Northern Soul: Music,drugs And Subcultural Identity

[Codfromderby]

andy wilson-northern soul, music,drugs and subcultural identity, book for sale on amazon, is it any good ?. you can look at the first few pages and it reads like its a sociology students assignment, any one read it ?

[Guest proudlove]

andy wilson-northern soul, music,drugs and subcultural identity, book for sale on amazon, is it any good ?. you can look at the first few pages and it reads like its a sociology students assignment, any one read it ?

Professor Andy Wilson,Sheffield University,wrote the book as part of his thesis,so it will read as an assignment,but trust me if any body has the background to write the book its Andy,I have read parts of it,and it is hard going.ATB,Steve

[Codfromderby]

Professor Andy Wilson,Sheffield University,wrote the book "as part of his thesis",so it will read as an assignment,but trust me if any body has the background to write the book its Andy,I have read parts of it,and it is hard going.ATB,Steve

must have been a bloody big thesis, may buy the book for curiosity, or may spend the money on records, or may spend the money going to willington tommorow, or as normal may do all three !

[Citizen P]

Professor Andy Wilson,Sheffield University,wrote the book as part of his thesis,so it will read as an assignment,but trust me if any body has the background to write the book its Andy,I have read parts of it,and it is hard going.ATB,Steve

There's three words that you never thought that you would see on the same page eh Steve

Professor

Andy

Wilson

ATB

Tony

[Ian Dewhirst]

andy wilson-northern soul, music,drugs and subcultural identity, book for sale on amazon, is it any good ?. you can look at the first few pages and it reads like its a sociology students assignment, any one read it ?

That wouldn't be the notorious Andy Wilson from Harrogate would it? He of the long black leather coat, curly hair, constant dribble and uncompromising attitude would it................?

Ian D

[Guest]

That wouldn't be the notorious Andy Wilson from Harrogate would it? He of the long black leather coat, curly hair, constant dribble and uncompromising attitude would it................?

Ian D

Ian is that the same Andy Wilson you mentioned on dj.com: What would happen with the chemist shops then?

I suppose the comical thing that would happen is somewhere along the line, some of the bad lads must've reconnoitred all the different ways into Wigan and looked at the chemist shops that didn't look like they had the greatest security. There used to bunches from all around the country and you'd have people like Andy Wilson from Harrogate, Psycho from Leeds, whoever the nutter was from Nottingham. And whichever way they came in you could almost bet your life that a chemist would be broken into and done

A sound guy, if it is him, and it looks very much as if it is, looks like he's turned it around!

SS

[Guest]

must have been a bloody big thesis, may buy the book for curiosity, or may spend the money on records, or may spend the money going to willington tommorow, or as normal may do all three !

It reads easier after the introduction - when it moves to talk about the scene, the people etc - it's all familiar but from a different angle. It has an academic edge, but just ignored the words I didn't know and it still made sense... if you see what I mean? It is well researched and bang on with its honesty (I probably mean it tries to be balanced, doesn't take sides, tries to tell it like it was).

What ever happened to his side-kick - Steve Bonelli ?

[Guest proudlove]

That wouldn't be the notorious Andy Wilson from Harrogate would it? He of the long black leather coat, curly hair, constant dribble and uncompromising attitude would it................?

Ian D

Yup

[Guest proudlove]

Ian is that the same Andy Wilson you mentioned on dj.com: What would happen with the chemist shops then?

I suppose the comical thing that would happen is somewhere along the line, some of the bad lads must've reconnoitred all the different ways into Wigan and looked at the chemist shops that didn't look like they had the greatest security. There used to bunches from all around the country and you'd have people like Andy Wilson from Harrogate, Psycho from Leeds, whoever the nutter was from Nottingham. And whichever way they came in you could almost bet your life that a chemist would be broken into and done

A sound guy, if it is him, and it looks very much as if it is, looks like he's turned it around!

SS

It is the same Andy Wilson,spoke to him a couple of times on the phone recently,yes he has turned it round,but still talks about the past with relish!?!

[Paul Shirley]

quote ..........Ian is that the same Andy Wilson you mentioned on dj.com: What would happen with the chemist shops then?

I suppose the comical thing that would happen is somewhere along the line, some of the bad lads must've reconnoitred all the different ways into Wigan and looked at the chemist shops that didn't look like they had the greatest security. There used to bunches from all around the country and you'd have people like Andy Wilson from Harrogate, Psycho from Leeds, whoever the nutter was from Nottingham. And whichever way they came in you could almost bet your life that a chemist would be broken into and done

A sound guy, if it is him, and it looks very much as if it is, looks like he's turned it around!

yeah well i can tel you now they didant do any of the chemist shops in wigan mate because they was all done by wiganers and they ended up looking like a (liverpool off licence) in fact i know lads from wigan that used to take a ride out of town to the places you mention . we had plenty of our own nutters

[Ian Dewhirst]

It is the same Andy Wilson,spoke to him a couple of times on the phone recently,yes he has turned it round,but still talks about the past with relish!?!

Please give him my regards next time you talk to him. The last time I bumped into Andy was in a record shop in Camden in the 80's. He was always an intelligent guy as was Psycho from Leeds, who was my best mate in the 80's but I haven't seen hide nor hair of either of 'em since.........

Ian D

[Dave Rimmer]

Here's the review I did of the book for my site

Andrew Wilson - Northern Soul - Music, drugs, and subcultural identity - Willian Publishing - ISBN 978184322087

Originally written as a thesis for his PhD, Andrew Wilson, with this historical ethnography (And I had to look it up in the dictionary what a historical ethnography is !) has certainly covered his subject well. This is a heavyweight book ! Although the subject matter is related to the Northern Soul scene throughout because that's where Andrew drew his research from, this isn't a book about the Northern Soul scene, or even Soul music for that matter. It's a serious piece of research into the why's and wherefores of how and when , and what consequences, drugs have had on the cultural groupings of people who were into Northern in the Seventies. In all honesty, if you have been around the Northern scene for any length of time, you will recognise some of the scenarios discussed, perhaps not from personal experience, but you'll have heard of someone in those situations..There are light moments of humour as well, in particular, I love the quote where the author is interviewing a friend from the Seventies and asked him "When did you first take drugs ?", and the reply was "When you gave me some !". Classic ! Because this is really an academic piece of work it isn't cheap, and if you buy it through the Publisher it will cost you £40. However, if you email Andrew on a8drewson@googlemail.com, I'm sure he can come to some arrangement with you that will be a little bit less.

[Guest KEN-SOUL]

The drug culture at the nighters led not only to some very sad fatalities, but also led to people developing a dependency on drugs long after... at my last house, around 5 years ago a bloke came to my door enquiring where a certain dealer may be, as he needed his fix. The guy had a teashirt on and his arms were covered in northern soul tatoos. He blamed his time on the nighters circuit for his dependency...

There are a lot of very tragic cases originating with this culture. I wont forget the people who have gone from us as a result.

[Guest]

yeah well i can tel you now they didant do any of the chemist shops in wigan mate because they was all done by wiganers and they ended up looking like a (liverpool off licence) in fact i know lads from wigan that used to take a ride out of town to the places you mention . we had plenty of our own nutters

[Guest]

The drug culture at the nighters led not only to some very sad fatalities, but also led to people developing a dependency on drugs long after... at my last house, around 5 years ago a bloke came to my door enquiring where a certain dealer may be, as he needed his fix. The guy had a teashirt on and his arms were covered in northern soul tatoos. He blamed his time on the nighters circuit for his dependency...

There are a lot of very tragic cases originating with this culture. I wont forget the people who have gone from us as a result.

Ken, the book picks that up, it is neither celebratory or critical of drug use. At least that's how I see it. There's an attempt to understand why some people ended up with a bad habit and others with one not that wasn't so bad! I think it shows the culture in a good light: one with rules that some people went beyond.

[Guest]

Now we know why Andy has written about this!

Available here: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1339332

Abstract:

Examining the influences leading to the introduction of amphetamine controls in Britain, this article focuses upon the consequences of the Drugs (Prevention of Misuse) Act 1964, and subsequent legislation. These laws had a major impact upon earlier Mod and later Northern Soul Scene subcultures in Britain, because both held amphetamine use as a central component of their recreational activities.

The paper aims to provide greater understanding of the way criminalisation of amphetamines impacted on a user subculture that developed prior to criminalisation. While the 1964 Act effectively restricted supplies of amphetamines from the grey market, its failure to reduce demand created the market conditions for illicitly manufactured amphetamines. The changed legal setting also provided subcultural justification for the burglary of retail pharmacies which began soon after criminalisation. The response of the authorities to increased burglary of pharmacies had a particularly damaging impact on the amphetamine user culture of the post-mod Northern Soul Scene in the mid-1970s. The introduction of tighter storage regulations, stipulating the need to store Class B drugs in a secure metal cabinet with the opiates, led to a new cultural exchange between the amphetamine using chemist burglars and opiate user groups that involved the sale of the unwanted class A drugs, including exchanging opiates for amphetamine powder. The resulting spread of intravenous drug use on the Northern Scene, introduced a number of negative health impacts including the spread of hepatitis and drug related deaths.

[Paul Shirley]

The drug culture at the nighters led not only to some very sad fatalities, but also led to people developing a dependency on drugs long after... at my last house, around 5 years ago a bloke came to my door enquiring where a certain dealer may be, as he needed his fix. The guy had a teashirt on and his arms were covered in northern soul tatoos. He blamed his time on the nighters circuit for his dependency...

There are a lot of very tragic cases originating with this culture. I wont forget the people who have gone from us as a result.

your bang on there ken with everything you have said, there are things i find hard to talk about even now relating to back then . i would allso have to agree with that abstract sam its very intoresting but most of all very true

Edited May 18, 2009 by steptoe

[Guest]

Now we know why Andy has written about this!

Available here: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1339332

I should have added: if you click on download the next page gives five sites for the article to be downloaded from: any will do, they are all free (I used the first one (SSRN New York)). It comes in pdf format so you'll need the free reader if you haven't got it already (XP is https://get.adobe.com/uk/reader/?promoid=DAFYK other OS (vista etc) https://get.adobe.com/uk/reader/otherversions/

Sorry if that's all obvious and well know!

[Guest sarahleen]

andy wilson-northern soul, music,drugs and subcultural identity, book for sale on amazon, is it any good ?. you can look at the first few pages and it reads like its a sociology students assignment, any one read it ?

im reading this at the moment . my local library had to order it from a library in london but it only cost me £1.50 to do this .

im just over half way through it, its ok and imho very accurate though the era he describes(the 70s mostly) is just before my time (c.1980). some of it i found hard going , but i still find it readable and i understand its language even though i didnt have much of an education

as for buying it, why not order it from your local library too

[Guest proudlove]

Please give him my regards next time you talk to him. The last time I bumped into Andy was in a record shop in Camden in the 80's. He was always an intelligent guy as was Psycho from Leeds, who was my best mate in the 80's but I haven't seen hide nor hair of either of 'em since.........

Ian D

I shall pass on your best to Andy,may be a few weeks because I dont have his number,but my best man(got married again couple of years ago)Paul Widnall,also from Harrogate speaks to him very regularly.Paul spoke to him this morning re my posts about his book but has just gone to France for a few weeks to sort his head out.All the Best, Steve