'These are real people who spend all their money on this because they love it, not because it's the flavour of the month'

There's a mystery to northern soul. Why, in the mid-1960s, did mods flock to Manchester to hear ever more obscure tracks from little-known US labels? How did this "rare soul" stand up to newer attractions such as psychedelia, disco, punk, heavy metal and the rest? Why, even today, will devotees travel hundreds of miles to dance wildly to records made long before they were born?

Yet there it is, and while the original fans are now well into their 50s and 60s, a new generation has come along – like 21-year-old Perry Neech, a hairdresser and musician from east London. "There's a real passion there," says Dean Chalkley, who photographed Neech and his co-religionists for a project called Young Souls. "These are real people who spend all their money on this because they love it, not because it's the flavour of the month."

Chalkley loves it, too, though less singlemindedly. Now 43, he's been following the scene since he was a teenager in Southend, and plays rare soul at club nights he runs in London. "At first I thought people wouldn't get it – not a bar full of people used to more commercial music – but I was really pleased with the reaction."

What does a northern soul fan look like? It's hard to say nowadays. "The classic northern soul person would have flared trousers and a Fred Perry top, or something with badges sewn all over it, and be holding a bag of records. But the younger ones… some look like rockabillies, others are more mod-style. They're all interpreting it in their own way."

Look at Perry, he says. "He's so full of life. He's in the moment."

• The Young Souls photographs and short film are at the Youth Club gallery, London W1, until Saturday 6 August. The film can also be seen at 125magazine.com.