Paul-s

Hi Mate, can you link me to the actual thread please (so I can reference it) appreciated..

Thats really helpful and interesting, thanks!

Thanks, Yes, thats what I think too from watching it..

Was the music used in the documentary footage (post-edit) different to the tracks the dancers were actually dancing too in the shots?

Great posting, thanks.

Exactly as I remember it.

OK, thanks for the replies so far. Some astute ones. Can we try to avoid straying off topic, reminiscing about particular people. I am really interested in mid - Casino, say 74 onwards (and not just the Casino, as we have many other venues, St Ives, Cleethorpe's, Peterborough, Sheffield etc), and through the 80's Stafford, Tony's, Bradford and the other venues that grew the scene post Wigan. cheers.

I am reading the existing academic writing about Northern Soul and came across this statement: "The most notable change is the role that women occupy. Once a minority of dancers, they now constitute a majority. Although one must be careful as the 1970s- published photographic records of dancers tend to focus on the acrobatic dancing performed by men, the distribution of the dancing crowd supports the claim that it was men who predominated in numbers, in occupancy of space, and in the spectacle of dance." (Wall, 2006) Can I ask for responses to this please. In my memory bank, which admittedly may gets less reliable as I get older, there were loads of women dancers and I can't remember a big difference. The photos this statement about distribution relies on may have been taken at any point in a night and to particular tunes (some regarded many tunes back then as 'girly' or whatever and so the floor shift reflected that). Anyway, thoughts please, memories of the male/female balance on the NS dance floors in the 70's - 80's. Its stunning that nearly all of the accounts I am reading remain Wigan-centric (as if the scene stopped then) and miss out Stafford, Parr, Tony's and other venues and the truly underground and evolving post Casino scene! Cheers Paul

Do people seriously play this out and call it rare soul?! Im shocked.....

I am trying to track down an article in by Stuart Cosgrove called 'Long After Tonight Is All Over' from 1982 that appeared in Collusion, 2, pp 38-41 I'm hoping that with such knowledge on here, someone can point me to it or let me have PDF or something. Any help greatly appreciated Cheers Paul

You see, people have started to post up so called 'proper' dancing examples of Northern Soul. I really could not do that as the scene that I have been on for four decades has always moved in different ways on may levels, music, attitudes, venues and dancing. It has many nuances, personalities and idiosyncrasies. Defining or giving examples of 'proper dancing' by offering footage of dancers, for me, starts to homogenise and judge....the examples often seem well lit or as if the dancer is aware of the filming and of course the film maker is the judge of what gets filmed and what does not. Whereas, when it is discussed and people mention 'dancing hard' or 'being in it' or 'lost in it', it leaves room to move.......

Very useful contribution there Mr Hornet. Your ability to articulate an opinion certainly adds to the thread. Absolutely brilliant insights you offer. At least no one can call you boring with such an exciting contribution!

Or Sharon Finch?

That what people would associate with Northern Soul?

Bloody hell!

"Dancing hard"...I like it Len! In fact its great getting all these different insights from people on how they feel about the subject.

https://player.bfi.org.uk/film/watch-tundes-film-1973/ Terrible film, but great shots of a London now gone and of course the clothes and shoes! If you can't be bothered watching the whole thing, there is some great dancing at 5.20 in!

Singing Disciples - Ive Made It Over - Mark custom Records vg+ Very Rare 45 and with a driving beat that falls between elements of R&B, Funk and Gospel... £40 (clip below) The Sim-Aires - Then I'll Be Free - Song Bird promo vg++ Very Rare and very soulful gospel tune £45 (clip below) Bobby King and the Relation - Mama Told Me Not To Come / Don't Give Up Hope - Lunar vg+ Simply Superb Soul! £20 The Tangeers - This Empty Place - Scepter vg++ A moving, soulful, beautiful 45. Getting harder to track now. £40 (don't mind if this doesn't sell) 01 ive made it over.mp3 01 I'll Be Free.mp3

Good point Russ. Personally I think the bouncy, wigan-centric, dance style revival is linked to parents schooling kids (thats how its done type of thing) , the media's obsession with that particular period and the influx of returnees who missed out on a vast period of musical development in the intervening years since their departure. There is now a sort of 'historical re-enactment scene' out there, by which I mean a scene or sub-scene, where clothes, music and dancing are all pre-defined by a historical context, and the dancing is marshalled and commented upon - it has to be historically correct. Its a scene that is linked to big money for promoters too. So called, World Dancing Competitions perpetuate and define this brand of Northern Soul and the dancing that goes with it - dancing that seemingly never evolves, but replicates. Just my opinion of course.

Yes! That called being reflexive....responding in an improvised, nuanced and immediate way to the music....

Im with you on that and I remember a similar woman always dressed her own way too......barely moving and deep into the music.

Yes, I guess thats my point, by always harking on about 'proper dancing', it implies that there is somehow 'improper dancing' going on. I am in agreement with you, its all proper...

Nicely put!

"Proper dancing" is between you and the music and nothing else" - great definition!

Well said, just to be clear Kirsty, I never pigeon hole dancing, to me its a freedom and not to be judged, and I agree with all the comments so far. I just keep seeing these "proper" judgements online and I am mystified by them, and how they are defined...