But on Valentine's Day, lovers of soul music proved the critics wrong.
On that particular evening I visited soul nights at two Morecambe venues; both organised by local people, both packed, and both exuding the kind of positive and friendly atmosphere so refreshingly different from the usual intimidating Saturday night out around town these days.
My first port of call on the evening of February 14 was the Seaside Soul Club, on the top floor of Upstairs Downstairs.
This private club, organised by a committee of 10 soul enthusiasts, runs a dance night at the seafront pub every month, for members old and new.
Unfamiliar
Never a big fan of soul music, I was slightly apprehensive before walking through the door of 'Uppie-Downie'.
My knowledge of soul is mainly restricted to what I would label as 'mainstream' artists – like Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson and The Four Tops. And as I expected, the DJs at the Seaside Soul Club played tracks which were mainly unfamiliar to me.
'Young Hearts Run Free' by Candi Staton and 'Ain't Nobody' by Chaka Khan were two of the very few I recognised all night - and they are usually classed as disco rather than soul.
But the stream of tunes, their upbeat rhythms and trumpet breaks making them instantly recognisable as part of the soul genre from the 50s, 60s and early 70s, certainly appealed to the hardcore Seaside Soul-ites who crammed onto the dance floor.
"It's maybe a bit clique-y but there are plenty of other places where you can hear commercial chart music," explained Sean O'Connor, one of the club's organisers and DJs.
"We play a broad spectrum of soul and some is modern, but we mainly like to give true fans a chance to listen to stuff they don't normally hear."
Most of these 'true soul fans' were fortysomethings, re-capturing fondly-remembered nights out from their youth at legendary venues like the Blackpool Mecca and the Wigan Casino.
There were some die-hard soul buffs, real characters like Charlie Dixon, whose resemblance to Mick Hucknall was striking, and the mullet-haired Nick 'Duffs' Duffy. Both spoke passionately about their love for the scene, the music and their pride at the success of the club.
But it was also noticeable how many younger people were in attendance.
"A lot who come to our do's have been on the scene for years but some are 18 or 19, and have got into soul either through the radio, the internet or because of Joss Stone and even R 'n' B artists like Beyonce or Mary J Blige," said Sean.
Infectious
Everyone at the club certainly seemed to be having a great time and the mood was so infectious that in the end, I was quite sorry to leave.
The Seaside Soul Club is part of a recent 'soul revival' in the district, with regular discos also happening at the Gregson Centre and the Moor Club in Lancaster.
And on Valentine's Night Steve Middlesbrough, one of the organisers of Sold On Soul at the Gregson, held his first 'Soul AM' event upstairs at the Kings Arms in Morecambe.
This was billed as a night purely for fans of Northern Soul, headlined by a set from well-known Wigan Casino DJ Russ Winstanley.
After leaving Upstairs Downstairs at around 10.30pm, I arrived in the dimly-lit upstairs room at the Kings determined to discover the definition of 'Northern' Soul.
Cultural
The main differences between Northern Soul and other types of soul appear to be both musical and cultural.
Steve said a Northern Soul tune, which can be instrumental or with vocals, usually has a furiously fast tempo.
Like at Seaside Soul Club, most of the songs played by the Soul AM DJ team of Steve, Russ, Tony Crookes and Doug Leece meant nothing to me, aside from 'Move On Up' by Curtis Mayfield and 'Higher and Higher' by Jackie Wilson – two classics which interestingly, packed out the dance floor to a greater extent than some of the obscurer tracks.
Fans of Northern Soul also wear distinctive fashions ('Northern Soul – Keep The Faith' T-Shirts were popular) and some had a style of dancing which was unique to say the least – arms pinned by their sides and exaggeratedly striding back and forth. It was fascinating to see.
"Some even do backflips," said Steve.
The dancers were also very respectful of the DJs, one or two even applauding at the end of each track.
Many Northern Soul fans had travelled to Soul AM from all over the north west.
I spoke to one gentleman from Manchester who told me he decided to make the trip to Morecambe instead of going to a similar disco in his native city.
A clash of dates initially caused a problem between the two Morecambe soul nights as well. Thankfully, this has now been resolved.
Instead of holding their similar events on the same date, organisers of the Seaside Soul Club and Soul AM will work together to avoid clashing in future.
And both Sean O'Connor and Steve Middlesbrough told me they would not rule out the possibility of joining forces for a bumper night of soul music in Morecambe.
There certainly appears to be a market for it, based on the hundreds of happy punters who turned out on February 14.
And the organisers certainly have plenty of common ground, particularly their love for soul music.
Emotional
"It is very melodic, tuneful and uplifting, and once you're into it, it's with you for life.
"But it's very hard to explain exactly why that is," said Sean.
"There's also a real community spirit about our nights, a nice feeling about meeting people who you've not seen for a while and the familiarity of the songs."
Steve said: "Soul music is very emotional and heart-felt – some of these guys are really singing their hearts out.
"Everybody loves the music of their teens; most people I know got into it at a young age and the genuine fans are still around today.
"Most of the songs are of a fantastic quality and never date. In collector's circles, some records change hands for huge amounts of money.
"But it is very difficult to explain the attraction to a non-soul fan."
Don't worry Steve. Having now experienced the soul revival in Morecambe first-hand, I think I understand perfectly.