BLACKBURN’S Northern Soul fans, including these pictured, blasted back at a ballroom manager who said their music was ‘dead and finished’.

This photo, which was taken on March 7, 1979, shows the angry fans with some of their records.

A row had broken out between fans and Golden Palms manager Graham Peel at his venue in Blackburn.

A new DJ at the Mecca’s under-16 Teenbeat evening, Lee Simons, refused to play Northern Soul or punk records in line with Mecca policy - as followed at their Cat’s Whiskers dancehall in Burnley.

Angry Northern Soul fans bombarded the Lancashire Evening Telegraph with calls and visits to protest at Mecca’s actions.

Judith Bolton, a 14-year-old from Arran Avenue, Blackburn, said: “I was at the Mecca and was very upset by the manager’s comments.

“I have been going for two years with around 30 friends and it is only since the new manager arrived that they have dropped soul.

“He has stopped the all-dayers and now our records. He says we dress old-fashioned and yet he promotes rock-and-roll evenings.”

Mavis Walker, of Rothesay Road, Blackburn, who had a 15-year-old daughter, Jackie, who was a Northern Soul fan, said: “The manager does not know what he is talking about.”