Searching For Soul by Reg Stickings

Here is a book that, by rights, shouldn't exist. Reg, the author, doesn't find reading and writing easy but knew he had a story to tell. So, through a seven year long process of handwriting his thoughts, dictating them to friends and family who then typed it up, we have this marvellous insider's tale of a not so ordinary man in an extraordinary music scene.

Thanks to the way it was written this book has a unique style akin to listening to a seasoned storyteller. You don't notice as you turn each page keen to learn what happens next. What happens next is each stage in the evolution of a undergound music scene that is as popular today as it was thirty years ago, and still populated by the same people (and their kids). The wonderful life affirming dance music that forms the backbone of both the Northern and Southern Soul scenes in the UK are the stuff of life for Reg as he, a Southerner (along with his best friend Yogi) grows up with the Northern Soul scene then learns to love the Southern scene in equal measure. He takes us through his highs and lows with laughter and tears as he balances his responsibilities as a husband and father with his passion for his music, those ever so precious records and his soul mates.

Those that are familiar with the UK soul scenes will love this story as they spot those names and places that also mean so much to them. Others will simply love it as a story of a life well lived while following an irresistable passion.

Finally, I must declare my interest. I moved down from the North of England to the apparently soulless South in the early 90's only to find a few years later that Northern Soul was alive and well in the shape of Reg and Yogi's soul nights in Hemel Hempstead. Both Reg and Yogi made me very welcome and have become two of my favourite soul mates. A soul night without little Reg's big smile in the middle of the dance floor is a night not complete. Read this book and get to know him too.