!

Indeed, there's never been a time that I've been around Ronnie when he hasn't spoken of Obie & I mean never. I know that Ronnie misses Obie a lot & Ronnie always gets sentimental when he talks about Obie & he misses Obie a lot, I'm sure even more than I know.

Thanks for sharing these pictures. I'm just sorry that I missed the fellas the last time that they were here.

Thank you Ms M & DJ Funk-O-Nots for sharing. There's nothing like candids to make you really feel the event.

[ms_m]

I'm sorry you missed them too Juice and I feel bad about that but we'll make up for it, I promise.

Yeah, it's the way we keep the interest up on Ronnie's page. They know things will be posted there that you can't find anywhere else. Ronnie actually does videos just for his Facebook Family. It's quite popular. When he gets back, you should hang out over there sometimes Juice. Actually anyone is welcome. He's got a great group of people. A few "strange ones" but they are harmless....LOL

[juicefree20]

Ms M,

I have to be honest & say that I'm just not feeling Facebook. I know of too many phonies & see too much B.S. being said. Knowing myself, if I see the wrong thing written by the wrong person[[s) on the wrong day, eventually, I'm going to say something that while needing to be said, needs not be said by me.

As an example, someone I know passed away & someone came in speaking all sorts of wonderful words. The person saying all of those wonderful things was in a position to help the person while they were still alive & could've gotten them some work, but never quite saw fit to do so. And I know that had I gone onto that page to post a condolence, I'd have said something that might've not gone down all that easy.

And don't get me started with the situation with Trayvon Martin & politics. I've never been one to bite my tongue & I've lost patience with people & B.S. So along with that & family concerns, I figure it's best for me to just keep away rather than to say things which I need not say.

But for Ronnie Mac, I'll make an exception because Ronnie Mac is more than alright with me

By the way, how's my man Robie doing???

[marv2]

EXCLUSIVE, huh?!?

Good stuff lady & I'm glad to see Fred, Ronnie & my man ROBEY!!!

Indeed, there's never been a time that I've been around Ronnie when he hasn't spoken of Obie & I mean never. I know that Ronnie misses Obie a lot & Ronnie always gets sentimental when he talks about Obie & he misses Obie a lot, I'm sure even more than I know.

Thanks for sharing these pictures. I'm just sorry that I missed the fellas the last time that they were here.

Thank you Ms M & DJ Funk-O-Nots for sharing. There's nothing like candids to make you really feel the event.

I miss Obie! He was our bud. He was very cool. A really good guy.

[marv2]

Great pictures and thank you for sharing them!

Marv

[ms_m]

Robie is crazy as ever and he's doing well Juice. I'll be sure to tell him you asked about him.

Ronnie doesn't get a lot of BS on his page. Every now and then someone will get a little out there but he puts them in check in a nice way and life moves on. Overall, it really does have a family vibe to it. They show him a lot of love, it's really nice.

Very soon I think we're going to take the party to his band page though. He's getting close to tapping out on being able to accept friends. For some reason FB will only allow 5000 friends to a page. Usually people will set up a new page but I think we'll move everything over to the band page. It opens things up more and since it's already set up I don't see any reason to start all over again with a personal page.

[ms_m]

I miss Obie too Marv and he was a hell of a guy. I gained a of of wisdom from Obie. He was my big brother from another mother as they say. When you were his friend, you were his friend for life but cross him...that was your butt....LOL

[ms_m]

Speaking of Obie, his older daughter Tobie is a hell of a singer too. She's done some things with Ronnie and I'm hoping she'll cut something of her own soon. She has her hands full with her family but ....we'll see how it goes.

[marv2]

I miss Obie too Marv and he was a hell of a guy. I gained a of of wisdom from Obie. He was my big brother from another mother as they say. When you were his friend, you were his friend for life but cross him...that was your butt....LOL

Ms M. I am in total agreement!

[juicefree20]

Ms M

I only met Obie once during the PBS Taping at The Sands. But the 2 days that we got to speak along with Ronnie, Theo & Louvain was a pleasant experience & there's no way in the world that you could've told me that in less than 3 1/2 months later, he'd be gone. I wish that I had gotten the chance to know him better because for a guy who was a legend, he was really friendly, down-to-earth & approachable. I felt honored that he ould spend 5 minutes, much less 45 minutes speaking with me in a lobby or anywhere else for that manner.

I'm glad to hear that Robie is doing well as Robie & Fred are cool as hell.

As for Ronnie, he seems to have some pretty cool fans & they seem to be very respectful & that's a good thing. One of these days, I'll get back into the Facebook swing. But to be honest, they're always messing with things over there & I like the potential for comeraderie that exists here. To me, Facebook feels less intimate than SDF.

It just feels like the latest thing to do until the next ''best'' thing comes along, ala myspace.

[juicefree20]

Ms. M,

I'm looking forward to hearing what Ronnie & Tobie come up with because that woman can sing!

[ms_m]

I'm going blank at the moment and too lazy to get up to get the CDs to tell you the songs but she's on the last two CD's Juice and yeah she can sing. I've spoken to Tyson about her. He needs a few things from her to see what songs he has that will fit her. But she has two small girls and a husband that keep her busy so it's been difficult to find some time for herself. Ronnie of course is willing to work with her as well. Hopefully it'll all come together.

[ms_m]

I wasn't gung ho about FB in the beginning either Juice and to be honest rarely go on my own page.....LOL... but for Ronnie or any artist it's a great tool. Social media is on the move....even when FB goes the way of Myspace, something else will take it's place and artist will have to keep up to be seen and heard.

[ms_m]

I do draw the line at Twitter though...hahahaha...Ronnie wants to do it but he does the talking while I have to do the typing....I'm only one person and FB takes away time I could be doing other things....as it is, I'm up to the wee hours in the morning trying to get work done that I had to put on hold so he could hang out with his FB family. This UK Tour has given me a break. I kinda hate to see it come to an end....LOL

[juicefree20]

Ms M,

I kinda liked Myspace until it got to the point that people loaded so much crap on their pages that it took forever for them to load. More than anything, that was what turned me off about myspace. It was jsut too buggy.

As for Twitter, I just don't get the point of it. I don't like to read my writing as much as I once did & see no point in letting the world know my every thought, much less what I'm doing at every point in the day.

Frankly, I'm not that important & don't take myself quite that seriously.

Besides, what Twitter seems to do best is to allow people who take themselves too seriously get themselves into trouble because they seem to believe that their opinions about everything are so important that the world needs to know them.

And it seems to lull people into peeaking before they think.

But when used properly, it seems to be a good promotional tool.

[ms_m]

I hear ya Juice. I'm an information junkie but some things, especially personal stuff I just don't want or need to know about....LOL

I've come to understand social media is like anything else though. You can use it for good, bad or simple BS. I don't tweet but I do check out some of the political tweets and they can be very informative; and social media played a part in the Arab Spring. For me, it just takes up more time than I'm willing to spare not to mention Ronnie doesn't have a clue what he would be setting himself up for if he started down that road. Ronnie Mac has 21 grand kids and they all have something to say about how granddaddy should be doing things to be cool....or whatever the latest word is out here....hahahaha......

[soulwally]

Ms_m I last saw the Tops [[with the Tempts) at the MEN Arena in Manchester when Obie was still with the group. Ronnie@s Ask The Lonely was one of the highlights. It's a pity he's not still leading it. However, having seen Spike on the BBC Breakfast performance, it's clear he's one hell of a singer. I watched a lot of the Spinners' performances on youtube when he was in the group, and boy did they keep him under wraps [[apart from Funny How Time Slips Away)

[ms_m]

I'm hearing a lot of great things about the shows this year Soulwally. Hope you'll be able to make one before they leave....if not, next time they come through, hit me up [[private email) a few months before they are scheduled to be there.

[drewschultz88]

Just wanted to drop a line in and say Hey Juice! Long time no see, how have you been? The tour has been amazing, and we finish up tomorrow with the last show in London. That dinner in Belgium was no joke - great hosts, great people, great food. Hope we can catch up soon!

[ms_m]

Hey Drew, hope all is well. I saw a few of your pics. You're really doing the sightseeing thing and getting around.

You guys are missed although I must admit I've enjoyed the break....LOL...but hope the remaining shows go great. Have a safe trip back home.