Well daddyacey .. that was an interesting article by LAMAR THOMAS and I think it illustrates the differences in perspective quite well.
Here is my take on it all .. seen from a purely British perspective ..
In my view the terms "Modern Soul" and "Northern Soul" really refer to whether the specific recordings are suitable for playing at clubs/nights being promoted as "Modern Soul" or "Northern Soul" nights .. in other words they relate to playlists and formats, they are not technically specific musical "styles".
When the terms came in common usage in Britain [[ "Northern Soul" around 1971/2 and "Modern Soul" some four or five years later ) they were used to describe the kind of music that you might hear certain D.Js play at certain venues, they were rarely used [[ if at all ) to describe the recording artists/songwriters/producers/musicians themselves.
Its interesting that in his article Mr Lamar makes much mention of U.S. Black radio as a means of promoting music, and the current difficulties. What needs to be realised is that in Northern and Central England in the early 1970s there was NO "Black Radio" at all. There was precious little music radio too ..
Where I lived we had ..
Two British stations ..
BBC Radio One .. format Top 20/Chart based during the day .. progressive rock in the evening.
BBC Radio Two .. format M.O.R./Easy listening ..
TWO Continental stations ..
Radio Luxembourg .. night-time A.M. from Continental Europe format Top 20/Chart based .. poor signal which could fade.
R.N.I. .. Dutch based offshore pirate .. format Top 20/Chart based English language programs at night, Dutch during the day.
And with a bit of searching at night ..
American Forces Radio [[ AFN ) from Germany .. poor reception .. format sports shows and music shows with the latest U.S. hits.
BBC Radio One had an hour long show each week where new Soul/R&B releases were reviewed.
AFN had a few shows playing current U.S R&B/Soul .
Current releases from established U.S. "Soul" acts such as DIANA ROSS/TEMPTATIONS/ARETHA FRANKLIN had a reasonable chance of making the Radio One playlist, other acts could struggle.
Apart from that there was nothing/nada/rien/zilch.
In North/Central England to hear large amounts of Soul/R&B music you could go to the Nightclubs/Discotheques, where "Soul" was especially popular as it was good to dance to. Particularly popular was the uptempo mid/late 60s material. So those who liked to go out and dance gravitated to "Soul" and some records managed to make the U.K. charts without having significant radio exposure, due to sales generated via prolongued discotheque play.
Some D.Js/venues would have nights/sessions where they played nothing but "Soul", with the emphasis firmly on the uptempo mid/late '60s material. People who attended these venues developed distinctive styles of Dance and dress. These venues would attract "collectors" as well as "dancers" and to keep their playlists "fresh" the D.Js would search out previously unknown uptempo mid/late '60s material. As a general rule the current dancable U.S. "Soul" releases were ignored as they had a slower, more funky sound that didn't quite fit the format.
The venues in the early '70s that specialised in playing this mid/late '60s uptempo "Soul" were overwhelmingly concentrated in North West and North Central England .. Manchester/Lancashire/Leeds/Stoke/Nottingham/Wolverhampton etc. .. areas considered by the London media to be "The North" and someone dreamt up the term "Northern Soul" to describe the uptempo mid/late '60s material they played. Soon these venues started to describe themselves as "Northern Soul" venues.
In the meantime, back in the U.S.A. changes in musical styles were occurring and in 1973/4 an increasing number of the new records had a lighter, more uptempo sound .. notably the "Philly" tunes and the early "Disco" material coming out of NYC/NJ.
Some time around 1974/5 some of the D.Js who played "Northern Soul" started to experiment by mixing in these newer mid/uptempo U.S. Soul/R&B releases .. some of the collecters and dancers liked the change in format. Soon some nights/sessions stopped concentrating on the Mid/Late '60s uptempo material and concentrated on the newer '70s material instead.
Some "Northern Soul" collectors and dancers were horrified by the new format, which had started to develop its own styles of dancing and dress. These "traditionalists" wanted to continue with the uptempo mid/late '60s sound, so someone came up with the term "Modern Soul" to describe the new format and venues/sessions concentrating on new/'70s releases started to promote themselves as playing "Modern Soul".
So .. from 1976 onwards if a venue in Britain advertised itself as playing "Northern Soul" you could expect to hear a lot of uptempo mid/late '60s Soul, with only the occasional release from after 1970 [[ as had been the case at the time when the term "Northern Soul" was first used ). If a venue described itself as playing "Modern Soul" you could expect a mix of brand new releases and obscure recordings from 1972/3 onwards with just the occasional recording from prior to 1970.
These terms meant that Soul music fans would be able to decide for themselves whether they wanted to attend a particular venue. People who wanted to sweat the night away stomping along to recordings from 1966 could avoid "Modern Soul" venues, those who wanted to dress up and prance along to '70s recordings could avoid "Northern Soul" venues.
However the two formats were never mutually exclusive, bigger dancehall venues can have two or more rooms, and "Northern" can be played in one and "Modern" in another. People can, and some do, spend time in both. Some recordings fit both formats. Virtually every Soul/R&B recording artists who's recording career spanned both the mid/late sixties and the mid 70's has made records that fit either format.
Having got that off my chest I shall now amuse myself by listening to some of those suggestions Grapevine has posted ..
Roger
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