25 Facts About Northern soul

Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged in Northern England and the English Midlands in the late 1960s from the British mod scene, based on a particular style of Black American soul music, especially from the mid-1960s, with a heavy beat and fast tempo or American soul music from northern cities such as Detroit, Chicago and others.

Northern soul is associated with particular dance styles and fashions that grew out of the underground rhythm and soul scene of the late 1960s at venues such as the Twisted Wheel in Manchester.

Music style most associated with northern soul is the heavy, syncopated beat and fast tempo of mid-1960s Motown Records, which was usually combined with soulful vocals.

Northern soul had several labels in addition to the Tamla and Motown.

Northern soul reached the peak of its popularity in the mid- to late-1970s.

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Contemporary black American soul was changing with the advent of funk, disco and jazz-funk, and the supply of recordings with the fast-paced northern soul sound began to dwindle rapidly.

Northern soul plays three Northern soul hits, often at the request of his listeners.

Slower, less-danceable Northern soul records were often played, such as Barbara Mills' "Queen of Fools" and the Mob's "I Dig Everything About You".

Some northern soul records were so rare that only a handful of copies were known to exist, so specific DJs and clubs became associated with particular records that were almost exclusively in their own playlists.

Later on, a number of UK record labels capitalised on the booming popularity of northern soul and negotiated licences for certain popular records from the copyright holders and reissue them as new 45s or compilation LPs.

Notoriety of DJs on the northern soul scene was enhanced by the possession of rare records, but exclusivity was not enough on its own, and the records had to conform to a certain musical style and gain acceptance on the dance floor.

Northern soul collectors seek rare singles by artists such as Holly Maxwell, Gene Chandler, Barbara Acklin, the Casualeers, and Jimmy Burns.

Northern soul movement spawned an active market in reissuing older soul recordings in the UK, several of which became popular enough to actually make the UK charts several years after their original issue.

Trend continued into the 1970s, as many songs from the 1960s that were revived on the northern soul scene were reissued by their original labels and became UK top 40 hits.

Early Northern soul fashion included strong elements of the classic mod style, such as button-down Ben Sherman shirts, blazers with centre vents and unusual numbers of buttons, trickers and brogue shoes and shrink-to-fit Levi's jeans.

Later, northern soul dancers started to wear light and loose-fitting clothing for reasons of practicality.

Wilson argues that, although many did not use drugs, their usage was heavily ingrained in the fast-paced culture of the northern soul scene, contributing to participants' ability to stay up all night dancing.

Northern soul scene has had a notable influence on DJ culture, certain musicians, and has been portrayed in literature, theatre and cinema.

Northern soul movement is cited by many as being a significant step towards the creation of contemporary club culture and of the superstar DJ culture of the 2000s.

Many argue that Northern soul was instrumental in creating a network of clubs, DJs, record collectors and dealers in the UK, and was the first music scene to provide the British charts with records that sold entirely on the strength of club play.

DJ personalities and their followers involved in the original Northern soul movement went on to become important figures in the house and dance music scenes.

Northern soul started a dedicated Northern soul radio programme, called Soul Time, in 1984, which continues and is believed to be the longest running Soul program in the World.

Former Wigan Casino DJ, Dave Evison, presents the "Rolling Back the Carpets" Northern Soul show every Sunday from 5pm til 7pm in the UK on The Hitmix 107.

Northern soul subculture has spawned a number of memoirs, novels and short stories.

Films set in the Northern soul scene include 2010's Soulboy and 2014's Northern Soul.

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