Creating the Cambridge Northern Soul Train: An Homage to Community, Dance and Joy

Ethan Walker and Eanna Ferguson share the inspiration behind Cambridge Northern Soul Train, a night celebrating an historic culture, opening both new and old pathways within Cambridge clubbing.

Photos via Cambridge Northern Soul Train’s Instagram

Something new, or something old, is approaching the Cambridge club scene. On Friday 16 February, ‘The Cambridge Northern Soul Train’ is rewinding the clock, making community, knit-vests and flares cool again. The event is our homage to the rich history of Northern Soul. In fostering our own sense of local community within Cambridge, we’ve been able to think about how we place ourselves alongside the movement now, and what it means to our generation. This is not a recreation or reiteration of something sacred in its own time and place - but a chance to introduce the love for the music, the dance and the fashion to the Cambridge community. 

“Growing up very near Manchester, Northern Soul compilation CD’s played every morning in the car on the way to school…”

Northern soul is a music and dance movement born in Northern England and the Midlands during the early 1970s. Emerging from the Mod scene in the late 1960s, it became  its own cultural assertion, based around a love of contemporary Black American soul that was characterised by a heavy beat and fast tempo. In mostly working-class communities, small cafes, town halls, social clubs, and even bedrooms, became sites to share and celebrate a  love of soul music. Each community had their own relationship with this form of soul music. The spirit of celebration, joy and solidarity provided a new space to dance and let loose.

The movement also had its own distinct style which developed alongside its sound. The slow fashion of the garments is a key part of the culture as it continues today. Wide flares, circle skirts, trim-fit shirts, knit vests, sewn patches and boots were all staple pieces of the Northern Soul look. This element of style which is so integral to the time and place of this subculture, to us, plays a huge part in honouring its origins.

Owing to the breadth of the Northern Soul legacy, we both have personal connections to the music. As Ethan describes, “Funk, Motown and Blues were the soundtrack to my childhood. Dancing on the kitchen counter to the likes of Marvin Gaye and Otis Reading was a favourite activity for my brother and me. I think because it was my family that first introduced me to the sound of soul, I feel a huge connection to the movement. Seeing photos of my parents dancing to Motown in clubs from the 70s and 80s has shown me the physical power of the music. This love for the sound and its infectious dance moves are what have drawn me in most.” 

“Music has the ability to induce the strongest emotional reactions. Those emotional reactions are important, they can shape us, help us cope and connect us to the world.”

Eanna’s connection is similar, “Growing up very near Manchester, Northern Soul compilation CD’s played every morning in the car on the way to school, and were my first and most central entry point into the wider culture. This vibrancy and love for the music were what first captured me; it never failed to get us singing and dancing along. This initial joy was nuanced when my family (some of them old mods and dancers themselves!) would speak of their own experience of it, and how it related to the history of the place around us. This multigenerational appeal, and how it fosters connection, also held particular significance for me: seeing old prints of my mum’s mod fashion, shared moments of happiness when we’d all dance together and starting to develop my own sartorial taste and collection of favourite songs all enhanced what is, at its core, a deep enjoyment of the music.” This connection through family, passing down and sharing is perhaps the heart of the ethos we hope to embrace.

Photos via Cambridge Northern Soul Train’s Instagram

What we want to achieve with our event is to celebrate this incredible music-based culture and to tap into the modern iterations of it that are emerging all over. We hope to provide much needed levity and release in an unpressurised environment where you can equally move, have a chat, and appreciate good music in a more chill fashion than your typical club night, having the ability to interact with the event according to how you will enjoy it most. We want to cultivate a feeling where people are uninhibited to just go for it and dance, while listening to incredible music and discovering new tracks. We want to create a sense of love, solidarity and community that is joyful to experience, and widely appreciated.

One of our headlining DJ’s, Soroosh, might have put it best: “Music has the ability to induce the strongest emotional reactions. Those emotional reactions are important, they can shape us, help us cope and connect us to the world. It’s about finding those euphoric sounds that will make you smile involuntarily, the sounds that will make you move for a few hours and forget about the world. That’s what Northern Soul was, that’s what it is today. Our lives have changed quite a bit since the 60s and 70s but the one thing that hasn’t changed is our need to get on a dancefloor and move together to the sounds of soul.”

Talulah, another one of our DJ’s, speaks of something similar: “It’s really great that Northern Soul continues to make waves among new generations. I’m excited to be able to play a set where I go deeper than my usual style of mixing in a specifically ‘club’ space. I love that a Northern Soul night is first and foremost about community and taking care of each other. For me, the music should reflect this as it takes us all on a journey which isn’t solely defined by the DJ providing ‘banger after banger’. I think it’s the DJs role to provide a dynamic experience of varying rhythms, tempos and vocal styles. Northern Soul is perfect for just this, as the scene’s sound was constantly moving and shifting over time. My favourite type of night to play is one where people arrive with an open mind and are ready to engage with cultures, movements and sounds which are much more than just music. Northern Soul has a rich history and is tied to transnational connections between Black American soul music and the British Mod scene. I want the music to reflect how resistance, community and transnational solidarities are integral to underground rhythms throughout history. I hope to bring some rare and overlooked records to the dance floor on Friday.”

Cambridge Northern Soul Train is taking place on Friday 16 February at NCI Centre, 1 Holland St, Arbury, Cambridge, CB4 3DL, doors at 7pm and closing at midnight.