By: John Knight

John Knight — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 09:59:51 +0000

Northern Soul sprang out of the roots of the Mod movement in the mid to late 60’s. The Mod movement was all about exclusivity. Exclusivity in fashion, attitude, hedonism and music. Simply put it was about being a different kind of teenager. Dobie Gray’s ‘In crowd’ was an anthem to that exclusivity and about being different which was the key to the relation with the music and the dancing. To a Sixties teenager Soul Music was a sophisticated sound with lyrics that reflected the angst of falling in and out of love, something all teenagers experienced. However, the love of the music and the dancing was intrinsic to the exclusivity since dance also reflected that difference. Knowing the dance steps was as important as the clothes you wore. If you didn’t know the dance steps you were not part of the ‘in crowd’. As Soul music gained greater prominence in the public perception so the greater rarity of the music became more important as it guarded that exclusivity. As the mods grew older they were replaced by younger brothers and sisters who evolved the scene in the early Seventies. The Mod ethos became replaced by an ethos more purely dedicated to the music and the dancing with dress relegated to a less important aspect of being a Seventies Northern Soul follower. Yet it was still about exclusivity. For many working class teenagers in the depressing landscape of Northern England it was the great escape from the daily grind of boring and often low paid repetitive work. In that sense there might be a connection with the poverty experienced by Black counterparts in the USA. However, the adoption of slogans such as ‘Keep the Faith’ and so forth was a kind of ‘copied’ localized image making that had little to do with the struggles of Black Americans for most English teenagers. If anything, Northern Soul was entirely about emphasizing the perceived differences between the wealthy South and the poor, industrialized North. The vast majority of teens involved in the Northern Soul scene had a vague interest, at the very best of times, of the struggle of Black Americans. Much of what they perceived was less from the informative newspapers of the day and more from movies such as ‘Shaft’ and ‘Superfly’. From the Fifties onwards Britain saw the development of what perhaps can be best described as teenage tribalism commencing with the ‘Skiffle’ and ‘Teddy Boy’ cultures of the Rock & Roll era counterpointed by the Bohemians and Jazz Followers. The Mods and the ‘Rockers’ evolved in the Sixties, with the short lived ‘Hippies’ turning into the progressive rock sub-culture. Later on into the Seventies the Punk movement appeared. Once again more about teens affiliating to a tribal grouping rather than some overtly politcal movement. And so it has gone on with each subsequent generation of teens having their ‘own’ scene like the Goths, the Moshers, the Skaters and so so on. Teen ‘tribes’ always reflect their time. What makes the Northern Soul phenomena far more interesting is that it has endured. The basis for this has not been about fashion but about friendships forged in common love of a musical mystique. Friendships that have endured over a lifetime in many cases. If Northern Soul is about anything it is simply about that. To hard-core followers it is about the black plastic vinyl and its rarity. Interest in the artists themselves is secondary. At the venues it is all about what’s on the turntable with the dj officiating as some kind of priest or priestesses of the rare sounds. So is there more of a relationship with relgion? As a closure I fully expect to see the current Ibiza Clubbers reaching their mid forties and bringing about a summer of love ‘89 revival! Especially when their children have grown up and their mortgages are paid off. And yes, before you ask, I was young Mod into Soul music in 1966 and experienced the works, Twisted Wheel, record collecting, riding scooters, wearing the sharp suits, even dj-ing in my home town. As a young teacher I spoke with pupils who ‘kept the faith’ by going to the Wigan Casino and Blackpool Mecca. Later in life I returned to the Northern scene and know many people from the different eras of Northern Soul.

Comments on: Some points about the UK Northern Soul scene and US soul music.

By: John Knight