Where to start with Northern Soul

Northern Soul is a music scene from Manchester, Stoke-on-Trent, Wigan and the North of England, 1963–1981. Its principal artists include Russ Winstanley, Ian Levine, Roger Eagle and Dave Godin. This issue covers 8 essential albums and 14 dated events.

Start here

1
Major Lance's Greatest Hits Recorded Live at the Torch
Major Lance · 1973
Original release: Contempo · COLP1001 · Vinyl · US 1973
It captures Major Lance performing his Okeh hits live before a Torch crowd after moving to England for the scene.
2
Soul Survivors: 40 Northern Soul Anthems
Various Artists · 1997
Original release: Telstar Records · TCD 2869 · CD · UK 1997
It gathers the scene's best-known records in one place, from Frank Wilson to the Wigan '3 before 8'.
3
Casino Classics: Chapter One
Various Artists · 1979
Issued while Wigan Casino still ran all-nighters, it ends with the '3 before 8' that closed every night.

Go deeper

4
Soul Master
Edwin Starr · 1968
Original release: Tamla Motown · TML 11094 · 12″ Vinyl · UK 1968
Motown's 1968 album collects Edwin Starr's Ric-Tic singles "Agent Double-O-Soul" and "Stop Her on Sight (S.O.S.)", plus "Headline News", records that made him a Northern soul favorite.
5
The Wigan Casino Story
Various Artists · 1994
Original release: Goldmine Soul Supply · GSCD51 · CD · UK 1994
Goldmine's 23-track Wigan compilation includes the Sherrys' "Put Your Arms Around Me", the record playing as the first crowd climbed the stairs in 1973, Epitome of Sound's "You Don't Love…
6
The Twisted Wheel Story
Various Artists · 1995
Original release: Goldmine Soul Supply · GSCD66 · CD · UK 1995
A Goldmine compilation of 26 records associated with the Manchester club, including Jackie Lee's "Shotgun and the Duck", the Incredibles' "There's Nothing Else to Say" and Darrell Banks' "Open the Door to Your Heart".
7
The Golden Torch Story
Various Artists · 1995
Goldmine's 30-track tribute to the Tunstall all-nighter that ran for 13 months from March 1972.

For the obsessed

8
Mecca Magic
Various Artists · 1990
Original release: Kent Soul · KENT 090 · 12″ Vinyl · UK 1990
Kent's 1990 album of records from Blackpool Mecca's Highland Room, subtitled The Soulful Sounds of Blackpool's Mecca 1973-1979.

The stories behind every record are in Northern Soul, a members' issue.