https://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/aug/21/northern-soul-soulboy-film
Last June, the 62-year-old American singer Nolan Porter flew into Britain to perform sell-out shows in Warwick and Oldham. Fans who revere Porter's two massive northern soul anthems, If I Could Only Be Sure and Keep On Keeping On, afforded the singer a rapturous welcome. Backed by Birmingham soul outfit the Stone Foundation, Porter was so taken aback by the response, he vowed to return to Britain as quickly as possible.
Next month a new British film, SoulBoy, starring Martin Compston, Alfie Allen and Felicity Jones opens. Directed by Shimmy Marcus, the film (set in 1974) is your everyday story of boy meeting girl and girl dragging boy into northern soul culture. It's a warm picture, fuelled by a fantastic soundtrack and some nice performances. Unfortunately, it's ruined by a very silly ending. Still, there's always photographer Elaine Constantine's debut feature film, Northern Soul, out in 2011, to look forward to. Constantine's deep knowledge of the scene promises to make it a major statement. Certainly, there's a sizable audience already in place for such celluloid offerings.
Every week, from Aberdeen to Brighton, people of all ages pour into northern soul clubs. The grandfather of them all, 6T's at London's 100 Club, has been running now for 31 years. Tellingly, some 6T's regulars appear in the video for Duffy's 2008 single Mercy. Many of Duffy's UK contemporaries from Amy Winehouse to Paloma Faith have looked to northern for inspiration, and it's a sound that's currently being mined by the altogether hipper likes of Janelle Mon¡e and Aloe Blacc. New musical subcultures come and go but northern soul seems to run forever.
The scene's roots lie in the mid-60s and a Manchester club called Twisted Wheel, the place mods would later name, "the chapel of soul". The club's DJ was Roger Eagle and his arrival could not have been timed better. London, formerly the home of soul, was awash with LSD and psychedelia and a generation of mods had nowhere to go and dance. Eagle's beautiful selection of soul music was the beacon that attracted them from all over the UK.
Northern soul's trademark dancing was also first witnessed at The Wheel. As the music of Ray Charles and Marvin Gaye filled the air, the beautifully dressed boys and girls would gather in circles before one of them would move into the middle to perform wild spins and floordrops. These dances were later perfected in other clubs and the unique and brilliant northern soul dance was born.
Like all great mods, Eagle was a snob, a purist. His mission was to play a wide musical vista that also took in blues and ska. This laudable approach would have worked had the majority of his crowd not been out of their minds on speed, demanding faster and faster music to dance to. Eagle gallantly resisted until bowing to the inevitable and moving to the Staxx Club on Fountain Street. Again, his timing was spot on: obscure soul music was now being demanded by the crowd and, thankfully, America was full of the stuff.
In the early-60s, Berry Gordy's meteoric rise to fame as founder of Motown Records had inspired thousands of entrepreneurs to start their own soul labels. However, despite producing some excellent records, these label bosses lacked Gordy's business acumen and struggled to find exposure. Labels, with names such as Shrine, Carnival and Topper died on the vine, leaving behind a small but fruitful musical legacy. It was that legacy which British soul DJs now began to cultivate, bringing in import after import to assuage the demands of their soul-hungry crowd. The result was beautiful: the most obscure American artist, a Little Ann say, or a Tommy Hunt, suddenly found themselves revered by thousands of British working-class kids.
With the departure of Eagle from the Twisted Wheel, the focus switched to clubs such as The Torch in Stoke, the Blackpool Mecca, and what would prove be to be the Wembley Stadium of northern soul, the Wigan Casino.
'We always knew who the undercover police were: they had big creases down their jeans which no one else would wear'
Photo of NORTHERN SOUL Photograph: Mick Gold/Redferns
In early 1973 the Casino was struggling badly so local DJ Russ Winstanley approached the Casino's manager Gerry Marshall and offered to stage a northern soul night. Marshall's dwindling bank balance forced his hand.
On 22 September 1973, 652 kids paid 75p and rushed into the hall to be greeted by the Sherrys' anthemic Put Your Arms Around Me. The Casino never looked back.
This famed venue was known for its maple sprung dancefloor and a balcony that circled it on three sides. There were record stalls placed strategically around the club with dealers selling seven-inch import singles at eye-watering prices. By now, mod fashions had been replaced by brogue shoes, flares, vests, tank tops, and much longer hair. The girls wore long skirts, which were handy for sashaying across the floor, and many brought holdalls containing talcum powder which would be sprinkled on the floor to make it easier to dance. With only soft drinks available at the bar, again amphetamines helped fuel the scene, keeping the faithful going through the night.
Some nights, undercover police would infiltrate the club. But, as Wigan regular and DJ Jo Wallis explains, fashion saved the day: "We always knew who they were because they had big creases down the front of their jeans which no one else would wear. We knew right away to warn the others." There was no trouble at the Casino, just the smell of Brut, sweat and soul assaulting your senses as the condensation dropped from the roof.
And for years this huge youth cult went unnoticed, stayed unreported. The rock music press had no use for the scene, nor did the national newspapers. Which was fine by the northern soulers; they didn't crave celebrity or attention. They loved the secrecy of it all; it gave them personal one-upmanship.
In 1974, Winstanley asked the Wigan crowd one night if a BBC crew should be allowed in to film them. The answer was a resounding "NO!", despite this being a time when appearing on TV was seen as an achievement. A year later, the Casino relented and allowed Granada's This England crew in. Big mistake. When the show aired, it switched on thousands of young Britons. Within weeks, record companies were issuing novelty records by made-up bands of sessioneers such as Wigan's Chosen Few, and hordes tried fruitlessly to gain entry.
By 1976, the regulars had moved on while a new generation - Bryan Ferry and David Bowie among them - turned their attention to the jazz-funk scene developing on Canvey Island. For three years, northern soul lay fallow until two diehards, Randy Cozens and Ady Croasdell started a northern night in London's Covent Garden called 6T's. The first night was a huge success. The club then moved around before settling at the 100 Club. It's still there today, making it the longest-running northern soul club in history.
In parallel, Croasdell started up the Kent label to issue great soul compilations, proof positive that the scene's canon contains some of the most exquisite music ever committed to vinyl, a fact picked up by many bands. In the 80s, Dexys Midnight Runners, the Jam and Soft Cell were the most obvious exemplars. In the 90s, after visiting the 100 Club one night, Noel Gallagher penned the brass-powered Oasis B-side Round Are Way.
Today, the soul spirit remains. "People see our band and ask, why have you not had more success?" says Neil Sheasby of the Stone Foundation. "But I tell them I've just made an album which Nolan Porter sings two songs on. That to me is success beyond belief."
The flame keeps burning.