| manchester northern soul | the entertainment capital |
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On
these pages, Pride Of Manchester looks at a legacy that
has caught the imagination of the world, through music
and through dance. The music genre known as Northern Soul
first swept the nation in the 1960's during the mod scene
and here you'll find all the clubs, the music and the
people that made Northern Soul a phenomenon that still
exists today. |
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| manchester northern soul | music for a swinging generation |
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David
Godin was a record shop owner in London in the
early 70's and also a columnist with Blues &
Soul magazine, who realised that trends in music
were not the same throughout the country and that
there was a certain divide to what people wanted
to listen and dance to. To make it easier to classify
this music to his staff, he coined the term "Northern
Soul." This was the definition for the Northern
masses who just couldn't get enough of rare, upbeat
Detroit-style soul from the Sixties, while the
rest of the world was embracing the funk music
scene. The roots for Nothern Soul are through
the mod era around the late 60's, Over the years,
Northern Soul has evolved to include some up tempo
pure R&B and more relaxed sounding music and
despite the vast style of music, you can still
enjoy the sounds of the soul as it was first relished
in Manchester, Wigan and Blackpool.
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click
here for northern soul t-shirts
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| northern soul clubs |the venues |
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American
blues, soul and Mowtown music had always been
popular in the U.K. Vinyl was being imported
from across the big pond to the north &
south and clubs, however it was the north who
started to play more obscure and rare soul records,
and so an underground scene developed. Clubs
like the original home of Northern Soul, The
Twisted Wheel in Manchester and The Torch and
paved the way for a new style of club. Other
towns forged their own venues, such as the Blackpool
Mecca and the infamous Wigan Casino. Many of
the clubs gradually disappeared, however there
are still some, such as the Twisted Wheel, that
have emerged to play the original beats to a
whole new audience. |
| click
here for northern soul albums |
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| northern soul clubs | manchester twisted wheel |
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Twisted Wheel
in Manchester was originally an unlicenced
coffee bar/drop-in club in Brazennose Street,
Manchester, originally opening in 1963. It
was primarily a club that played rhythm and
blues and had many famous names grace it's
stage, including Manchester's own, John Mayall
also the Spencer Davis Group, Long John Baldry
and Alexis Corner. Many US artists that were
on tour at the time also made an appearance,
including John Lee Hooker and Solomon Burke.
With the arrival
of Roger Eagle as the DJ, a music policy of
a blend of hard Rhythm and Blues and emergent
American soul music soon caused the Twisted
Wheel the place for any self-respecting Mod
to be seen at. The club was also one of the
first to start importing records. Unfortunately
similar to its contemporary counterpart in
Manchester, the Hacienda, the council revoked
its license and on January 31st, 1971. But
the story doesn't end there. The Northern
Soul Scene of Today has seen The Twisted Wheel
in Manchester re-open in 1999. Thanks to the
tireless efforts of one of the Wheel's old
boys, Pete Roberts, the Wheel did spin again
with DJ's "Stan the Man" Evans,
John Green and Ian Dunning. The format was
classic Northern Soul stompers and the re-opening
was almost exactly 40-years after the original
Twisted Wheel opened in Manchester's Brazennose
Street.
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| manchester
twisted wheel albums |
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| northern soul clubs | wigan casino |
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A
September Morning in 1973, saw a massive World
War One building opened its doors to a generation
of youth who had one passion for music. For
eight years the venue would be host to the most
infamous all-night Northern Soul sessions that
would go down in history, not just in the UK
but also in America. In fact the American music
magazine 'Billboard' officially voted it 'The
Best Disco in the World' ahead of New York's
'Studio 54' in 1978. Great honour for the venue
but by no means a venue for Disco music. It
also served no alcohol whatsoever. Its main
room had a massive wooden dance floor surrounded
by a large balcony and like the Mecca it also
had a secondary room known as 'Mr M's' which
opened a couple of hours after the doors had
opened. The Casino had a Rhythm and Blues policy
making it rare to hear anything with a hint
of funk, nor did it concentrate exclusively
on obscurities as easily accessible records
were well integrated into the Casino playlists.
The
club also influenced the 'Hit Parade' as well
as creating its own record label. From the middle
of the 70's to the end of the decade, there
wasn't a soul under 30 who hadn't been to the
club or knew someone who had. But by 1981, the
club had been forced to close and it had drawn
more than 1000,000 members. A few months later
in a freak accident the Casino caught fire and
was razed to the ground. But still there are
nights that celebrate the era of the Casino
and the original sounds, dj's and punters.
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| buy
wigan casino albums |
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| northern soul clubs| blackpool mecca |
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When it opened
it's doors in 1965, the Blackpool Mecca was
at the forefront of the music scene. With
a capacity of three and a half thousand people,
it had a glitzy stage with a revolving bandstand
and was a perfect venue for various forms
of entertainment. It played host to The Chi-Lites,
Miracles, Isaac Hayes also Edwin Starr. The
club bent over backwards to bring in the punters
from all over the region including a free
bus service to pick people up. Unfortunately,
smaller venues began to replace the massive
dance halls and by the early seventies its
main hall was populated by a fraction of the
punters it used to see. It was also the case
with many other Tiffanies/Mecca buildings
throughout the country.
The Mecca had
a smaller dance hall known as the 'Highland
Room' above its main arena. This room was
set up as a location to play rare soul, which
meant the club could still carry on despite
a declining main hall. From 1971 to 1979 the
smaller room continued as a Rare Soul Venue
but in 1981 the Mecca closed completely having
fallen into a state of disrepair due to lack
of investment. The legacy of the club has
been secured by the people who played the
music as certain DJ's played the rarest tunes
fresh from the US. Anyone who love the rare
tracks would be only able to hear them within
the hallowed walls of the Mecca.
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buy
blackpool mecca albums
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| manchester northern soul | edwin starr |
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"
I am sure that a great many US artists would pay homage to
the UK Northern Soul Scene. It has allowed us to still have
some place to be."
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| -
The Late
Edwin Starr |
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