Northern Soul 1993–1996 - Elaine Constantine

Northern Soul 1993–1996 - Elaine Constantine - Café Royal Books

It was Saturday night, the year was 1993, and I had recently moved to London to try to push my photography career along when I went down to the 100 club where they play rare American 60’s and 70’s soul music. 

I had been on that scene up until a few years before and was curious to see where it had gone in the meantime, so I took my camera along with me. Going down those stairs into that dark basement, seeing those shadowy figures moving energetically in sync with each other made me hesitant.

The scene had gone further underground, the crowd older, little new blood, the records more obscure and the attitude on the dancefloor was as fierce as ever. Could I really take pictures in this place? As I suspected, the blast from my first flash altered the atmosphere. I braved it to shoot a few more from different angles but things felt worse with each blinding shot.

The relief I felt when I heard the familiar opening bars of ‘This Won’t Change’ by Lester Tipton. A fast, raw, jerky, but tender sound. I pushed the camera bag under a chair and got lost in the shadows until morning.  

I very soon became a regular again, travelling to different venues around the country but I’d often wait till morning when the lights came on before taking any pictures. Mostly though I went to dance and enjoy the music with friends, leaving my camera at home.

Pictures were taken in varied venues including the Manchester’s Ritz, London’s 100 club and in a lad called Steve’s kitchen, plus other places too numerous to remember.

• 36 pages
• printed in the UK
• staple bound
• 14cm x 20cm

About Café Royal Books:

"Café Royal Books is the idea of Craig Atkinson, an artist and lecturer. Our first title was published in 2005.

Craig wanted to create a way to make artwork accessible to a wider audience. The solution needed to be small, functional, open to collaboration, affordable, and work independently of galleries. These ideas remain at the heart of what we do.

We’re a small family-run publisher based in England, next to the woodland, dunes, and windswept beaches of the North West coast — we’re always inspired by the vastness, calm and energy of this environment. 

We make weekly publications, focussing on documentary photography linked to Britain and Ireland, printed and bound locally by a small 170 year old printing company. Libraries and museums around the world collect the books, so the work will remain preserved and accessible for many years. Our books don’t need batteries, or screens. We hope they will be used, create conversation and be passed down through family generations."

Explore other titles from the Café Royal Books collection.