Northern Soul refers to music and associated dance styles and fashions that were popular in the dancehalls of northern England from the late 1960s. In the beginning, the dancing was athletic, featuring spins, flips, and drops. The music originally consisted of obscure American soul recordings with an up-tempo beat,  similar to and including Tamla Motown and more obscure labels (e.g. Okeh / shrine / mirwood etc) along with a number of blue beat records. Although much Northern Soul music was recorded in the northern states of the USA, music from the South is not excluded, nor is music that is not strictly "soul". By 1970, British performers were recording numbers for this market, and the scarcity of soul records with the required rhythm led to the playing of stompers, records by any artist that featured the right beat. The phrase 'Northern Soul' was coined by journalist Dave Godin after a visit to the Twisted Wheel Club sometime around 1970 for his column in Blues and Soul magazine.