That Diving Beat: Revisiting one of the smoothest cornerstones of our scene

Northern Soul has been linked to the scooter scene ever since either existed. Now more popular than ever, ‘Northern’ is gaining a new audience, so it’s time we listened again.

Dave Godin coined the phrase ‘Northern Soul’ when away football fans (from the North West, North East and the Midlands) visited his Soul City shop in London. He reputedly instructed his employees to not play funkier James Brown-type records in the shop when visiting footy fans were there, but instead to play Northern Soul. Dave also used the term in his blues and soul column, in reference to the up-tempo four beats to the bar-style records, as played in the all-nighters in the North and the Midlands.

Most scooterists are aware of our Northern Soul link, but how many have been to a ‘real’ all-nighter? Furthermore – how many think it is an ‘oldies’ scene – in more than one sense of the word? Sarge (long-time warden of this parish) invited me to revisit my roots at an all-nighter he was DJing, which happened to be on my childhood doorstep. Swinton Palais (just north of Manchester city centre) is not what you’d describe as ‘plush’, but it has a wooden dance floor and, more importantly, it ‘feels’ right. Back in my day, the Palais was more a ‘last resort, beer, fight or grab-a-granny’ club. How times change. Now a new breed is digging the OVO ‘Original Vinyl Only’ nights here, along with numerous other venues up and down the country. On nearly any Saturday there are four events in the North West alone.

Now, prepare yourself for a shock. Momentarily, our Northern scene is still ‘age-weighted’ but it’s changing. Across the world Northern has a younger crowd attending, they are savvy, dress to match the event and a goodly proportion are owners of scooters, too. Worldwide, Northern Soul is more popular than it’s ever been, from California to Cologne, from Osaka to St Petersburg, you’ll find at least one event a month. Admittedly, many venues are modest, as one disarmingly young promoter, DJ & Vespa PK owner Jordan Wilson told me: “Look at this place – it’s the music and people that matter, not the video screens and the polish.”

As I entered the event, climbing the stairs, hearing an oh so familiar vibe, I wondered if Northern still held the ‘family’ atmosphere it did years back, when I last attended an all-nighter? My fears were totally ill-founded. Within a couple of minutes I was clocked as a new face and approached by genuinely friendly soulies (cheers to Tosh, Chalkie, Sheila, Sue Jordan, Mr Gitings and Mr Leese). So, open the doors to your heart and take in an original building block of our scene. Rik & Sarge