The Northern Soul Helen Phelan
Mar 29, 2016
The Northern Soul
Helen Phelan
The Northern Soul and mod scene is something that has been a constant surrounding and influence on the northern way of life, and now it is time to show that the Soul rhythm and lifestyle is still very much alive, and not confined to the history of the dance halls such as, Wigan Casino and Manchester’s Twisted Wheel club. The Ritz Ballroom is a place that is constantly spoke about and visited in the movement of soul. This provides a space where soul can thrive and be enjoyed by the same people and their families that have been there from the very beginning in the 1970s. Now the next generation can join their parents on the Soul nights to ‘heel-‐toe-‐slide’ along with them, and to finally be apart of a dance and sound that has always been a major part of their childhood. The sound of Motor-‐city singers has always rung out through their family homes, cars, and holidays when they visit Scooter festivals in the Isle of White, or places closer to home such as Skipton and Bridlington. With this series of images Phelan shows what a modern northern family that has always being wrapped up in the sound of soul, Motown, ska and new wave music looks like today. The images reflect how her parents past of Scooters, all night dancing, and festivals have being influential to her music styles. Through showing photographs of Phelan’s parents when they where a big part of the mod scene, this fires up the viewers imagination of what it was like to first walk into a dance hall and feel the bounce of the floor as dancers spun, kicked and split there way across the wooden hall. These images of both past and present show that Northern Soul is not a thing that has been left in the past, but can still be captured to create new memories of a music scene which has not been forgotten and nor will be if they, keep the faith.