‘Agent Double-O Soul’: The northern soul classic loved by John Lennon
Obscurity is a word that does not appear in the index of The Beatles; their instant popularity was so overwhelming, in fact, that the word ‘Beatlemania’ had to be coined. You would be forgiven for assuming, therefore, that there is little crossover between the realm of the Fab Four and the northern soul scene, but you would be dead wrong.
By the time that Wigan Casino first opened its doors to the hordes of sweaty, amphetamine-fuelled soulies lining up to dance all night to the obscure and forgotten sounds of American soul in 1973, The Beatles were already a thing of the past, having gone their separate ways three years prior. Nevertheless, the band had an unlikely connection with the scene.
After all, the northern soul scene in all its glory had evolved from the mod nightclubs of the 1960s – the exciting, youthful places that lined the streets of Soho – which, incidentally, tended to be where The Beatles would fraternise with the fellow movers and shakers of swinging sixties London. Through those clubs, the likes of John Lennon were introduced to the soul, R&B, and Motown sounds that would soon become omnipresence within the early output of the Fab Four.
Aside from the plethora of Motown covers that the band included on With The Beatles in 1963, the influence of the Detroit label can be felt through the portable jukebox that Lennon had commissioned back in 1965. Loaded with 40 of his all-time favourite songs up to that point, the likes of The Miracles, Barrett Strong, and The Contours were all represented in force. Perhaps the most interesting inclusion, however, was by Edwin Starr, a future cult hero of northern soul.
Starr did eventually become a part of the Motown roster, even achieving chart-topping hits like ‘War’ in time. Originally, though, the vocalist started out his musical journey at Ric-Tic Records, another Detroit label that was – and still is – beloved by northern soul obsessives. It was during this Ric-Tic era of relative obscurity that Starr unleashed the track that Lennon saw fit to include on his jukebox: ‘Agent Double-O Soul’.
Starr’s debut single, and the beginning of his journey to soul stardom, that 1965 track has always had something of a presence within the northern soul scene, its beating rhythm, blaring horns, and rising tempo providing the perfect soundtrack to oldies all-nighters during the northern scene’s 1970s heyday.
While it has never been the most obscure record in the boxes of northern soul DJs, and it was certainly eclipsed by Starr’s later recordings, like ‘Time’ or even ‘Back Street’, that legendary proto-Shaft single is nonetheless vital listening for any self-respecting northern soul obsessive and, as it turns out, John Lennon, too.
Not only does the song’s inclusion in Lennon’s top 40 evoke the legendary songwriter’s long-standing appreciation of American soul and R&B music, but it also serves as a signifier of just how attuned The Beatles were to the emerging sounds of America, only a short time after they had made the trip across the Atlantic for the very first time.
The Beatles might not have had the most natural of affinities for the obsessively obscure realm of northern soul, but through both their adoration for Motown and John Lennon’s surprising love of Edwin Starr, those two very disparate music worlds weren’t entirely without relation.
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