End of Northern Soul

15.04.19

The use of amphetamines is what fuelled the nightclubs of the Northern Soul movement, so without it the dance and whole night was ruined. 

Some DJ's refused to play nights because individuals were too intoxicated by the high amounts of drugs they had taken to state which tracks they wanted.

Many left the Northern Soul movement in the 1970's, however it was brought through to the 1980's but expanded into the rest of Britain moving out of the North West. 

However, Northern Soul later influenced music for years to come, through Modern Soul (see Modern Soul post 15.04.19).


(Taken directly from Vice website) https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/ex94qk/police-vs-british-subcultures-302

"The early northern soul scene basically subsisted on teenagers in tank tops and baggy trousers stealing speed from chemists. Dr Wilson – a soulie himself at the time – remembered that “burglaries took place mid-week” in preparation for the weekend, before dodgy backstreet pills took off as a slightly less brazen alternative from the mid-70s onwards.

Police gradually began to clock on to the fact that all these basement rooms playing imported Motown records were also full of sweaty speed freaks, and in 1971 Manchester’s Twisted Wheel club – the epicentre of the scene – was closed down after pressure from cops and the council. “It was a constant cat and mouse chase,” said Wilson. “Police would take you to one side and shine a torch in your eyes to look at your pupil dilation. If you failed you went to one side, and if you passed they kicked you out. It was a real ritual.