The Faith And Soul Of Northern Soul Music

Northern Soul is a music and dance movement that emerged in Northern England and the Midlands in the 1960s and 1970s. It developed from the British mod scene and is characterised by a particular style of Black American soul music with a heavy beat and fast tempo. Northern Soul fans, mostly working-class men and women, would travel long distances to dance all night to rare vinyl imported from the US. The scene was associated with amphetamine use, athletic dance styles, and distinctive fashion. The phrase Keep the Faith, usually accompanied by an illustration of a clenched fist, became a Northern Soul staple. It is thought to have originated from music journalist and record store owner Dave Godin, who used it to sign off his column in Blues & Soul magazine.

Northern Soul's origins

Northern Soul emerged in the late 1960s in Northern England and the Midlands, growing out of the British mod scene. It was a music and dance movement based on a particular style of Black American soul music with a heavy beat and fast tempo. Northern Soul fans were mostly young working-class men and women who, after a week's work in the mines, steelworks and factories, would travel, sometimes hundreds of miles, to dance the night away.

The Northern Soul movement is said to have originated in clubs such as Manchester's Twisted Wheel, The Torch in Tunstall, Wigan Casino, and Blackpool Mecca. These venues helped champion the movement and are remembered as some of the most influential in the scene. The music was characterised by a heavy, syncopated beat and fast tempo, usually combined with soulful vocals. The athletic dancing that accompanied the music included spins, flips, karate kicks, and backdrops, inspired by the stage performances of American soul acts such as Little Anthony and the Imperials and Jackie Wilson.

The term "Northern Soul" was coined by music journalist and record store owner Dave Godin, who first noticed an influx of people travelling to London in pursuit of obscure soul tracks. Godin's shop and music label, Soul City, was the first record shop outside of the US dedicated exclusively to soul music. He observed that Northerners were seeking up-tempo, danceable mid-60s soul that wasn't being played on the radio or featured on BBC's Top of the Pops.

The connection between Black American soul music of the 1960s and the primarily white working-class youth of Northern England might seem arbitrary. However, the link may lie in the heartfelt lyrics of the music. Soul explores matters of the heart, lost loves, and burning desires. The juxtaposition between melancholic lyrics and an up-tempo beat is what makes Northern Soul unique.

Northern Soul fans sought out rare and obscure records, often produced in small quantities or only as demos, making them difficult to come by. The DJs who played at Northern Soul venues had a curatorial role, unearthing forgotten soul tracks. The limited supply of these records made them expensive and highly sought-after. The search for these rare recordings also created a competitive atmosphere among the community's DJs, who would sometimes mask the artist and title on record sleeves to keep certain songs to themselves.

Northern Soul, with its passionate fans, distinctive fashion, and energetic dance moves, became a powerful youth movement in the 1970s, providing an escape from the changing social landscape and the lingering poverty of post-war Britain.

Northern Soul's music

Northern Soul is a music and dance movement that emerged in Northern England and the Midlands in the 1960s and 1970s. It developed from the British mod scene and was based on a particular style of Black American soul music with a heavy beat and fast tempo. Northern Soul fans were mostly young working-class men and women who, after a week's work in factories and mines, travelled, sometimes hundreds of miles, to dance the night away.

The Northern Soul movement grew out of a love for obscure and rare American soul music. The records they played were already dated when they became popular on the scene. Most Northern Soul records are from the 1960s and were produced in small quantities, sometimes only as demos, which made them hard to come by. Northern Soul fans sought out rare singles by artists such as Holly Maxwell, Gene Chandler, Barbara Acklin, the Casualeers, and Jimmy Burns.

The music style most associated with Northern Soul is the heavy syncopated beat and fast tempo of the mid-1960s Motown Records, usually combined with soulful vocals. These types of records, known as "stompers" on the scene, suited the athletic dancing that was prevalent. Notable examples include Tony Clarke's "Landslide" and Gloria Jones' "Tainted Love".

The Northern Soul scene was also associated with particular dance styles and fashions. The dancing was very athletic and energetic, featuring spins, flips, karate kicks and backdrops. It was inspired by the stage performances of American soul acts such as Little Anthony and the Imperials and Jackie Wilson, as well as martial arts moves from Bruce Lee films.

The Northern Soul movement is cited by many as a significant step towards the creation of contemporary club culture and the superstar DJ culture of the 2000s. Northern Soul DJs built up a following by satisfying the crowd's desire for music they couldn't hear anywhere else. The competitiveness among DJs to unearth in-demand sounds led them to cover up the labels on their records, giving rise to the modern white label pressing.

The distinctive dance moves that accompany the music are an essential part of Northern Soul. The dance floors of Wigan Casino and Blackpool Mecca, two influential venues of the scene, saw incredibly fast footwork, drops, spins and high kicks. The male dancers were described as "peacocks", wearing the best clothes and "strutting their stuff".

The Northern Soul scene has a particular slogan and symbol associated with it: "Keep The Faith", usually accompanied by an illustration of a clenched fist. The phrase became synonymous with Northern Soul in the UK and was coined by music journalist and record store owner Dave Godin, who used it to sign off his column in Blues & Soul magazine. In the US, the slogan had long been associated with the Civil Rights and Black Power movements.

Today, the Northern Soul scene is still alive and well, with club nights and events taking place across the UK and the world. While the original fans remain loyal to the traditional ways of the scene, newcomers are also keeping the movement alive, ensuring its relevance for years to come.

Northern Soul's dance

Northern Soul dancing is characterised by incredibly fast footwork, athletic movements, drops, spins, kicks, and flips—reminiscent of breakdancing. The dance style was influenced by the stage performances of American soul acts and martial arts moves from Bruce Lee films. The male dancers were described as "peacocks", strutting in their finest clothes.

The dance style evolved as the favoured beat of the Northern Soul movement became more up-tempo and frantic in the early 1970s. The dancing was energetic and athletic, reflecting the fast pace and heavy beat of the music. The dancers' clothing also became more loose-fitting and practical to accommodate the intricate and energetic dance moves.

The dance floors of venues like Wigan Casino and Blackpool Mecca were fuelled by drugs, particularly amphetamines, which allowed dancers to stay awake and move for hours. The combination of the fast-paced music and drug-induced energy created a unique and intense atmosphere on the dance floor.

The annual "World Northern Soul Dance Championship" is held in Blackpool every November, celebrating and preserving this distinctive dance style that emerged from the Northern Soul movement.

Northern Soul's fashion

Northern Soul emerged from the British mod scene in the late 1960s to early 1970s in Northern England and the Midlands. It is a music and dance movement characterised by a heavy beat and fast tempo, with influences from Black American soul music. Northern Soul fashion was largely dictated by the need for clothing that could be danced in, all night, in packed and sweaty clubs.

Early Northern Soul fashion drew heavily from the classic mod style, with button-down Ben Sherman shirts, blazers with centre vents and unusual numbers of buttons, brogue shoes, and Levi's shrink-to-fit skinny jeans. However, as the dancing became faster and more athletic, the clothes became looser and more comfortable. Men wore light and loose-fitting, high-waisted, ultra-baggy Oxford trousers with tight, sporty vests. Women wore full circle skirts that fell to the ankle, which would swirl and exaggerate the fast and skilled movements of the dance. Hair was often cropped short.

The Northern Soul movement also had its own symbols and signifiers. Sew-on patches on vests or jackets would show club night allegiance, such as the clenched raised fist symbol borrowed from the 1960s Black Power movement in the United States.

Northern Soul's influence

Northern Soul emerged in the late 1960s to early 1970s in Northern England and the Midlands, growing out of the British mod scene. It was a music and dance movement characterised by a particular style of Black American soul music with a heavy beat and fast tempo. Northern Soul fans were mostly young working-class men and women who, after a week's work in the mines, steelworks and factories, travelled, sometimes hundreds of miles, to dance the night away.

The Northern Soul movement notably influenced DJ culture and musicians. Northern Soul is cited by many as being a significant step towards the creation of contemporary club culture and the superstar DJ culture of the 2000s. Northern Soul DJs built up a following by satisfying the crowd's desire for music they couldn't hear anywhere else. The competitiveness between DJs to unearth in-demand sounds led them to cover up the labels on their records, giving rise to the modern white-label pressing.

Northern Soul was the first music scene to provide the British charts with records that sold entirely on the strength of club play. A technique employed by Northern Soul DJs in common with their later counterparts was the sequencing of records to create euphoric highs and lows for the crowd. The movement created a network of clubs, DJs, record collectors and dealers in the UK, influencing club culture in the UK.

Northern Soul also influenced musicians, with several notable artists incorporating elements of the genre into their music. Soft Cell, for example, had chart success in the early 1980s with covers of two popular Northern Soul songs: "Tainted Love" and "What?". The Fall's 1981 song "Lie Dream of a Casino Soul" is also about the Northern Soul scene. More recently, the music of Yorkshire singer John Newman has been described as 'Northern Soul', including his No. 1 hit "Love Me Again".

Frequently asked questions