Northern Soul

Soul boy is a reference to nothern soul but in the film Welsh has taken the reference a bit further.

Northern Soul was the name given to a scene that developed in towns in the North of England (Wigan, Blackpool, Manchester etc) during the late 60's. The amphetamine fuelled nightclubs would often run all day and all night and feature the faster, more uptempo (though not exclusively) Tamla Motown songs. A whole lifestyle was formed around the, mostly working class, scene - musical one-up-manship, clothes, clubbing, drugs and so on, hence the practitioners called themselves "Soul" boys and girls.

It still goes on now but nothing compared to like it used to but if you type Northern Soul into Google and Amazon you'll find plenty pages and CD compilations.

However in the Acid House, Coco and his pals make many references to "The Rez". This was an actual all night rave called Rezerection that happened in Ingleston (just outside Edinburgh) during the late 80's and early 90's

http://www.fantazia.org.uk/Scene/orgs/rezerection.htm

The Rez played hardcore (and later happy hardcore) music and the rave scene in general had many coincidental similarities to Nothern Soul, depite happening 20 years later - fanatical followers, non-mainstream music, drugs, fashions, mainly working class etc etc.

So much so that even now promoters of clubs are forever "borrowing" from Nothern eg the clenched fist sign, "Keep the faith" motto and old photographs appearing on flyers and records sleeves.

Coco shouting "I'm a soul boy" in the park is really just him affirming his own identity as part of a particular youth movement to himself by making reference to a similar youth movement from the past.

I'd recommend some happy hardcore but it's terrible :)

Hope this helps

aslo, just an obscure thing, the track played over the end credits is "on your own" by the verve, which is on their album "a northern soul".