And dancers weren’t paired - as with many drug-fueled dance trends that followed, Northern Soul dancing was a solitary trip, though intimately shared with the others on the floor. “Bruce Lee meets B-boy” is how former clubber and filmmaker Elaine Constantine described it. The scene also developed its own athletic dance style, involving complicated footwork, high kicks, drops and splits. And well known DJs like Richard Searling, who spun records at Wigan Casino, spent a lot of time across the Atlantic hunting through bins in American cities for the best rarities and B-sides. English record stores began importing American soul, and many fans collected and traded vinyl, especially 7” records, or 45s. For some fans, the rarer the music was, the better. The Northern Soul scene was typified by devotion to obscure soul recordings from smaller labels like Okeh, Tamla, and Chess. And not just the mainstream Motown tunes most Brits would recognize from the radio. And it was all delivered in the spirited, uptempo swells that are soul’s signature, and played loud by DJs who competed to find the best, floor-filling tracks. The music itself - songs like Chris Clark’s “Love’s Gone Bad” or The Flirtations’ “Nothing But a Heartache” - was often about rising above heartbreak, sadness, and hardship. Northern England could be a rough, grey place, and spinning and gliding around the vibrant, sweaty hotbox of the dance floor was a transcendent release. In fact, the back streets of Manchester had a fair bit in common with those of Detroit.Ĭhildren playing on a Manchester street in 1977. (That’s where they got rock n roll.) And the harshness and monotony of working class life knows no national borders. The idea of pasty, young Brits dancing feverishly to American soul records may seem a bit farfetched, but affection for black music among the British underclass was well established. They worked or went to school during the day, then gathered at clubs - Wigan Casino, the Highland Room in Blackpool, the Twisted Wheel in Manchester - to dance until morning. That “family” Nowell is referring to is the 1960s and 70s soul community that comprised young, working-class Brits from the bleak, industrial towns dotting the north of England. You are on the scene now, and the scene will look after you and treat you like a member of the family.” “Small, tall, black, white, male, female, wealthy, poor, it makes no difference. “The moment you walk through the doors into the all-nighter, you are immediately accepted for what you are - a soul fan,” writes David Nowell in The Story of Northern Soul: A Definitive History of the Dance Scene that Refuses to Die. But that’s precisely where a lot of very rare soul was playing. If you were an aging soul musician in the American South in the 1970s, a casino in a depressed, riverfront town in the north of England might be the last place you’d expect to hear your songs. See our other listings for more Clem Wear designs - more added upon design.The Northern Soul scene at Wigan Casino in the 1970s. We will do our best to get your item as soon as possible. If the colour/size you require is 'out of stock' in the drop down menu, please send us a message with the size & colour. Long sleeved shirts also available - see our other listings.īespoke designs possible - message us with your request and our designers will look into it. More colour variations upon request - message us with your desired combination. Our T-shirt manufacturer has adopted a robust policy with regard to the following minimum social responsibility criteria:įreedom of association and the right to collective bargainingĬolours may differ slightly to those seen on screen. The carbon footprint has been reduced by some 90% and the calculations were certified under the PAS2050 standard by the Carbon Trust. They are produced in manufacturing facilities powered by green renewable energy, from low-impact raw materials. Meet standards from GOTS - Global Organic Textile Standard.įair Fashion Network and BSD Consulting has implemented a scheme that aims to deliver a LIVING WAGE for the garment workers at its factory in India. Meet standards of the Soil Association Organic Standard. Our T-shirts are a premium product, which are:Ĭlimate Neutral - made in factories run on wind power.įair Trade / Fair Ware - providing workers in India a living wage. 'Northern Soul' exclusive design by Clem Wear, on a quality t-shirt.īespoke designs constructed/hand assembled in Great Britain. Our shirts are packed in 24cm wide envelopes which will fit through average UK letterboxes.
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