{"id":189458,"date":"2025-06-16T16:53:12","date_gmt":"2025-06-16T16:53:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/189458\/"},"modified":"2025-06-16T16:53:12","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T16:53:12","slug":"bristol-unpacked-with-bristol-northern-soul-club","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/189458\/","title":{"rendered":"Bristol Unpacked, with Bristol Northern Soul Club"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s more than a decade now since Levanna McLean<\/a> went viral on YouTube with videos of her Northern Soul dancing around Bristol, shot by her mother Eve Arslett.<\/p>\n

Social media fame, which saw Lev rack up millions of views and led to a Brit Awards appearance with Pharrell Williams, has in recent years crossed over to the legacy media for her and Eve, co-founders of Bristol Northern Soul Club and this week\u2019s Unpacked guests. Their nights<\/a> have over the past three years been at the forefront of a bubbling resurgence in the music<\/a> and culture that first came together in the clubs of Manchester and Wigan in the 1960s and 70s.<\/p>\n

After catching the attention of local media here in Bristol, followed by BBC Woman\u2019s Hour, the Times and other UK outlets, in May the New York Times put Lev and Eve at the centre of an in-depth piece<\/a> hailing Northern Soul as \u2018the music making generations dance\u2019. While the \u2018Gray Lady\u2019 of the US press has previously carried a picture of the Old Market roundabout<\/a>, it is as far as we\u2019re aware the first time that the Eastville Club \u2013 where the pair put on some of their events \u2013 has graced its pages.<\/p>\n

Music \u2013 as Neil can well remember from his youth \u2013 has often been a dividing line between parents and their children. So how is it that a scene forged aeons ago around digging for rare soul imports, and athletic dancing \u2013 and not known for its inclusivity \u2013 has brought together not just Lev and Eve but a large, intergenerational group of devotees?<\/p>\n

Why, also, has Bristol become something of an epicentre for Northern Soul\u2019s most recent resurgence \u2013 to the point where \u2018a lady from LA\u2019 recently made a pilgrimage to the Eastville Club? And could Neil\u2019s knees, schooled in hip-hop dancing but knackered by years of football, really retain the stamina to set the venue\u2019s parquet flooring ablaze?<\/p>\n

Join us for an Unpacked first \u2013 the only time to date that we\u2019ve taken on two interviewees at once \u2013 as we get into a deep discussion with the Bristol Northern Soul Club founders into why the music, culture and moves have inspired such fierce devotion down the years. And don\u2019t worry, we\u2019ll be getting our teeth firmly back into politics next time out\u2026<\/p>\n

Subscribe to The Bristol Cable on\u00a0Spotify<\/a>,\u00a0Apple Podcasts<\/a>\u00a0or wherever you get your audio.<\/strong>\u00a0And check out our other shows.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n