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Are The Mods Responsible For The Northern/rare Soul Scene ?


arnie j

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Wigan had a flourishing soul scene from 1965 onwards running parralle to the Wheel and a vibrant allniters scene prior to the Torch and the Casino .The seeds of soul were well planted from 1965 onwards so you can see where the Casino came from because it was already there in spirit and substance.

        God Bless Mick L

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Guest johnny hart

Yes it was a mod thing,like all things youth cultural its developed.  Strange assumption  from soul central; that some how DJs had influence on the a evolving scene.As the dance floor will always dictacte  the style ,musical focus .at the Wheel, Blue Note, Top Twenty, the club goers new and owned and discovered the tunes . I can often remember the top guys telling ,ordering the DJs to play ,buy certain sounds[ under threat of decapitation]  The DJ /record collector was a spotty ,swotty nerdy anorack of no status, a figure of  contempt,to have his dinner money/ records,"rolled".It is only now these "lunatics have taken over the asylum".

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Yes it was a mod thing,like all things youth cultural its developed.  Strange assumption  from soul central; that some how DJs had influence on the a evolving scene.As the dance floor will always dictacte  the style ,musical focus .at the Wheel, Blue Note, Top Twenty, the club goers new and owned and discovered the tunes . I can often remember the top guys telling ,ordering the DJs to play ,buy certain sounds[ under threat of decapitation]  The DJ /record collector was a spotty ,swotty nerdy anorack of no status, a figure of  contempt,to have his dinner money/ records,"rolled".It is only now these "lunatics have taken over the asylum".

 

Really.? I'm sure some knowledge was shared with the dj's :lol: ,but there's many that are held in high esteem..An interesting take on the role of the dj.There's always been those ready to advise the dj as what to play. :lol:

Edited by KevH
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Yes it was a mod thing,like all things youth cultural its developed.  Strange assumption  from soul central; that some how DJs had influence on the a evolving scene.As the dance floor will always dictacte  the style ,musical focus .at the Wheel, Blue Note, Top Twenty, the club goers new and owned and discovered the tunes . I can often remember the top guys telling ,ordering the DJs to play ,buy certain sounds[ under threat of decapitation]  The DJ /record collector was a spotty ,swotty nerdy anorack of no status, a figure of  contempt,to have his dinner money/ records,"rolled".It is only now these "lunatics have taken over the asylum".

 

Got to disagree. I made no assumption that the dj's had influence on the evolving scene. I stated as the dj's did not resemble "mods" in either dress or music taste, the assumption would be that mods were not responsible for the northern scene as we know it from the early 70s onward.

 

As for the dj being "a spotty,swotty nerdy anorack of no status" try telling that one to Richard Searling or Soul Sam!!!!! LOL

 

roy

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As well documented the mod scene in London had fizzled out by 66 but continued up north through 67/68.

One of the major factors why Roger Eagle left the Wheel in 66 was because the punters were demanding he stuck to playing the uptempo beat later christened Northern Soul in 68 by DG. His  preference was for a more eclectic mix.Although by this time he had introduced many of what we know of as NS classics Dr.Love,Alexander Patten,That's What I want to Know,Determination,Looking For You,Agent OO,Got To Have Your Love, soul and all the Motown,Atlantic,Stax,Pye International,Major Lance,Impressions, Gene Chandler,Bobby Bland stuff etc.

Guy Stevens Roger and lots more were importing records from the early to mid  60s onwards all be it a mixture of black american musical styles.I think Roy Avery a US dealer had placed a advert in R&B scene published by Roger.

The Wheel mods in 67/68 favourite tracks were a lot pointed out by DB121 all with that NS beat the others pointed out played through 69/70 (Too Late played of the album)by then 90% of the older crowd had moved on to drinking clubs.

No one spent more time searching for stuff in Manchester and anywhere I could get a bus or train to than me including London twice a month from 67  onwards and I never found any of NS classics in new record shops i.e. left on the shelves by the earlier Mods.

All the stuff including imports which by 1970 accounted for 40% of The Wheels playlist was found in old electric shops,Market Stalls,Junk shops etc.

I went to the Torch and a fair sized percentage of the music was Wheel tracks.

Plenty of old mods had stuff in their collections later to be credited as new discoveries on the NS scene such as Tainted Love, I'm On My Way which they were importing of US deleted auction lists because the artist were well known.These never came to notice at the time because they were played at smaller venue clubs.

Rod my first specialised soul record list was late 68

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Yes it was a mod thing,like all things youth cultural its developed.  Strange assumption  from soul central; that some how DJs had influence on the a evolving scene.As the dance floor will always dictacte  the style ,musical focus .at the Wheel, Blue Note, Top Twenty, the club goers new and owned and discovered the tunes . I can often remember the top guys telling ,ordering the DJs to play ,buy certain sounds[ under threat of decapitation]  The DJ /record collector was a spotty ,swotty nerdy anorack of no status, a figure of  contempt,to have his dinner money/ records,"rolled".It is only now these "lunatics have taken over the asylum".

 

Not in the world I knew. I wouldn't have called Guy Stevens, Roger Eagle and Brian Phillips spotty, nerdy anoracks of no status and figures of contempt. Where are you getting this stuff from? 

 

Ian D  :D

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The early Allnighter scene was a Mod phenomena. Both North and South.

The early northern clubs, mojo, Wheel etc were certainly frequented by those who would consider themselves Mods.

I also think that the mod revivalists, late 70's, were responsible for helping to swell 'Northern Scene' numbers throughout the 80's and beyond.

Sean

100% yes, 

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I think it's unhelpful to make distinctions between DJs, dancers and collectors on the early scene.

 

The interactions between these groups were fluid–records and knowledge about music were often shared freely up to a point–and I don't think there were that many DJs who put themselves on some kind of pedestal.

 

Obviously you had the Roger Eagles and Guy Stevens figures, but beneath that rarefied grouping the whole thing was seemingly more democratic (or more accurately meritocratic). Roger Eagle leaving the Wheel may have been the catalyst for the whole character of the scene to be fully shaped in that the musical content became more important than the identity of the person behind the decks playing it.

 

I'd be interested to hear from early attendees about this point.

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Brian, I'd agree with most of that especially that Im familiar with from '69 onward when I got into the music.

 

I'd kinda disagree with the "left on the shelves" bit.  Those Minty 45s in junk shops etc must have come from somewhere so Im guessing unsold at the time.

 

And living in London from Sept '72 to March '73 I did find 45s in established record shops.

 

Even in Manchester !  That shop up in Cheetham Hill on left if going to Bury near where crossroads to Middleton.

 

Alexander Patten, Incredibles, Garnet Mimms. and a few I've forgotten. He had moved them into the basement though. Think I sold Barry one of those at Pendulem.

 

ROD

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Interesting thread. I think Gareth got it right in saying that Mod was a state of mind, being interested in new things, fashion, films and certainly music. 

 

In many ways the Mod scene was the blueprint for the Northern Soul scene, especially the allnighters and the obsession with records. I don't know what things were like in the north of England, from what people have written Mod appears to have lasted longer, it was over in London in 1966, but I still went out to clubs to hear soul music, but stopped doing nighters when I started going out with the girl I eventually married.

 

I go to the 100 Club allnighters fairly regularly, they aren't much different from those I attended back in the day at the Scene. Some of the same records are played but things have to move on. I wouldn't want to go to a night and continually hear the records I danced to back then.

 

My partner says she can tell I was a Mod because “you're funny about your clothes and appearance” although others may disagree.

 

I could say more but have now wish to bore everyone.

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well i thought long and hard about posting this,and let me state that ive got nothing against mods but i have,in the past read mods saying there wouldnt be a northern soul scene if it wasnt for them,i certainly believe that the mods were a huge part of the inception of all nighters dancing to obscure black soul music,the flamingo etc,but would we have the scene as we know it today if they hadnt ? so are the mods responsible for the northern/rare soul scene ??

jason

Some of the original 60's mods moved into what became known as Northern Soul. These had an influence on the progressing scene!

All these Retro Mods who became Mods after Quadrophenia had no influence on the development of the scene, because they were too late!

Edited by Guest
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Is a "Mod" a "Modernist" or just someone who wears a parker and rides an old scooter? Clearly "The Modernists" were in at the birth of the genre, but in all my years on the scene I've met very few Mod's. It is really begining to piss me off actually, because I think I am a Modernist at heart and I remember the real Mod's from my youth. Were the Teddy-Boys responsible for keeping rock and roll going? No, I don't think so.

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  • 5 years later...

These are some of the tunes played at the Dungeon and Beachcomber in Nottingham (1964 -1969)

Spellbinders - Help Me

Donald Height - Talk of the Grapevine

Zoot Money - Big Time Operator

Small Faces - What You Gonna Do About It

The Flamingos - Boogaloo Party

James & Bobby Purify - Do Unto Me

Four Seasons - Opus 17

The Esquires - Get On Up

Homer Banks - A lot of Love

Wilson Pickett - She's Looking Good

Chuck Wood - Seven Days too Long

Fantastic Johnny C - Hitch It To the Horse

Inez & Charlie Foxx - Tightrope

Sam and Dave - Said I Wasn't Gonna Tell Nobody

Jackie Lee - The Duck

James & Bobby Purify - Shake a Tail Feather

Tommy Neal - Goin' to a Happening

Jerry Butler - Moody Woman

Soul Brothers Six - She's Some Kind of Wonderful

JJ Barnes - Real Humdinger

The Bandwagon - Breaking Down the Walls of Heartache

The Drifters - At the Club

Sam and Dave - Soothe Me

Four Tops - Shake Me Wake Me 

.....and many many more

 

 

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The Mod (or Modernist) term is a qualificative word that is never to be put to plural purists say 😜 . Mod can be as many different scenes as they are each and everyone of them a 'face'. And so a 'scene' on his/her own. So you had Mod, Mod and Mod. These are very different peoples/scenes already !!!

If early Mod searched for 'rare' and 'alternative' jazz, blues, R'n'B, soul and Caribbean sound sometimes as they would attend black music gigs, for the rest they had their nighters, DJ's and clubs of their own. And still had you Mod (not 'hard' ones) past 1968 they would look rather out dated by then 🤖

So did some ex Mod by then got into the 'rare' soul scene and later into northern soul... Yes. But this 'rare' soul scene had nothing to do with the Mod generic attitude. For starter the music became the very center of this scene. And this is a very different stand. Dress codes FWIW was something else as well 🧐

 

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If you read some of the history of the early scene the “Mods” did not like the direction the soul boys were taking the scene.  

How I read it was yes they had a part to play in its formative years but there was definitely a split late 60s with those who were firmly rooted in the rare 60s/northern going one way and the Mods who were R&B, both British and American & pop going another.  
 

There is many a quote from Mods which you could take and attribute to the protagonists in other splits down the years, Wigan & Mecca, soul & funk, oldies & newies, rare & retro today etc. 

like I say that is how I read it.

Edited by Chalky
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There was a gradual evolution for some mods to morph into Soulies not every mod ,some mods just liked the look and the fashion the music was secondary to them, In fact I know a lot of early Rockers who loved Soul music, so like everything else the tall flowers grow the music and atmosphere became sacrosanct to the real Soulies the fashion was a bi product and became in some cases a superficial side of NS,  what really matters is that the true soul people found what they were looking for and couldn’t get enough of the most fantastic music in the world

KR

ML

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5 hours ago, Hooker1951 said:

There was a gradual evolution for some mods to morph into Soulies not every mod ,some mods just liked the look and the fashion the music was secondary to them, In fact I know a lot of early Rockers who loved Soul music, so like everything else the tall flowers grow the music and atmosphere became sacrosanct to the real Soulies the fashion was a bi product and became in some cases a superficial side of NS,  what really matters is that the true soul people found what they were looking for and couldn’t get enough of the most fantastic music in the world

KR

ML

I think that says it perfectly. 

Hugh

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For what it's worth, we attend (or did before this virus) a monthly reunion in Nottingham for mods who attended the Dungeon (1964 to 1968). It is interesting that the majority of those who attend did not move into the northern scene, which I find surprising, obviously some did, indeed there are a few that even dislike northern soul. 

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On 25/11/2014 at 19:57, arnie j said:

well i thought long and hard about posting this,and let me state that ive got nothing against mods but i have,in the past read mods saying there wouldnt be a northern soul scene if it wasnt for them,i certainly believe that the mods were a huge part of the inception of all nighters dancing to obscure black soul music,the flamingo etc,but would we have the scene as we know it today if they hadnt ? so are the mods responsible for the northern/rare soul scene ??

jason

Yes.

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11 hours ago, Baz Coops said:

For what it's worth, we attend (or did before this virus) a monthly reunion in Nottingham for mods who attended the Dungeon (1964 to 1968). It is interesting that the majority of those who attend did not move into the northern scene, which I find surprising, obviously some did, indeed there are a few that even dislike northern soul. 

Was it 1979/80 when they appeared at The Nottingham Palais dayers and somewhat disrupted the entertainment, I seem to remember they took the "proverbial" dancing around like loons in their Parkers and I remember the sad faces of the Northern crowd 🤮

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1 hour ago, Blackpoolsoul said:

Was it 1979/80 when they appeared at The Nottingham Palais dayers and somewhat disrupted the entertainment, I seem to remember they took the "proverbial" dancing around like loons in their Parkers and I remember the sad faces of the Northern crowd 🤮

They would be part of the second wave of mods which really didn’t catch on  music wise to Soul they came in the wake of Quadrophenia  Movie which was a pretty superficial scene without its own music and just copying what had happened 15 years before but without any originality, The Original Mod years started late 1963 until 1970 they did prefer the sounds of Tamla, RnB  club soul on the whole and there own fashion by 1970 The Skinhead style and Suades style had split the mod movement along with what was left the true lovers of NS the Soulies and we lasted the longest because The Music is Real and Solid and irreplaceable , not like fashion which you can change every week.

KR 

ML

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56 minutes ago, Hooker1951 said:

They would be part of the second wave of mods which really didn’t catch on  music wise to Soul they came in the wake of Quadrophenia  Movie which was a pretty superficial scene without its own music and just copying what had happened 15 years before but without any originality, The Original Mod years started late 1963 until 1970 they did prefer the sounds of Tamla, RnB  club soul on the whole and there own fashion by 1970 The Skinhead style and Suades style had split the mod movement along with what was left the true lovers of NS the Soulies and we lasted the longest because The Music is Real and Solid and irreplaceable , not like fashion which you can change every week.

KR 

ML

1978/9 the mod 'revival' (odd name for that 🤔) but by 1964 the mod thing had also become a commercial product perverting the original, marginal, elitist or underground phenomenon...

With mod bands doing mod music for mod people, because black music is not... I'll let anyone qualify that 😉 The 1968/1971 skinheads got 'skinhead' reggae tributes :( FWIW; not as bad IMO !

Dare you, I was a skinhead myself (mid 80's), that doesn't detour me to criticize it for what it is or was; a youth movement centered on looks with language codes of it's own. Music was part of the ornaments.

Few dearly love music actually like us. The NS scene comes from the 'rare soul' scene that centered around music. Unlike the mod or skinhead thing. There's passerelles between those scenes but they're not the same.

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9 hours ago, Blackpoolsoul said:

Was it 1979/80 when they appeared at The Nottingham Palais dayers and somewhat disrupted the entertainment, I seem to remember they took the "proverbial" dancing around like loons in their Parkers and I remember the sad faces of the Northern crowd 🤮

They would be part of the second wave of mods which really didn’t catch on  music wise to Soul they came in the wake of Quadrophenia  Movie which was a pretty superficial scene without its own music and just copying what had happened 15 years before but without any originality, The Original Mod years started late 1963 until 1970 they did prefer the sounds of Tamla, RnB  club soul on the whole and there own fashion by 1970 The Skinhead style and Suades style had split the mod movement along with what was left the true lovers of NS the Soulies and we lasted the longest because The Music is Real and Solid and irreplaceable , not like fashion which you can change every week.

KR 

ML

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You can read many books on the early mod and soul scene and there is a lot of displeasure from the mods in the direction those who were turning to Northerm were taking the clubs.  In the end they both went their own way with clubs eventually becoming all northern soul with little if any of the mod way of life prevailing. 

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18 hours ago, Hooker1951 said:

They would be part of the second wave of mods which really didn’t catch on  music wise to Soul they came in the wake of Quadrophenia  Movie which was a pretty superficial scene without its own music and just copying what had happened 15 years before but without any originality, The Original Mod years started late 1963 until 1970 they did prefer the sounds of Tamla, RnB  club soul on the whole and there own fashion by 1970 The Skinhead style and Suades style had split the mod movement along with what was left the true lovers of NS the Soulies and we lasted the longest because The Music is Real and Solid and irreplaceable , not like fashion which you can change every week.

KR 

ML

I think that's a massive generalisation pal.  The Mod revival did have its own music (which wouldn't be to many people's tastes on the Soul scene), but what it did do was enable many of the 'revival' Mods to dig deeper into what the original scene was like.  So whilst I might agree that the early revivalists might not have had any (much!!) originality, this developed quite quickly with new clothing styles and an appreciation of 'newly' found music becoming much more appreciated and understood.

As with all scenes, the revival developed and evolved into something very different from the 1979/80 revival years, and was all the better for it in my opinion.

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16 hours ago, Chalky said:

You can read many books on the early mod and soul scene and there is a lot of displeasure from the mods in the direction those who were turning to Northerm were taking the clubs.  In the end they both went their own way with clubs eventually becoming all northern soul with little if any of the mod way of life prevailing. 

I agree with that Chalky, though there was, and still is, some overlap.  Some Mods, myself included, love soul of most kinds, including 'Northern', but many don't, but there are many tunes that could be, and are, played on both scenes; they are not mutually exclusive.

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47 minutes ago, Chilli said:

I think that's a massive generalisation pal.  The Mod revival did have its own music (which wouldn't be to many people's tastes on the Soul scene), but what it did do was enable many of the 'revival' Mods to dig deeper into what the original scene was like.  So whilst I might agree that the early revivalists might not have had any (much!!) originality, this developed quite quickly with new clothing styles and an appreciation of 'newly' found music becoming much more appreciated and understood.

As with all scenes, the revival developed and evolved into something very different from the 1979/80 revival years, and was all the better for it in my opinion.

Hi Chilli

I could write you a book on it if I had the time it was meant to be a generalisation pal from my perspective and what I observed and lived, All I’m stating is that NS or Soul outlasts fashion and trend it’s the music what’s sacrosanct and beats trends and fashion everyday of the week it’s the only thing what’s Constant, I’m old enough to have remembered the original Mod scene and the 79-80 revival and in my humble opinion the original Mod scene made more of a mark , I’m not for one minute trying to steal anybody,s joy who enjoyed the second wave mod movement I’m just saying it the way I seen it, and if it was so different why was it not called something else.

Dont forget the Music

KR

ML

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I don't recall anyone within the Mod scene at the time calling it a 'mod revival', that was the work of journalists and the music press of the time, and the name kind of stuck.  

It's much the same now, where a lazy journalist will use the term 'Northern Soul' and use 'The Snake' as an example of the music.  There have been many discussions on here about what that term actually means, and of course it will mean different things to different people, but it's a catch-all term used for easy reference.

No problems anyway pal; I agree with you that it's the music that counts.  I was just giving a slightly different perspective from someone who was part of the 'mod revival' as opposed to someone else's perception viewing it from the outside.

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9 minutes ago, Chilli said:

I don't recall anyone within the Mod scene at the time calling it a 'mod revival', that was the work of journalists and the music press of the time, and the name kind of stuck.  

It's much the same now, where a lazy journalist will use the term 'Northern Soul' and use 'The Snake' as an example of the music.  There have been many discussions on here about what that term actually means, and of course it will mean different things to different people, but it's a catch-all term used for easy reference.

No problems anyway pal; I agree with you that it's the music that counts.  I was just giving a slightly different perspective from someone who was part of the 'mod revival' as opposed to someone else's perception viewing it from the outside.

I agree and what a great site this is

https://flashbak.com/brilliant-mod-revival-photos-and-ephemera-by-paul-wright-1979-1980-363441/

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39 minutes ago, Chilli said:

I don't recall anyone within the Mod scene at the time calling it a 'mod revival', that was the work of journalists and the music press of the time, and the name kind of stuck.

Not to disagree on the 'journalist' pedigree point of view statement but I started with that 'mod revival' term as it is used today by mod people as well to differentiate the music genres and the era. It's truly not pejorative as such I find.

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On 27/11/2014 at 12:44, Garethx said:

Mod is a mindset, not a specific fashion or a particular set of clothing items–that comes from the revivalists.

 

Mod meant constantly being in fashion/style (call it what you will). It meant not being a Grebo, a Hairy or a Mummy's Boy.

 

It meant treating a night out as an adventure and being interested in music which wasn't being force-fed to you by Radio One, the Melody Maker or any other arm of the grown-up world.

 

The transition from Mod to Skinhead to Suede to Soul person was natural and organic. Just as the clothes and hairstyles evolved so did the music. It's all part of the same aesthetic.

 

That 'Mod' sensibility drove the scene. Maybe it's unhelpful to give it that particular name because it conjures up images of a very specific set of clothes or hairstyles. 

this post sums up my lifestyle in those days plus drinking and fighting ,having a gang of mates you would die for...........never thought of myself as a mod , that was for older guys but they showed me the way, and thats how it goes each generation takes something from the last and changes it to suit the new times and vibes they are growing into.........stay safe x

Edited by Ezzie Brown
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i would say no ..as the london mod scene had crashed before the northen scene took over ,the mods didnt exist for long in london ..not sure about elswhere though in the 60s..soho clubs never had any northern scene in the 60s imo

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1 hour ago, Sceneman said:

i would say no ..as the london mod scene had crashed before the northen scene took over ,the mods didnt exist for long in london ..not sure about elswhere though in the 60s..soho clubs never had any northern scene in the 60s imo

I would say yes, judging from the mod 60,s scene up north where the mods who were into music preferred and danced to Motown Rn B , and club soul from 1964 - 69 and some let’s be honest here some Soul music that was resurrected 15 - 20 years later and claimed for NS, Of course the Mod Scene had influence on what came later not all influence but a considerable measure,The Mod scene didn’t has much crash as transform for the Mods who really loved the music first plus a new young breed who enjoyed the music from a slightly new perspective and it became NS I would say that transformation took place 69-72 depending on your location and love of Music, just my observations, Aren’t we all glad it happened? That’s what really matters isn’t it?

Love this Site

ML

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