Great music will always live on. The enormous catalogue of songs unearthed to serve the Northern Soul scene is a legacy enjoyed by today's younger generation. Maybe not as original vinyl played at provincial Soul Clubs, but as an important genre of dance music.
In my youth the only way to hear a top tune was to own it, know someone who owned it or go to a club with a DJ who owned it. It was exclusive. In todays digital world it just ain't so anymore. Anyone and everyone can "get into Northern Soul". I'm a 57 year old returner but I meet newbies young and old and lots of "It'll never be over for me" diehards who haven't skipped a weekend for 40 years! I prefer to hear OVO at clubs and niters and dance to it with likeminded people. Thanks to the digital age I can hear those tunes again in my car with out forking out ££££. And my kids hear them and are influenced by them.
My 20 year old at Uni in London sent a video clip from a club he was in of what was unmistakably Curtis Mayfield Move On Up with a note saying, "We gotta go dancing Mum, be my date". His girlfriend took him on a date to the 100 club and he had a great time.
My 19 year old at Uni in Leeds was out on the town with his mates when he heard the unmistakable 4:4 beat and snare drum from inside a club. He said, "I immediately knew what sort of music they were playing Mum, and said we should go in. My mates couldn't believe how brilliant the music was!".
I wouldn't take either of them to a typical provincial Soul Club, but I'd happily take them along to Blackheart, Rugby or Kings Hall.
I think provincial Soul Clubs probably will wither and die as the people who frequent them advance towards their dotage and 100's of bootleg copies of Do I Love You" will flood carboot sales. However, I think events like Niters will probably continue to attract new generations who want to experience the authenticity of the music in the type of environment that gave life to it.
