Ian Dewhirst

It's just another in a long line of Northern Soul records which crossed over to the mainstream market AFTER they were discovered by the scene, like the Fascinations, the Formations, the Tams, R. Dean Taylor. Dean Parrish, Rodger Collins etc, etc. I'd say it was a Top 5 Northern record several weeks before it crossed over to the masses. I don't see it anywhere near 'Car Wash' or 'Red Light' personally..... Ian D

"Scrub Board" (the instrumental to 'Hold Back The Night') was huge at the Torch in 1972. When "Hold Back The Night" (the vocal to 'Scrub Board') appeared on "The Legendary Zing Album' some three years later as a new import we were all over it. It was a monster at Blackpool Mecca and Cleethorpes Pier. In fact, the Trammps were booked at Cleethorpes as a direct result. That was some concert I can tell you....... Ian D

You don't know how grateful I am that "Northern Soul" is outselling "The Only Way Is Essex"....... Welcome to the top-selling compilations in the UK! Ian D

Well, what an amazing ride it's been! As of today the "Northern Soul" soundtrack is still riding high @ No.9 in the national UK Compilation Chart Top 10, some 6 weeks after it's release! It's spent half it's life in the Top 10 album chart without the benefit of a TV campaign or high-level marketing which is almost unheard of these days. People power! Lw Posn Posn Title Artist Label Company 1 1 KEEP CALM AND CHILLOUT VARIOUS ARTISTS SONY MUSIC CG SONY MUSIC CG 2 2 SILENCE IS GOLDEN VARIOUS ARTISTS SONY MUSIC CG SONY MUSIC CG 3 3 NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL MUSIC 88 VARIOUS ARTISTS SONY MUSIC CG/VIRGIN EMI SONY MUSIC CG/VIRGIN EMI NEW 4 ANNIE MAC PRESENTS 2014 VARIOUS ARTISTS VIRGIN VIRGIN EMI 4 5 FROZEN ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK WALT DISNEY UMC NEW 6 MOODS - A WORLD OF EMOTIONS VARIOUS ARTISTS UMTV UMTV NEW 7 HOLLYOAKS - THE ALBUM VARIOUS ARTISTS SONY MUSIC CG SONY MUSIC CG 5 8 NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL DRIVE VARIOUS ARTISTS SONY MUSIC CG/VIRGIN EMI SONY MUSIC CG/VIRGIN EMI 8 9 NORTHERN SOUL ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK HARMLESS DEMON MUSIC 6 10 THE ONLY WAY IS ESSEX - DANCE ANTHEMS VARIOUS ARTISTS WARNER MUSIC TV RHINO (WARNERS) Ian D

That's all right Quinvy. I understand mate. We used to tolerate softies but make sure that we always got 'em home before midnight for their bedtime horlicks before setting off @ 12.00pm for a night of drug-induced mayhem and musical perfection. Someone had to stay home! Ian D

I concur totally. The amount of negative comments about the swearing and drug usage seems very odd for anyone that was supposedly there at the time and lived and breathed it. It's well-known that, somewhat incredibly, I never took drugs throughout this period. It wasn't uncommon for me to grab an hours kip between 4.00-5.00am and then get back to it. However, I was surrounded by druggy stuff whether I liked it or not. The Central got busted at least three times whilst I was there, even one time when I was dee-jaying and got ordered to switch the music off. I had my car searched by the D.S. regularly and, I think, was even a target for them as a local DJ who went to all the nighters, generally with a bunch of prime suspects LOL. Standard procedure at a drug bust back then, was for the police to shine a light in your eyes to determine drug-usage via the size of one's pupils. The rule for anyone travelling to gigs with me back then was, "if you've got any gear, then neck it before we set off" in case of a stop en-route to a nighter. I mean this is all standard stuff and no surprise to any of us that were there. You would have had to be delusional not to have experienced this stuff as the correlation between the Northern Scene and drugs was documented throughout the whole period with drug busts, club closures and numerous reports in the local papers. I got grilled about all this by my parents all the time. I've had a few discussions about this in the last week or so. In my circles, the people who complained about the darkness, language and drugs never went. They were generally friends or relations of people I know and they were genuinely shocked by those scenes. If they'd have experienced it first-hand, they wouldn't have been shocked is my conclusion. But hey, tough shit. That's how it was. The Northern Soul scene was not a scene for softies. The people who are moaning about this stuff probably went to a Soul night on Tuesdays at Tiffanies or something and think that's enough to qualify 'em. I was even conversing with Dave Evison last night and we both concur that it was chillingly accurate and we were both there every week during that period so we both actually know first-hand. That's good enough for me. Ian D

No she wasn't. She came on the scene in 1981 and has said so in numerous interviews. Ian D

Yep. Bruce Lee was their choreographer prior to his later emergence as a martial arts film star wasn't he? Ian D

Yep, "I'm Gone" reverberating around 20,000 living rooms is no bad thing in my opinion mate! Ian D

A little bit of history repeating methinks. But this time we have all those people who were around back then, plus a further 35 years worth of new enthusiasts, an international profile, a smart social media campaign and a core audience who inherently want to see the film succeed. Also, the soundtrack has been out 5 weeks and it's hit the UK Compilation Top 10 twice since release. It's currently No.8 as of today and shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon. Most of these artists have struggled to sell 500 copies of their records in their lifetimes and now they've already sold almost 40 times that in 5 weeks and are up there with the big guns. It is like the Tams all over again LOL..... Ian D

Couldn't agree more. No point in sugar-coating the reality. It was a f*ckin' EDGY scene. I somehow got by 'cos I was a fanatical Collector/DJ with his own car and an enviable set of very good guardian angels (i.e. nutters) and thus, was always protected. In my crowd, I was Mr Straight. A large percentage of my key Northern Soul years were spent trying to understand ridiculous conversations from incoherent people who were either drooling at the mouth or gurning whilst talking about how rare the Steinways was. Think Pete Lawson. I somehow put up with it at the time and didn't really click how prevalent the drugs thing was until I re-connected with Pete again in the later 1970s and thus got a better understanding of things. I didn't even consider the implications of the 'dark' side of the film 'cos that's pretty much as I remember things. Like I said earlier, this has always been an edgy scene. Glad you liked it. Ian D

Full page in today's Metro too. It's hard to absorb how quickly everything's happening now. Page 46. Can't do a link as I'm in the infuriating post-apocalypse world of commuting into London by train..... Ian D

That's a killer quote. I laughed out loud when I read that.... Ian D

An unbelievable article on the Guardian film blog today:- Northern Soul is a surprise top 10 hit at the UK box office as the Turtles roll in Photographer Elaine Constantine’s feature debut lands inside the top 10 despite a release on just 83 screens; while Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sends Gone Girl packing. The winner Turned down by countless UK distributors and presented to cinema audiences without benefit of a UK film festival platform, British indie Northern Soul has astounded the film industry with a sensational result at the weekend. Landing inside the top 10, despite a release on just 83 screens, and limited showings at many of those venues, Northern Soul grossed a mighty impressive £279,000, according to official data gatherer Rentrak. The film is the feature debut of acclaimed photographer Elaine Constantine, who has long been connected to the Northern Soul scene. UK distributors were perhaps cautious as the film seemed late to the party: Shimmy Marcus’s SoulBoy, which benefited from more-recognisable lead actors Martin Compston, Felicity Jones and Nichola Burley, premiered in 2010, going on to gross £101,000 at UK cinemas over its lifetime. Northern Soul was acquired for the UK by Universal Pictures, and it’s reasonable to assume the company was looking at it more for home-entertainment value, since it sub-distributed theatrically through Munro Film Services, and the DVD is already in shops. It may have been taken by surprise at the impressive number of theatrical bookings achieved by Munro, and by the weekend gross. Constantine said: “No one knew what to expect from this film. We had no star leads and a low budget.” She added that the appeal of the scene in the UK is perhaps underestimated, with more than 1 million people tuning in to watch a recent BBC2 TV documentary. And despite the very short window before DVD release, she always saw her film as a theatrical proposition, best enjoyed communally. “Northern Soul is not a passive audience. People travel across the whole country to experience an all-nighter. Going to the cinema does not present a challenge.” With the film playing one-off shows at many venues and split screens (ie sharing with another film) at others, Northern Soul has achieved its impressive number from relatively limited play. Munro estimates the film had around 235 showings in total — from a maximum possible 996 slots (a potential four per day per venue, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday). Nottingham Broadway managed seven showings across the weekend, achieving about 97/98% seat occupancy. The Hull Reel achieved a similar result. The film scored particularly well in the Midlands, north-west, Yorkshire and London. Munro’s own weekend figure is in fact a slightly higher £286,000, so this will include some unconventional venues not tracked by Rentrak. Despite being now available on DVD, more than 30 cinemas are holding Northern Soul this coming weekend, with 40 fresh sites also booking the title. https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2014/oct/21/northern-soul-uk-box-office-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles Ian D

Me too. You only get a chance like this usually once in a lifetime and I think Elaine's done us proud. The bar has been set I believe. Ian D

It was a broader church than people may think. Quite a few 'middle class' DJs back then Kev.... Ian D

Well, it would be if Universal owned "Soul Time" - it's Sony Music that control Shirley Ellis. Also, judging by some Facebook activity I've been seeing, it looks like they might be doing something similar with Gloria Jones's "Tainted Love"..... Ian D

Well, hopefully they'll be discussing that right now what with a No.1 DVD, a No.8 soundtrack and a new UK record first weekend..... Ian D

We watch for the stuff and then zap 'em down regularly. It's a pain in the ass and time-consuming but you have to preserve your copyright if possible. Ian D

Shocking. I simply have never understood the 'small-window' strategy. I said from the word go that this could have taken £3-5,000,000 over an extended cinema run with the right marketing. The fact that it was the 10th most-viewed film in the UK this weekend on a sample of just 70 screens with zero Marketing, tends to underline my point. It's already set the British record for the most-viewed film on the least amount of screens over it's first weekend and the DVD is the best-selling DVD in the UK as of now. I'm wondering whether the penny is beginning to drop yet.......... Ian D

I've been trying to get "They Call It Acid" released for the last 3 years. It's excellent but it's the music clearances for the film which have caused the problem. Very frustrating for everyone but especially Gordon who made the film. Ian D

I thought the school thing was pretty realistic. It had loosened-up a bit by 1973 but yes, in the 1966-1970 period, I got caned several times (thus starting a long-life of caning lol), slippered once (which hurt worse than the cane) and got slapped around the head a few times. My Latin teacher wouldn't think anything of chucking a board duster at someone's head and one time cut a pupil's face with that trick. I was questioning the whole idea of inflicting pain as a way to teach discipline. I think I even informally let them know that if I suffered any more bruising as a result of punishments, then I'd take them to court. I wasn't into any of it and thought it was unnecessarily brutal. So, I think teachers became a lot more liberal by the early 1970s. I appreciated other nuances in the film on second-viewing. On the first viewing, the film came at me so viscerally that I was pretty pumped-up throughout it and furiously pounding my leg to every record and curiously energized - like being at the Casino trying have a coherent conversation LOL. By the second viewing, the excitement was more controlled and I started appreciating the acting, detail and other nuances more. So the film definitely has definitely had an interesting effect on me. Ian D

You're welcome Jim. Thanks! Ian D

Yep. Ian D

Well that's one he'll of a review from someone who knows his stuff. He got it bang on and truly understood the film. Nice one Mark! Ian D