Petesi

Hmm, I too was at the KH last weekend 6pm-12 midnight and really saw none of what you described ??It was a decent night with good quality oldies and a few rare bits thrown in. If you didn`t enjoy it then maybe you are right its time to pack in going out because this event was pretty good by all standards of events I go to.

Ermm, I think we are both in agreement here. I was just trying to find a positive in a bad situation, hence my reference to the girl NOT moving like a bad robot L0L

A good point but at least the girl with the cap on at the back has some idea and feeling for the music , the rest well, its a starter for them so it can only get better with practice.

That`s the spirit ! Now we are Teenager`s back in the early 70`s . Perhaps we should change the KTF slogan to WTF ? LOL.

Wow, I certainly don`t Know every record and as some have pointed out you always hear one or two that are new to me but not always new to the scene as well as plenty of long forgotten and seldom played stuff that was quality back in the day so no problem with motivation. I go out about once or twice a month and choose mainly quality oldies events and for sure the DJ`s always manage to entertain me with their selections. Basically it appears the scene as lost its appeal to you which happens ( I have taken several breaks away from NS since 1972) but always come back for one last go, and enjoyed it, and still do.

Hmm, Well for what it`s worth. I and many others are in our mid to late sixties, still dancing( and quite well in some cases) , yes there are divvies as you call em and they were also plentiful in the mid 70`s so no change there! I agree with the videos of some events but other events on show look pretty decent so it all depends on what you watch imo on that one. As for the mix of music yes at some events they want to please or draw a crowd of as many as possible, so go "off piste" with an eclectic mix which in many cases is as far removed from northern soul as gets and is truly awful..I avoid these events period. On your final point I agree, the music is very special and to me always will be, so I can put up with a few divvies, the occasional look at me pratts , the pott bellied I love NS but I really never knew it until tonight and all the other minor irritations, cos it sure beats playing crib and listening to Val Doonican down at the Derby and Joan. So as long as I can I will be out on the floor lost in my own little World with Frankie Beverley, The Parliments, Alice Clark, etc. and leave the moaning and griping to those that must. Lol.

All good with yer clothing then, and yes spacial awareness is a must. Oh and no matter what the floor is like don`t get tempted to wear trainers, just take a couple of different pairs of dancing shoes.

If you want classics, oldies and a smattering of RnB etc try one of the following (dependant on where you live) Grosvenor rooms, The Northern line, Driving beat and of course The Kings Hall Stoke. Most of Peps events in the midlands are good as are Hitsville chalkys Darlaston Town hall Etc and Rugby, Nuneaton co op as well. Further south It is bit more hit and miss as their take on northern soul varies somewhat but I can recomend Stewartby, and the Ivo re-union events, along with Poole and Bournmouth as pretty decent . Of course there will be many more but these I have commented on because they suit my taste in northern classics with a bit of other stuff played as well. Happy hunting I am sure you will find your fav niche and as for dancing play a few tunes at home and practice to gain a bit of confidence ...we all did and... are still in my case. LoL.

IMO. Both of the above mentioned were monster plays in the mid 70`s and were staple dance floor fillers at most events I went to, they rarely get played today but are cracking dancer material and those of us that can recall will always be up and dancing when they are played... whatever the label says.

Everybody who was around and dancing or learning to ( Me ) at The Torch, danced to this, it was a genuine monster of the time and if you can dance to this you can dance to anything it is a genuine 100mph classic.

It happens at most of the smaller events, BUT it is usually to a slow /mush song, so I don`t have an issue with that as I for one won`t be on the floor, so my opinion is leave em alone and let em enjoy it, after all most of us should be at the Derby and Joan club anyway LoL. NOW..... if they start doing it to Jimmy Raye`s.. Philly dog around the world.. that would be a whole different thing and we may have an issue

Just my opinion, I went to Yate a couple of times around 77 and to be honest didn`t really like it, even then there seemed to be a different take on what I knew and grew up with at the Torch, Top rank, Tiffs, Wigan etc, it seemed slower and not the 100mph sweat soaked grit n grime days I was used to. Having lived down south in Kent for the past 20 yrs I certainly see the difference in what`s played and popular at most of the southern clubs and only a few keep to the true spirit of a proper northern soul event. PS. Back up north now so can enjoy the real deal again, again there is even a "north/ south" divide in the northern soul scene too LoL.

My last post or comment on this, northern soul dancing ...It makes your pulse pound, your head ring and your heart sing YES you CAN learn the moves but when you dance you feel the music, the soul, the spirit of the record and the artist that made it. For me it`s a moment that transports you to another place in time, when you sang along, splits, kicks and swallow dives or back drops in the breaks and not a care in the world. You can teach the moves but.. you cant teach the feeling, you either have it or you don`t and it will show in the way you dance.

Just as an Aside/Example. When Chris Evans bought a Ferrari (James Coburns I think? ) after his big radio station pay out of around 40 million, paying something in the region of 8 million for it. many laughed and scoffed at his crazy record price!!. He said he bought it because he could afford it and wanted it, so paid up for it. Fast forward several years and the scoffers and critics went very quiet when it sold for around double that and has been reoffered not so long ago for something nearer 50 million! . So the morale of the story (for me) is people who can afford to do it will, those that can`t may scoff, berate, moan criticise whatever. but it wont change a thing. A better use of my/your? time and effort would be to work out how they got to a place to be able to afford such a prize. Happy New Year

Or .. Northern soul dancers, learn, practice ...then dance!

Oh Gosh , I never new you needed a qualification or licence to teach or pass on tips with regards to northern soul dancing. Been doing it for almost 40 years illegally but as I like to say... it`s not what you do, it`s what you get caught doing that`s the problem! Now where`s me dog licence

MY Opinion. Back in the day it was about the music not the label, I go to dance, not to sit around chatting, so for me the DJ is their to entertain. I would much rather hear a second/Re-issue than none at all! Collectors collect labels ( and good luck to them) DJ`s play records to entertain and for the crowd to dance to. A few major events have deck cams and Its nice to See/hear the big money stuff at those events, but for me at the smaller clubs reissues are fine as I said Its all about the music not the label.

Sneaked in the Torch in late 72 heard something and watched guys dancing to it and just stood there agog thinking WTF is this all about? Then turned up at the local youth club a week later (Pendragon in Alsager) and saw a couple of the guys from the Torch playing and dancing to the same song . I was Totally hooked, back drops , swallow dives the lot, it was just amazing to a clueless 15 year old. Went out to Hanley a few days later (Blood Lloyd) music store asked em about the song, the guy said oh yeah we have that somewhere in the back its in our soul imports area and voila. Then bus back home with my prize to annoy my parents by playing it non stop while practicing endless back drops etc in their bedroom in front of an open wardrobe door with a large mirror, whilst my mum was banging on the ceiling below with a mop handle shouting cut that out! what the hell are you doing up there?? Perfect start and introduction to 50+ plus years love affair with Northern Soul. Oh and the record? My first purchase? Major Lance "You don`t want me no more".

AS DO most of the decent, good or great dancers. A lot (including myself ( Decent)) don`t enter dance comps because it`s a personal choice of which records to dance to and performing for some other persons choice of tracks defeats the whole object, but if you just take it as a bit of promotional fun for the event then no harm no foul.

Yes great, been to a couple of these London do`s and it is mostly 18-30s getting their first taste of northern , well a South/ london take on northern in some cases! As for the comments on "talc in the back pocket" in the 70s???? Well...obviously I missed that one, cos talc on the floor never happened at any venues I went to in the 70s. but hey ho the fact that youngsters are enjoying the music and keeping things going must count for something.

My opinion and please don`t take this as gospel or repeat what I am about to say.. The good dancers dance for themselves and their own enjoyment , in time with the record playing , moves only in the breaks etc and can sing along and change steps with the beat. The ones that aren`t so good usually dance the same way and unusually at the same pace to each and every tune!! And they think that talc will help em? Ouch. Please don`t repeat any of this its just an old gits opinion.