FILM: Northern Soul - international competition

Dancing the night away!

 

Northern Soul by Elaine Constantine is the title of a film with the tag line --- If you were there you know. If you weren’t you wish you had been!

 

Northern Soul is not about where the music was made --- but where the music was enjoyed. The scene is the north of England (hence “Northern Soul“) the time is 1974 the music is made on small labels in the United States --- NOT Motown which catered for the masses and made “black music” cleaned up for a white middle class American audience. The people who loved Northern Soul was after the honesty and grit served by smaller labels. And the followers were avid.

 

The character Matt, in Northern Soul, has the record label Ric Tic tattooed on his neck. Sean has a tattooed list of his top three songs and bands (Exus Trek is the best) as well as the Northern Soul symbol --- a clenched fist. Johns first tattoo just reads “soul” in capital letters.

 

The place is Burnsworth in Northern England --- the time is 1974. This is the year that ABBA won the Eurovision Song contest in Brighton with Waterloo (a year which all Swedish people know) and at the top of the charts you find music by Cliff Richards and  the shadows and we’re all going on a summer holiday. Northern Soul was retro even when the movement was new. Most people are into charts. Matt seeks to convert the masses as a DJ, starting at the youth club, one Northern Soul record at a time --- and most of the favourites are from the 1960:ies.

 

Matt’s first convert is John and together they plan to become an unbeatable DJ:ing duo and they are going to go to the states to discover new records. They start saving up, but the saving goes slowly. Matt spends his money on drugs, John on records.

 

Will their friendship last? Will they ever get to America?

 

Would you like to win a signed dvd copy of Northern Soul (see above) or one of five downloads which can be used to get the full 3CD Northen Soul album on Amazon.uk (or Amazon us).

Northern Soul is also available as Blu ray Disc.

 

Email to bokpanda@gmail.com

the name of the director of Northern Soul.

And you are in the competition!

 

Closing date: 3rd of March 2015.