northern soul

noun

A music and dance movement of northern England in the late 1960s, mainly based around black American soul music.

Meanings

northern soul1

nounnorthern soul (uncountable)

alternative Northern Soul

  1. uncountableentertainmentA music and dance movement of northern England in the late 1960s, mainly based around black American soul music.

    Meanwhile more people were either leaving behind the Northern Soul scene and enjoying the jazz-funk scene, or combining the two.

    2012, David Nowell, The Story of Northern Soul, Portico, →ISBN
    2 more examples

    The overwhelmingly young population involved in northern soul needed to find a way out of the depression slowly taking over the UK in the seventies. Speed gave them the edge they needed to rise above all the pain and frustration of a country losing its way.

    2000, Julian Durlacher, Miriam Joseph, Speed: Its History and Lore, Carlton Books, →ISBN, page 48

    For many young people throughout Britain in the 1970s, Northern Soul became a truly alternative lifestyle with the rites and values of the scene replacing many of the traditional strictures of society.

    2013, Elaine Constantine, Gareth Sweeney, Northern Soul: An Illustrated History, Random House, →ISBN, page 12

Northern Soul2

nounNorthern Soul (uncountable)
  1. uncountableAlternative letter-case form of northern soul.
Cite this entry
APA

northern soul. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/northern%20soul

MLA

“northern soul.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/northern%20soul. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “northern soul,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/northern%20soul.

Source: northern soul on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.