What a Northern Soul DJ in Leeds plays on the night
This is one of the sets I play myself, not one I pass to the team. It goes out on real turntables, from records in the box, the same way I started: my first gig was at Kippax Clubhouse on Valentine's Day 1992, and it was all vinyl.
Northern Soul is its own sound. It is mostly American soul from the sixties, picked up years later by dancers in the north of England, and what they wanted was a heavy beat and a fast tempo, usually 100 beats a minute and above. A lot of the records were pressed in small numbers, so finding them became part of the scene.
My sets keep that at the centre and put the big Motown songs next to it. That matters on a mixed night. There are records for the people who know every spin and backdrop, and songs the rest of the room can sing along to.
The dancing takes room. Spins, flips, kicks and backdrops need clear floor, so if proper dancers are coming, it is worth asking the venue how big the floor really is before you book it.
A bit of history, if anyone asks at the bar
The name comes from Dave Godin, who used it in his column in Blues & Soul magazine in June 1970. Manchester's Twisted Wheel, a music venue from 1963, was already a big part of the story before it closed in 1971.
Wigan Casino started weekly all-nighters in September 1973 and ran until 1981. Every one of them ended on the same three records, known as the 3 before 8: Time Will Pass You By by Tobi Legend, Long After Tonight Is Over by Jimmy Radcliffe, and I'm On My Way by Dean Parrish. Blackpool Mecca was the other big name, and it brought in a newer sound of its own.
The scene generally steered clear of mainstream Motown. A party is a different thing from an all-nighter, so tell me which way you want the night to lean when you book.