BVS

Where do you live "professorturnups" - Outer Mongolia? The Soul Scene has not been underground since the Wheel shut in 1971 and what followed (Wigan Casino et al) turned the scene overgound.

The original question was "Where & when was the first ever Northern Soul All Nighter held ?". The clue is in the question i.e. 'Northern Soul'. Until it can be agreed what Northern Soul means, then we can only speculate on the answer. Of course Northern Soul means different things to different people, therefore it is unlikely there will ever be a satisfactory answer for everyone. I frequented the Mojo in Sheffield, the Twisted Wheel in Manchester and the many others that existed around the North Midlands, Lancashire & Yorkshire from 1967 - 1970. Setting aside the debate about how Dave Godin may or may not have coined the phrase, there was a definite shift in the scene around 1970. The smaller basement soul clubs of the sixties were beginning to disappear and the scene seemed to shift to much larger, ballroom type venues. The fashion changed to those baggy trousers, vests, beer towels for the men and those voluminous skirts and ankle socks for the girls. Although many of the sixties soul music played in the basement clubs migrated to this newer scene, a new, more stomping type of soul music became popular. For me, this is what defines Northern Soul - as much the shift in the scene as the music, which just happens to coincide with Dave Godin being credited with coining the phrase. If my assessment is accepted, then the answer to the question would be one of the larger soul venues that sprung up in the early 70s (e.g. Wigan Casino, Blackpool Mecca) but as I dropped out of the scene around the time the Wheel shut, I couldn't possibly say which was the first one!

Frank Wilson -Do I love You is over-played, over-rated, over-priced and in my opinion, soul pop music and rubbish.

No prizes for which way I voted! However, based on conversations with my contempories at soul venues, I do think many of those 21% who don't like it could be from the generation of soulies whose roots are in the 60s basement clubs and are therefore now aged in their late 50s and over. The reason I say this is that the Frank Wilson track is seen by many as an anthem for 'Northern Soul' of the 70s and many of the older soulies don't have much of a connection with this era. In particular they don't recognise the term 'Northern Soul' as it was coined after their heyday and feel therefore that it is more associated with the stomping beats of the dance hall venues of the 70s, which brought with it those dubious baggy trousers, vest, patches and beer towels! My point therefore is that in my opinion, many of those who, like me, think that it's overated and overplayed, do so as much because of what it represents than it's musical merits. HEALTH WARNING - If this posting reads like a dig at the 70s soul era, it is certainly not intended to be, no-one can help when they are born or the fashions of their generation (you should have seen me in a Kaftan with flowers in my hair - not much chance these days !) In fact, if it wasn't for the 70s scene and it's prominent DJs in particular, I'm sure I wouldn't be enjoying all the sounds that they unearthed during the 70s, even though they had, in the main, been first recorded in the 60s. So good on you 70s soulies, I will be forever in your debt.

Soulacola, You talk the same language as me and not just because you're a Blade like me. I agree with everything you say, although I expect that the music at the Sheaf may be a bit 'Northern' for me as opposed to 60s. Anyway there's only one to find out and that means a visit to the Sheaf for a few pints , provided it doesn't clash with the Wheel dates.

If I were asked if I was into 'Northern' I would say no, although I got into the soul scene in 1966 and still participate. My reason for saying this is that much of the music and the scene associated with what I regard as the 'Northern' scene is not really my cup of tea. That is the 70s era of stomping music (much of which sounds exactly the same to me if you ignore the lyrics) and the associated attire. Most people naturally think that their generation or 'scene' is the best and I'm no different, however, there's no escaping the fact that most of the best music on the soul scene, surfaced or originated in the 60s. Please don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with Northern Soul, the fashions or the people who were part of it then and now, it's just not my scene . I try to be selective about where I go to ensure that a venue's music policy is mainly 60s soul, RnB and Motown, in an attempt to avoid the later 'Northern Soul' stuff that I don't much care for. This brings me back to the original issue about how many people are into 'Northern'. I know there are many more soulies out there who share my views and would not consider themselves into 'Northern' and therefore these people would be excluded from the count, which some may think is a good thing! However, I would like to think that you want to establish the trend in people who are into soul music generally, now compared with then. For what it's worth, I believe there are many more people involved now because in the 60s and early 70s, the soul scene operated very much 'underground' but in recent years, it has received much more exposure and probably therefore, drawn more people in.