Mike

A while back here on Soul Source, you may have noticed amongst all the usual online arguments, daily dramas and such the odd reference concerning a planned film that was said to have a northern soul influence. As the months passed more comments and snippets have followed becoming more frequent and that bit more interesting. Words of a website, a dance club/school setup surfaced, a few videos on youtube mentioned, a facebook group and other such 'social' affairs showed up. Of course I can't speak for anyone else but to me all these various events started to come together and gave me a sort of sense of something going on here that could be, just this once, something that might just... get things right. Last week saw this story break cover, firstly an article on the Screen Daily website http://www.screendaily.com showed up and then a few days later a fully fledged mainstream showing in the Guardian Music section titled Britain's got talcum: Northern Soul, the film As the articles and websites say not just more but as always in a better style than your usual expectations from myself, I will clip them below About the film - from the films website This is a story of a youth culture that changed a generation and influenced songwriters, producers, DJs and designers for decades to come. This is the story of Northern Soul. Award-winning director Elaine Constantine will begin shooting her first feature-length film Northern Soul in January 2012 under Stubborn Heart Productions and in association with Baby Cow Films. The film will tell the tale of two Northern boys whose worlds are changed forever when they discover black American soul music. Rejecting their small town existence working the production line, they dream of going to America in search of the super-rare records that will help them to become the best DJ's on the British soul scene. Website: Northern Soul The Film http://www.northernsoulthefilm.com/ Guardian Feature - Britain's got talcum: Northern Soul, the film On a Thursday afternoon at the Old Queens Head pub in north London, it's pretty quiet. There are just three or four customers at the bar downstairs, but coming through the ceiling is an insistent, Motown-like bassline. Climb the stairs and you're in another world. Skating across the parquet floor are some 200 kids spinning, dropping, sweating to a five-decades-old tune called Suspicion by the Originals. Photographer Elaine Constantine has been obsessed with Northern Soul since 1976, when she went to a youth club in her home town of Bury, Lancashire. "I saw some older kids from my school dancing in a style I'd never seen ... ...it was slightly melancholy but at the same time euphoric... .. told me it was Northern Soul. It changed my life. I knew I wanted something different ..." This is her first feature-length movie. Simply called Northern Soul, it recreates the atmosphere of soul clubs where rare records were spun, and dancers scattered talc to make moves easier. A huge underground scene, with strongholds in unfashionable northern towns like Stoke, Stafford, Blackpool and (most famously) Wigan, it developed its own codes, its own mythology. Read the full article by Bob Stanley here http://www.guardian....tine?intcmp=239 Guardian Gallery Northern Soul: dance, camera, action - in pictures view all photos here http://www.guardian....ancing-pictures Youtube There's been a few videos doing the rounds based mainly around the dance aspect here's the latest one Look forward In a week or two we will be featuring an interview with Elaine here on Soul Source, if anyone does have any questions they would like to ask, then just pm me them and will see what can do. End word Northern soul is a complex term, I'll always say that no one can or will ever come up with an explanation that captures every aspect of it in a way that satisfies each and every soul fans own view... never mind put it on film! However so far Elaine Constance and all involved seem to be making a very determined effort to come the closest yet to doing such. Shooting for the film Northern Soul will begin in January 2012 under Stubborn Heart Productions and in association with Baby Cow Films