Various – Northern Boys – Classic Gems and Treasures from a Talcum-Coated Dancefloor.

This, on the Righteous label, arrived in the post on Friday and come Friday night it was on constant repeat on the CD player. Northern Boys is an album crammed full of Northern Soul tunes made “famous” by clubs such as the Blackpool Mecca and Wigan Casino and it is a really infectious collection.

Most of the twenty six tunes herein were originally released in 1959 and 1961 on obscure 45s (remember those?) and will be nigh on impossible to source now and so perhaps just for the rarity value this album is worth having – but that’s missing the point a bit I think.

The songs are short (not one is more than three minutes) and, as the sleeve notes testify, “foot stomping” and you just can’t help but be taken along for the ride.

Ok, so the recording quality is in the main pretty shocking by today’s standards, but right from the very first track (Charles Sheffield’s “It’s Your Voodoo Working”) to the last (Billy Beasley’s “A Million Teardrops”) you’re rewarded with floorfillers that cross genres from soul to doo wop to r and b and back again, but maintain a finger snapping vibe throughout.

Go buy it, it’s great!