Feel Good Festival 2019: The Northern SoulTrain

Date published: 10 August 2019

Leading northern soul band The Northern SoulTrain fronted a special show to get the crowds dancing at this year’s Feel Good Festival on Saturday (10 August).

This Lancashire-based nine-piece have been filling dance floors and ballrooms for over a decade, playing the best Northern Soul anthems from the likes of Wigan Casino, Twisted Wheel and Blackpool Mecca, along with a sprinkling of Motown favourites too.

Fronted by lead singer David John Jaggs, the band has gone from strength to strength, attracting rave reviews and playing sold out shows at iconic venues including Blackpool Tower Ballroom, Manchester's Band on the Wall and Ascot Racecourse.

Today’s toe-tapping performance was a special show for the group, as two of the original members, Rod Wilson and Lee Howson, were born in Rochdale. This was their first Feel Good, with the band having performed previously at Empire.

The makeup of Northern SoulTrain stands as Anthony Bentley (guitar), Gary Ward (bass), Tec Etchells (keyboards), Rod Wilson (trumpet), Anthony Marshall (saxophones), Steven Derbyshire (baritone saxophone), Gary Owen (drums), Lee Howson (trumpet) and David John Jaggs (vocals).

A Northern soul music fan, David joined the band in November 2018, receiving the audition phone call on the same day he became a father.

When asked about the Northern soul music scene, David said: “The best bit is getting people dancing to classic Northern soul tunes. The more obscure the records, the better!

“The scene has never gone away and people have always championed it in this area. There’s huge driving drum beats, dancing bass which just makes you want to move your feet. It’s incredibly enduring and it still influences fashion and dance.

“Of our Feel Good setlist, I quite enjoy playing Billy Butler’s The Right Track.”

Drummer Gary added: “We perform a mix of popular tracks with lesser known and obscure songs alongside modern Northern Soul to cover all angles.”

Photos by SKW Events, Joe Jones and Mark Pollitt.