Mod to Suedehead

[Man-of-Mystery]



Right on Cue, Mike... The Culture Show, BBC2 Tuesday, 24 September: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03bs488

It will be on i-player, later.

They say "Northern Soul marked the birth of late-night dance culture in Britain..." Get off! What was I doing at the Wheel in pre-Godin days?

 

[cerneabbas]

Can someone explain to me please, what the hell is "Northern Soul"? I never did get that one. I always though it was something from America. Bearing in mind I was 6 in 1969, I'm English, from Bristol, and now live in China.

Have a look on the BBC website,The scene that never died,explained it pretty well I thought.....whereabouts in Bristol are you from originally Mike ?

 

[cerneabbas]

The fellas look smart but the Girl looks gorgeous!!!!

I reckon that lady would be about 65 now ?, I bet that she still looks stylish and dignified.
I have said before that a lot of older ladies keep themselves up together and dress better than a lot of the younger ones these days ( IMO ), it has been said on here before that the skinhead/suedehead look instilled values into blokes that they retain now ( smartness,polished shoes,well groomed etc etc ) maybe the same is true of the ladies ?
I would also bet that the lady in the picture is still slim,I have been to Paris several times and I noticed how slim the women were,you do see fat girls in Paris though they are called tourists...all IMO

 

[browniecj]



They say "Northern Soul marked the birth of late-night dance culture in Britain..." Get off! What was I doing at the Wheel in pre-Godin days?

Yes,that is rubbish.The Pink Flamingo had "All Nighters" running,from about 1957.First it was the Jazz Scene then later the Mod Scene that had the demand for them.I thought the Twisted Wheel have them in the early 60s,M-o-M?Way before "Northern" was thought up.

 

[browniecj]

Two men I thought were smart(in Films) was Sean Connery and Lee Marvin(Point Blank).Both their Characters wore Suits.Steve McQueen was the casual "Ivy Leaguer".

 

[browniecj]



I reckon that lady would be about 65 now ?, I bet that she still looks stylish and dignified.
I have said before that a lot of older ladies keep themselves up together and dress better than a lot of  the younger ones these days ( IMO ), it has been said on here before that the skinhead/suedehead look instilled values into blokes that they retain now ( smartness,polished shoes,well groomed etc etc ) maybe the same is true of the ladies ?
I would also bet that the lady in the picture is still slim,I have been to Paris several times and I noticed how slim the women were,you do see fat girls in Paris though they are called tourists...all IMO

Une tres belle fille-is all I can say(roughly).

 

[cerneabbas]

Two men I thought were smart(in Films) was Sean Connery and Lee Marvin(Point Blank).Both their Characters wore Suits.Steve McQueen was the casual "Ivy Leaguer".

Agree with them,and would add Michael Caine ( in Get Carter ) to the list.

 

[browniecj]



Yes,that is rubbish.The Pink Flamingo had "All Nighters" running,from about 1957.First it was the Jazz Scene then later the Mod Scene that had the demand for them.I thought the Twisted Wheel have them in the early 60s,M-o-M?Way before "Northern" was thought up.

Please read that as the Flamingo-I knew it as the Pink Flamingo before it closed in `67.

 

[browniecj]



Agree with them,and would add Michael Caine ( in Get Carter ) to the list.

I thought he looked smarter in the Ipcress File(1965),but yes add him to the List.

 

[cerneabbas]

I thought he looked smarter in the Ipcress File(1965),but yes add him to the List.

How about Sidney Poitier ( Guess whos coming to dinner ) ?

 

[Ivyskin89]

Does anyone notice the similarity of 1890's edwardian style suits and the skinhead suits from 69-70?

 

[roytonboy]

They say "Northern Soul marked the birth of late-night dance culture in Britain..." Get off! What was I doing at the Wheel in pre-Godin days?

Dancing to Northern Soul! (it just didn't have that title then.........)

 

[Clouseau]

Agree with them,and would add Michael Caine ( in Get Carter ) to the list.

So many great actors with style in the sixties. For the "Continental look" i would add Alain Delon, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Maurice Ronet, Marcello Mastroianni And Vittorio Gassman...

 

[roytonboy]

Can someone explain to me please, what the hell is "Northern Soul"? I never did get that one. I always though it was something from America. Bearing in mind I was 6 in 1969, I'm English, from Bristol, and now live in China.

A tough question - ask 100 people and you will get 100 slightly different answers.

Here's my description:

The term Northern Soul was originally coined to describe mid 60s soul music that was originally enjoyed by Mods all over the country when it was original or 'Modern'. Whilst people in the rest of Britain moved with the contemporary music of the time and American soul music became more Funk influenced and Motown became a bit more 'poppie', some clubs, particularly in the north of England continued to play this mid sixties, danceable soul. Needless to say if you always danced to the same records week-in, week-out, year after year it would become a bit boring, regardless of how good those records were. These clubs in the north then also started to play other records of the same type even if they had not been hits and a cult of the 'exclusive' grew up as DJs tried to find newer sounds that no-one else was playing. The mods amongst us will recognise this element and the style of dressing smartly to be ahead of the crowd. At the time (late sixties) it was not known as Northern Soul. (see my post page 1002)

Clubs playing these sounds continued to exist in the North and North Midlands through the early to mid 70s and younger kids brought their own dress code, influenced a little by what had gone before but based, as you would expect, on 70s youth style. The music had also changed somewhat as the search for the new and exclusive gathered pace and music from the late sixties and early 70s also started to be played but records that had once been hits discarded as 'popular'. In the mid 1970's there was an explosion in interest in 'Northern Soul', as it had now been dubbed with exposure on national TV and chart hits. Kids from all over the country got into it with Wigan Casino as the mecca, recording thousands of attendances each week with coach trips running from all over Britain. It developed its own dress code, taste for uptempo soul and dance style and any member of the public not 'on the scene' would have been hard pressed to recognise a single record played. This exposure lead to an explosion of other clubs and venues opening up all over the country. It is this period that many think of whenever 'Northern Soul' is mentioned.

Why is Northern Soul of interest to this forum? It was this kind of music that was enjoyed by the late Mods and Skinheads in the North Midlands and North of England between 1967 and 1972. To go to a club playing this type of music in 1970 was to be at the heart of local Skinhead culture. To me, as a northerner, it is every much a part of my skinhead experience as getting my Doc Martens on and attending a football match on a Saturday afternoon.

 

[Mr Knightley]

Does anyone notice the similarity of 1890's edwardian style suits and the skinhead suits from 69-70?

Well, to be pedantic, the Edwardian period actually started in 1901 and even as late as that most gentlemen would still have worn morning dress during the day (older ones probably frock coats still) and white tie in the evening.

Suits as we have come to know them with a shorter jacket were still reserved for 'lounge wear', but by the end of the decade I believe they started to make an appearance in town.

This exquisite image of Harrods in 1909 shows the transition and yes, the man in the brown suit could almost have been from the late 60s!