Pep up with some Northern Soul

This is what I play to cheer myself up: Northern Soul. It grew up in Stoke, Wigan and Blackpool as DJs competed for the most obscure floor-fillers imported from the US. The drug of choice was speed (though another powder - talcum - was also necessary), the moves were spectacular, and the clothes, well, they were distinctive. You can still spot the occasional Northern Soul fanatic on the streets.

There's no angst about in Northern Soul: the songs were designed to facilitate primitive mating rituals by providing men and women with opportunities for displays of gymnastic prowess.

Dobie Gray's 'Out on the Floor' has everything you could ever want from a pop song:



If this one (Human Beinz's cover of the Isley Brothers' 'Nobody But Me') doesn't make you wanna dance, you must be clinically dead:





And finally Al Wilson's lust-fuelled 'The Snake':

Shake it

'Nobody But Me' is one of my favourite songs of all time. It's a Northern Soul staple, containing all the arrogance, swagger and energy of that genre - so imagine my surprise to discover that Human Beinz were a bunch of semi-psychedelic white kids covering an Isley Brothers track!

Keep the Torch burning

Here's one of my favourite tracks of all time, Dobie Gray's 'Out on the Floor'. It's Northern Soul, of which you may have heard. If not - DJs in Stoke (Golden Torch), Wigan (Casino) and Blackpool competed to import the most obscure soul records they could find. The movement developed its own fashions, dance moves and drug habits - it was a solid working-class culture which transcended race and place.

This track epitomises Northern Soul - it's ridiculously catchy and it captures perfectly the freedom and power available on the dance floor, away from work and all the other things dragging people down. The second clip is some classic dancing from Wigan Casino, though the film's a bit slow and doesn't reflect the stunning athleticism of the real thing.