The Truth About Northern Soul: Unpacking Myths

In recent years, Northern Soul has gone from being a small, marginal interest to a major cultural phenomenon. It has been appropriated into various forms of media and a great deal has been said and written about it. However, as someone who was part of the Northern Soul scene from way back – back, indeed, to before it was called 'Northern Soul' – much of what I hear and see written is wildly at odds with my own experience. I have there- fore written this book in order to examine and counter some of the myths that now encumber the Northern Soul scene. To give a few examples: there seem to be moves on the part of some to rede- fine the Northern Soul scene as some kind of drug-free, violence-free teenage utopia, or adolescents' Darby and Joan Club. That is very much not a true representation of the scene as I experienced it. The seldom challenged status of Wigan Casino as the scene's defining club is another aspect which is highly debatable and is challenged here. I also examine many of Northern Soul's stereotype images and symbols and ask if they are really representational of how people experienced the scene. There are several books in circulation on Northern Soul, usually histories or personal memoirs. Although this book necessarily includes some of those aspects, they are asides, and its key driving force is a succession of popular Northern Soul myths, which I set out in order to examine and critique. I see two main types of people enjoying this book: those who are new or relatively new to Northern Soul and would like to know more about the truth of its varied and not always edifying past, and those who, like me, have been around the block a few times and would appreciate a blunt, honest account of how things were, which echoes their own experiences. Northern Soul has also now been recognised for the powerful cultural force that it was, and it has therefore, over the last few years, become the object of academic scrutiny. I hope that those who continue to research the subject will find this contribution a useful addition to the discussion. As this book takes a hefty cattle-prod to many of Northern Soul's holy cows, I expect some people will find it controversial, and maybe some will even take offence. However, I hope that is not the case and that all who read it will appreciate it for its candour and will recognise that popularised beliefs are not necessarily truths and that the Northern Soul scene is not well served if it is represented by misleading parodies. I further hope that readers will recognise that this book is not meant to be critical of Northern Soul, overall, even if it highlights aspects some will see as negative. This is because many of the things seen as negatives at this critical distance were part of what made the scene attractive to those on the scene at the time. It is, however, critical of certain musical blind-alleys followed at times and of other dubious, extraneous things that have attached themselves to the scene. I therefore hope that this book negates some negatives and gives a true account, warts and all, of a profoundly vibrant and influential club and music scene.