Northern soul

Hardly a week goes by without someone getting watery eyed about The Torch. It wasn't so much a club, as a place of worship – it was at the very heart of the Northern Soul scene in the early 70s.

Memories of lousy toilets, sweaty bodies, fights, broken hearts and mediocre sounds are dismissed by other, better, memories... the mists of youth, the heady smell of Brut, the hair styles (some strange ones indeed), Spencer’s, Ben Sherman’s and the sheer joy of being young.

As one who never set so much as a frosty pink lacquered toe nail over the doorstep, The Torch to me is legendary. It's the Sistine Chapel of this particular faith, with soul legend Major Lance as the Michaelangelo figure, and with dj's Dave Evison and Keith Minshull as the bishops!

The most famous of the “worshippers” on the dancefloor had their nicknames – Tombo, Sparky, Nogger, Millie, Matchy, Booper, Snowy and Kimbo – and, wherever they are now and whatever they have done since, they are forever young in the Shangri-La land that was the Torch.

Plaque

Today, The Golden Torch (as it was first known) is long gone, after burning down in a fire – but, recently (Feb 2008), efforts to get a plaque erected on the site in Hose Street in Tunstall (the northern-most of Stoke on Trent’s Six Towns) were rewarded. A bright shiny memorial is there now (see 'More Torch Photos') thanks to Steve Hoskins and John O'Brien.

Which is marvellous, because the city celebrates its sporting heroes (Sir Stanley Matthews), its cultural heroes (Arnold Bennett), its megastars ( Robbie Williams) and its good old fashioned super heroes (Reginald Mitchell) – but and now it shows similar respect to its great popular-music cultural icon.

The facts

Judge for yourself the facts…

• Thirty years after The Torch closed, Stoke on Trent is still the No 1 city for Northern soul
• Chris Burton, the genius behind the Torch remains the No 1 promoter of all time (in my humble opinion)
• A record 1300 people attended an all-nighter at the Torch in 1973!
• Great artists such as The Drifters, Edwin Starr, Jnr Walker, Major Lance, JJ Barnes and the Stylistics all appeared on stage at the Torch
• It lasted only 18 months (true!) as a venue for Northern before the police pushed for closure
• On a windy cold night in Tunstall, if you listen very very hard, you can hear an echoey version of “I Love The Life I Live “ (well, I do anyway!) – spooky or what?

So don't tell me the Torch's place in Northern Soul history doesn't deserve a bit of a lasting tribute. 

The definitive Torch song?

Torch tracks are still requested by listeners to my show on a regular basis – Free for All by Philip Mitchell; Just Ask Me – Lenis Guess; Hit and Run - Rose Batiste. We could go on forever.

What though would be the number 1 Torch track?
I suspect like so many issues in the crazy world of Northern Soul, opinion will be divided and will come down to who was where, at what time, who was wearing what, what was said and by whom to whom and if it was an original. If you get my drift.

Humble beginnings

I make no secret of my Northern soul and Motown “pedigree”, even though my beginnings were humble – at a market town youth club (which DID at least have a wooden dancefloor).

In my innocence, as I glided around to Barbara Randolph, I had no idea of the hushed reverence on the stage as a fiver's worth of vinyl, which was a LOT of money in those days, was being passed around with the care usually afforded to a newborn babe – and do you know what, it matters not a jot.

However I'm not ashamed to admit that I find it hard to raise any enthusiasm for the infamous “Countdown Here I Come” – but I do get cross when people who were fortunate to be right in the heart of it all, the ones who stood in the Torch on a Saturday night, keep their memories and stories locked inside, almost as if they gain value.

Spread the word

Come on! Their true worth is being told and shared and in doing so they help more people investigate the music , learn about its heritage and create new fans. We do want new fans don't we?

So… let the people who weren't there know about what it was really like… use the messageboard!

But… I really wish I had been there too. At least once...

Mary Fox