Paul-s

I always feel free to play with pitch. A prime example is Deep South (Fourth Level). I originally heard this track from Shifty's box in the early 2000's at a friends house pre- 100 club, it was covered up and pitched down by -6 (or thereabouts) and sounded perfect. After I managed to get a cut of it (years later 2007 ish I still kept it pitched down. Hence, to me, the more uptempo re-release version just sounds wrong and not as good. Crawl to Me - Johnny Davis, is another example of a tune that I give a tiny tweak up Paul Burton - Very Hard to Make It is another that I used to tweak up a tad. etc etc..... Its personal taste I guess...I certainly don't feel honour bound by any unwritten law not to play around with the pitch.

Brilliant!

Brilliant! Now i know where some DJs get their playlist ideas.......

Heres' a garage b side that Karl Rhodes (RIP) successfully covered and excited dance floors to in 2004/5 and which I continued with for a while after 2007 when I finally got copy (had 3 in fact). I remember when we talked about a cover up name and decided BOBBY SMITH-GIRL would convince people and it did . The A side is totally different full on Garage. Great tune!

Wigan garage tune....

Firstly, I like Sally, love Sal and Pops and wish her well. BUT, I have always had a problem with this title: 'Official Northern Soul World Dance Champion of 2022.' Who is the 'official' sanctioning body who officially claim it's a 'World Championship? It's a ridiculous, pretentious and rather narcissistic title. Let's be truthful here, It's an over grandising title created from thin air by one promoter. The use and perpetuation of this silly title is a very 'Emperors New Clothes Scenario'. The title should be 'Blackpool Northern Soul Dance Championship'. Because that is what it is: nothing more and nothing less. A world championship, if you follow any sport or dance organisations, takes place each year in a different part of the world where the organisation also exists. As the title 'World' suggests they have judges made up of people who represent different parts of the world. They also have a diverse range of competitors who, as the title 'World' suggests, represent different parts of the World. Thats just my humble opinion of course, and if anyone wants to come back and outline why it is the 'Official and World' title, I will be very happy to have my mind changed.

A phone ban would be a brilliant idea for sure in my humble opinion.

There is actually a very good book, not current though, about ageing and youth cultures. Has a chapter called 'Parenthood and the Transfer of Capital in the Northern Soul Scene' It makes some interesting points, but also some tenuous ones. It's from 2012 so is in need of an update really. .

I'm not sure that addresses the question, interesting though it is. My post was not criticising Levanna or Sal & Pops (i wasn't aware Jordan & Charlotte filmed themselves dancing and i would say they are always 'in the music' and dance for joy rather than performance. Of course dance changes over periods, although i would say that a kind of parody/pastiche is quite dominant due to the historical re-enactment scene that dominates many venues: where the dance remains the same because the records remain the same. Additionally, I would not regard Levanna and Sal & Pops as representing the rare soul scene as the music they generally Dance/perform to are classic 'oldies'. Jordan and Charlotte however, are very much into rare newly discovered/underplayed old music and and dancing to that.. Back to the question........does dancing for iPhone and for the creation of digital platform content inform a new performative type of Northern Soul dancing 'on the outside' rather than 'from the inside'? An example would be the performance of the hand gesture to the heart, or the facial gestures of 'being deep into the track' whilst, in reality, performing being deep into the music because you are aware of your iPhone performance and signalling that its Northern Soul dancing. These historical hand signals/motifs and 'soul faces' seem to dominate the films that I view and seems performative as emblems of Northern Soul. I'm not really asking if its is a good or a bad thing because that is purely subjective I think.

That would be unfair to the people who take part in the practice I think.

With the rise in the past decade of people filming other people, or themselves, dancing, I have noticed a change in the the way people dance. So, I just wanted to throw this question out there. There seem to be a lot of instagram (or other Digital platforms) pages where individuals film themselves dancing alone to Northern Soul on location, or in a kitchen or other personal spaces. In other ongoing documentation of dancing, people film themselves or others dancing at soul events etc. So, the question is, does this in turn lead to them performing? Rather than being 'in' the music are they 'outside' of the music looking at themselves acting being 'in' the music? Yes, of course this is always the case when cameras are involved: take 'This England' for instance or making a historically based film where you are re-creating a moment so that the movement reflects that period. But, when I am at an event with no cameras and the lights are low, I see and feel a different energy and movement in the dancing of the people as I watch. They are 'in' it so to speak...in the music. So, to sum up my babbling question: Is a new form of Northern Soul dancing developing that curates itself via the digital camera/platform and is purely performative for that purpose: because the dancers are primarily concerned with their individual filmic performance? Who cares is an obvious answer, so i'll get that one in. Any other observations/experiences are welcome.

Full respect to Jordan and Charlotte, who are true enthusiasts and contributors to the scene. But, I'm always a bit put out by the entire "it only existed in the poor North" narrative. The midlands and many other (equally poor) areas across the UK had thriving venues that contributed to a thriving scene, and the people that put the 'real miles' into travelling to Wigan came from these outlying areas. I was an apprentice in a factory in Grantham, my mate was an apprentice in a Derbyshire coal mine etc.....it wasn't all in the North. It's the misappropriation and reification of the term "Northern Soul' that allows the false narrative to still gain traction in hastily/lazily made TV programmes. They take the term literally, which shows not only their stupidity, but their lack of research and respect for a truly complex cultural scene that has survived decades. It's a bit like taking the term 'African Dance' and not recognising Africa is a continent that is made up of over 50 'other' countries that all contribute to the term and the form/genre. These type of programmes represent TV sound bites that are useful to lazy directors and producers who wish to fill a slot without putting in any work.

The reverse label copy is definitely genuine...

Looks very shiny and new compared to the few i had in the past that were in near mint condition (13 years ago)....something looks off...

Only heard this news this morning. Shocking! A top bloke and we had a load of great nights together. Along with Joan, Karl was the other member of the DDA (and Soul or Nothing) and those nights really were special, due, in not small, part to Karls music , energy, sense of fun, sense of mischief and dancing spirit. He was there to help out when things fucked up at times and that will always be appreciated. Awful news.......