I have found over the years, that once you start digging deeper into a ‘scene’, be it music or film, you start to unearth names that have become forgotten from our daily lives. But when you read of their personal stories, you realise how important they were in the early development of much of our cultural scene of today.

One such man who comfortably fits that bill is Dave Godin.

Born in Peckham, South-East London in 1936, he was the son of a milkman, who rose to become the leading authority on black American music in the UK.

War time bomb damage in SE15 led to the Godin family moving to the leafier suburbs of Bexleyheath in Kent, where young Dave won a scholarship to Dartford grammar school.

After hearing the Ruth Brown track ‘Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean’ in an ice-cream parlour one day, Godin became hooked on the sounds of rhythm and blues music, becoming an enthusiastic collector. Among his peers at the Grammar School was a young Mick Jagger who eagerly soaked up the sounds Godin exposed him to.

After serving his National Service as a hospital porter – he was a conscientious objector – he started to follow his love of music for a living

During the early 1960s, a time of limited media exposure for soul music, Godin founded the Tamla Motown Appreciation Society and did so well with that, that, label founder Berry Gordy, recruited him to be it’s UK representative.

As a result of this Godin was responsible for bringing over the ‘Motortown Revue of 1965’ which introduced the likes of Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, Martha and The Vandellas and The Supremes to the UK shores.

Godin then went on to write for Blues and Soul magazine, and he also opened Soul City, a record shop and label in London dedicated to black music which later scored a number one with the song ‘Nothing Can Stop Me’ by Gene Chandler.

It was whilst working here that Godin came up with the phrase ‘Northern Soul’ in effect a sales term really, he said, to the many requests by visiting northern football supporters for a records with a particular sound.

Never one to stand still, Godin, later had a senior role at the British Film Institute, was a fervent vegan and spoke Esperanto fluently.

In his later years, he compiled ‘Dave Godin’s Deep Soul Treasures’ for Ace Records, which proved to be an overwhelming success. They were something he was rightly proud of, and which provide a suitable legacy for this South East London soul man.

Dave Godin died aged 68 in 2004.

The Mumper of SE5