Credit: Far Out / Public Domain

Far Out’s ultimate northern soul quiz: Have you ‘Kept the Faith’?

Tue 16 June 2026 13:30, UK

For those who have never felt talcum powder beneath their feet, or the ‘beatin’ rhythm’ of Richard Temple in the air, the realm of northern soul can appear more than a little enigmatic; even today, there are still many unanswered and unanswerable questions left by the incredible, amphetamine-fueled scene that reinvented British youth culture.

No matter how much social dissection you do, and no matter how many documentaries are made on the subject, there will always be something endearingly miraculous about legions of young people in the industrial surroundings of northern England becoming infatuated with impossibly obscure American soul records, many of them recorded many years prior.

With that rather romantic origin story, and a countless number of footstomping tracks still being discovered today, it is no wonder that the northern soul scene is still going strong. Wigan Casino might have shut its doors in 1981, but there is certainly no shortage of modern-day soul nights across the nation, including a select few that have been around since the scene’s 1970s heyday.

For young people becoming hooked on those four-on-the-floor rhythms for the very first time, though, familiarising yourself with the extensive history of the scene can seem a rather daunting task. It is easy to lose yourself in the rhythm, or even to attempt your first backdrop, but there is an entirely different side to the northern soul scene, too: the impossibly anal, obsessive, undeniably impressive knowledge of the most devoted soulies.

That is where this edition of Far Out’s quiz comes into play: whether you are a northern soul novice, hearing the distinctive tones of Dean Parrish for the very first time, or a Wigan Casino veteran still spinning in your twilight years, we have concocted a series of questions that will put your knowledge of this endlessly-enduring subculture to the test.