Northern Soul Film

[stevemcmahon]

You know what mate? If I'd been involved in this, I'd have argued for a contemporary setting and a hard hitting drama based around looking at a young guy in Manchester, who says bollocks to Hip Hop and Rave and gets passionately involved in something called Northern Soul in 2010. I'd have avoided all crappy plastic nostalgic re-creation and silly Wigan Casino mock up's and focused in on what Northern Soul really means now as a cultural force - which is ten times more potent territory for drama than looking back at the 70s - a impossible task with this scene....The past could have been dealt with via montage flashes - told through the recollections of older guys who influence the main character, but the real story would be about today and the relevance of Black American Soul music in the life of a young guy growing up in Post Modernist Britain RIGHT NOW...That would have been genuinely exciting and interesting and most certainly could have drawn on more bona-fide elements of the scene for support and portrayal...

As somebody who has worked in the film industry I am totally serious...The guy who pointed out that bag is spot on, this is lazy retro-schmaltz and a great subject like the Northern scene deserved far better dramatic treatment. The spirit of the scene and it's longevity could have been celebrated with far more affect in a contemporary setting and the overall essence of the original 'Underground' aspects would have been better understood by watching a young guy now at odds with all his mates when it came to musical taste....

Spot on.

[Tony A]

Well well well, Soul Source may well have banned Levine but they certainly haven't shut him up, the stuff on his facebook page about this thread is hysterical.

Paul-S's ears must be burning

https://www.soul-sour...st&f=1&t=113090

Wish I could veiw It,

I'm a techno phob without facebooky type thingy,

[Chris L]

Jesus christ its almost as if you desperate weekend soulies are blind!

What is a "weekend soulie" ???

[Ian Dewhirst]

Too right!!

OK, by my count that's 3 people on this thread alone that were influenced or excited merely by watching "Footsee" on TOTP when they were kids and are still on the scene some 35 years later.

So even though "Footsee" was the crappo end of the scene (and a record I've personally never played ever), it still inspired people onto the scene for better or worse.

The film certainly doesn't appeal to me (most UK films don't to be honest) but I don't think it's the devil in disguise either. What it may well do is inspire some people who will see it to dig a bit deeper if they are really interested and thus find out for themselves what the scene is all about.

Also, nothing is stopping anyone else from having a try if they think they can do better.

Ian D

[stevemcmahon]

Well well well, Soul Source may well have banned Levine but they certainly haven't shut him up, the stuff on his facebook page about this thread is hysterical.

Paul-S's ears must be burning

https://www.soul-sour...st&f=1&t=113090

That thread is hysterical. We all have our own opinions & selective memories - some more than others! Personally, I loathe his amateurish re-mixes but others love 'em. Go figure again..

Someone doth have a XXXL, badly bruised ego, methinks.

[Guest Simon]

As somebody who has worked in the film industry I am totally serious...The guy who pointed out that bag is spot on, this is lazy retro-schmaltz and a great subject like the Northern scene deserved far better dramatic treatment. The spirit of the scene and it's longevity could have been celebrated with far more affect in a contemporary setting and the overall essence of the original 'Underground' aspects would have been better

You could do that, although it would still need the energy of say Wigan Casino, it would have to be based on a current vibrant club, not one of those current type clubs that old people shuffle around to seventies Soul pretending they're enjoying themselves.

Or you could get a director who really understands & has lived NS, a bit like they did with "This is England", that could've worked also in a contemporary setting but they did successfully pull it off setting it in the seventies.

Simon

[Pete S]

OK, by my count that's 3 people on this thread alone that were influenced or excited merely by watching "Footsee" on TOTP when they were kids and are still on the scene some 35 years later.

So even though "Footsee" was the crappo end of the scene (and a record I've personally never played ever), it still inspired people onto the scene for better or worse.

The film certainly doesn't appeal to me (most UK films don't to be honest) but I don't think it's the devil in disguise either. What it may well do is inspire some people who will see it to dig a bit deeper if they are really interested and thus find out for themselves what the scene is all about.

Also, nothing is stopping anyone else from having a try if they think they can do better.

Ian D

I'd say anyone who witnessed that TOTP episode took something from it, it was the talk of the school and youth club for weeks, I'm sure anyone who says "Yes I saw it but I hated the commercialisation of the scene caused by it" needs to get a life/is a f*ckwit. 1975, 15 years old, it was almost too EXCITING!

[Mark S]

1975 and 20 years old it was wank

[Guest Dave Turner]

I'd say anyone who witnessed that TOTP episode took something from it, it was the talk of the school and youth club for weeks, I'm sure anyone who says "Yes I saw it but I hated the commercialisation of the scene caused by it" needs to get a life/is a f*ckwit. 1975, 15 years old, it was almost too EXCITING!

1975, 19 years old, it was almost too EMBARRASSING!

Fank f*ck I'm a f*ckwit and need to get a life

[stevemcmahon]

I'd say anyone who witnessed that TOTP episode took something from it, it was the talk of the school and youth club for weeks, I'm sure anyone who says "Yes I saw it but I hated the commercialisation of the scene caused by it" needs to get a life/is a f*ckwit. 1975, 15 years old, it was almost too EXCITING!

Wow, interesting. I too was 15 but lucky to have had an older sister who was 19 and an original member of the Casino. I can remember her utter despair when that was aired & the stories about when the best dancers had walked off the floor as the 'This Is England' film crew showed up. Came across to me @the time more like the beginning of a slippery slope. I'd go so far as to compare it to the recent Paul O'Grady Show shambles.

Still, there's always them 2 'celebrity' DJs from back then who'd agree with you ..they both had an agenda after all

Edited March 17, 2010 by deeve

[macca]

A weekend soulie is a person that has a life from sunday to thursday... I assume.

[Ian Dewhirst]

1975, 19 years old, it was almost too EMBARRASSING!

Fank f*ck I'm a f*ckwit and need to get a life

I think it all depends on what age you were at the time. I was 20 and full-on deejaying at 4-5 venues every week and it was acutely embarassing for me trying to explain that there were almost 2 sides to Northern Soul at the time - the real underground proper Rare Northern scene and the more commercial end as represented by "Footsee", "Hawaii 5-0", Joey Dee and TOTP etc, etc.

On the other hand, I'm still here 35 years later talking shit so there's hope for all of us!

Ian D

[Pete S]

Wow, interesting. I too was 15 but lucky to have had an older sister who was 19 and an original member of the Casino. I can remember her utter despair when that was aired & the stories of how the best dancers walked off the floor when the 'This Is England' film crew showed up. Came across to me @the time more like the beginning of a slippery slope. I'd go so far as to compare it to the recent Paul O'Grady Show shambles.

Still, there's always them 2 'celebrity' DJs from back then who'd agree with you ..they both had an agenda after all

What the f*ck has Wigans Chosen Few got to do with This England? I was at both nights when they filmed This England and I was one of those who refused to go onto the floor out of principal, it wasn't just the "best dancers" it was half the people who would normally have been on the floor. It was two and a half years after Footsee, when Footsee was broadcast it was my dream to go to Wigan, by the time of This England I'd been over 50 times. You're missing the point, Footsee was an ignition point for a lot of people.

[Pete S]

You're all f*cking liars trying to make yourselves look cool

you loved it, you loved the neighbours asking your Mum if you were one of them Northern Soul dancers they saw on top of the pops

[Guest]

A weekend soulie is a person that has a life from sunday to thursday... I assume.

[stevemcmahon]

You're all f*cking liars trying to make yourselves look cool

you loved it, you loved the neighbours asking your Mum if you were one of them Northern Soul dancers they saw on top of the pops

[Simsy]

Back to the matters at hand, as the writer and director are members on here and they care about what we say. If they're holding back on release and still cutting scenes, couldn't they lose the cringworthy dance off sequence and have a general de-cheese audit and put the fecker out there - soon as?! I want to see it all the way through, I want it to be a success for them and for everyone.

Craic on & happy Paddy's Day.

[macca]

I can say that our badges attracted a whole lot more attention at the school tuck shop after that broadcast.

We were all talking about it, including the pop fans. There were much more folk 'nosing in' on us at the youth club after it too. Till that point we'd been hidden away in a storeroom. After footsee on TOTP we were allowed to go out into the main hall... with our records of course. When the school closed for summer, the discos in the youth club continued and began to draw people well over school age from all over the area, purely because of the 'scene' we had going. Gary Spencer and Andy 'Smudge' Smith, then around 18 years old, used to bring their latest Soul Bowl acquisitions down as well, so they were exciting times. :-)

Edited March 17, 2010 by macca

[Ian Dewhirst]

You're all f*cking liars trying to make yourselves look cool

you loved it, you loved the neighbours asking your Mum if you were one of them Northern Soul dancers they saw on top of the pops

No, I was actually cool Pete. Honest......

Ian D

[Ian Dewhirst]

Back to the matters at hand, as the writer and director are members on here and they care about what we say. If they're holding back on release and still cutting scenes, couldn't they lose the cringworthy dance off sequence and have a general de-cheese audit and put the fecker out there - soon as?! I want to see it all the way through, I want it to be a success for them and for everyone.

Craic on & happy Paddy's Day.

Ian D

[Guest miss nancy]

Post of the year!!

tis true! but its how my mum found out I was going to nighters and I got into quite a bit of trouble, TOTP was massive at the time, everyone saw it.

[Guest]

Also, nothing is stopping anyone else from having a try if they think they can do better.

Ian D

Not quite as straightforward as that IAN...Raising half decent funding for a film in Britain, especially based on UK subject matter is hard enough at any time - even for established film makers - but when a subject like this finally does get a cinematic airing, the likelihood of somebody else wanting a pop at it (Financially) in the next few years is extremely unlikely. If the film is a moderate sucess, it will be seen as 'familar territory', i.e no need for further examination and if it bombs critically and commercially, it will be seen as an area to avoid etc.

Having said all that, there are a number of us who could have really pushed to do something over the years if we'd really got our fingers out, (and were not too busy with other projects etc) so I suppose complaining now is a bit lame! I just know a contemporary setting would have enriched the dramatic and credibilty factors considerably, so it is a shame in that respect. This is a subject somebody has 'jumped on' as a vehicle for 'pop' fim making, rather than approached with a serious dramatic perspective, which is what Northern Soul was/is due. I've always thought that the perspective of a Black Amercian Artist was important to the dramatic landscape too and with the plethora of acts appearing at Weekenders these days, there was great scope for some US Cameos in a contemporary setting.

Edited March 17, 2010 by chorleysoul

[stevemcmahon]

Actually, let's not lose sight of the real issue I & many of my mates had with Footsie - a 'self-proclaimed' Northern Soul record [on PYE no less] which had a GAZOO as its lead instrument, LMFAO

Now tell me any of that's cool & fashionable down the Youth Club

[Guest Simon]

Actually, let's not lose sight of the real issue I & many of my mates had with Footsie - a 'self-proclaimed' Northern Soul record [on PYE no less] which had a GAZOO as its lead instrument, LMFAO

Now tell me any of that's cool & fashionable down the Youth Club

Do you mean 'Kazoo', if so a great & underrated instrument imo, appears on the rather splendid Joannie Sommers "Johnny get angry" & Ginny Arnell's "Dumbhead", rather popular down the Da Doo Ron Ron youth club.

Simon

[Pete S]

Actually, let's not lose sight of the real issue I & many of my mates had with Footsie - a 'self-proclaimed' Northern Soul record [on PYE no less] which had a GAZOO as its lead instrument, LMFAO

Now tell me any of that's cool & fashionable down the Youth Club

Kazoo.

If you hear the original Footsee it's much slower than the one you all love.

Slower and even more horrible.

[Pete S]

Wow, interesting. I too was 15 but lucky to have had an older sister who was 19 and an original member of the Casino. I can remember her utter despair when that was aired & the stories about when the best dancers had walked off the floor as the 'This Is England' film crew showed up. Came across to me @the time more like the beginning of a slippery slope. I'd go so far as to compare it to the recent Paul O'Grady Show shambles.

Still, there's always them 2 'celebrity' DJs from back then who'd agree with you ..they both had an agenda after all

I think maybe some may read it as I was saying everyone should have liked it, what I meant was that anyone of my age at the time (15) would not have questioned the integrity of it and worry about Northern Soul being commercialised. I'd just bought Under My Thumb, Wade in the water, Festival time, The Jo©ker, Wigans Ovation and The Javells not long before that, what did I know?

Come to think of it, when did all that stuff become illegal, when was I banned from liking the Paula Parfitts and the Lynne Randells?

[Pete S]

I think it all depends on what age you were at the time. I was 20 and full-on deejaying at 4-5 venues every week and it was acutely embarassing for me trying to explain that there were almost 2 sides to Northern Soul at the time - the real underground proper Rare Northern scene and the more commercial end as represented by "Footsee", "Hawaii 5-0", Joey Dee and TOTP etc, etc.

On the other hand, I'm still here 35 years later talking shit so there's hope for all of us!

Ian D

Soul Sam insisted he played Hawaii 5-0 as a joke.

Was it played widespread, I know it was played at our youth club a few times.

[Guest]

Kazoo.

If you hear the original Footsee it's much slower than the one you all love.

Slower and even more horrible.

Yeah, hate to admit it, but it's so bad the one we have all turned into Frankenstein is actually better - if that is a word that can be used in this tense!

[macca]

The kazoo was used to perfection by many a blues songster, such as henry thomas. it has a long history, and is of african origin, so it's links to NS are unquestionable. Deeve, I didn't say we played footsee at the youth club, I'm just saying we were 'moved' by the dancers on TOTP. If you were 15, types like Jethro were to be looked up to.

[Guest]

Jethro,what a dancer.....and fella!

I'm glad I'm same age as PETE and you and came in at 14/15 at that time, the sheer excitement at that age was fantastic - don't think I would have stood all these years of wrangling and bickering if not for that almighty adrenalin rush at the start!

[macca]

Come to think of it, the tune very often mattered even less. Even at 4am on the main floor of Wigan circa 76. Some people were so smashed, tunes like Joe 90 were slipped into playlists with the greatest of ease. Getting all precious about Footsee now, 35 years later, is pointless. Pete has all the right in the world to love paula parfitt, lynn randell, samantha jones, jeanette harper, peggy march et al, because they're all a part of this scene, whether one percieves them as crap records or not. Oldies venues should definitely air them in my opinion. Warts and all NS, whether some of us like the term or not...

[Geeselad]

Saw the trailer last night, as bit of me was pulse racing and buzzing about it, ' we deserve this, we've earned it, people can finially see what its about'

another bit of me thinks its totally misssed the point, I grew up as a little boy seeing all the hard kids into it down the youthy, seeing the torch and SKNF written alongside Stoke city in graffiti on grubby walls, hearing strange records about skiing in the snow blaring from terrace windows on long forgotten summers evening, little girls chanting the lyrics to 'what' as they did hopscotch in the street, the movie looks clean, sanitised and just not dirty enough to be what little I remeber about the 7ts.

[Guest]

But each and everyone has a different perspective on this cos we're all individuals for Gods sake!

Somebody is making a film about our youth let's celebrate it!

Steady on, mate.

[Guest]

l don't often get mad ,but when people say 'This is wrong and that's wrong ' l get annoyed....it's not Wigan Casino it's a film about Wigan Casino over 30 years ago....anyway l'm going to PM you now for a kiss!

And I'm outta here for a St. Paddy's pint of Guinness.

[Ian Dewhirst]

Soul Sam insisted he played Hawaii 5-0 as a joke.

Was it played widespread, I know it was played at our youth club a few times.

Certainly at the Casino it was. There'd be audible groans coming from the back bar from all us cool record collectors and DJ's but the kids loved it!

Ian D

[Guest proudlove]

1975 and 20 years old it was wank

I was 22 and it was worse than that...........................................

[stevemcmahon]

Kazoo, schmazoo - sh*te will stay sh*te, no matter how many pretty words you care to throw @it

Let's face it people, the label said DISCO DEMANDS on it !!

In fact, the only good thing about that 45 was the B-Side belonging to Chuck Wood!

[Pete S]

Kazoo, schmazoo - sh*te will stay sh*te, no matter how many pretty words you care to throw @it

Let's face it people, the label said DISCO DEMANDS on it !!

In fact, the only good thing about that 45 was the B-Side belonging to Chuck Wood!

But they were called discos in those days, what's wrong with that? There was not another word for nightclubs, youthclubs etc that played music. They were discos.

[Wiggyflat]

The Carry on stuff is just poking a bit of fun & having a laugh

BUT, if you start to think about the bigger picture, the implications of any retrospective will always have the influence & flavour of the era it was shot in. I suppose the reason why Quadrophenia is such a glaring example is that there already was a second wave of Mods, way before the film came out, that actually had taken the time to research the movement's origins & had attempted to stay true to these roots. There were many original Soul & R&B nights running throughout the country in 78/79 - many of which formed the foundations for the clubs & ethics of the scene that exists today. No doubt this new film will contain influences of & for the next generation & may well get it totally wrong. That's kindov the whole point in my comparison.

As far as me & my mates @the time were concerned, the Quadrophenia supporters had opted for the crass, mass, pop version. I know that sounds elitist but then isn't that the same for most underground movements & the main point of contention within this thread? Personally, @the time, I found the whole Two-Tone, Selecter, Madness, The Beat, Specials, Bad Manners, Jam etc lot just another main-stream, record industry package with little or no integrity. Others obviously didn't.

Go figure

There were no mods left in London in 78.Punk and new wave were the thing.The producers got some original mods to teach the actors how to dance but they needed a mass of people as extras in the Brighton scenes.The northern scooter club scene had flourished since the early seventies and there were clubs dotted everywhere.The producers managed to contact a lot of these clubs and invited them down for filming....the problem was time had not stopped still for them.The scooters had changed and a series 1 or 2 Lambretta was regarded as grandad material and they all mostly rode GP's.The problem was that GP's were manufactured in 69/70/71. They needed extras badly so that is why you see a few GP's in the film....with fur around the headlight. Im sure Chalkys scoot was a GP and you can see Tom Petch's My Generation Lambretta on the seafront with fur around the headlight...good job they didn't look closer as it had murals.Definately not 64.Their clothes had moved on and they still wore parkas with beermats and large club badges along with greatcoats,Denim bag jeans and DM's.Perfect for riding in. The hair was longer as well and some even sported beards.Northern Soul was the music choice and long runs to northern seaside towns morecambe/scarborough.The scoots also were stripped down with no panels and brass/chroming to the engines.Some still had lights and mirrors along with metalflaking ....on GP's as well.....this is all the producers could get at the time.To a lot of these lads Quad was the death knell to a scene that they had been involved in for years and they saw it when they met the London and south eastern Mods at the first bank holiday at Brighton for the first time after Quad was released.The northerners were all on scoots and the revival mods came on the train....wearing 60's mod gear/northerners in Parkas, DM's and baggies.They could not comprehend each other.Gary Bushell wrote about it in an article called March of the Mods...he couldnt get it either as there was a mod disco and as soon as The Killermeters finished they all buggered off to Wigan Casino.He even thought that the rat symbol on the sidepanels of some scoots was allegiance to The Stranglers when it was the Scunthorpe Road Rats symbol.....I wonder if this will mirror what will happen on the northern scene if a big movie comes out.

[Little-stevie]

There were no mods left in London in 78.Punk and new wave were the thing.The producers got some original mods to teach the actors how to dance but they needed a mass of people as extras in the Brighton scenes.The northern scooter club scene had flourished since the early seventies and there were clubs dotted everywhere.The producers managed to contact a lot of these clubs and invited them down for filming....the problem was time had not stopped still for them.The scooters had changed and a series 1 or 2 Lambretta was regarded as grandad material and they all mostly rode GP's.The problem was that GP's were manufactured in 69/70/71. They needed extras badly so that is why you see a few GP's in the film....with fur around the headlight. Im sure Chalkys scoot was a GP and you can see Tom Petch's My Generation Lambretta on the seafront with fur around the headlight...good job they didn't look closer as it had murals.Definately not 64.Their clothes had moved on and they still wore parkas with beermats and large club badges along with greatcoats,Denim bag jeans and DM's.Perfect for riding in. The hair was longer as well and some even sported beards.Northern Soul was the music choice and long runs to northern seaside towns morecambe/scarborough.The scoots also were stripped down with no panels and brass/chroming to the engines.Some still had lights and mirrors along with metalflaking ....on GP's as well.....this is all the producers could get at the time.To a lot of these lads Quad was the death knell to a scene that they had been involved in for years and they saw it when they met the London and south eastern Mods at the first bank holiday at Brighton for the first time after Quad was released.The northerners were all on scoots and the revival mods came on the train....wearing 60's mod gear/northerners in Parkas, DM's and baggies.They could not comprehend each other.Gary Bushell wrote about it in an article called March of the Mods...he couldnt get it either as there was a mod disco and as soon as The Killermeters finished they all buggered off to Wigan Casino.He even thought that the rat symbol on the sidepanels of some scoots was allegiance to The Stranglers when it was the Scunthorpe Road Rats symbol.....I wonder if this will mirror what will happen on the northern scene if a big movie comes out.

interesting point Wiggy, is that your real name

We shall soon see won't we.... if its gonna hit the big screen??????? Mr Sadot said maybe straight to dvd??????

Its questions like this that the film makers could help with????

Billy said they do read the threads....

[Wiggyflat]

interesting point Wiggy, is that your real name

We shall soon see won't we.... if its gonna hit the big screen??????? Mr Sadot said maybe straight to dvd??????

Its questions like this that the film makers could help with????

Billy said they do read the threads....

Here we go then....this is trainspotterish.Quad witha better soundtrack.At 401 scoot cutdown.Never in 64........the best bits are at 437 with the guy in denim flares and some other scooter riders with long hair and then Tom Petch's blue GP (1970!!!) with fur around the headlight to try and mask it as a ???LI??.Check the paintjob (in 64???).Heres some pics of it. No wonder there are no close up shots as its called My Generation. Released in.....65?.Check out the bloke in the denim bags?? and then that cutdown as well.Some clubs painted numbers on the parkas on the back denoting when you joined. Theres a lad with a number 3.Not a 64 mod thing. The point is they did the best they could at the time....no internet/soul sauce/books etc. Theres no excuse now as the knowledge is at the end of a mouse click or e mail.It's these small things that make the difference between a well made and researched timeless film and what looks like a quick thrown together mish mash.I do like Quad by the way but only in small doses.There is footage from a regional TV programme that filmed scaborough on a bank holiday in 77/78 and the northern clubs were featured heavily. Never seen it though. Maybe its stuck in Frank Boughs loft with his leather gear

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki_VvA0H8ds

[Ian Dewhirst]

There were no mods left in London in 78.Punk and new wave were the thing.The producers got some original mods to teach the actors how to dance but they needed a mass of people as extras in the Brighton scenes.The northern scooter club scene had flourished since the early seventies and there were clubs dotted everywhere.The producers managed to contact a lot of these clubs and invited them down for filming....the problem was time had not stopped still for them.The scooters had changed and a series 1 or 2 Lambretta was regarded as grandad material and they all mostly rode GP's.The problem was that GP's were manufactured in 69/70/71. They needed extras badly so that is why you see a few GP's in the film....with fur around the headlight. Im sure Chalkys scoot was a GP and you can see Tom Petch's My Generation Lambretta on the seafront with fur around the headlight...good job they didn't look closer as it had murals.Definately not 64.Their clothes had moved on and they still wore parkas with beermats and large club badges along with greatcoats,Denim bag jeans and DM's.Perfect for riding in. The hair was longer as well and some even sported beards.Northern Soul was the music choice and long runs to northern seaside towns morecambe/scarborough.The scoots also were stripped down with no panels and brass/chroming to the engines.Some still had lights and mirrors along with metalflaking ....on GP's as well.....this is all the producers could get at the time.To a lot of these lads Quad was the death knell to a scene that they had been involved in for years and they saw it when they met the London and south eastern Mods at the first bank holiday at Brighton for the first time after Quad was released.The northerners were all on scoots and the revival mods came on the train....wearing 60's mod gear/northerners in Parkas, DM's and baggies.They could not comprehend each other.Gary Bushell wrote about it in an article called March of the Mods...he couldnt get it either as there was a mod disco and as soon as The Killermeters finished they all buggered off to Wigan Casino.He even thought that the rat symbol on the sidepanels of some scoots was allegiance to The Stranglers when it was the Scunthorpe Road Rats symbol.....I wonder if this will mirror what will happen on the northern scene if a big movie comes out.

Fascinating and dead accurate by the sound of it. I kinda remember it being semi accurate and not a bad effort overall but I wasn't expecting fantastic accuracy anyway really. It's a film innit?

They never get it 100% right except maybe Scorcese or Coppolla when they have decent budgets........

As Robert Evans famously said to Francis Coppolla when he was making The Godfather, "I wanna smell the f*ckin' spaghetti"!

Ian D

[Simsy]

They never get it 100% right except maybe Scorcese or Coppolla when they have decent budgets........

Got that right, Henry Hill said Scorsese would phone him in the middle of the night to ask how a wiseguy would hold a cigarette!

[Guest MBarrett]

Here we go then....this is trainspotterish.Quad witha better soundtrack.At 401 scoot cutdown.Never in 64........the best bits are at 437 with the guy in denim flares and some other scooter riders with long hair and then Tom Petch's blue GP (1970!!!) with fur around the headlight to try and mask it as a ???LI??.Check the paintjob (in 64???).Heres some pics of it. No wonder there are no close up shots as its called My Generation. Released in.....65?.Check out the bloke in the denim bags?? and then that cutdown as well.Some clubs painted numbers on the parkas on the back denoting when you joined. Theres a lad with a number 3.Not a 64 mod thing. The point is they did the best they could at the time....no internet/soul sauce/books etc. Theres no excuse now as the knowledge is at the end of a mouse click or e mail.It's these small things that make the difference between a well made and researched timeless film and what looks like a quick thrown together mish mash.I do like Quad by the way but only in small doses.There is footage from a regional TV programme that filmed scaborough on a bank holiday in 77/78 and the northern clubs were featured heavily. Never seen it though. Maybe its stuck in Frank Boughs loft with his leather gear

Nice iconic photo here from Clacton - Easter 1964.

Shows exactly what accessories were on scooters and the riding gear at the time.

Oh those halcyon days before mandatory helmets!

My house is almost visible from here. Shame I didn't get in the shot!!

[macca]

how did those hats and caps stay on?

[Steve G]

I'd say anyone who witnessed that TOTP episode took something from it, it was the talk of the school and youth club for weeks, I'm sure anyone who says "Yes I saw it but I hated the commercialisation of the scene caused by it" needs to get a life/is a f*ckwit. 1975, 15 years old, it was almost too EXCITING!

Yes absolutely right. Didn't see it as commercialisation back then. More like wow! Terrible to admit to now, but as kids thats how it was.

[Guest MBarrett]

how did those hats and caps stay on?

Good point.

These kids were almost certainly from London - 60-odd miles up the A12.

Not sure whether the hats would have stayed on all the way or were just for posing around the town.

But bear in mind these would have been mainly 150's - LI series I & II - Vespa Sportiques and what have you. They would have struggled to do much over 55 mph and two-up even less.

MB

Edited March 17, 2010 by MBarrett

[Guest]

Yes absolutely right. Didn't see it as commercialisation back then. More like wow! Terrible to admit to now, but as kids thats how it was.

Not terrible at all, there are tons of people on here and elsewhere who are still passionately into it, who would never have come near the scene if it was not for that 74/75 explosion, the 'commercialisation' is an over-egged 'red herring' in my book and without it, lots of eventual DJ's, Collectors and punters would never have come near 'Northern Soul'....the so called 'Tourists' buggered off years ago but loads of people were hooked for life at age 14/15 by all that, including me and others here obviously....The Purists and those who were a bit older at the time might not like it, but it was that period that cemented the existence of this scene for decades. In my view, anyway!

Edited March 17, 2010 by chorleysoul

[macca]

Maybe the sanctimoniousness of the older guys regarding this undoubtedly historic appearance is due to the fact that their perceived seniority at the time, all of 20 years, led them them foolishly to believe they were guardians of the sacred flame, just like the Ulams in Quest For Fire. Bugger me, them goji berries are having an effect on me.

[Steve G]

I think maybe some may read it as I was saying everyone should have liked it, what I meant was that anyone of my age at the time (15) would not have questioned the integrity of it and worry about Northern Soul being commercialised. I'd just bought Under My Thumb, Wade in the water, Festival time, The Jo©ker, Wigans Ovation and The Javells not long before that, what did I know?

Exactly the same for me Pete. No older brothers at the Casino to advise me, or seniors at school with the proper stuff, I litetrally stumbled into northern from mainstream soul via this stuff. Mind you I soon realised it was naff end (not Wade in the water).

back to the theme - this is a film - it'll either be a good story and watchable or not. Can't believe the hysteria on here about "preserving" NS's reputation when the web is full of Northern soul branded "tat" from clocks and watches to ladies underwear and donkey jackets.

Steve