Blackpool, UK, is a touristic town at seaside, with about 140.000 inhabitants. Since the 19th century, the town is particularly appreciated by highlanders, belonging to the working class of Scotland. In effect, the town contains many traces of the cited, habitual guests, coming especially from Glasgow. One of the traces left by Scottish tourist was a soul club, named “Highland Room”, now demolished. However, the memories bound to the Highland Room are still vivid, because the soul club, at the first floor of the so-called Blackpool Mecca, is considered as one of the main, historic venues of the northern soul movement. Honestly, it has been hard for me to distinguish facts from legends, given that I’m not British, and that my English is not the best. I have been forced to collect many sources, and to compare many web pages, and many web posts. In my opinion, the distortion of information is analogue to that occurring in Italy, about a well-known discotheque of the past, named “Baia degli Angeli”. With other words, the origin of certain legends is the popularity of some DJs, whose celebrity is partly connected to the historic venues, and who are still active, despite of the many years passed. The page is my contribution to a brief history of the Highland Room, and of its legacy, as much bound to verified facts as resulted from my efforts, above described.
The Highland Room had an attendance of 800 persons, and its activity went from 1971 to October 29, 1977. The Mecca soul events were restarted on October 31, 1980, at Clifton Hall in Rotherham, for each Friday until the year 1981 (someone says 1982, others say 1983; maybe there were problems with local authorities). The attendance in Rotherham was from 5000 to 8000 persons, truly notable numbers. The list of northern soul DJs, who performed at the Highland Room, in alphabetical order: Billy the Kid, Colin Curtis, Ian Dewhirst, Ian Levine, Keith Minshull, Ollie Ollerton, Ron Dempster, Stuart Freeman, and Tony Jebb. The list of the northern soul DJs, who performed in Rotherham, in alphabetical order: Brian Rae, Chris Brady, Derek Sheldon (the DJ of all-nighters), Gary Rushbrook, Pat Brady, Poke, Richard Searling, and Steve Mannion. Objectively, the two DJs, whose musical tastes have most influenced the playlists of the Highland Room, are Colin Curtis, and Ian Levine. They say that, in the year 1975, Colin Curtis gained the reputation of the best DJ of northern soul. During the years 1975-1976, Mr. Ian Levine frequented one of the best discotheques in NYC, the Anvil of the Greenwich Village, that was even the birthplace of the popular disco band the Village People, and where great disco DJs performed, such as Bobby Guttadaro, and Lance Wise. Possibly, that’s the reason why many records big in NYC were imported, and played at the Highland Room. Thus, some of the disco hits from the Big Apple have become horses of battle of a subgenre of northern soul, named “progressive northern soul”, or “northern disco”. Honestly, I have found interesting the miscellanea between old records and hits of New Yorican underground disco, that’s the main feature of the Highland Room.
The conclusion is that the singularity of the northern soul from Blackpool Mecca was possible thanks to Scottish tourists, who were much less idiosyncratic than common northern soul aficionados, and due to a far minor social use of amphetamines. In effect, according to my readings, the northern disco subgenre was rejected from the Wigan Casino. Well, on the contrary, I appreciate a lot northern disco, so that the mix of the page is my interpretation of the music most suitable to the Highland Room, including 2 or 3 tracks released after the definitive closure of the venue, and belonging to the favorites of DJ Ian Levine. My previous excuses to listeners, because I fell into the temptation of mixing a lot, perhaps too much.
File name “northern disco for highlanders and more, by Max Look DJ (Apr 2025)”, 1 hour 21’ and 30” of tunes belonging to the northern soul subgenre born in Blackpool, UK.
Highland Room and something else, the playlist:
Bernard Smith – never gonna let you go (1969)
Fantastic Four – got to have your love (1977)
King Sporty – music maker (1976)
Bobby Newton – shady lady (1975)
Alfie Kahn Sound Orchestra – law of the land (1974)
Pockets – come go with me (1977)
Ecstasy, Passion & Pain – good things don’t last forever (1974)
Sensations – I won’t be hurt (1966)
Ikettes – two timin’ double dealin’(1972)
Goody Goody – it looks like love (1978)
James Wells – parting is such sweet sorrow (1977)
Fat Larry’s Band – center city (1976)
Barbara Mills – queen of fools (1965)
Bill Brandon and Lorraine Johnson – let me be your full time groover (1973)
Zulema – just look what you’ve done (1975)
Crown Heights Affair – every beat of my heart (1975)
Loleatta Holloway – mother of shame (1973)
Hokis Pokis – swing (1976)
Admirations – heaven is in your arms (1966)
Ann Sexton – you got to use what you got (1976)
Doris Jones – no way out (1977)
The Brothers – Brothers’ theme (1976)
Mandrill – never die (1973)
