"The music is black American and obscure-the ghetto sounds that never made it. The followers are mostly white, English and fanatical - working class kids in the industrial heart of Britain, who dance like there is no tomorrow to records most of us will never hear. The Northern Soul scene is a strange mixture of good and bad, of burning dedication and grubby exploitation. Despised by some, misunderstood by others it is the ultimate underground"

Although this quote is not entirely true, (there is plenty of incredible blue eyed soul and it's not all American), it epitomizes who many of us were and how northern soul became a part of who we are.. I grew up just outside Warrington in Cheshire (2 stations down from Wigan) and spent Fridays at youth clubs where every record hissed and crackled. Don't know what the first "Northern Soul" record I ever heard was but I grew up listening to my sisters Motown Chartbusters and Aretha Franklin LP's. As everyone else turned to Rod Stewart, Bolan and Bowie I turned to The Exciters, Frankie Valli and others.

My first "big do" was at Wigan Casino, a Motown Revival night, of course there was so much other soul being played, I was mesmerized (I still get that look on my face when I get into the zone). I never looked back.

As I got older and realized I need to create a career niche I moved away and supposedly grew up. I moved to the US in 1987 and continued creating an identity here, didn't go back across the pond for almost 10 years.

Then came the Internet and in the famous words of Archie Bell "Here I Go Again"

I've always been a dancer and listener more than a collector but here are some of the sounds I own that touch my soul.