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From 1 movie in September and another in production, as well as the success of Amy Winehouse, Duffy and Janelle Mon??e, northern soul sound that never dies. Paolo Hewitt explores the roots of England 'most reliable subculture

MULTIMEDIA ALERT! You can listen to many of the artists mentioned in Paolo's piece and trace the evolution of the northern soul sound from Brother Ray to Janelle Monáe by opening The Guide's cool, if highly subjective, Spotify playlist

Last June, the 62-year-old American singer Nolan Porter flew into Britain to perform sell-out shows in Warwick and Oldham. Fans who revere Porter's two massive northern soul anthems, If I Could Only Be Sure and Keep On Keeping On, afforded the singer a rapturous welcome. Backed by Birmingham soul outfit the Stone Foundation, Porter was so taken aback by the response, he vowed to return to Britain as quickly as possible.

Next month a new British film, SoulBoy, starring Martin Compston, Alfie Allen and Felicity Jones opens. Directed by Shimmy Marcus, the film (set in 1974) is your everyday story of boy meeting girl and girl dragging boy into northern soul culture. It's a warm picture, fuelled by a fantastic soundtrack and some nice performances. Unfortunately, it's ruined by a very silly ending. Still, there's always photographer Elaine Constantine's debut feature film, Northern Soul, out in 2011, to look forward to. Constantine's deep knowledge of the scene promises to make it a major statement. Certainly, there's a sizable audience already in place for such celluloid offerings.

Every week, from Aberdeen to Brighton, people of all ages pour into northern soul clubs. The grandfather of them all, 6T'sLondon 's 100 Club, has been running now for 31 years. Tellingly, some 6T 'regulars appear in the video with Duffy' 2008 charity single . Many of Duffy's UK contemporaries from Amy Winehouse to Paloma Faith have looked to northern for inspiration, and it's a sound that's currently being mined by the altogether hipper likes of Janelle Monáe and Aloe Blacc. New musical subcultures come and go but northern soul seems to run forever.

s stage 'roots lie in the mid 60's and club Manchester is called Twisted Wheel, a place of fashion after the name of "Chapel of the soul". The club' s DJ Roger Eagle and his arrival could not have been timed better. London, formerly the home of soul, was awash with LSD and psychedelia and a generation of mods had nowhere to go and dance. Eagle's beautiful selection of soul music was the beacon that attracted them from all over the UK.

Northern soul's trademark dancing was also first witnessed at The Wheel. As the music of Ray Charles and Marvin Gaye filled the air, the beautifully dressed boys and girls would gather in circles before one of them would move into the middle to perform wild spins and floordrops. These dances were later perfected in other clubs and the unique and brilliant northern soul dance was born.

In the early-60s, Berry Gordy's meteoric rise to fame as founder of Motown Records had inspired thousands of entrepreneurs to start their own soul labels. However, despite producing some excellent records, these label bosses lacked Gordy's business acumen and struggled to find exposure. Labels, with names such as Shrine, Carnival and Topper died on the vine, leaving behind a small but fruitful musical legacy. It was that legacy which British soul DJs now began to cultivate, bringing in import after import to assuage the demands of their soul-hungry crowd. The result was beautiful: the most obscure American artist, a Little Annfor example, or Tommy Hunt , suddenly found themselves revered by thousands of British working-class kids.

With the departure of Eagle from the Twisted Wheel, the focus switched to clubs such as The Torch in Stoke, the Blackpool Mecca, and what would prove be to be the Wembley Stadium of northern soul, the Wigan Casino.

'We always knew who the undercover police were: they had big creases down their jeans which no one else would wear'

In early 1973 the Casino was struggling badly so local DJ Russ Winstanley approached the Casino's manager Gerry Marshall and offered to stage a northern soul night. Marshall's dwindling bank balance forced his hand.

On 22 September 1973, 652 kids paid 75p and rushed into the hall to be greeted by the Sherrys' anthemic Put Your Arms Around Me. The Casino never looked back.

And for years this is a huge cult of youth has remained unnoticed, unrecorded. Press of rock music was not up to the stage, and not in the national newspapers. What was good in the northern soulers And they do not 't crave fame or attention. They loved all the secrets of this, he gave them a personal 1-match.

In 1974, Winstanley asked the Wigan crowd one night if a BBC crew should be allowed in to film them. The answer was a resounding "NO!", despite this being a time when appearing on TV was seen as an achievement. A year later, the Casino relented and allowed Granada's This England crew in. Big mistake. When the show aired, it switched on thousands of young Britons. Within weeks, record companies were issuing novelty records by made-up bands of sessioneers such as Wigan's Chosen Few, and hordes tried fruitlessly to gain entry.

By 1976, the regulars had moved on while a new generation â€" Bryan Ferry and David Bowie among them â€" turned their attention to the jazz-funk scene developing on Canvey Island. For three years, northern soul lay fallow until two diehards, Randy Cozens and Ady Croasdell started a northern night in London's Covent Garden called 6T's. The first night was a huge success. The club then moved around before settling at the 100 Club. It's still there today, making it the longest-running northern soul club in history.

In parallel, Croasdell started up the Kent label to issue great soul compilations, proof positive that the scene's canon contains some of the most exquisite music ever committed to vinyl, a fact picked up by many bands. In the 80s, Dexys Midnight Runners, the Jam and Soft Cell were the most obvious exemplars. In the 90s, after visiting the 100 Club one night, Noel Gallagher penned the brass-powered Oasis B-side Round Are Way.

Today in the soul of the spirit remains. "People see our group and ask why you did not have more success?", Said Neil Sheasby on a stone foundation. "But I tell them that I 've just made an album that Nolan Porter sings two songs. This is for me, success is unbelievable."

The flame keeps burning.