On your (chalk) marks, get set, dance!
Northern Soul Weekender at the Tower Ballroom.
SELBY’S got soul – or at least it’s getting it!
The town’s first Northern Soul night in decades is going to take the town by (quiet) storm and dancers across the district are digging out their bowling shoes, flares and Harringtons and aiming to dance the night away to the sounds of some of the sweetest music ever made.
Essentially a spin off from the Motown sound of the early ‘sixties, Northern Soul – a term coined by the much missed Sheffield journalist Dave Godin – was a huge cult in the 70s and 80s, with thousands dedicating their weekends to attending allnighters, dancing in the dark and swapping rare records at Legendary venues such as the Wigan Casino and Stoke’s Twisted Wheel club.
Though the original music was more-or-less made up of energetic dance tunes, inspired by the Motor City sound but released on small – often obscure – labels across the US, its sound soon developed and the dancefloors also rocked to music such and Funk and Philly Soul as the years wore on.
And they’re still keeping the faith in Selby – Steve Haywood and Paul Atkinson are veterans of the Northern scene back in the day at are now bring it to the Selby Working Men’s Club on Friday.
Steve told The Entertainer: “I guess it all started for me at the Spinning Disc club in Leeds with its Motown nights, that’s what really did it for me – the rest of the Northern scene came along after that.
“A group of us from Selby used to go all over the country at weekends – places like Wigan, Babas in Bolton and the Catacombs in Wolverhampton.
“It was a great time – the music pressed all the buttons for me – I just felt “This is it!”, this is what I want to listen to.
“It’s just a passion – a way of life. I’m still at now and I’m 58 this year!”
Though most fans travelled, sampling the sounds at Northern’s Meccas, Selby also had a scene of its own, with clubs like the Museum Hall, on the site that is currently home to Jinnah’s restaurant, and at St Mary’s Hall, those venues are long gone and Steve is now hoping to revive it.
“I don’t think there’s been a night in town since the late 70s,” he said. “There are great ones at Drax and Eggborough, but not in the town itself, so we thought we’d try it out and se what people thought. Usually fans in Selby have had to travel to hear the music they love so we thought we’d try to bring it closer to home.
“Basically we’ll be playing across the board Soul – we’re certainly happy to play requests and, if we’ve got it, we’ll play it – it’s as simple as that!
“I still keep in touch with a lot of people from the old days, so I’m hoping to see quite a few familiar faces.”
n PROCEEDS from the Northern Soul evening will go to Selby Times backed charity Selby Hands of Hope. Tickets are priced at £3 and the doors open at 8pm. Visit www.soulinselby.co.uk for more information.
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Weather for Goole
Saturday 18 May 2013
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