You need to understand that the Northern Soul scene (read Sub-Cult) has jealously guarded
itself over the last 37 years, outsiders have always been treated with suspicion, in the main
because when they have transmitted to the wider public they have gotten it wrong. Imagine
a documentry about the D Day landings taking place in Spain, fighting Turkish soldiers, get
the picture ?
From a purely personal standpoint (but I know I speak for many who were there at the time)
lets hope the film captures the true Northern Soul story and that is :
99.9% of people participating were white working class kids, that included the DJs. They were very young, almost nobody over the age of 20. The dancing was phenominal. It was run from the grass roots up, the music, the venues, the dancing, there was no "Mr Big" pulling any strings from behind the scenes. The majority of people in the scene were extraordinary characters, you didn't do this sort of thing if you were "Joe Average" check out the DJs, all larger than life for sure. There was a large amount of amphetamines used at all-nighters, drug busts closed both the Twisted Wheel and the Torch, leaving that fact out won't explain how come that kids could dance almost 10 hours non-stop and alcohol wasn't an issue. Going to all-nighters was never about "pulling a bird, then taking her around the back of the venue" it was all about the music, having said that hats off to the girls for being able to get away from their parents all night long for months on end. It was in the main non-violent, this was no Mods & Rockers scene. It was (and still is) a scene with enormous passion, if you were in a dead-end job and a Northern Soul fan it's about all you lived for, the choice of buying a record with your dinner money was a "no contest" decision. I guess we all wish you luck with project but please understand about the fear of not "getting it right"
if we can argue amongst ourselves about 2 digits on a record label that gives you some idea about
the obsesive and passionate nature of the Northern Soul fan and after all the film is just about that !!
Good luck
Chris Lalor (old Torch, Mecca, Junction & Cats soulie)