Northern Soul’s New Southern Hub

All-nighters built on rare 7-inch soul records and acrobatic dancing are multiplying across London and Bristol. This marks a geographic shift for a movement that began in the dancehalls of Wigan, Blackpool and the Midlands during the 1970s. The Guardian reports that a younger crowd, often encountering the music for the first time, is now filling the floor in southern cities and learning the signature spins and high kicks.

For some, the discovery comes far from the scene’s roots. Tom, a 24-year-old from Salford, stumbled into a northern soul club night by chance. He watched people his age abandon their phones and take to the talc-dusted floor with a physical intensity he had never seen. He taught himself the dance, the backwards drops and the fast footwork, and