I spoke to one of my neighbours from back home in Manchester as I know him to be a big Northern Soul follower, so I decided to ask him a few questions to get a clearer idea about what Northern Soul is and means.
Can you give some background info about you and your love for Northern Soul?
I was born in Manchester in 1954 and brought up in a small terrace house in Wigan with my mum and older brother. My brother was 2 years older than me and was the one to introduce me to Northern Soul, and took me to my first du at Wigan Casino when I was about 18 years old and I remember thinking it was THE best night of my life. Ever since those endless nights back in the day I still have a huge passion for Soul music and listen to all my music on vinyl still, I ain’t about the new Spotify and iTunes.
What would you usually wear to one of these Northern Soul nights?
Usually, I wore this red sort of tank top underneath one of my Fred Perry polos with the big collars. I remember stealing a lot of my brother's clothes since I pretty much only wore his hand-me-downs anyway, but he had a great collection of Fred Perry since he had an alright job which I, on the other hand, didn’t. I wore the tank top under so when I got too hot from dancing I could take my shirt off, I was not body confident enough to go shirtless. Then I always wore old suit pants and white ‘bowling’ shoes.
What are your favourite tracks?
Probably one of my favourites has to be Turning My Heart Beat Up by MVPs, just because of the buzz it gives me and how happy it makes me feel when I hear the upbeat tempo, my feet start moving and won’t stop! This was probably one of the most iconic soul songs back in the day but its because its such a tune! It’s a classic! The tracks I listened to the most were usually just cheap soul vinyls that I nicked from the local record shop.
How would you best describe Northern Soul and what it means to you?
Northern Soul to me means community, faith and fantastic music. I would describe it as a way of life, pretty much all my mates that I’m still in touch with, as well as my brother, still live for soul music and we often meet up and go to soul nights that sometimes get put on in Manny.
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