NORTHERN SOUL: LIVING FOR THE WEEKEND (2014)

A universally-acclaimed film & major ratings hit – one million across first weekend – about the most exciting underground British club movement of the 1970’s. It reveals how disenchanted white working class youth in the north of England created a dynamic culture of fashions, dance moves, amphetamines & vinyl obsession – all fuelled by the love of super-rare American soul music with an express-train beat.

Set against a rich cultural & social backdrop, the film shows how the release that Northern Soul gave these clubbers, provided a euphoric escape from the dead-end reality of their lives during the economic bleakness of the 1970’s.

By the mid-1970’s, these youngsters in the north had transformed the old ballrooms & dancehalls of their parents’ generation into citadels of the Northern Soul experience, creating a genuine alternative to mainstream British pop culture. Through vivid first-hand accounts & rare archive footage, this film charts Northern Soul’s dramatic rise, its glory days, the in-fighting, fall & re-birth.

DIRECTOR & WRITER: James Maycock

BROADCASTER: BBC TV / BBC Four

PROGRAMME DURATION: 60 minutes

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Somethin’ Else

SOMETHIN’ ELSE EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Jez Nelson




Clips

The Greatest Vinyl Haul Ever


Northern Soul Changed My Life