Acrobatics Gymnastics

[Bazza]

old blokes doing Acrobatics and Gymnastics on the floor make me cringe, and its usually them that can't flippin dance anyway,I think they look pathetic ,as bad as the fancy dress they usually wear

Bazza

[Peter99]

old blokes doing Acrobatics and Gymnastics on the floor make me cringe, and its usually them that can't flippin dance anyway,I think they look pathetic ,as bad as the fancy dress they usually wear

Bazza

I've never really liked it Bazza - probably cos I couldn't do em and never did. I was pleased when the majority of people packed in doing em - 30 odd years ago.

[Bazza]

I've never really liked it Bazza - probably cos I couldn't do em and never did. I was pleased when the majority of people packed in doing em - 30 odd years ago.

I was never big on it in days of old Peter but now it they just look daft

Bazza

[Mark S]

Back in the day I thought it was quite cool but now 40/50 odd year olds just look like Uncle Knobhead at a wedding .

Edited October 24, 2012 by Mark S

[Guest manusf3a]

And they finish it off with a mr wobbly spin that flys off the spot and mows into what ever is in its path like a combine harvester ,lovely.nothing like a pile of upended tables,drinks and folk on their arse.

[Pete S]

Was great when I was getting into Northern, late 74 through 1975, plus I was pretty good at it. After that, pretty naff, especially when you see people on This England doing it, it had died out long before then but now the impression people get is that it was still going strong at Wigan when that was filmed, but most of those people on that film were not regulars and you rarely saw anything like that, apart from in the Bolton corner :-). Only spinning was still popular at the time.

[Bazza]

And they finish it off with a mr wobbly spin that flys off the spot and mows into what ever is in its path like a combine harvester ,lovely.nothing like a pile of upended tables,drinks and folk on their arse.

Yep,dead rite

Bazza

[Bazza]

Was great when I was getting into Northern, late 74 through 1975, plus I was pretty good at it. After that, pretty naff, especially when you see people on This England doing it, it had died out long before then but now the impression people get is that it was still going strong at Wigan when that was filmed, but most of those people on that film were not regulars and you rarely saw anything like that, apart from in the Bolton corner :-). Only spinning was still popular at the time.

Pete when ever you see a clip of "Northern Soul" dancing it's always Acrobatics gymnastics ,but in reality ,that was not the case ,yes a few did it ,but it was few and far between really

Bazza

[Peter99]

There used to be a kid where I lived who probably did two all niters with us - we wouldn't take him after the first two cos he showed us up. Anyway, he was the king of northern soul acrobatic dancing at all the local town hall discos - in fairness to him he wasn't a bad dancer. He was a proper div though - a real plastic. Used to take a few records with him and get the disco dj to play em. From memory it was stuff like The Flasher, Footsee and some shite motown.

His mum who used to frequent the local pubs and clubs used to start every conversation with "ooh, you should see our John northern soul dancing. He's won some prizes you know and the big boys are going to take him to some real northern soul clubs". Yeah, like fcuk we were!

LOL

Peter

[Guest manusf3a]

Was great when I was getting into Northern, late 74 through 1975, plus I was pretty good at it. After that, pretty naff, especially when you see people on This England doing it, it had died out long before then but now the impression people get is that it was still going strong at Wigan when that was filmed, but most of those people on that film were not regulars and you rarely saw anything like that, apart from in the Bolton corner :-). Only spinning was still popular at the time.

And there wasnt really all that many who could spin good either ,absolutely right about peoples impressions who see that "This England",footage.

[Bazza]

I think ,its the lads,that were not around 35 -40 years ago see these clips and think that's how it was,and they try and copy it,but they are wannabee neva was sad sods,Im a dynosaur,but I do know lol

Bazza

[Guest manusf3a]

There used to be a kid where I lived who probably did two all niters with us - we wouldn't take him after the first two cos he showed us up. Anyway, he was the king of northern soul acrobatic dancing at all the local town hall discos - in fairness to him he wasn't a bad dancer. He was a proper div though - a real plastic. Used to take a few records with him and get the disco dj to play em. From memory it was stuff like The Flasher, Footsee and some shite motown.

His mum who used to frequent the local pubs and clubs used to start every conversation with "ooh, you should see our John northern soul dancing. He's won some prizes you know and the big boys are going to take him to some real northern soul clubs". Yeah, like fcuk we were!

LOL

Peter

You have sparked a distant memory here Peter I remember a bloke sort of like that from our town who you could see(well for a couple of years)in local pub s and pub discos etc,like you say always with a copy of footsee(it had recently been on the telly) dressed in superbaggies who would pester the djs to put his record on then would leap onto the floor to acrobat like crazy amid a circle of admiresrs all clapping for him.He never to my knowledge ever went to an all nighter but had this one dance routine he hawked like mad all over the town and lads knew him as the footsee bloke,However he was pretty good at the acrobatics from what you saw of him doing his thing to "footsee".I think the same thing must have happened all over the country with charecters like the"footsee bloke",turning up at youth clubs pubs,etc to do there thing but never ever getting into the scene as such.A couple of years later(may have been a bit more or less)saturday night fever came out as a film,then all of a sudden john travolta clones started turning up.I blame the media especially top of the pops for creating" footsie bloke",I also blame the bbc for inspiring extremely acrobatic modes of dancing in those who watched the wigan documentary.(oh and all those clips on you tube that show nothing else but back,front,side fip,flopdropbackstwist and shake as northern soul dancing.

[Peter99]

You have sparked a distant memory here Peter I remember a bloke sort of like that from our town who you could see(well for a couple of years)in local pub s and pub discos etc,like you say always with a copy of footsee(it had recently been on the telly) dressed in superbaggies who would pester the djs to put his record on then would leap onto the floor to acrobat like crazy amid a circle of admiresrs all clapping for him.He never to my knowledge ever went to an all nighter but had this one dance routine he hawked like mad all over the town and lads knew him as the footsee bloke,However he was pretty good at the acrobatics from what you saw of him doing his thing to "footsee".I think the same thing must have happened all over the country with charecters like the"footsee bloke",turning up at youth clubs pubs,etc to do there thing but never ever getting into the scene as such.A couple of years later(may have been a bit more or less)saturday night fever came out as a film,then all of a sudden john travolta clones started turning up.I blame the media especially top of the pops for creating" footsie bloke",I also blame the bbc for inspiring extremely acrobatic modes of dancing in those who watched the wigan documentary.(oh and all those clips on you tube that show nothing else but back,front,side fip,flopdropbackstwist and shake as northern soul dancing.

I can't like your post as I have run out of, err, likes!

[Winnie :-)]

I loved it as a teenager, would I still do it now if I could? yep as long as the standard I had hadn't dropped. Thing I see these days amongst some of those that still do, they're timing is so badly out, but then that can be applied to spinning or dancing as well.

[Guest manusf3a]

I can't like your post as I have run out of, err, likes!

So have I ,you dont get enough likes,what do you think that is about ,the amount of likes allocated is very meagre ,soul source is very stingy over "likes".

[Peter99]

So have I ,you dont get enough likes,what do you think that is about ,the amount of likes allocated is very meagre ,soul source is very stingy over "likes".

I'll ask Mike for some more

[Tezza]

It's always been a bit dodgy. The odd one could pull it off but the majority ??!!?? Standing. moving from side to side, then the big jump and spin then back to standing, moving from side to side !! Not many have been able to integrate it into a good dance and make it look an integral part of the routine.

Personally love the sliders and shufflers - No 1 ?? 'Mick' of Samantha's fame !!

[Guest manusf3a]

I loved it as a teenager, would I still do it now if I could? yep as long as the standard I had hadn't dropped. Thing I see these days amongst some of those that still do, they're timing is so badly out, but then that can be applied to spinning or dancing as well.

My problem these days would be "breath",how come it gets so hard to breathe when I start to dance,

[Guest manusf3a]

It's always been a bit dodgy. The odd one could pull it off but the majority ??!!?? Standing. moving from side to side, then the big jump and spin then back to standing, moving from side to side !! Not many have been able to integrate it into a good dance and make it look an integral part of the routine.

Personally love the sliders and shufflers - No 1 ?? 'Mick' of Samantha's fame !!

Samanthas,best dancefoor ever,the floor itself would keep you in time,if you stood still youd soon start moving in time with the vibration,about a square foot to dance in encouraging shufflers and there was some brilliant ones there,wish all floors were like that. Edited October 24, 2012 by manusf3a

[Guest manusf3a]

I'll ask Mike for some more

Good idea!.

[Winnie :-)]

My problem these days would be "breath",how come it gets so hard to breathe when I start to dance,

My inhaler comes in very handy sometimes

[Back Street Blue]

Funny that cos there were loads of people backdroppin' and spinnin' around me every time I went to Wigan and most of them not "divs" but "big time" as I recall. One regular exponent was the legendary Jethro from Wolverhampton, definitely not a div. As to the "this England" TV program, the short haired bird who worked in the hospital laundry featured in the program was Christine (from Leigh?). She used to go out with my mate Lemmy from Oldham and was not only a shit hot dancer but never missed a night at Wigan and always on the floor in M's. I'm a shuffler myself and always preferred watching people like Cesar and totally agree that the acrobatics weren't the be all and end all by any means. Never brave enough to spin myself, but Pete "Dicky" Davis from Royton could hold a megga fast spin right through a record, definitely not a div. As to the current scene, if you've still got it, flaunt it......but don't knock the beer over!

[Zed1]

Now't wrong with 'Old Folks' doing the gymnastics if done well - the problem is most can't and clearly NEVER could...

The guy below can still give a good account of himself (6.24 in) helped me thinks by dancing to one of the finest Northern soul records ever!!..

[KevH]

You're in the Tommo Fanclub Zed.

[Back Street Blue]

Now't wrong with 'Old Folks' doing the gymnastics if done well - the problem is most can't and clearly NEVER could...

The guy below can still give a good account of himself (6.24 in) helped me thinks by dancing to one of the finest Northern soul records ever!!..

The guy's name is Tommo from Nottingham, he's a mate of Jethro from Wolverhampton

[Pete S]

Funny that cos there were loads of people backdroppin' and spinnin' around me every time I went to Wigan and most of them not "divs" but "big time" as I recall. One regular exponent was the legendary Jethro from Wolverhampton, definitely not a div. As to the "this England" TV program, the short haired bird who worked in the hospital laundry featured in the program was Christine (from Leigh?). She used to go out with my mate Lemmy from Oldham and was not only a shit hot dancer but never missed a night at Wigan and always on the floor in M's. I'm a shuffler myself and always preferred watching people like Cesar and totally agree that the acrobatics weren't the be all and end all by any means. Never brave enough to spin myself, but Pete "Dicky" Davis from Royton could hold a megga fast spin right through a record, definitely not a div. As to the current scene, if you've still got it, flaunt it......but don't knock the beer over!

Jethro packed in Wigan in mid 76, well at least I didn't see him there much after that, his time was 74-75 really and he was an awesome dancer, not disputing that, just saying by the time they filmed This England, that had all died out - until those two weekends when the filmed it

[Tezza]

Samanthas,best dancefoor ever,the floor itself would keep you in time,if you stood still youd soon start moving in time with the vibration,about a square foot to dance in encouraging shufflers and there was some brilliant ones there,wish all floors were like that.

Definitely brought out the Foot movers and their intricate little patterns. Lots of arms and interpretation of the lyric. Close your eyes and live the moment dancers, quality !! The best dancers, IMHO, were the ones that danced for themselves and not for the voyeurs.

Jethro and Mona from Chesterfield were legends '72 through '75. Mona still comes along but heard nothing of Jethro for an age ??!!

Edited October 25, 2012 by Tezza

[Guest manusf3a]

Definitely brought out the Foot movers and their intricate little patterns. Lots of arms and interpretation of the lyric. Close your eyes and live the moment dancers, quality !! The best dancers, IMHO, were the ones that danced for themselves and not for the voyeurs.

Jethro and Mona from Chesterfield were legends '72 through '75. Mona still comes along but heard nothing of Jethro for an age ??!!

I saw Matchie still cutting it on the floor on Saturday night at st Ives,hes still groovin,as are a few others,I reckon the best spinners came from cambridgeshire though,Danny Daniels and his mate Billy from Peterborough and Irish from Cambridge.Like you say the best danced for themselves not for others.Still samanthas should open up again for nighters and have a retrofit by putting the old floor back in.(dreams ah)Dont think Danny and Billy went to samanthas more wigan though I saw Irish there.

[Tezza]

I saw Matchie still cutting it on the floor on Saturday night at st Ives,hes still groovin,as are a few others,I reckon the best spinners came from cambridgeshire though,Danny Daniels and his mate Billy from Peterborough and Irish from Cambridge.Like you say the best danced for themselves not for others.Still samanthas should open up again for nighters and have a retrofit by putting the old floor back in.(dreams ah)Dont think Danny and Billy went to samanthas more wigan though I saw Irish there.

Matchie was at Davy's last month and can still do it, albeit a little less than of old. First saw Matchie at Miners Camp in Skeggy '73/74 - I was in awe of him and impossible to mimic, a definite one off !!

[Winnie :-)]

I saw Matchie still cutting it on the floor on Saturday night at st Ives,hes still groovin,as are a few others,I reckon the best spinners came from cambridgeshire though,Danny Daniels and his mate Billy from Peterborough and Irish from Cambridge.Like you say the best danced for themselves not for others.Still samanthas should open up again for nighters and have a retrofit by putting the old floor back in.(dreams ah)Dont think Danny and Billy went to samanthas more wigan though I saw Irish there.

I remember Danny from years ago, fascinated me how he generated so much speed when he spun, still see Bill at Peterborough, and yes, great spinner. Few others worth a mention, Tall Paul (Todmorden) Billy Marr (Scotland) and Snowy, from I can't remember where All great spinners.

[Guest manusf3a]

I remember Danny from years ago, fascinated me how he generated so much speed when he spun, still see Bill at Peterborough, and yes, great spinner. Few others worth a mention, Tall Paul (Todmorden) Billy Marr (Scotland) and Snowy, from I can't remember where All great spinners.

I still see Danny from time to time but he has been ill for a lot of years with very severe rhuematoid arthritis,still the same bubbly Danny personality though just like back then,I think Danny and Bill made the folk from oop north stop and stare when they started going to Wigan,Does Bill still do it now?I wouldnt know what he looked like these days but I would recognise the spin!I used to be able to go round about four or five times and stop on the spot(most of the time) but that would have been them especially Danny just starting to speed up,I wish someone had filmed them back then because that would have become a classic seeing them do their thing at Wigan,round this way,etc. Edited October 25, 2012 by manusf3a

[Guest]

Nothing better then watching someone young ish who can dance to northern in time to the beat with the moves a few ladys look good on the new dvd - memories now to old to even consider - the only flip I do now is at the kids after school

[Winnie :-)]

I still see Danny from time to time but he has been ill for a lot of years with very severe rhuematoid arthritis,still the same bubbly Danny personality though just like back then,I think Danny and Bill made the folk from oop north stop and stare when they started going to Wigan,Does Bill still do it now?I wouldnt know what he looked like these days but I would recognise the spin!I used to be able to go round about four or five times and stop on the spot(most of the time) but that would have been them especially Danny just starting to speed up,I wish someone had filmed them back then because that would have become a classic seeing them do their thing at Wigan,round this way,etc.

Bill is still out and about, I was surprised not to see him at St Ives to be honest. Always go to the railway club, in Peterborough, and yep, still spins like a top, lovely lad.

[Steve L]

Jethro packed in Wigan in mid 76, well at least I didn't see him there much after that, his time was 74-75 really and he was an awesome dancer, not disputing that, just saying by the time they filmed This England, that had all died out - until those two weekends when the filmed it

Pete it was still done in 78/9 when I went, slightly different in style but was still a part of Wigan

Edited October 25, 2012 by Steve L

[Agentsmith]

i think that if you still feel up to it, are fit enough both in body, mind and spirit and its how you get your kicks out of dancing to northern soul,...then just let it all out, never mind who gives a fook, you're doing it because you want to and there aint no law against it. dancing alone is such an adrenalin rush that the added dimension of acrobatics really expresses someone's feelings for the music they love..it beats sitting on your arse, thinking its all behind you ( literally ) and just accepting middle age spread and taking the negative attitude that people will only take the mick...when you're in that 2 1/2 minutes, the world and all its cynisism vanishes.

[Guest lambrettanik]

theres only a few old folk who can still pull it off acrobatic wise,tommo,sammy dee,carl piper,casper,chippy,keb.curly,and a hand full of others,but as for the new breed,liam beckett,chris bell,ethan howarth,dave stabler ,(nicole and lauren for the young ladies) are as good if not better than some of the dancers from back in the day,young jordan from wigan is probadly one of the best spinners ive seen from any decade-were talking12 rotations perfectley(and fast) centred.watch out for him on the forth coming film or on a dance floor near you

Edited October 28, 2012 by lambrettanik

[Guest manusf3a]

It's always been a bit dodgy. The odd one could pull it off but the majority ??!!?? Standing. moving from side to side, then the big jump and spin then back to standing, moving from side to side !! Not many have been able to integrate it into a good dance and make it look an integral part of the routine.

Personally love the sliders and shufflers - No 1 ?? 'Mick' of Samantha's fame !!

Black Gino,fast footwaork!really good shuffler,some good dancers at the pier and wintergardens cleethorpes around the same time as samtanthas,some going to both.t then there was at cleethorpes the lad from around Boston way who ended up after a couple of years going ultra paranoid and hugging the walls and darl places not going on the dancefloor again ,his name was I am not quite sure on this "Shaun, or something similar.He was pretty nifty on his feet when it came to shuffling and sliding pity after a few years he was better at hiding than sliding!. Edited October 28, 2012 by manusf3a

[Guest manusf3a]

Bill is still out and about, I was surprised not to see him at St Ives to be honest. Always go to the railway club, in Peterborough, and yep, still spins like a top, lovely lad.

He still does those "When on earth will he stop",type spins?him and danny used to do a good act between them back then.if Bill is still spinning the same then hes no 1 on the scene for spinning and I am saying this out on a limb because I have only been two shakes back into things but going on what Ive seen and what he was like theres nothing to touch him.I knew who he was obviously but didnt know him personaly as I was from Corby originally and didnt move to peterborough till many years after quitting.I have got to know Danny really well over the years though,no matter how much he has had to deal with he is still a bright personality and a very easy going lad,I dont think he has seen Bill for a great many years. Edited October 28, 2012 by manusf3a

[Mike]

off topic joke video removed

there is already a freebasing thread with similar videos

[Guest chrislokeh]

Pete when ever you see a clip of "Northern Soul" dancing it's always Acrobatics gymnastics ,but in reality ,that was not the case ,yes a few did it ,but it was few and far between really

Bazza

Everytime Northern Soul is a topic on tv Russ Winstanley turns up with a load of acrobats in fancy dress.Then we all get the comments at work thinking that we ALL dress and dance like that its a real cringer.

[Tfk]

mmm ???

JB would not be amused!!!

or the masters of

or this workout

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N5jY00z_Sk&feature=fvwrel

tfk

[Guest lambrettanik]

mmm ???

JB would not be amused!!!

or the masters of

or this workout

absolutely foookin awesome footage only missin the berry brothers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N5jY00z_Sk&feature=fvwrel

tfk

[spike1]

Was great when I was getting into Northern, late 74 through 1975, plus I was pretty good at it. After that, pretty naff, especially when you see people on This England doing it, it had died out long before then but now the impression people get is that it was still going strong at Wigan when that was filmed, but most of those people on that film were not regulars and you rarely saw anything like that, apart from in the Bolton corner :-). Only spinning was still popular at the time.

Wrong

Although I refused to go to Wigan on the night that they filmed I was still foing the acrobatics at that time

And I was a regilar from 76 to 80

If you mean the top right hand corner as Bolton corner that's where u danced and I ain't from Bolton

[Andyj]

You have sparked a distant memory here Peter I remember a bloke sort of like that from our town who you could see(well for a couple of years)in local pub s and pub discos etc,like you say always with a copy of footsee(it had recently been on the telly) dressed in superbaggies who would pester the djs to put his record on then would leap onto the floor to acrobat like crazy amid a circle of admiresrs all clapping for him.He never to my knowledge ever went to an all nighter but had this one dance routine he hawked like mad all over the town and lads knew him as the footsee bloke,However he was pretty good at the acrobatics from what you saw of him doing his thing to "footsee".I think the same thing must have happened all over the country with charecters like the"footsee bloke",turning up at youth clubs pubs,etc to do there thing but never ever getting into the scene as such.A couple of years later(may have been a bit more or less)saturday night fever came out as a film,then all of a sudden john travolta clones started turning up.I blame the media especially top of the pops for creating" footsie bloke",I also blame the bbc for inspiring extremely acrobatic modes of dancing in those who watched the wigan documentary.(oh and all those clips on you tube that show nothing else but back,front,side fip,flopdropbackstwist and shake as northern soul dancing.

We had a geezer like that back in the mid to late seventies a decent dancer, but only to the 'common' sounds and his fav was Hawaii 5 0!! then as soon as the northern section of the disco finished he would then start rock and rolling or head banging to Status Quo!!!

Edited November 1, 2012 by AndyJ

[Speedlimit]

theres only a few old folk who can still pull it off acrobatic wise,tommo,sammy dee,carl piper,casper,chippy,keb.curly,and a hand full of others,

apart from keb and curly the rest of these vanished on and off the scene after wigan shut cant say the rest ventured to stafford , 100 club etc acrobatics aint dancin just falling over in style and has no place on today's scene when will people realise the scene has moved on , the young kids shouldn't be copying this style of dance , dancing comes from within , do your own thing . just like the clothes they wear let the past be the past :thumbup: :thumbup:

[Guest smudgesmith]

I still see Danny from time to time but he has been ill for a lot of years with very severe rhuematoid arthritis,still the same bubbly Danny personality though just like back then,I think Danny and Bill made the folk from oop north stop and stare when they started going to Wigan,Does Bill still do it now?I wouldnt know what he looked like these days but I would recognise the spin!I used to be able to go round about four or five times and stop on the spot(most of the time) but that would have been them especially Danny just starting to speed up,I wish someone had filmed them back then because that would have become a classic seeing them do their thing at Wigan,round this way,etc.

You were at the "Right Track" on the 19th,Billy was there at the front with Carl Piper.

[Stevie T]

have to admit , i used to do it back in the day , but age catches up am afraid , plus my dance style has changed over the years. i am not a lover

of the throwing about stuff , either from the young or old . it kind of looks dated but in a bad way . saying that ! each to their own , who am i to tell anyone

the where,s and why fors !.

[Guest manusf3a]

You were at the "Right Track" on the 19th,Billy was there at the front with Carl Piper.

No I didnt make it mate,,thats twice now but I wont miss the next one.I see some young lad from wigan has put his mate up as super spinner,somrthing about twelve revolutionsme I reckon Billy and Danny were the the best Ive ever seen,I would be suprised to see anyone come near them,especially these days.I got told off a bit at St ives by Georgina who said all those years living in Peterborough with all those soul nights,the Right Track etc and you "aint gone anywhere! shes right as well,atbmanus

[Guest lambrettanik]

theres only a few old folk who can still pull it off acrobatic wise,tommo,sammy dee,carl piper,casper,chippy,keb.curly,and a hand full of others,

apart from keb and curly the rest of these vanished on and off the scene after wigan shut cant say the rest ventured to stafford , 100 club etc acrobatics aint dancin just falling over in style and has no place on today's scene when will people realise the scene has moved on , the young kids shouldn't be copying this style of dance , dancing comes from within , do your own thing . just like the clothes they wear let the past be the past

no mate sammy is still going strong and was @ stoke last month on the floor,carl piper is still active as a dancer,last saw him @ alderley edge,casper was @ black bee in manchester,chippy was stutting his stuff @ highfield WYS soul night-need i go on.i disagree with your statement that it has "no place on todays scene"_thats like saying fast records or 70s tunes havent either,its part and parcel of our "DANCE" scene Edited November 2, 2012 by lambrettanik

[ste gal 7]

ive watched them all at the twisted knee and highfield not only do they spin well, they dance,dress,enjoy,and are a credit to themselves and i thought thats what it was all about. as far as old men spinning goes good on them as well. i cant do it not that i ever could. just wait till these diclofenac kick in al show ur