When the freelance work has gone from steady to barely
existing and you are spending so much time on your own that you start talking
to yourself in the mirror for some company and human interaction, what you need
is a good night at the cinema.
After settling down in my seat within a packed
and expectant audience, the last thing I wanted to see was a film whose chief
protagonist starts talking to himself in the mirror for some company and human
interaction. That is what happened though. The moody strains of the opening
titles to Taxi Driver began to play and we were into THE WRONG FILM.
There was some verbal indignation expressed by a 50 something, well groomed guy
with dominant side burns, before a dead pan heckler at the back told him it was
just the start of a long trailer.
As the murmurs of discontent grew, a flustered young employee
of the Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Square entered Screen 3, to assure
everyone that the correct film would be brought to us in two minutes and lo and
behold, two minutes later, current British independent movie Northern Soul was there in front of us, with the gritty Northern glory of its opening shots.
As regular readers of this blog will know, I am very much
into my Northern Soul, with my vinyl collection of 7" singles steadily
growing. As many of the records are, or were, lost and forgotten gems from
generally small and relatively obscure independent American labels of black R&B and soul artists, the music
is rooted in nostalgia and exclusivity.
Thoughts turn to talc on dance floors, with incredible
dancers lost in music, swallow diving, spinning and turning their way through
to early morning. What we don't think about is that these people had lives and
relationships and all the emotional baggage that goes with being young and
living in a dead end town. Discovering incredible music, like minded people and
a new way of life, is a complete release, a total escape. I hadn't read any
reviews or articles about the film and was expecting a feast of nostalgia and
great music.
Instead, as well as the good tunes, we also got a fantastic
story with likeable and believable characters. It was a question of sit back, suspend your
disbelief and enjoy the ride.
The story of a young guy discovering music and a club scene
to enjoy with his mates, made me think back to my own clubbing days in the
early 1990s, with the all nighters, the people, the endless stories and comic
tragic mishaps, the white labels (reminiscent of the Northern cover up,)the
dodgy deals, flicking through endless racks of records and everything else that went with it - but above all, the music.
I already own many of the tracks featured in the film on
reissued 7" singles but the nice little 7" box set of all the
featured tracks is definitely going to be added to my wish list.
Northern Soul the movie is a bitter sweet excursion through
the emotions of growing up, getting an identity and finding yourself through
music. Support British cinema, go see it - or add it to your own wish list.
