As a North American (and lifelong Soul fan) I had never heard of "Northern Soul" until the odd reference would pop up in KZfaq comments (and I'm ethnically English!). This always puzzled me. This scene didn't really exist over here. We owe these English fans a debt as through their efforts many obscure (and great) songs were revived for new audiences. I just watched the movie Northern Soul last night and found many many songs I'll be listening to for years (none hits). It's interesting that this music was developed to a great deal in the northern U.S. industrial cities and found new fertile ground for audiences in northern British industrial cities.

is northern soul making a comeback ? never died out m8 keep the faith

Hey Pete! I was a cabinet maker and there wasn't one miner in our posse AND there were plenty of girls too! :) I can't wait for this to hit the screens after watching most of the 'dance clubs' Elaine and her team have put on for the 'kids' (yes Elaine they are) to give the film a real air of authenticity.

Well done Elaine, let people see all your hard work and how great the dancers are ktf k x

you just made me smile there deffo no mines in Cleethorpe as l went myself thanks for the smile

It was because northerners had hard lives, few prospects except factory work. So they just lived for the weekend where they could dance on dexys and bombers all night. I remember well, bands influenced by Northern Soul, like Dexy's Midnight Runners - and Marc Almond - so it was good to see Elaine's film and get the back ground and the references.

It’s now the biggest scene on the planet with a massive following in Japan.

Love the way he said it was a male scene ! An affront to all us girls out there.Hard to believe he had any appreciation of the scene at all.

good post, missed it this morning...

So whilst you lable drwatson's comments as 'snobbery' etc - as an 'older' soul fan myself I completely understand his pov. Having said that and to be fair to 'younger' NS fans such as yourself - I sense that you possibly share the same passion and love for the music that we did in our day. That's great and it's good to see NS is still alive (and thriving) to this day! But it's an absolute tragedy that there's little appreciation for how NS first began and of the people who were part of that.

I would hazard a guess that the film will premiere in September or October, given that the accompanying book is being published in the first week of September. I've pre-ordered my copy already!

I always struggled to find dance floor space at the Casino...all those Wigan miners, leaving their pickaxes, Davy lamps and pies everywhere, coming off a hard shift underground to dance all-night,

Totally agree Dave! As an early teen and devoted soul fan I clearly recall hearing about legendary venues such as 'Oldhll Plaza', 'Up the Junction' Crewe and the 'Golden Torch Ballroom' Stoke from mine and my brother's best friend's older brother. He was a post-mod/smoothie and greatly influenced our taste for ("uptempo") soul music - it wasn't even referred to as NS back then! He was a very smart, trendy guy (studying to be a lawyer) and our 'hero'. Waterman's 'miner' reference is total BS!!

Can' wait to see the film. The music is awesome. KTF. Saw a clip from a programme 'Something Else'. Does anybody know if they are showing it on the Beeb soon. Would love to see it.

When is the bloody film coming out? Been waiting for ever.

To conclude - drwatson is simply stating that any historical 'look-back' carries much more authority and gravitas if the people who were actually there at the time are used as references. Sources such as Pete Waterman, Mick Hucknall, Elaine Constantine et al WERE NOT - but because they are (well?) known their opinions are considered as 'factual' and binding. Moreover, these opinions are largely based on a totally different period in the NS 'story' - which greatly differs to its true origins.

@AskfPJVE - The story of the early NS scene is the history of my own youth and that of my friends. We resent the way it has been distorted by the "Post-Footsie Generation" to airbrush the facts to suit their own limited experiences. Most of us older fans were well into Motown and wider aspects of Soul music - that's to say when the North had a genuine SOUL scene, not just a pathetic "Oooh, I went to Wigan - play Judy Street! (KTF)" nostalgia society.

It may not have seemed a 'demise' to you - but it definitely was for NS fans of my generation. (and this happened long before Wigan closed!) In fact, it all started to die the moment Wigan Casino opened its doors to the TV cameras. I was there that night and it was absolutely horrid - I and many others I knew never went to Wigan again. For us, NS had lost its true 'underground' status and entered the mainstream. What word would you use to describe seeing something you loved & treasured end?

good question yogi, when is it coming out?????????

Mmmm - whilst I appreciate some of your points, in general I can't agree with your overall argument. To repeat, NS was never the same post-75 and DID demise for many of us original NS fans who were lucky enough to experience the best time for NS (early 70's). I and my brother, Dr Watson and countless others we knew left the scene completely between 75-76 as the new 'breed' of fans jumped on the bandwagon. That's fact. I'm happy that you found NS - but believe me, you missed the best of it!

just had to view this again ,and they never mentioned the torch where it all began

Plenty of girls from Blackpool- still see most of them and not a miner in sight. !

Easy to see why acid house took off in the way it did up there...

The point drwatson is (quite rightly) making is that a LOT of the focus on NS is based on Wigan post '75. (when many of the true NS fans had left). The NS scene we left behind was full of 'tourists/sightseers' who came along to see what all the fuss was about and had little (real) love or knowledge of the music and its origins. Thankfully, many of these people didn't stay long - but it's very frustrating to hear their distorted and unrealistic comments on NS used as fact by the popular press.

Was at the Casino in 1977 and 1978. I did not like the way Waterman hijacked the interview. he was not accurate saying it was for men only to dance. Within our group from Keighley, there were women, as there were from towns and cities throughout the UK, Halifax, Bradford, Leeds, Manchester, Leeds, ect, ect.

me paul agree mate i went 77 [rhyl youth club] missed the cameras but my older brother said it quenched the scene nowadays its tourist spray tans scowlers[mid 30 women ]and gossipers [i was with a rochdale girl met at prestatyn heavy bloody metal fan i used to say the scenes changed when i went it was working class bouncers football hools brickies miners]she said its not tough scene its middle classs clueless and no idea time machine ktf to the itk lot

In support of drwatson - I think you are slightly missing the point. NS was an almost totally 'undergound' culture - with devoted 'soul' fans that had moved on from the mostly commercial Tamla-Motown, Stax/Altlantic etc tracks of the time. As a result many of us were overly protective of this 'scene' and fought hard to keep it 'underground'. This all changed with Wigan - which whilst great in its first year (Sept '73-74) brought unwanted (media) attention and led to the 'real' NS scene's demise

Yep, that just about covers it

Bizarre, on one hand you've got Pete Waterman waxing lyrical about the old soul days next to a woman who WAS there explaining the need for more soul in music next to Pete Waterman who like the Cowell of his time was plenty responsible for removing us from that very soul in the first place, stick to your toy trains hack

Hmm

dave sulas with respect how would you know how waterman looked like lol behave a mate of mine casino regular said he,d recognised who went bollocks 35 years later ...he was right about the mining ,working class scene when i went late 70,s it was ktf

Oh right so I must have being hallucinating ( possible wink wink lol ) when I saw all those gorgeous girls at dayers and nighters,

soul twins got it spot on!! i was also there when the cameras came in and i have to agree from then on it lost its underground status , today its all about wanting to be someone a face on that scene , hence this shit books films training dancers lol its lost its true values , so Elaine when you first got in to it 1976 makes you just 10 or 11 years old

Pete Waterman was never a "Northern Soul DJ" - he was an ordinary pop DJ in Coventry who played the occasional Northern tune, mainly bootlegs and whatever UK releases were available, as many ordinary pop DJs did. True, he was a bit of a Soul fan - mainly commercial Philly and Motown, but had no influence on the underground Northern club scene whatsoever and knows no more than he read in B&S mag. Elaine Constantine knows even less as she was far too young to have been around.

Avo surry,dunna fret bite folk not undstandin Stokie dialect,conna elp it,arn kno wot the docs onna bite n arv gorra lorra respect fer im theer,ayz got rayt gud knoledge me duck. Thee iz wot thee iz, arn tue n proud o mar eritage n wer arn comm frum n also proud o mar soul background since '72. Thee cun tek the mon ite o Stoke but ya conna tek the Stoke ite the mon.

Blacks and whites dancing,enough said...........groundbreaking music,then Ska,love it.......Im white.....is it important?

It was about intergration.not men and women,Black and White......Northerners,dont preach.......read up mate.I was there.be advised.Not sure what your on about.

pete waterman never said nothing about the places in the west midlands and staffordshire there again he comes from a place were you never hear about northern soul that shit hole coventry so whats he know about it and that miners kack he is on about i have never seen any miners at northern nights , There was lots here in west mids and staffs they were in bed at 10 30 pist up on banks s mild and northern soul is for every one not stereo types [ miners]] soulin since 1973

why does an underground scene need exploiting with yet another crap film,pretty much as shane meddows did with that other academy award winning this is England,haha unadulterated shite,