Surely there was no "traditional Northern Soul" in the early days. It's all just evolution of the scene as it developed. Many of the big venues, and a lot of small local ones, were ground breaking in their own time.
At least, that's the way I remember it from the mid to late sixties onwards.
One thing that really p's me off is DJ's playing what they refer to as Youth Club tracks. Bollocks! When they were originally played they were the business and bloody hard to find. I can only presume that said DJ's were still in short trousers at the time.
Anyways, 2 that spring to mind for me are Michael - C.O.D.'s, and Hey Girl Don't Bother Me - Tams.
Never hear the Tams HGDBM now, but I remember paying a weeks wages for it and was proud to own 1 of only 3 copies that I knew of (in my little world). The other 2 were at the Cally in Dunstable, and The George, Wilby, Northants. Walking into The George with that playing and everyone clapping along was the nearest thing to heaven for me.
-Kev