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Replica of an LJ post of mine, I thought I'd share the love
Firstly, A very loose general definition: the term refers to soul music from the mid to late 60s, and which was popular in “alternative” clubs and discos in the North of England throughout the 70s. When I say “alternative” here I don’t mean anything to do with “indie” or alternative rock – I mean “alternative” to going down the local Locarno and getting your head punched in by a guy wearing a kipper tie and brown flares. Quite common at the time apparently, and part of the reason for the scene’s success.
Much of this music was produced in the wake of Motown’s popularity, often on small local record labels. This obscurity was to later become part of the music’s appeal. Many of the labels and artists disappeared without trace after their initial releases, unloved and unwanted. Apparently, some of these records ended up in the UK after being used as ship’s ballast! This is ironic in the extreme considering the prices that rare and obscure discs would later fetch. Anyhow, sometime in the late 60s, groups of what might be called “mods” and “skinheads” (scare quotes ‘cos these are retrospective denominations – “young working-class guys” might be better) began to pick up on tracks like Frankie Valli’s “You’re Ready Now”, music that was already a few years old at the time. This popularity of this particular sound grew, and eventually coalesced into a scene, based around clubs like The Twisted Wheel in Manchester and The Blackpool Mecca. The early soul scenesters used to define themselves against what was popular in contemporary black music at the time – preferring the 60s sound to the emerging strains of funk etc - as well as the prog rock hippy excesses of their white middle class peers. Record collecting, and the obscurity and rarity of the discs dug up, became a big part of the emerging scene.
This music eventually became known as “Northern Soul” – this term apparently coined by Dave Godin (a man who deserved an OBE for services to black music in the UK) to describe what customers from the North of England used to pick up on their visits to his “Soul City” record shop in London’s Deptford. The place that really caught the wave of “Northern’s” rising popularity was soul mecca The Wigan Casino, which ran soul all-nighters from 1973 to 1981. The soul scene peaked at this time – the Casino had a mailing list of around 100,000 and was packed every week with soul fans from all over the country, though most of this took place below the radar of most of the media, which was London based and looked down on black music and its working-class fans.
You can see some great contemporary footage here (it's long but WELL WORTH WATCHING for thedancing footage and a bizzare timecapsule experience) – the dancing at Northern dos is still something to behold, but back in those days, when everyone was younger, fitter and helpfully fried to the gills on the speed, it all got pretty well gravity defying. A friend of mine who saw some of that footage commented that “well, breakdancing’s origins aren’t in New York after all – it appears to have been invented by working class guys with flares and huge moustaches in Wigan in the mid 70s”. What I like about this footage is that you can also get a sense of the amazing atmosphere and excitement that the scene must have generated. By all account Britain in the mid-70s was a pretty dismal bloody place. I can completely see why a young person would want to retreat into a speed fuelled soul paradise every weekend.
I was amused to discover all this history a few years after my own experiences raving the night away. What I and my mates at the time thought was so new and revolutionary had been done 15 years earlier, with cheaper drugs and better dancing. Regardless, there’s still something magical about the release that comes with music, drugs and nightlife – the sense of stepping into a completely different world. I think you can still see the imprints of this intensity in the way interviewees in that documentary talk about the scene.
I was first exposed to Northern before my raving years. I was working part time in B & Q (age 16 or so) with all of my wages going on records. One of my fellow workers attracted my attention by registering his dissatisfaction with a boring job by wearing overalls, wellies and a balaclava on the shop floor. We got chatting about music – I think most conversations with me were about music at that time, whether my interlocutors liked it or not – and discovered we both liked soul. I was more a 70 soul “rare groove” kind of guy at the time (that being the then trendy thing) whilst Tony’s tastes were shaped by his favoured mode of transport, the scooter. Scooterists tend to be like mods but just not as well dressed – and a few days later Tony and his mate Jay came round my house with a load of reissue reggae 12s, some Who LPs and some Kent Northern Soul compilations. We proceeded to drink my parents drink cabinet dry, I think I threw up, and somehow they managed to ride their scooters home. The only Northern track I can remember hearing that night was “The Magic Touch” by Melba Moore. A few years later, Tony (and Jay with his special appalling dancing) were my accomplices in checking out the early raves. This early drinkathon didn’t form a taste for life – though I’ve always dipped my feet into Northern over the years. I only went for it in a really big way 5 or 6 years ago. This was largely due to checking out the Capitol Soul Club at the Dome in Tufnell Park. This turned out to be the nightclub I’ve been to more than any other. Great atmosphere, brilliant music, and a complete focus on dancing. Weirdly, even though I was in my late 20s/early 30s, I still often felt like one of the youngest there. One of things I particularly like about the Northern scene is the way it seems to motivate people for life, and you still get people out in their 50s, perhaps high-kicking a bit less than they used to but still going for it.
Ultimately I think the real appeal of the music and the scene for me comes down to it’s simplicity - Great love songs. For dancing to. That’s it! There's something completely pure about that.
Anyway, without further ado, some tracks:
(Quick disclaimer: the selection that follows is really, really obvious and to a degree shows the lack of depth of my collection. It's not not extensive, and my CDs are few. I care not. This is an introduction and regardless, and they’re all brilliant records).
Frank Wilson - Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) In many ways, the ultimate Northern Soul record. Certainly the rarest. Only two copies are known to exist, and the last time it was sold it went for £15,000! Bet he was gutted when it came out on CD. It exemplifies a certain type of Northern sound, a stomping beat beloved on the dancefloor, soaring vocals. I love it.
The Showmen - Our Love Will Grow I first heard this record many years ago on Norman Jay's show on then pirate Kiss FM and have always loved it. Something about the dynamic build up, the chorus breakdown. Oh, words fail me. Download and dance round your room.
Melvin Davis - Find a Quiet Place Another fave.
The Fivesteps - Stay Close to Me A smoother, more classical soulful sound. I'd guess it dates from a few years after the others. Reminescent of groups like The Impressions. Kller track!
Feedback welcome folks. Add your own Northern tracks or memories. |
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