The Truth About Northern Soul by Stephen Riley - a new book, available as an eBook online from Aureus Publishing via Amazon. Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Truth-About-Northern-Soul-Unpacking-ebook/dp/B07HFD5Q57
In recent years Northern Soul has gone from being a small, marginal interest to a major cultural phenomenon. It has been appropriated into various forms of media and much has been said and written about it. However, with that exposure has come a good deal of myth-making, and much of what is now widely accepted as the scene’s history is at odds with the real, lived experience of those who were part of the scene at the time.
The Truth About Northern Soul is a radically different book from others on the market. It is not about the legendary DJs, artistes or movers and shakers. Nor is it just a memoir. Its approach is to take the many popularised beliefs about the Northern Soul scene and ask if they really stand scrutiny. For example, is it true, as many argue, that it was largely a violence and drug-free scene, that everyone did backdrops and spins in badge-covered baggies and bowling shirts, that it was all about 1960s music and excluded 1970s releases, or that Wigan Casino was the scene’s defining club? The book passes a critical eye over these and many more of Northern Soul’s truisms.
It also comes up to date and addresses current controversies on the scene: OVO, handbaggers, talc wars and elitism – what does this all mean and should you care?
Written with wit and clarity, this book is a must for people new or relatively new to the scene, to get a sense of the real experience of those legendary 1970s clubs. But those who were there at the time will also appreciate it, for its blunt, warts-and-all honesty.
Aureus Publishing Limited
http://www.aureus.co.uk/