A STALYBRIDGE man is helping the country dance to a different beat as he has contributed to a newly released movie.
Stephen Riley is one of the people who have assisted Northern Soul: Still Burning, which was released nationwide on May 15.
After growing up in the Tameside town and attending Hyde Grammar School, he remains active as a visual artist, DJ and author from his Somerset base.
And his books Soul Stories and The Truth About Northern Soul are heavily informed by his first-hand experience of the northern soul scene in the borough, Manchester and the North West in the 1970s.
Now after being invited to contribute by Alan Byron of Screenbound Productions, he appears alongside Paul Mason, Ian Levine, Tony Blackburn and others as the film tells the story of the movement.
Legendary DJ Mr Blackburn tells how: “The dancing was just incredible. I’d never seen anything like it.
“I certainly couldn’t have done it then and I certainly couldn’t do it now!”
Northern Soul’s mecca may have been Wigan Casino, along with Manchester’s Twisted Wheel, but Audenshaw is home to a thriving monthly night at Stanley House.
And this latest film delves into a scene that is arguably as strong today as it was when Wigan Casino was at its peak.
My Riley’s second book on what he calls an ‘enigmatic subculture’ is described as being ‘warts and all, from its early days and on to the beast it has become in the 2020s.’
One review added: “It’s a quite brilliant attempt at debunking the rose-tinted mythology which surrounds Northern Soul.”
This latest film has been described by reviewer Peter Bradshaw as ‘an absorbing docu-celebration of the northern soul scene that flourished from the late 1960s to the end of the 1970s. It was a fascinating, vernacular youth movement and a kind of regional open secret.’
Radio 2’s James King added: “It really tells you what makes the scene so special – a really interesting bit of social history”