Wigan Casino

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The Wigan Casino was an English nightclub in Wigan , Greater Manchester and existed between the mid-1960s and 1981. The casino became known from 1971 as one of the most outstanding dance venues dedicated to Northern Soul and thus one of the most famous clubs in the world.

history

The "Wigan Casino" originally began as a simple ballroom called "The Empress". The then manager Mike Walker, together with the local DJ Russ Winstanley, convinced the landlord Gerry Marshall to hold Allnighters there. After his approval, Winstanley moved his set, which was actually installed in the local rugby club, to the "Casino Club", under which the building was known at the time.

On Sunday, September 23, 1973, at 2:00 am, the "Wigan Casino" opened to the first Northern Soul Allnighter, Winstanley was a DJ. There they continued the legacy left by clubs such as the Twisted Wheel in Manchester, the Chateau Impney in Droitwich , The Catacombs in Wolverhampton or the Golden Torch in Tunstall . As a result, guests from all over Great Britain frequented the "Wigan Casino" regularly to hear and dance the latest artists from the Northern Soul area. Jackie Wilson , Edwin Starr and Junior Walker performed there, among others . During this time, the queues at the entrance stretched to a width of five to six people up the entire street. A second ballroom within the casino called "Mr. M's “was open until 06:00, the focus here was on oldies . Each of these allnighters ended with three specific songs known as the "3 before 8": "Time Will Pass You By" by Tobi Legend , "Long After Tonight Is Over" by Jimmy Radcliffe and "I'm On My Way" by Dean Parrish . Over five million people attended these soul sessions, which were also held on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

The club closed on December 6, 1981. That night Winstanley had to play the "3 before 8" three times in a row, even after that the guests refused to leave the premises. It wasn't until the DJ Frank Wilson's "Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)" that the "curse of hysteria" , as Winstanley later called it , broke . This last song from the Wigan Casino became one of the most famous of Northern Soul. The club is still kept alive today through annual gatherings hosted by the original DJs.

The “Grand Arcade” shopping center has been located on the former club premises since 2009.

reception

  • In 1977, "This England" was a television documentary about the Wigan Casino.
  • In 1978 the American Billboard rated the club as "The Best Disco in the World," ahead of Studio 54 in New York .
  • Russ Winstanley and Dave Nowell wrote their book on the history of the club with “Soul Survivors, The Wigan Casino Story” .
  • The play Once upon a time in Wigan premiered at the Contact Theater in Manchester in February 2003 and has been touring the UK since then.
  • Much of the film Soulboy , which premiered in 2010, is set at the Wigan Casino

swell

  1. ↑ retrolocal Wednesday, October 24, 2007 Page 4 ( Memento of the original from June 26, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www2.wigantoday.net
  2. ↑ Happy Anniversary Wigan Casino , from bbc.co.uk, retrieved 4 February 2006
  3. ↑ Chris Hunt Editorial - Wigan Casino
  4. ↑ Northern Soul - What it's all about? (from archive.org cache) ( Memento of December 5, 2004 on the Internet Archive ) from goldsoul.co.uk, accessed March 4, 2006

literature

Web links

Coordinates: 53 ° 33 ′  N , 2 ° 38 ′  W