Issue 04: The Art of Dancing Like Nobody’s Watching!

NORTHERN SOUL SISTERS

The art of dancing like nobody’s watching!

Northern Soul.

Unless you’re from the UK, you‘ve probably never heard of it.

Yet it has been a feature of Britain’s popular culture for 50 years, peaking in the mid 70s.

With strong working class roots, the scene emerged in 1972, in the North of England, and hence the name. Youth would travel from all over the country to attend all-nighters in local halls such as the Wigan Casino, creating an unprecedented subculture dedicated to spectacular dancing to (and collecting) obscure 60s soul records.

Fast forward to 2021, and a new generation has resurrected their parents’ best kept secret! Two young English girls from Stoke-on-Trent have been dancing to Northern Soul in their garden. They are Sally and Poppy (aka Sal and Pops), whose good humour and energy has earned them a loyal following on Youtube.

Sal and Pops met in their teens, studying performing arts in college, and becoming best friends. Their magical onstage chemistry makes this dynamic duo appear like sisters. Cheeky banter and uninhibited dancing are the recipe for their popularity.

Now at 25, the girls have released a few singles covering unknown Northern Soul and ska songs. They are focusing on where they want to go musically as they leverage their popularity on social media, hoping to write their own material in the future. We caught up with the dancing duo to check whether the world was ready for their Northern Girl antics!

Loulou von Spiel is chatting with Sal and Pops.

-How long have you been performing as singers and did it come before or after the Youtube videos?

Sal:

In 2017 we got into this music and went to our first all–nighter, and in 2018, we decided to do our first video, but we always wanted to sing and have a band, we just didn’t know any musicians. We thought “how can we catch people’s attention?” So we did our first video…and by the end of the year, we got a following online. We met up with some musicians and started to gig in 2019.

-You recently rebranded yourself, from Passion and the Veins to Sal and Pops, what happened?

Pops:

During the lockdown, we didn’t meet with the band as much, but when we met again, we had some creative differences. We decided to go forward as a performing duo, to collaborate with musicians instead. With our new singles, it was The Northern Soul Orchestra from Sweden who approached us. With us as a duo, people know what they are going to get.

Sal:

It’s more personal with our names, when our youtube views rocketed, it gave us more self-belief. Previously, as with most musicians, we believed music was all we could ever do. Then we thought” hang on a minute! We are independent women, we can do whatever we want!”

– I was impressed as how well you could both sing! What are the probabilities of 2 best friends being able to dance, sing, and have such chemistry as well?

Pops:

It’s strange, isn’t it? We are so similar in what we do, yet we really inspire each other, know each other inside out, and together, we are so much more powerful.

-How would you describe Northern Soul, and what does it mean to you?

Sal:

I would say it’s raw, it’s real, it’s underground, original and genuine music that really speaks to your soul. And it’s class as well! There’s so much rubbish music out there nowadays, but soul music just cuts through the bull-crap.

-What do you do when you’re not performing? Do you have “real” jobs?

Pops:

Yeah, I work in a lovely little cafe in the countryside and Sal waitresses somewhere else, but we both want to make this a full time occupation… It’s hard, but we’ll get there!

-As performers, do you see your style of traditional and raw music as a challenge to break into the music industry? How much would you be willing to compromise to make it a success?

Sal:

We are very down-to-earth people, Northern Soul really helped us through hard times so we can’t just let it go, it is inside us. But it cannot be faked, it is a real emotion because it comes from…the soul.

Going back to the music of today, it is all part of a brainwashing culture, leading a generation astray, but there is an awakening now from our generation who can see through this and want to find alternative new music! It’s so inspiring to us and we are tapping into that.

Pops:

And being 25, we‘ve had time to figure out who we are, we are strong women! As with the band, we were able to say this is not for us, we are not going to be taken as fools, or be swayed in any particular direction. Being two of us really helps.

-You are always bubbly and full of positive energy in your videos, but do you have a dark side?

Pops:

Hahaha, many sides!

As women, we go through so many emotions, but I feel positive most of the time, but if I’m not keeping myself busy, then that’s when I start thinking too much. We both went through lockdown, not being able to get together and express ourselves, periods when we haven’t felt our best, but we have come out the other end with many good things happening to us.

-How do you select your material, what’s the process?

Sal:

When we first started listening to this music, it was non-stop, we went to all–nighters and discovered a lot of rare records there. We chose tracks later, based on the theme of our clips.

As for our singing material, we never thought about the vocal range and it would sometimes come as a shock when trying to sing it! So we started to put our own spin on it because we are not African American soul singers from the 60s, we can’t copy that! We are lucky we dedicated our younger days to training so we can be the performers we are today and pay homage to those songs and the original artists.

-Any advice to young performers or girls wanting to start their own youtube channel?

Pops:

Just be yourself! And don’t worry about what other people think! The way we perform in the garden, it’s just all out there, we’re not bothered about how we look, we just want to express ourselves. When you’re young, you may not feel confident, but as long as it makes you feel good, do it!

Sal:

Take inspiration from things around you but rip it apart to adapt to yourself, authenticity is when you get inspiration from others but you don’t need to copy, so look inwards, you’ll find all the answers.91

-I assume you get unpleasant comments at times. What are your typical haters like, any Sexism?

Sal:

There’s a particular small group of old timers we call the soul police who believe this culture belongs to them, who take offense that 2 young females from the 21st century, who don’t buy vinyl, dare to plaster it all over online, but it just fuels our fire.

Pops:

…you mentioned sexism and we get such comments and they just make us laugh. We’re lucky we are not in our teens, as the things they say would probably really affect us, but at this stage, we genuinely don’t care, we also get comments from older males like “get back to the kitchen” (laughing).

Sal:

Many viewers comment about our bodies, people going on about our thighs, but we love that, it makes us laugh!

Pops:

I love my thighs!!!

Sal:

Also with my years of training, I’ve been brought up from a very young age to being somewhat ripped apart. When you perform, you put in a lot of hard work, yet you are constantly being told that’s not good enough, and how to do it better, and THAT, without you knowing it, helps you grow a thick skin. So I feel my experience has made me bulletproof.

Pops:

And you rebel against that as well.

I didn’t get into the dancing until I went to college, unlike Sally…

Sal:

… but you did gymnastics!

Pops:

Yes, for about 10 years and that was great, although it was very competitive. But when I started dancing, I didn’t like to be told how to dance. I felt really boxed in; it’s very regimented. But yet again that is why Sal and I gelled, because both of us were feeling that way.

Sal and Pops are exactly what Northern Soul needs, bringing soul back into the 21st century to give hope to those disheartened by the current lack of substance in mainstream music. The pandemic has made many turn to positive social media content, benefiting those offering uplifting entertainment.

“This music is timeless.” they conclude. “Back in the day, this is how it started. Escapism, letting your hair down after a long week of work, and releasing all that energy. And that’s why it’s still relevant today.”