Hello soulies its Gemma here forgot my username so im using my moms. Anyway I thought i'd better have a say on this matter. I understand exactly what you guys are trying to achieve here, in one way I think it's fantastic what you are doing. It does scare me though to think that the people of my generation are moving onto the scene, however It is the only way to keep the flame burning for us young soulies.. First of all I attend Northern Soul venues for the pure love of it, blessed I am to be apart of the scene. The older generation on the scene have certainley made me feel 100% apart of it from the start. I have met many of my soul brothers and sisters from all over the country and I find that its the older soulies that have made me so passionate about the music I love. It is very important to keep everybody together as one on the soulscene and in my eyes, dividing us could be a threat. Wether your young, old, fat, black, white, short, gay etc it dosent matter. Thats what makes the scene so special, everybody has their own individual reasons as to why they attend soul venues.
I cannot remember the last time I went to a club or bar with friends of my own age, sadly many of our generation are brainwashed and driven towards the stereotypical social life of a young person 2day. Becoming a souly dosent happen over night, I think its important that if the younger generation are introduced to the scene they should be taught about the history of the scene, Where it began, Why. Working class kids from poor families embraced Northern mainly, a desire to escape the depression of reality at that time. Also knowing that alot of these artists that gave us the music never got recognised for it, this makes me even more passionate about the scene. Growing up we didnt have as much as others, yet I have more in my life than a lot of the kids back in the day ever did. I appreciate everything I have in my life, and I do think that you need to have a background that relates to the history of Northern in some way to fully appreciate it. I feel the music, the tunes I love most I relate to, the only time I feel my best is on that floor. I love the atmosphere that is created at a Northern venue, you can almost feel the love. The music is so meaningful and getting the biggest adrenalin rush ever beats any other feeling. And in 3 years I havnt seen a single fight or glass thrown, what other scene gives you that ay? I am still learning names of artists, tracks, history, dance moves etc and ive been on the scene for 3 years. Its not that long I know but I feel that its gonna take more than the music to really involve the younger generations. NEVER EVER FORGET THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE MAINTAINED THIS SCENE. THIS IS THE OLDER GENERATION AND I PERSONALLY WANT TO THANK ANYONE WITH ANY INVOLVEMENT WHATSOEVER IN PRESERVING THE SCENE. YOU HAVE KEPT THE MUSIC ALIVE AND I AM SOOOOOO THANKFUL THAT I AM APART OF IT. Keep on keeping on, remember we are one big soul family!