Steve S 60

I'm going to turn the central heating up full, throw a bucket of p*ss on the downstairs lavvie floor, then get the wife to drop me off at the railway station. I'll then run back home, where the kids will be queuing outside the front door. Once the wife opens the door, I'll barge my way to the front, run through the house and plonk myself down in front of the TV. If I get bored with the show, I'll go and look through my record collection.

I'm going to turn the central heating up full, throw a bucket of p*ss on the downstairs lavvie floor, then get the wife to drop me off at the railway station. I'll then run back home, where the kids will be queuing outside the front door. Once the wife opens the door, I'll barge my way to the front, run through the house and plonk myself down in front of the TV. If I get bored with the show, I'll go and look through my record collection.

From a technical and economical point of view this would be highly unlikely. Ships have ballast tanks below the waterline which they fill with seawater to maintain the trim. As fuel is used, they need to counteract this by filling the ballast tanks. The seawater is then pumped out prior to getting alongside. They would not fill the hold with unnecessary ballast, as any space on a cargo ship is at a premium. Boring, I know, but records as ballast doesn't make sense.

That's akin to saying "All possible requirements of a soul record are more or less satisfied by Motown, who made good soul music before there was any competition. Arguably, all other soul music only exists to spread profits and wages over a broader economic area. Choice is more of economic benefit than artistic." I'm all for quality over quantity, but would hate to have little or no choice when it came to which venue to attend. At the end of the day, it's the individual's choice where he / she goes, or whether they go at all.

No, I believe the concept of choice is a global thing, even the Russians and Chinese have come to embrace this. The great thing about the Northern scene is the amount of choice. Maybe today we are spoilt for choice, but it's better than having no choice at all.

Do you get a uniform?

In many areas of the country, it's not a case of so many DJ's, but too few. We had a regular soul night in my home town organised by a local DJ. Well attended by people from all over the county and quite a few from further afield. When the lad moved out of the area, there was no-one to fill his shoes and take over the venue. Not a problem for myself as I've always been happy to travel, but it's left a gap for those unwilling or unable to look further afield. So spare a thought for those who aren't blessed / cursed with a surfeit of people willing to get behind the decks, for whatever reason.

I may be wrong, but the way I read it, Len's events weren't advertised as Charity Events, and the charitable donations were off his own back.

It’s like unlicensed mini cab drivers. Given the choice, would you get into a cab where the driver is registered and operates a properly maintained and tested vehicle, or one that isn’t licensed or insured to carry passengers and may not be maintained in a roadworthy condition. Town and city councils grant a limited number of taxi licenses, in order to regulate the industry. Maybe not the best analogy, but how about a governing body for Northern Soul DJs? Anybody wanting to become a certified DJ on the scene would have to pass both a written and practical exam, and would need to re-qualify every two years. The practical exam would entail putting together and delivering a set at a soul night, the examiners looking for professionalism, music quality, dance floor reaction etc. Their equipment would also have to be up to scratch. DJs could go on to specialise in their chosen genre. Numbers of DJ licenses granted would also be limited. Punters would then be able to attend venues with licensed record spinners where hopefully a decent standard of DJ’ing will be provided. Not very “underground”, I know, but it may solve some of the problems already discussed. I’ll get my coat…..

Enjoyed the Blackpool Mecca All Dayers, with Northern in the Highland Room and Jazz Funk in the main hall. Spent most of my time upstairs, but wasn't averse to nipping downstairs now and again, as there was a great atmosphere in both rooms.

It means one problem shouldn't bring everything to a standstill, but I don't know the origin.

https://youtu.be/c7azCNlbY4s

YOU & ME......Reminded me of YOU + ME = LOVE

I don't look at the scene through rose tinted glasses and I tend to take people as I find them. I've only ever felt genuinely uncomfortable at a soul night once, so on the whole I have a very positive view of the Northern Soul fraternity. Getting back to the topic, from the clips I've seen I think the Culture Show feature will portray the scene in a positive light, whether you consider that a good thing or a bad thing.

I suppose knowing the music policy and DJs for any given venue, you should know what (and who) to expect on the night. Where there's an across the board music policy, you're going to get a mixed crowd. Because the scene's been going so long, we've got various factions, but they all get along together, regardless of personal taste and style. Like you say Pete, a friendly scene.

Pretty ironic that the first clip from the show covers acceptance, integration and unity in the Northern Soul scene whilst numerous posts in this thread give a very different view.

https://youtu.be/V_9qfJB1URA

From Disco Connection to T-Connection.....

1977 sounds about right Mark. I can remember a mate of mine with the 7" single in early '78. Steve S.

As far as I know, the BBC have no financial interest in the film, which is privately funded, the lion share of the funding coming from Elaine Constantine. As part of the promotional work, it's easy to see why the film producers would approach the Culture Show, given Paul Mason's connections with the scene. Or maybe it was the other way round and the BBC approached the film makers. Either way, if I had sank £800,000 of my own money and years of my life into a project, I'd want as much publicity as possible in order to secure its success, and I don't believe Elaine's motives are purely financial. Alternatively, the release of the film and the screening of the Culture Show's Northern Soul feature may be purely coincidental, as the original release was supposed to be Spring / Summer of this year.

Previews now available: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01gy7z7

Try dancing to a slightly pitched down record that you've danced to at the normal pitch hundreds of times before. Its very hard to slow down to the new tempo, and when you do, it just feels weird.

I particularly like the "hand made" feel the graphic designer has managed to achieve with this poster.

One thing they definitely got right was the temperature. It was redders in there.

Butch is the Music Supervisor, according to the original brochure that was put together as part of the prospectus. I witnessed some of the filming at KGH last year and it looked good from where I was standing. The post production has taken some time, as Elaine Constantine wants the film to look and sound right. Whether it looks and sounds right to those who were there will be very much down to individual memories. I attended the Casino from '78 until it closed, and I can remember certain aspects, but not others. Everybody will have their own memories and recollections from that era.