Northern soul

"Northern Soul" was the name initially coined by UK soul aficionado Dave Godin to describe the kind of soul desired by customers from the North of England visiting his London record shop "Soul City". Up north, to begin with mainly in and around Manchester, a scene devoted to rare soul records had grown into something approaching a movement complete with unique clothing style, dance moves, fanatical followers and all-night raves. The music at the center of it all was the soul groups and singers who more or less copied the remarkably successful Motown Sound, recording for a multitude of small labels largely unknown outside soul connoisseur circles from Okeh in New York to Mirwood in Los Angeles. The term has today, thanks in large part to world leading soul reissue label Kent and eBay sellers eager to satisfy a steady demand for Northern Soul rarities, gained widespread use outside the world of UK soul record collecting, though it remains a very niche genre. Northern Soul is often juxtaposed with its more serious down home brother Southern Soul and it is important to keep in mind that while "Southern" refers to where the bulk of the music was recorded, "Northern" refers to where the fan scene developed in the North of England. It so happens that most Northern Soul was recorded in the Northern United States (Detroit, Chicago, Philadelphia and New York especially) but that is a coincidence.