The 80's is when the UK Soul scene came of age.
The 'pop' fans and fashion victims that came along in the mid 70's had, by then, come and gone.
Rotherham Clifton Hall, Cleethorpes Winter Gardens, Bradford Queens Hall, Warrington Parr Hall, Stafford TOTW (and more) kept things going for the Soul fans who stayed.
New blood came along who were genuinely interested in the music rather than because it was the 'new big thing' (because it wasn't)... and playlists became broader, more interesting, more diverse and (IMO) more Soulful.
Great decade, great years, great times (that, sadly, so many people missed).
Sean