Too Darn Soulful

As Radio 2's Dance Season continues, Pete Waterman examines what makes Northern Soul music so all-consuming for the devoted fan and introduces the uninitiated to this intoxicating mix of music and dance.

Looking at the social aspects of Northern Soul, Pete travels to the famous Twisted Wheel in Manchester to meet the people that still spend their Sunday afternoons re-living the dance sessions of the 60s and 70s. The programme examines why the ritual of the dance is so important to the thousands who flock to the Northern Soul venues dotted across the UK; and what makes Northern Soul not only a music and dance phenomenon but also a major part of the fan's social network.

He talks to Pete Roberts who, after much campaigning, got the Twisted Wheel Club re-opened and now holds nights (and days) there. We also hear from Elaine Constantine, the director of new film Northern Soul who grew up listening and dancing to Northern Soul. From hearing her elder siblings' record collections to her first youth club experience, Northern Soul was the soundtrack to her adolescence. And we hear from the people for whom Northern Soul is a way of life.