Northern Soul Rants The phenomenon known today as 'Northern Soul' was originally a mixture of many things. It has grown out of an underground youth culture, that had prevailing conditions of full employment, so was optimistic, self reliant and rebellious. They - the Mods - had money to spend on entertainment, fashion and records. They followed pop music, groups such as the Beatles, The Stones, The Who and The Small Faces. These were the Mods, Mod groups. In London the Kings Road was a gathering place for the smart Mod set. Dance halls where packed with people stamping the floor to Dave Clark's 'Bits and Pieces' The TV program 'Ready Steady Go' was never missed on a Friday night at 7pm. Unknowns like the young David Bowie were shown on news program's epitomising the rebellious spirit and fashion conscious youth culture. Most Mods followed 'soul' music and built a clique 'In Crowd' culture around it. In Manchester and other Northern Cities the youth followed the influences from the London scene. The white UK groups where copying American RnB and Blues artists. Groups such as John Mayalls Blues Breakers Georgie Fame and The Blue Flames and Alexis Korners Blues Incorporated etc. were following the great Bluesmen and The Spencer Davis group were doing covers of Brenda Holloway songs (Every Little Bit Hurts) The Beatles had made many versions of Motown songs and of course Chuck Berry's too. The Rolling Stones were constantly covering USA RnB releases. Soon, the Mods being interested and very loyal to many of these bands started to read the sleeve notes and small writing on the record labels to find the original recording artists or song writers. This lead to a new movement, especially in the Manchester area where at clubs like the Twisted Wheel, pressure on the DJ's came from requests for original artists to be played. This coincided with Roger Eagle the DJ's love of Black American music, only the original artists, were required, and the purist soul movement began. It should be remembered that this was an active and vibrant 'scene' everything in the soul scene was happening then; the music was being released weekly. It was current and the Manchester soul scene new it and was its uk centre. Unlike today's Northern Soul Scene, this was the originator, it was vibrant active and new, and hardly retrospective; it was just 'soul'. Northern soul started at the end period of the Twisted Wheel's history, when DJ's such as Les Cockall predominated, the others had left. Taking their private record collections with them. Northern soul looks back to the 1960's seeking out 'new' unreleased or unplayed recordings. The original scene did start off the collectors and the rare record buffs, but this was because soul music in its peak period was hard to find (most 45's had to be specifically ordered, or imported from USA deleted Auction lists). Today the 'Northern Soul' scene for the most part, resembles a 'cargo cult' in which only rare is recognised as good. This was not so at the time. Motown and Stax and others where originals at the time and played upon merit not because they where rare. Upon The later Northern Soul Scene the mainstream records that made the original scene are hardly ever heard, the Stax the Motown the Rnb etc. The music and artists that made it all begin are virtually ignored! Is it because these are not rare enough. It would appear that rarity for its own (or the DJ's sake) is the only criteria of this current backwards facing scene. Totally unlike the one in the sixties which of course was modern at that time, as it was intrinsically linked to the Mod movement - Mods where modern, the latest the coolest the greatest. The most irritating side of 'Northern Soul' is its arrogant option to totally ignore great Soul artists that came along in each decade since the 60's. They seek out obscure tracks mainly sixties, some seventies, and other rarities, that’s the objective: rarities that the DJ's can hype and gain notoriety, even profit from sales. Artists such as Al Green, Ann Peebles, and the like, right up to Prince, never appear on their favoured playlists; for example: Kev Roberts Northern Soul Top 500. If the legacy of the original Soul scene had carried on as it was in the mid sixties, all great artists and tracks would have been equally embraced, great soul music can't be ignored by a genuine soul loving scheme. We suggest it has been usurped by folks who favour their own self grandisment, over the music! You might call us arrogant old fuckers, and we are, we were the originals! Its annoying when 'Johnnie come lateley's say the wrong things like:- Russ Winstanley, who stated in an article in the Manchester Evening News (2005) That, he, being the DJ at the Wigan Casino started off Northern Soul and was teaching children in the area 'their' musical heritage!!! A letter in the paper the following week from Mr P. Roman a Wheel original attendee, put the record straight when he said it all began for him at the Twisted Wheel in 1964 when Roger Eagle played In The Midnight Hour by Wilson Pickett. And that Russ had it wrong the Northern Soul scene started in Manchester in the early 60's not in Wigan a decade later. Lots of books have been coming out about 'Northern Soul' many people talking about 'then' could not have been there, or at a different time or a different 'set' within that originating 'in crowd'. In the book Too Darn Soulful by David Nowell, someone comments that the Blue Note was only Ska and Reggae etc! It was, but in its final closing down times, after 1969, so proving that these people came on the scene long after the peak times. This book does inform about those early days and does explain the general scene and recognises Roger Eagle as the first great soul (blues) DJ but it gets lots of things wrong. It was Roger eagle who played great tracks 1967 at the Blue Note; ie 'CHANGES' by Johnnie Taylor a 'B ' side. Other great Stax stuff, in fact the cream of soul was known to be played only at the Blue Note due to Rogers personal collection. Other comments in the same book; like we only got USA imports in 1969 is total crap - Roger imported 45's years before! Subsequent Blue Note DJ 's followed in the same vein with 'Everybeat Of My Heart' and quite a few others. Dave Lomas (Blue Note DJ) played 'Tainted Love' there long, long before the other soul joints had heard it. On page 39 (Boogaloo Party) a Guy called 'Rob' supposedly found Major Lance! - when we had already found him years before (He did cut a track called I'm So lost) but even the Manchester group Wayne Fontana and The Mind Benders, knew of him and had copied Major Lances Um Um Um Um Um) we had long before danced at the Wheel all nighters to 'Rhythm' and 'The Monkey Time', these people were simply re-discovering sounds we had danced to and played, they came into a scene that, they then re-built, cheekily, claiming originality! Later they hyped up records to make money leading to the rise of the Wigan Casino and the rarity of newly discovered or unearthed again sixties soul recordings- a trend continuing right up to today. We had retired from the scene. The crowd at the Wheel from 63 to 68 we were the originals, those after that time started the Northern Soul Scene but it was not the same as those original days it could never have captured the feeling of spontaneous originality as it happened with weekly soul track releases. Today most of those that went then tend not to admit it as they are often successful business people, and have families with their own children, even grandchildren, and don't talk about those times, as they are associated with drug abuse. Looking back to those days, it was 95% of the Wheelers who took amphetamines to dance all night. Enough said! Often at summer weekends in 67 we would go to the Blackpool Wheel (hundreds of us on scooters). On one occasion I could not get any 'gear' (stuff - amphetamine) and I remember looking coldly at my friends, listening to their racing gibberish talk, frantic dancing and decided I had had enough. I stopped right then and never took another pill. I became a 'sober' Wheel goer and of course not able to dance and keep going all night I joined the sad crew who went to the Saturday night early session - At least I could still see my soul idols. I used to play a few records at these sessions giving Paul Davies a spell. I became the DJ at the Blue Note (for £3 a night) and eventually persuaded Dave Lomas to join me (I was pleased about this as it weaned him of 'speed' as I was the guilty party that got him to take the 'gear' in the first place after bringing him to his first all nighter at the Wheel. For many, many years the people I knew that went to the Wheel between 64-68 tended only to admit it amongst themselves. These days it is apparently, becoming a great thing to have done and been involved with, but at the time it meant taking a lot of 'speed'. Most often today it is those that came after the greatest period - the Mod days at the Wheel, who now crow about it - but most of them only came in at the tail end, we had already found most of the great original sounds and artists, however these too became followers and continued something that we had grown out of. But most of us never lost or love of soul music. Indeed we were; Too Darn Soulful or what. To criticise this book appears harsh, but times events etc seem to be inaccurate. Especially the early chapters about the Wheel. In fact there were two phases in the early days of the soul scene in Manchester. 63 - 68 the Mod influence period and in that period many records since 'discovered; by the later 'Northern Soul aficionados' had in fact been discovered already. The people in this part of the book appear to have come upon the scene as a new intake after 1968 , when by that time and into 1969 the originals had given it up. The Mods regarded themselves as the 'In Crowd' always dressed smartly, took pride and were distinguished in their appearance, whilst the Northern Soul lot became very scruffy. All that said, there is no doubt that the scene began in Manchester has continued and grown, it has even begun to embrace new artists and sounds (a good trend). They have uncovered some gems too! Possibly one day, maybe with the help of this website the originating artists that kick started the Soul music movement, those who are recognised as icons today by the general public may get the recognition they so rightly deserve from the current 'Northern Soul' movement. Its ironic that this 'modern' scene mostly ignores them, whilst the general public recognise them, when in our day it was a complete reversal. For a list and song details of the original scenes top 500 tracks see- link to intro page
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