Monthly Archives: February 2014
Newcastle’s Quay of Life
There’s a point in Byker where, just between the 60s council flats and the Legoland maisonettes, you catch a glimpse of the Newcastle and Gateshead Quayside.
Read the full story..Comma Press: a story of success
The cosy world of the short story is undergoing a renaissance and this is due in part to the Manchester based publishing house, Comma Press.
Read the full story..Jake Bugg wows Manchester
The crowd here at Manchester’s Ritz is a right old mix – there are your 17-year-old girls obviously (and no shortage of 17-year-old boys, I have to say) but also folk old enough to be Jake Bugg‘s grandparents.
Read the full story..Grand Pacific: high tea without being high brow
Grand Pacific is the lighter-bite little sister of Australasia. Nestled in Manchester’s Spinningfields behind the huge Versace emporium and having only opened six months ago, this neat, sweet Colonial-shabby-chic eatery is fun, friendly and filling.
Read the full story..Theatre at its most theatrical: the must-see production of Orlando
Christ, Jesus, the Royal Exchange‘s production of Orlando is good.
Read the full story..The Seagull: gently savage and compelling theatre
I’ve long suspected that a significant proportion of actors have a secret masochistic streak in them.
Read the full story..From Steel Town to Hy Brasil
When Chris Watson was driving around Sheffield with the rest of Cabaret Voltaire blasting out their music to an unsuspecting public little did he think he would be staging a major sound installation in the historic Howard Assembly Room in Leeds.
Read the full story..SHIT HAPPENS: Jeremy Kyle meets The Thorn Birds
Eileen Wharton, a novelist from County Durham, says that you don’t have to be posh to be published.
Read the full story..The Northern Soul Podcast
Ah, ‘mazing, it’s time for the Northern Soul Podcast once again.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Read the full story..Past, present and future: Joana Vasconcelos at Manchester Art Gallery
In the atrium between the old and the new buildings at Manchester Art Gallery – a space which its director Maria Balshaw describes as “no man’s land” – hangs the first piece in a new exhibition by one of Portugal’s most famous daughters, Joana Vasconcelos.
Read the full story..Editor's Picks
- Exploring the North via video games
- Book Review: Excavate! The Wonderful and Frightening World of The Fall
- World Autism Awareness Week 2021: Henry Normal shares poems to, and inspired by, his son Johnny
- “Around lunchtime, you’d break out all the bangers that everyone knows.” Northern Soul talks to buskers about life under lockdown
Advertising and Sponsorship Opportunities
Is your organisation interested in supporting quality journalism about culture, life and enterprise in the North of England?
For advertising and sponsorship opportunities contact Northern Soul’s Founder and Editor Helen Hugent at helennugent@northernsoul.me.uk.
Sign up for Northern Soul newsletter
The Northern Soul Poll

Recent Tweets for @Northern_Soul_
Proper Good Picture of the Week: Yorkshire Garden bird by Paul Hunter @Landscape_fotog pic.twitter.com/VesmDeZyzT
Fancy something brilliant to read? This week's Right Good Mid-Week Read is We Are All Birds of Uganda by Hafsa Zayyan. pic.twitter.com/jY6tv6u4ux
Exploring the North via video games Northern Soul's @WillNelson1998 explores the landscape of the North in video games, including modern iconography, a medieval region and the North in the 1980s. northernsoul.me.uk/exploring-… #gaming pic.twitter.com/uv9WiSqmAT
Featuring Forza Horizon 4 from @WeArePlayground, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla from @Ubisoft and The Occupation from @WhitePaperGames
Northern Soul's @WillNelson1998 explores the landscape of the North in video games, including modern iconography, a medieval region and the North in the 1980s. northernsoul.me.uk/exploring-… pic.twitter.com/S5jEXaBOe1