This film, Northern Soul, is a music nerd’s film. It’s about a very specific time period, early ’70s England, and a scene—Northern Soul—which is held sacred by many who were there then, as well as all of those who came after. Honestly, I haven’t seen the film, just the trailer, but the trailer looks like the research was spot-on, and the execution seems solid. I’m expecting plenty of backdrops, spins, high kicks, talcum, wide-legged trousers, amphetamines, and, of course, music.
My only concern, for those folks not in the know, is that the narrative appears to be a bit cliché—the story follows “two Northern boys whose worlds are changed forever when they discover black American soul music.” Like EVERY “coming-of-age” movie, right?! (Sigh) Whatever, I’m excited about this thing! And it’s gonna be WAY better than Quadrophenia!!!
Along with the film, there’s an ace-lookin’ companion book called Northern Soul: An Illustrated History, and TWO soundtrack sets, a double CD (plus DVD), and a 14x45s box set. FUCK YEAH! The film opens on 125 screens in the UK TODAY (Friday, October 17). I checked, but I turned up ZERO domestic screenings; however, the DVD/Blu-Ray will be released Monday, October 20.
Now, regarding the music: If you ever hear the term “Northern” or “Northern Soul,” it is NOT a geographical reference to the location where music was recorded. Northern Soul is the name of a regional dance scene that began, exclusively, in the NORTH OF ENGLAND in the early ’70s after a handful of selectors began playing mostly unheard, in the UK, and forgotten, in the US, American soul records. The records tagged as “Northern Soul,” specifically, are the tracks those English selectors were playing in those clubs. The records weren’t exclusively soul either—like, even crooner Paul Anka made the Northern Soul grade. Today the scene generally refers to what gets played as Rare Soul and those that were played back in the ’70s as oldies.