Yahoo Group Northernsoulinoz
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/northernsoulinoz/
Northern Soul Music, Australian Northern Soul, Northern Soul in Australia, Northern soul in Oz, the International Soul Club, call it what you like this is simply a Yahoo Group for lovers of Northern Soul in Australia and around the World. Get the latest news, post messages, review and post info on events in your region. Upload and download files. Offer and find "Swaps", list your "Wants". Northern Soul flyers, discussion and whatever soul related activities members might want. Members opinions are valued even if not agreed with, so long as discussion is civil and on topic. Also join us in the live chatroom EVERY TUESDAY around 8.00pm Melbourne time at the Northern Soul Night Shift, go to: http://home.iprimus.com.au/stephenbardsley
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Northern Soul Night Shift
The Whitworth Street wheel quickly established itself as "where it was at" and the "underground" mystique from the original Brazennose Street began to evaporate. The word was out the Wheel was the place to be and soul rather than R&B fans headed to Manchester from all parts of the UK. The local Piccadilly and Victoria railway stations were kept busy with soul fans arriving from not only the close-by suburbs surrounding central Manchester but also from other regions such as Merseyside, London, Wolverhampton and as far away as Scotland. These were the dedicated fans who would live and breath for the Twisted Wheel where they went for the unique music, the dancing, the camaraderie and to make the absolute most of every hour of the weekend. English law allowed private clubs with registered members and venues that did not serve alcohol to choose their own hours of trading and so the Wheel was able to introduce and maintain the tradition of soul clubs being "allnighters". This advantage was ironically the downfall of the Wheel, for members took stimulants to make sure they could enjoy every moment right up until the early hours of the next day, the drugs would see the end of the Wheel as an allnighter and the doors close in 1971. In the meantime the slower R&B tracks brought over from Brazennose Street became less and less popular as the amphetamine charged members desired to dance and were in the mood for fast and furious action. This meant records with a quicker beat became the preferred item and newer DJ's were only too keen to deliver, leaving DJ Roger Eagle disenchanted as the members constantly asked for "stompers" in preference to the R&B style he so much loved.
Live acts were also still very much part of the wheel and in 1966 these included acts such as the Spencer Davis Group, the Ram Jam Band, the Graham Bond Organisation, Steampacket, the Alan Brown Set, Georgie Fame & the Blue Flames. Times were changing however and artists such as Georgie Fame were fast becoming passe and almost uncool as other Manchester Clubs were breaking new ground with acts such as Wilson Pickett and Major Lance. Ivor Abadi was determined the Wheel would not be left behind and contrary to common belief the Wheel was still at this stage a reactive rather than an innovative club, but things were very quickly about to change.
NORTHERN SOUL DANCE IS BORN
Ivor soon introduced artists such as Charlie & Inez Foxx, Irma Thomas, Wilson Pickett, Don Covay, the Drifters, Ben E King, and cooler local acts such as Jimmy Cliff. This was the beginning of end for previously popular acts such Georgie Fame & the Blue Flames whose catchy but unsophisticated renditions were musically no match for the raw edged and more sophisticated soul artists. It was also the end of the road for DJ Roger Eagle as Ivor began to control the music insisting slow R&B tracks be taken off the playlist and even off the turntable if they did not pack the dance floor. When Roger Eagle walked from the Wheel a disenchanted man he moved over to the Bluenote Club and then away from Manchester altogether to Liverpool, leaving the Wheel and its members to enjoy more and more fast tempo music from the black soul artists who were now de rigeur at the UK's most popular soul club, the Whitworth Street Twisted Wheel. With the change of DJ's such as Brian Rae, Barry Turner and Brian Walker playing faster "Northern" type records came not only a change of music, but also of dance style and when Alvin Cash and the Crawlers played at the Whitworth Street Wheel in 1967 they brought with them the "backdrop" a dance move which was quickly copied by the fans and embraced at Soul clubs all over the country and which became the most famous Northern Soul dance move after the "spin". The backdrop is still the move most dancers aspire to on the Northern Soul scene, but few are seen nowadays due to the ageing population of Northern soul lovers, many who have been on the scene for thity years or more. The backdrop is however and always will remain an icon of the Northern Soul scene due to its introduction at the Wheel.
Web Site: The Northern Soul Night Shift
http://home.iprimus.com.au/stephenbardsley/
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