"My earliest memories of soul in Morecambe would be at St Barnabas Youth Club (Barnies) during its first incarnation circa 1969, where I used to tag along with my mate and his elder brother.

Amongst the Beatles and the Stones they played reggae sounds - Dave and Ansil Collins, Desmond Decker and Trojan sounds like the Upsetters and Bob and Marcia. All quite an ear-opener for a pre-teen wide eyed, soulboy.

The Skinheads were taking the mantle from the Mods, jumpin' to the Jamaican sounds, the Soulboys were gliding to The Isley Brothers and The Four Tops, while the girls were more handbag shuffling to Jimmy Ruffin and The Supremes. "It would be a few years before I discovered a lot of these records, which my friends and I revered, were in fact unsuccessful American releases, from up to eight years previous which had disappeared without trace.

"Through the diligence of DJs at clubs like The Torch, Twisted Wheel and Blackpool Mecca, these lost American B-sides and total flops were given a new lease of life in the UK. Here you have the basis of what later was to become Northern Soul."