Can't help much on any of the others, but I'll see what I can do with this
one...
> 5. What is Northern Soul?
The term 'Northern Soul' was first used in the late 60's to describe "soul
music popular in clubs in the North of England" at a time when clubs in
London and the south were moving towards the funkier soul being made at the
turn whilst clubs in the North stuck with the (mainly Motown influenced)
sounds from the mid-sixties and earlier. The constant search for fresh
sounds with the right sound led to DJ's from these clubs searching out ever
rarer records, even going to the then very extreme measure of making
trans-Atlantic shopping trips, and the most famous clubs such as the Wigan
Casino and the Blackpool Mecca attracted large crowds from all over Britain
for the whole of the 70's.
The sound of Northern Soul is notoriously difficult to pin down, with any
description usually boiling down to "you know it when you hear it". The
Northern has nothing to do with the origin of the music, as shown by major
"Northern" labels like Mirwood, Audio Arts, Loma & Modern and in some cases
didn't even need to be soul (the best examples of which would be
instrumentals along the lines of Afternoon of the Rhino) although the vast
majority was. Rarity is also important, as many records with precisely the
right sound would be scorned on the Northern scene by virtue of being too
well known - had I Can't Help Myself been by anyone other than the Four Tops
it would undoubtably have been a Northern monster. If you think along the
lines of a Motown soundalike which is good to dance to but wasn't a hit then
you aren't far off.
The Northern scene is thriving today, but may not have much place on the
modslist FAQ. There are plenty of websites which can help if you're
interested including:
http://www.night-owl.co.uk
http://www.tpnet.demon.co.uk/onsoul/onsoul.htm
<shameless plug>
http://www.btwebworld.com/blushsoul
</shameless plug>
Hope that's of some use, any additions and/or corrections welcome.
Cheers,
Ed...
