I have had requests to explain exactly what Northern Soul music is. Wikipedia gives an excellent definition so I won’t try to improve on that. All I can suggest is that if anyone really wants to understand that you try listening to some.
So how shall we find you some to listen to free of charge and legally? Well you can go to the BBC iPlayer and find John Kane’s Saturday evening show on Radio Leeds. Or you can look on the internet and find a list called The Northern Soul Top 500. You can pick out two or three tracks and put the titles into YouTube.
Little bit of trivia about some of the songs.
At number one on the list is “Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)” by Frank Wilson. Last time a copy of that single went to auction it sold for £25,000.
Dobie Gray is at number two. You may know the name, he had hits with “Drift Away” and “The In-Crowd”. But this song “Out OnThe Floor” is special. It can fill a dance floor before the opening bars are over.
At number five is “Long After Tonight Is All Over” by Jimmy Radcliffe. This was composed by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. I believe it was meant for Gene Pitney but I’m glad it went to Jimmy Radcliffe. I’m a fan of Gene Pitney but Jimmy sings this in a way that tears at the soul.
You won’t need to listen for long. I expect the majority will be completely underwhelmed and wonder why their ears are being assaulted in this manner. That is a very common reaction. I would say it has a distinctive fast tempo and beat. Someone recently told me it is nasty thumpy stuff.
However there are just a few people who will have a different reaction. Something will have been stirred deep inside them. They will feel alive, as if a spark has been lit. The music is calling out to them, making them want to dance and never stop dancing. It will become an addiction, a life long search for more and more of this music.
I suppose it’s a bit like Marmite. They say you either love it or you hate it. I don’t like Marmite but I have a passion for Northern Soul.
