There’s nothing like a Northern Soul stomper to start the day with a lift – and this is one of the best. Rita and the Tiaras do the trick better than a triple espresso.

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I’ve never heard of Sugar Pie DeSanto before, and I’ll be surprised if anyone here has come across her music. But she deserves wider appreciation.

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Not only is this a classic Northern Soul number but Jackie Shane is one of the earliest trans performers in pop history.

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Phyllis Dillon’s rocksteady classic is a gem from Duke Reid’s legendary Treasure Isle studio. It’s been widely described as the greatest performance by a female singer in Jamaican music.

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Jackie Edwards has been called the Nat King Cole of Jamaica for the smooth sentimental singing style that earned him the nickname The Cool Ruler long before Gregory Isaacs inherited the mantle. But there was much more to him than that.

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Jackie Day’s obscure soul single Before It’s Too Late was a flop in 1966 but found a new lease of life as a popular Northern Soul floor filler.

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Like great novels, great songs often have their roots in real life. But I never knew that was the case with Suspicious Minds.

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When I think of classic “country-and-western” music I think of a song like this – a jaunty rhythm, the twang of a steel guitar, a catch in the voice, and a lyric filled with heartbreak (and a hint of humour).

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Here’s a strange slice of ’60s psych, with fuzz guitars and synthesised strings, from the strangely named and even more strangely (mis-)spelt Hooterville Trolly.

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There’s a couple of special things about this steamy Northern Soul double-header by Rosa Lee Brooks. Firstly, the A-side – My Diary – is written and produced by Arthur Lee of Love; and secondly, the guitarist playing those familiar-sounding licks is a young “Jimmy” Hendrix.

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