With Dale James - The Funky Sifu What is Northern Soul? Northern Soul is soul music with an up-tempo beat from American cities such as Detroit and Chicago. The phrase 'Northern Soul' was coined by a journalist, Dave Godin, sometime around 1971 in his Blues and Soul magazine column. He was referring to the difference between the music played in the Southern and Northern Soul clubs of England. The first Northern Soul club which defined the Northern Soul sound was the Twisted Wheel in Manchester among the others were the Torch in Stoke on Trent, Wigan Casino and the Blackpool Mecca. This page is presently under re-design, please come back soon.