Posts from the ‘projects’ Category

Keep The Faith 65′

It all started with a song ‘Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) by Frank Wilson’.

Its upbeat tempo and passion infused lyrics are intoxicating. You can’t help but feel it. You can’t help but dance to it, and you can’t help but want more.

My parents were both born in a Northern town (Leyland, Lancashire) and lived their young adult years through the sixties and early seventies. They were heavily influenced by the movement that was Northern Soul.

When I hit 25, my Dad started revisiting many of the sounds that emerged during this time. I hadn’t realised there was such a back catalogue of soul music. Music that stemmed from the great American music scene that was Motown.

I always loved Soul music – Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye and Aretha Franklin etc, but I was cautious never to play it too often. I believed that the tracks were few and the sound precious. I didn’t want to wear it out!

But here was Northern Soul. A movement consisting of 1000’s of previously released and unrealised soul records.

During one family event, the music proved so popular that my Dad and his original mod crew decided to setup a charity soul event - Soulaid. Since the turn of the century the charity has held six to ten soul nights each year, each event raising up to £1000 for a local charity.

These Soul Nights introduced me to the culture that envelopes Northern Soul – the dance, the fashion, the community, the talcum powder, and most importantly, the discovery of new sounds.

And as you get a little older, and you learn about love – love gained, love lost, the lyrics, they call out to you. In 2012, they saved me. Some call it ‘Tears on the Dance Floor’.

The tempo so fast that you sweat out the heartache, the bass so strong that you can’t help but smile, and the lyrics so heartfelt that you can’t help but shed a tear.

So here it is. I’ve put together a seperate blog dedicated to my own journey with Northern Soul – keepthefaith65.tumblr.com.

The blog is an opportunity to share this unique and special sound with friends and and anyone else out there. An opportunity to promote events in the North of England as the movement continues its resurgence the 21st Century.

I aim to post Northern Soul music that I have found and why it speaks to me, but to also highlight contemporary artists who have adopted elements of Northern Soul, for example, Plan B, Angie Stone, Jennifer Hudson, Rebecca Ferguson, Emeli Sande, Paloma Faith, Amy Winehouse, Raphael Saadiq, Noisettes and many others.

I also hope to try my hand at spinning the decks in 2013 so I’ll let you know how that particularly ambition plays out.

Wishing you all a great year ahead.

Keep The Faith.