Northern Soul Trivia Quiz

Answer: Marc Bolan

Gloria, unfortunately, was at the helm of the Austin Mini which crashed that fateful night in September 1977, and did not learn that her partner had passed away until the day of his funeral.

"Tainted Love", of course, is a well renowned classic, having been covered frequently, topping both the UK and Australian charts in its most famous version by Soft Cell, which also dented the Billboard Hot 100 in 1981.

Answer: Royal Albert Hall, London

This one should have been pretty straightforward if you know your UK geography. After all Wigan, Manchester and Blackpool are all in the North of England and London, of course, is in the South.

Unusually, despite many Northern Soul artists being of African American origin, the genre got its name due to the increasing popularity of these obscure "flop" records from the other side of the Atlantic when they were picked up by underground DJs at sweaty club venues in the North of England.

Widely regarded as the first "Northern Soul Club", Manchester's Twisted Wheel was, however, a haven for drug users and the local authorities tried to shut it down on many occasions, finally getting their way in 1971.

Blackpool Mecca and Wigan Casino were two of the more legendary Northern Soul venues of the era, with the latter club even having the accolade of "World's number one discotheque" bestowed upon it by Billboard magazine in 1978.

Answer: The Just Brothers - "Sliced Tomatoes"

Originally intended to be a B-side, "Sliced Tomatoes" is a genuinely classy slice of soul funk, and it's easy to see why the former Quentin "Norman" Cook was so taken with it, sampling it to tremendous effect on his first solo hit record, previously having topped the charts with both The Housemartins and Beats International.

Answer: Dobie Gray

Best known for his hit singles "Drift Away", "The In Crowd" and "Loving Arms", the Texan born singer was still going strong well into the 21st century and, towards the end of 2007, he performed at Nashville's Schermerhorn Symphony Hall's first Annual Musicians Hall Of Fame Inductees Awards presentation.

Answer: Dave Godin

Godin was a prolific journalist who specialized in black American music in Britain. He opened the first record shop in Europe to deal primarily in black music, and founded the Tamla Motown Appreciation Society. He died in 2004.

Berry Gordy, of course, was the founder of the legendary label Tamla Motown.

James Brown was known as the Godfather Of Soul.

Cameron Crowe is a famous screenwriter and film director, who continues to write for "Rolling Stone" magazine since joining the publication in 1972. His 2000 film "Almost Famous" featured a young character called William Miller, whose forays into rock journalism were largely based upon Crowe's own experiences.

Answer: True

Although not strictly a Northern Soul artist in the truest sense of the term, many publications and polls list "Piece Of My Heart" as one of the all time great Northern Soul recordings. Erma was four years younger than her more famous sister Aretha, and never came close to replicating the success of her sibling, leaving the music business in the 1970s.
She died, aged 64, in 2002 after a long battle with throat cancer.

Answer: The Tams - "Hey Girl Don't Bother Me"

The Tams themselves were astonished at suddenly being thrust into the limelight atop the UK top 40, but perhaps even more surprising was their follow up single, "There Ain't Nothing Like Shaggin'" some 16 years later. It reached number 21 in November 1987 but was immediately banned for its lyrical content.

This was a little unfortunate, as the song was actually referring to a US dance craze called the Carolina Shag, and not suggesting any sexual connotations at all, despite what the term means in the UK.

Answer: Papa Willie

Mitchell earned the nickname when he took over as head honcho of Hi Records in 1970, enjoying seven years of chart success before selling the company to Cream Records founder Alvin Bennett in 1977.

Answer: Ian Levine

Beginning his career as a DJ at the Blackpool Mecca, Levine has gone on to have a long and illustrious career and is responsible for developing the Hi-NRG sound during the 1980s, as well as producing a documentary called "The Strange World Of Northern Soul", released in July 1999.

Dave Evison was allegedly the man who played the very last record at Wigan Casino ("I'm On My Way" by Dean Parrish), Stuart Maconie is a radio and television presenter amongst other things, and is something of an aficionado on all things Northern Soul, as you will find out if you pick up any of his well written paperbacks. Norman Cook, of course, is better known as Fatboy Slim, and has sampled several Northern Soul records to create his own inimitable sound.

Answer: The Verve

Although The Verve are a million miles away from the Northern Soul sound, frontman Richard Ashcroft remains a big fan of the genre, and the album's title was a tribute to this. Of course, the band hail from Wigan, so it shouldn't have been too difficult to work out, especially as Ride are from Oxford and both Menswear and Elastica hail from London.