Thread: Northern Soul - For Dancer's Only!

Rare allnighter poster from the 1980's recently discovered..

^ Are there any reunions of that guff?

I think Northern Soul died out with the advent of Carpet Tiles, with all that beer on them you could slide around like they used to.

Originally Posted by Dillinger

^ Are there any reunions of that guff?

Not for that one.

The scene just keeps on keeping on and doesn't stagnate, hence there's no need for re-unions.

There's a Northern soul night in Pattaya, you should check it out.

Although there is some cringeworthy characters and dancing in this video..

I do like this genre now, listening to it.
A bit before my time mind

This tickled me....



Bouncing

Not exactly Sasha and Digweed with half a dozen pills in us.

I reckon Claudio is Yerman

Plenty of dad dancing going on in Chit's first vid. I reckon a few might have even busted out the funky chicken when things really started to "bounce."

Originally Posted by Luigi

Not exactly Sasha and Digweed with half a dozen pills in us.

Accidentally pissing on some strangers leg whilst gurning and grooving in Es Paradis Ibiza then telling him you love him?

Yeah I think I'm smack in the middle of yours and Chitty's age

Some pics from the Casino, well all but one!

Can you spot the odd one out?

Was his death in the news? see that's how dem bruvers got dair moves, copiin us whitis

bsnub wins the dancing competition walking to the bar for another one too many

Who was the poster wanting calf muscles on birds legs?

Three minutes of insanity....

A couple of 70's Northern Soul classics..

Image captionAnthony Flavin was trending on Twitter after the programme aired on WednesdayA DJ has given his mixer desk and rare mini disc recordings to the teenage star of a documentary who said Northern Soul music turned his life around.
Anthony Flavin, who grew up in care, featured in Soul Boy after his key worker introduced him to the directors.
Northern Soul DJ Peter Deakes, 65, said he saw "potential" in him and wanted to help "put him on the ladder".
Anthony, 18, who wants to become a successful DJ himself, said he was "over-the-moon".
After Soul Boy aired on Wednesday on BBC One, it was trending on Twitter.
Image copyrightPETER DEAKES
Image captionPeter Deakes used to host a Northern Soul show on Moorlands Radio in LeekMr Deakes, of Bilborough, Nottingham, wrote to Anthony telling him about his career from DJing at pubs, clubs, and weddings to hosting a Northern Soul show on Moorlands Radio, in Leek, as well as on other stations.
He also gave Anthony 53 CDs, two microphones, studio quality leads, rare mini disc recordings with Northern Soul artist Rob Smith and a five channel mixer desk.
Mr Deakes said: "There is enough stuff there to set up a mini studio."

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Anthony said it will help him to practise his skills and learn more about he DJ industry.
"I just want to say thank you [to] Peter because I didn't know what he saw in me. I just thank him from the bottom of my heart," he added.

Image captionMr Deakes said while his DJing life is coming to an end, Anthony's is just beginningDespite being born in the early noughties, Anthony's home in Nottingham is a shrine to the 1960s and 1970s, with icons like Steve McQueen and Jimi Hendrix on the wall.
He wears classic Mod clothes like Fred Perry tops and Harrington jackets, listens to American soul music recorded in the 1960s and goes out dancing at Northern Soul nights.
Mr Deakes, whose DJ name was Peter St John, said: "I want my history to carry on and help this young lad start a career, while mine is coming to end."
Image copyrightPETER DEAKES
Image captionMr Deakes, who has donated this mixer desk among other kit to Anthony, said his Northern Soul career started in 1967
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Young Souls and Rebels

I went to my first rare soul allnighter at the lofty old age of fourteen. This was in the Lancashire seaside town of Morecambe, on the old wooden pier, which is now sadly no more. There was already a long orderly line of people, three or four thick as we approached the concrete slope leading up to the pier. I really didn’t know what to expect or whether I would even get in because of my age but we queued for a good hour to ensure entry. In fact it must have been much more, it was still light when we arrived there. Just to come forward though to April 2011. The reason for this reminisce was inspired by three recent events, my new friend in Paris, Lee, asking me ‘what is northern soul?’ A good old friend from teenage years getting in touch and reminding me of the time we did four soul allnighters in one weekend; the Twisted Wheel in Manchester, then Wigan, then Bradford and then Morecambe. The third recent event was attending a special test viewing of Dean Chalkeys wonderful short film ‘Young Souls’. The premise of the film is in the title, a focus on the young bloods that are, thankfully, enjoying the rare soul scene today, the very lack of which, was the main reason I drifted onto other things myself albeit 20 years earlier. It was also fitting that the film was shown in London’s 100 club, a long standing hub of rare soul in the UK and a venue I had not stepped in, well, as I just said for over 20 years. The film itself could also be said to be a tribute dedicated to anyone that has ever thrown caution to the wind and spent, without regret, their entire weeks wages on that essential record, travelling long distances to a venue. Sourcing the clothes, forgoing their Monday to Friday lunches for nearly 6 weeks to save and be seen in the right shoes. By extension, it could even stretch to their chosen daily transport , a vintage set of four wheels or Italian two wheels; all to compliment a certain lifestyle and look. Then we get back to the music, the passion, the dancing ; real people. For its real people and the honest presentation of, that Dean Chalkleys film making and photography skills really shine. There are no actors in this short docu-drama film, I felt proud and a little bit in awe when I saw how well the essence had been captured by Dean and his team. Summer, Lancashire 1985 Clothes for the evening?, I was wearing an off the peg three button blue/purple ‘tonik’ suit, white button down collar shirt with black polka dotting that complimented equally, my eye liner and as it came to pass, the pupils of my eyes. Philadelphia soul singer, Eddie Holman was also performing on stage that night, his trademark falsetto very much ‘en forme’. I knew a couple of his numbers already, ‘hey there lonely girl’ and ‘it’s a free country’ but it was his performance of ‘I surrender’ which maybe for the first time in a dance, made me utter with
excitement ‘Whats this song? Whats this song?’, it was and still is, a complete anthem. Saxophonist Snake Davies and his band took the role of providing the backing. Dancing was subdued as it coincided with a large scooter rally and a lot of people took to sitting/sleeping on the floor but there was a smaller room before the main area with some serious dancing, a few guys still sporting the look of long lank hair, singlet vests and oxford bag trousers. With hindsight, this was only three years or so after the closure of Wigan Casino. No time at all really. From the record vendors, I bought ‘Cool Jerk’ by the Capitols that night and salivated over a yellow UK London American label demo of ‘Walking the dog’ by Rufus Thomas. The vendor said something like ‘ah that one came from the ultimate collection’, which had me going back to Salford raving about the existence of this ‘ultimate collection’. I danced hidden amongst the crowd , whilst watching Eddie Holman sing, his arm out stretched. It was a good feeling walking through the seaside streets in the early morning sunrise. Moving forward three years and my life situation was similar as to my explanation to my friend Lee on why this all happened in the first place, why black soul music that had essentially failed commercially in the USA was picked up on, devotedly, by predominately working class kids in the North of the UK. On one side you have the recording artists and musicians putting absolutely all of their expression into 2 minutes 30 seconds, on the hope that the song may break into a local hit or score a home run with a hit throughout the state or even nationally and on the other side, somebody like myself, in my first job after leaving school, I don’t particularly like it and I cannot see a route out, other that quit, which, is not an option, so, I put absolutely all of my expression into my weekend. Chasing and revering this music I felt was hip, sophisticated, genuine, honest; an alluring combination. Music made by dreamers and danced to by dreamers. Quite often at 3am or 4am in the basement rooms of the Twisted Wheel, with my friends engrossed and lost in finger poppin’ club soul and r&b music, I’d stop and look around with the realisation I wasn’t even remotely concerned about the crap I worried about during the week. For a period of nearly a year in 1987/88, three weekends out of four were spent travelling to a soul allnighter. More or less every Friday had our own record playing sessions above various Manchester pubs. We were skinny that year, food wasn’t high on the agenda.
Fashion and Northern Soul, does it exist? Well, we thought it did, New England Dexter Brogues, Beef Roll Bass Weejuns loafers, worn with bright Burlington argyle socks. Tailor made Oxford bags trousers or parallel trouser 18” wide, cut short above the ankle; with or without one inch turn-up . Dark Blues, all shades of Grey, Dark Browns. Barracuta G9’s; every colour we could get our hands on; bottle green, chocolate, wine. When at an allnighter on home turf, we would wear tailored 3 button blazers, ‘Twisted Wheel Style’ with red linings. The worst fair isle tank tops we could find, a bit later; vintage lacoste polos. To be honest, during that year, we half expected, in earnest, for someone to come up to us to discuss the look we were trying to portray. Our togs didn’t get a second glance really; the music was the priority, along with the sharing of knowledge and dialogue on 45’s. I’m not sure whether it is still the same situation now. But we were on the periphery; any particular week would be spent attending various places to catch a listen of most genres of 1960’s black music. It just so happened that in this period of time, the ‘shiny object’ attracting our modernist magpie like attention was the mid tempo big city soul of Chicago, New York and Detroit and what was termed at the time as ‘sixties newies’. This was the catch all term for the new discoveries that were being put forward and dance floor tested by the more innovative rare soul deejays. Personally speaking I thought it was an exciting time, one that caused much debate. One would hear grumbles from the old guard eager for the golden age tracks of the previous decade and being generally disdainful of this variation of tempo and style but I completely disagreed. I felt the ‘sixties newies’ were of our time, fresh and more soulful , so we ran with it; pilfering what we could for our own playlists. Guy Hennigan was my favorite deejay, no ego, just impeccable selection without compromise. When you’re good you’re good. Plus he shaved a parting in his head which is always going to score points isn’t it? One final thing to say, next time you find yourself in Manchester, make a point of heading down towards Urbis and in particular the new Cathedral Gardens there. This used to be part of Long Millgate, where the Manchester Sports Guild used to be and stood derelict there for many many years. In 1972, the cellars of the MSG housed the second location of the Pendulum club, Barry Tasker was the deejay. Clientele was the younger end of the original Twisted Wheel crowd, dress code; proto casual, playlist was investigating the more up-tempo side of rare American sixties soul, a genre soon to be known as……….yes, you got it. It’s the innovators that always pave the way for the others. So clench a soul fist knowingly the next time you walk across. The last pair of Oxford bags I had tailored, were made in a dark
burgundy wool and mohair cloth. I never got to wear them, by the time I got them from the tailors, we’d moved onto other things. But we were young souls once.

Do you seriously think anyone can be arsed reading that?

'It was everything to me': Memories of the Twisted Wheel – the nightclub which didn't sell booze but which became the 'birthplace of Northern Soul'

A new book chronicles the music and the DJs which saw the club forge its own sound




"It was very basic inside, badly lit with just plain painted walls."
On the face of it, the venue which a then teenage Rob McKeever first walked into in 1969 wasn't much to write home about.


Yet the only reason he was here was that tales from inside had spread like wildfire across the country, seeing visitors flock to it.
And like so many before him, Rob soon found out that this was no ordinary nightclub.
For this dark, sweaty, basement club close to Piccadilly Station had become the epicentre of a whole new music scene and its name - The Twisted Wheel – still resonates today.
Now, a new book has chronicled how it became the 'birthplace of Northern Soul.'




Crowds pack-in to watch Ben E. King at the Twisted Wheel (Image: Norman Roger)Opened by brothers Jack, Phillip and Ivor Abadi, the coffee bar and dance club opened in January 1963 and began life as a Blues and R&B venue. It was situated on Brazenose Street, which runs between Albert Square and Deansgate.
However it was when it moved to new premises, at number 6 Whitworth Street, in September 1965, that it began to move in a new musical direction and its reputation became firmly established.

'It was everything to me': Memories of the Twisted Wheel – the nightclub which didn't sell booze but which became the 'birthplace of Northern Soul' - Manchester Evening News