[ulyssees]

Corner block of Whitworth St has been or is about to be sold, this includes the Wheel club. Anyone with further news on this?

Keep on the good foot

Yule

[dave pinch]

ive heard rumours and they are not good ones anybody else heard owt

dave

[Ian Dewhirst]

ulyssees, on 23 December 2011 - 11:30 PM, said:

Corner block of Whitworth St has been or is about to be sold, this includes the Wheel club. Anyone with further news on this?

Keep on the good foot

Yule

If ever there was a time for a rich Northern Soul loving businessman or woman to make a once in a lifetime investment in a slice of history then it's got to be now surely? The circumstances may never happen again if this is true.

It'd be a perfect venue for that Northern Soul cultural museum I've been rattling on about for years. It'd be good for Manchester as well.

There'd be plenty of curators to draw from I'm sure.

Anyone rich out there?

Ian D

[Brav]

The building has been sold along with The International Hotel round the corner.

These buildings are leased out to the same people and have a lease contract till 2014 so its business as usual for the Wheel

Brav

[GrayM]

This has been running as a thread on the Twisted Wheel Forum for some weeks ( prob since beginning of December) - suggest you have a look on there - Soshe is monitoring planning applications on a regular basis and Pete Roberts has promised to let people know what's happening as he is obviously in touch with the guys who are currently leasing The Wheel, Monroes and the International.

Hotel, Motel, Holiday Inn.........................rumours abound so suggest you try the forum.

[Roburt]

Seems that the publicity for the Wheel that will follow on from Pete Waterman's visit documented in his recent Radio 2 show couldn't have come at a better time.

[spike1]

I agree Ian as long as it's a working museum and we can get our twice a month fix of the best soul club in the land I my honest but biased opinion!

Roll on the 30th of December immpishing my dancing boots every day in anticipation

Ktf spike

[Mark S]

Bugger it I will buy it , knock it down build a shopping centre , open the Twisted tea rooms cafe and once a month people can come and dance outside Dorothy Perkins

[spike1]

Ooh you are naughty

But your too late

We already have that at my old stomping ground "the casino cafe"

[JulianB]

Ian Dewhirst, on 23 December 2011 - 11:49 PM, said:

If ever there was a time for a rich Northern Soul loving businessman or woman to make a once in a lifetime investment in a slice of history then it's got to be now surely? The circumstances may never happen again if this is true.

It'd be a perfect venue for that Northern Soul cultural museum I've been rattling on about for years. It'd be good for Manchester as well.

There'd be plenty of curators to draw from I'm sure.

Anyone rich out there?

Ian D

Hi Ian
I was speaking to a member on here about this a few weeks ago. He said he was seriously interested in buying this ( and yes, he can afford).
Next time I see him, I'll check if he's pursued the matter.
Merry Xmas to everyone.
Julian

[JIM BARRY]

spike1, on 24 December 2011 - 12:48 PM, said:

Ooh you are naughty

But your too late

We already have that at my old stomping ground "the casino cafe"

i think mark was referring to that.

[mvb031259]

The only person who actually knows what is happening regarding The Wheel is Pete Roberts, he is in constant contact with Julian and jorge who own the lease on the building until some time in 2014.......
Like Pete just said on his show and when I rang him the final payment has been completed so the Wheel is sold. But it has been sold before under Pete's time at the club and he will do everything possible to keep the club open as long as he can but he is not a multi millionaire and does not own the lease....
The club is open for a ABSOLUTE MINIMUM OF 12 MONTHS, that is the worst case scenario so let's all look on the bright side and hope it's there in 5 or even 10 years time. The next meeting is on Jan 9th with the people who have purchased the buildings, perhaps then we will know the long term future of the club but that will come from Pete Roberts......
As for Soshe ( who very rarely attends the Wheel) I suggest you type in on here Metro club and judge him for yourself. Pete is the only man who will know the future of the club and will let all who are interested or attend the club know when he knows.....

[souljer6]

Surely it is the "investment" that is for sale/ has been sold, subject to the existing lease(s). The lessees should have rights to being granted a new lease on the expiration of the existing one. (Landlord&Tenant Act 1954).

ie. No cause for alarm (and probably no chance of the lethal floor or the toilet situation being sorted!).

[nrc]

Can,t see them developing that site for a while. There are office blocks and apartments that have remained empty since they were built next to and around the general area of the Wheel. As for another hotel ,i doubt it, as you have the Minit hotel and Malmaison within spitting distance.

[dthedrug]

ulyssees, on 23 December 2011 - 11:30 PM, said:

Corner block of Whitworth St has been or is about to be sold, this includes the Wheel club. Anyone with further news on this?

Keep on the good foot

Yule

The best way of finding out whats what, is to contact the MCC, as every development has to go through the council, that gives a chance for any objections to be made, also gives a consortium to establish a quarum and aply to the arts council and English Heritage to list it as as a building of significant historical purpose, as the wheel was loved not just for rare soul, many top artists played at both venues, and that would add more clout, any body interested we could start a campaign over these pages, if you like I can see what IVOR thinks and also BRIAN
ACTION IS NEEDED DAVE KILWORTH

[john green]

ulyssees, on 23 December 2011 - 11:30 PM, said:

Corner block of Whitworth St has been or is about to be sold, this includes the Wheel club. Anyone with further news on this?

Keep on the good foot

Yule

Latest update:-

http://www.mancheste...or-German-Motel

[Kris Holmes]

sad news

[soulontop]

This is terrible news the council just dont give a toss like every other city in england shopping centers and hotels bastards !

[wiganelli]

will be some set of tossers sat round a table whos never had a LIFE !! trying to justify there existence using the tax payers money, to put this to a vote which is already passed and maybe back handers aswell !! They cant stop can they they dont know how, its just a F..N game to them, please coucillors come from under youre stones and out of youre holes and come INTO THE REAL WORLD ....

[keithw]

sorry to hear this - when i read title though it was about a bike shop....... ill get me coat

[Nige Brown]

A sad day indeed!!


http://www.facebook...._BljecYlel871nw



The New Wheel,,,,,

Edited by Nige Brown, 07 February 2012 - 06:38 PM.

[Mark S]

C,mon get a grip whats so sad its only a crappy old building The Twised wheel closed in the early seventies and no amount of calling it the Wheel alters that fact .
People have had thirty odd years to come up with an appropriate way of marking the huge impact the club had and have failed to do so .
But I suppose the greatest legacy the Wheel has left is the enduring soul scene and that is more important than mourning the demise of some bricks and mortar .

[Sharon Cooper]

ulyssees, on 23 December 2011 - 11:30 PM, said:

Corner block of Whitworth St has been or is about to be sold, this includes the Wheel club. Anyone with further news on this?

Keep on the good foot

Yule

time and money waits for no one, no even old soulies, its history yes, but only a generations history, our generations, when we go so will our history, fact of life im afraid.

our history is recorded in various publications and in that it goes on, they only preserve old buildings surronded by 20 million acres so the masses can have somewhere to walk at the weekend.

[AGENTSMITH]

im a bit late viewing this post so am completely shocked not only to discover that the barn door was open,but too late, the horse has bolted, so to speak. unless the council vetoes it, redevelopement is going ahead and aint nothing going to stop it.whilst i cant confess to having attended what i class as one of the "four legendary clubs", its still numbing to the system, trouble is, there dosnt appear to be too much time to come to terms with it let alone the grieving process. how can this be so?. last time it shut, it was immensly popular....once again, deja vu....700 people in the building and the word POPULARITY should be screaming in the faces of these greycell, deficient burocrats...it IS manchester's landmark club..do they really think that every human being who frequents this city wants a diet of digitized pop dross to live on?, that a haven for reliving the past dosnt have a place in the natural order of things?. of course its only one amongst a myriad of venues that supports our burgeoning scene, but in the grand scheme, its the foundation stone...where the roots really began.

ive deliberated on here before about the fact, that to the masses, wigan casino was, for a short time, the be all and end all ( and the end very nearly was the death of northern soul ) but what have we got to show for that, for all of our worshipping and adoration?....one commercial orientated documentary that could never portray it in its real light ( because we didnt have the technology we have now ) and a brief sojourn for a few lucky dancers onto totp, which, alas, dosnt exist anymore.

im fortunate enough to have witnessed the catacombs in wolverhampton....there are very few photographs in existance, taken at this venue...it was demolished in 74 and it took 36 years to get a plaque in recognition, though genuinely, it is moreso in memorium to the dj who was its beating heart, blue max.

the golden torch closed the year before and va-va's roundabout the same era...exempting the casino, these were the four legendary clubs....3 became rubble and the fourth is facing imminent oblivion. perhaps with the technology we have at our disposal, filming the twisted wheel in a proper documentary format should now be of the utmost priority....REAL memories equate to seeing it for what it is/was...a plaque only symbolises where it stood, cold lifeless, unfeeling & metal.

of course for the people who did live the wheel, their memories will never diminish....you can take away the bricks & mortar but you can never take away whats stored in your head, but to see it as well...in colour or monochrome, to relate to it and show future generatoins what it stood for and what it was all about...thats what really counts.

funny how the germans used to be first on the beach...now it seems they're first on the block...perhaps someone should invite them to a soul night at the wheel to see what THEY would be missing.

Edited by AGENTSMITH, 08 February 2012 - 10:06 PM.

[wayoutgirl]

It will be a sad day for 700+ people that attend the Sunday soul sessions on a monthly basis if it closes and although the building has seen better days the atmosphere is fantastic.

[ulyssees]

Sad news on the future of the Wheel, lots of activity on this site regarding saving this most famous cellar.

The buildingg on the corner shows Monroes pub which is exempt from planning, the Wheel site is to become a 330 room hotel.

twistedwheel.net

• 

Edited by ulyssees, 09 February 2012 - 01:44 PM.

[NorthernMoorSoul]

Pete Roberts interviewed on BBC Northwest News at lunchtime today.The transcript is on BBc news website with a quote from Olympian spokesman saying that nothing regarding Legends(where the Wheel is currently Sited) has been finalised and they are still looking at all options.
Since planning permission for specific redevelpement has not yet even been applied for,for the time being all talk of closure etc. is still just that,talk.
Legends is a huge venue on the Manchester Club?Gay scene and any future redemption from destruction is more likely to be affected from that source than the Wheel goers.
By the way,regarding the comments such as "just bricks and mortar" and "closed in the seventies" etc.while it's true that the first reincarnation of the Wheel closed in '71,the Wheel as I know it has been going for 11 years now and means am great deal to a hell of alot of people as it is TODAY, how many cellar clubs regularly have over 600 people through the doors for a Sunday session-it's not a relic quite yet buit if everybody just sits on their hands or says "Oh Well" it will become so and yet another generation will grow up thinhing that their club was the start and end of the Manchester music scene!

[grant]

ulyssees, on 09 February 2012 - 01:40 PM, said:

Sad news on the future of the Wheel, lots of activity on this site regarding saving this most famous cellar.

The buildingg on the corner shows Monroes pub which is exempt from planning, the Wheel site is to become a 330 room hotel.

twistedwheel.net

Looks good

[TOAD]

11 years ? Where were you lot in the 8ts they had nighters there then!

[jocko]

AGENTSMITH, on 08 February 2012 - 10:03 PM, said:

funny how the germans used to be first on the beach...now it seems they're first on the block...perhaps someone should invite them to a soul night at the wheel to see what THEY would be missing.

Most Germans I know are too busy buying new records, looking for the next big thing and generally acting like the original inhabitants of the Wheel rather than worrying about a building that is the home for 700 geriatrics having a tea dance every Sunday, deluding themselves they have anything in common with the cool cats of the original Wheel.

More nostalgic nonsense, build a car park and move on.

[jocko]

TOAD, on 09 February 2012 - 05:08 PM, said:

11 years ? Where were you lot in the 8ts they had nighters there then!

You will get in trouble for remembering reality Toad mate, they even played upfrontish music along with the oldies there in the 80's.

Some of my favourite nights of those days, but due to the music, the people and absolute chaos that was the 80's not the Bricks, although watching all the macho men, on our side, kicking and bumping the toilet door rather than put their hand on the crotch of the poster of the naked man on the toilet door was hilarous.

[grant]

TOAD, on 09 February 2012 - 05:08 PM, said:

11 years ? Where were you lot in the 8ts they had nighters there then!

went one all-niter late 80's or early 90's maybe, cant remember, didnt like it and vowed never to return, and i havent remember it being busy but 600 people.....nah

[Mark S]

Give Jocko a free room in the hotel

Edited by Mark S, 09 February 2012 - 05:15 PM.

[Russ Vickers]

Brian Rae was the promoter i think, good nights too......

Best Russ

[Mark S]

600 people stuffed in a cellar , surely we have moved on from that sort of thing and have higher expectations for our " door tax "

[NorthernMoorSoul]

TOAD, on 09 February 2012 - 05:08 PM, said:

11 years ? Where were you lot in the 8ts they had nighters there then!

Two or three nighters is hardly "the eighties"before that,for most of the seventies it was Placemates7 which is another piece of the manchester music scene apparently forgotten and scince we are now talking about a CURRENT event what's the eighties got to do with it?

[Mark S]

Placemate 7 top floor funk room had many a good night in there

[NorthernMoorSoul]

Mark S, on 09 February 2012 - 05:53 PM, said:

600 people stuffed in a cellar , surely we have moved on from that sort of thing and have higher expectations for our " door tax "

Apparrently not

[spike1]

jocko, on 09 February 2012 - 05:10 PM, said:

Most Germans I know are too busy buying new records, looking for the next big thing and generally acting like the original inhabitants of the
Wheel rather than worrying about a building that
is the home for 700 geriatrics having a tea dance every Sunday, deluding themselves they have anything in common with the cool cats of the original Wheel.
More nostalgic nonsense, build a car park and move on.

Well some of the attendees at the wheel were some of the origanal cool cats as you call them
If you haven't got anything constructive to add to this debate why use it to have a go at the oldies scene?
What has German record collectors got do with a German hotel group developing whitworth street?
I personally enjoy both the Sunday and Friday soul sessions at the wheel and therefore will help in any way possible to keep it open
It is a big part of the history of the soul scene to me it is the birthplace of what became northern soul
If it goes it will be another part of history lost forever
Best of luck looking for the next big thing
I'll just keep on dancing with the geriatric Crew

[wiganelli]

theres some right bad ones on here Bern !!! Dont let em get to you pal they prob never been down to the place.....

[DaveNPete]

Mark S, on 09 February 2012 - 05:53 PM, said:

600 people stuffed in a cellar , surely we have moved on from that sort of thing and have higher expectations for our " door tax "

That's what makes a 'proper' club club special - everyone bouncing off each other - atmosphere etc - I HATE lowest common denominator/mass herding instinct events... nice decor and a chicken in a basket café area is for tossers and surely just NOT what it's really about (grit, excitement, passion, shared empathy etc)... Unfortunately I would say that the modern Wheel revivals can often be just one youth club spin after another with none of the sounds that made the Wheel unique and special amongst the clubs of the period (much to the annoyance of Pete and the other old timers I go with when I do go to it nowadays).

The old revivals Brian ran were the exact opposite in every way and were f*cking excellent - never missed one if I could help it.

Anyway it'll be a very sad day to see it finally go if and when it does.

Dx

PS As for the 'I went ONCE, but 600 nah' one of the nights when ALL the rooms of Placemate 7 were open had over 800 and it was VERY VERY full.

Edited by DaveNPete, 09 February 2012 - 08:12 PM.

[proudlove]

Got to say ,I am in two minds about this.
The Wheel,currently,is three separate entities.
The first is the Friday nights,which have a couple of hundred in,and occasionally,dependant on the attendees,can be a cracking night.
The second is the Nighters,which attracts a different crowd,which again can be a cracker..........or half empty.
The third is the Sunday sessions or Cocoon as it is alternatively known......not my place of choice for a Sunday,but a lot of folks seem to enjoy it.

Pete Roberts has said that if the Place(mate) gets closed then he will look for the dirtiest dingiest cellar club he can find and move there,fine for Fridays and the nighters,but I would suggest that the Sunday youth club gets moved to a shopping centre and people can dance around fake memorabilia..........no wait,hasnt that been done some where else.....

[TOAD]

hotels and car parks are the way forward :-) - and it stopped being the Wheel in 71 !

[wayoutgirl]

went one all-niter late 80's or early 90's maybe, cant remember, didnt like it and vowed never to return, and i havent remember it being busy but 600 people..

The Sunday Sessions attract over that number each month

[chalky]

Post unapproved.

[jumpinjoan]

Saw it on the local news last night.

Peter somebody showing the Twisted Wheel tattoo on his leg to the sound of Do I Love You

[Carms]

For the doubters , take a trip down there on Sunday at least once before you pass judgement , the atmosphere is something else , many people you see there you see nowhere else or maybe they are the ORIGINALS out to party to sounds you hear nowhere else .. the roots the sound of STAX which is forgotten in many other places .

Believe it or not I have heard stuff down there that I didn't know existed ... I shall be chippin away at the piece of wheel on Sunday before its lost forever.

Edited by Carms, 10 February 2012 - 09:42 AM.

[spike1]

Don't chip away too much of the dancefloor please it's mighty crowded as it is!!!;)

[brookesy]

Strange how a couple of months ago when the 100 Club was threatened with closure all and sundry on here were crying about it. Same thing happens with the Wheel and people can't wait to knock the place. Is part of the reason because the Wheel is in the north of England?
I was too young to go to the original Wheel but went to the nighters held every Bank Holiday Sunday in the 80s / early 90s. They were top nights and it was brilliant to be in the venue where it all started. For people to come on here slagging the place off who obviously never go is just another variation of the same old argument we have heard time and again, us versus them. Gets a bit boring after a while.
I don't attend many oldies venues these days but for those who do what is wrong with 600 people actually enjoying themselves on a Sunday afternoon? If you don't want to go then don't bother, I'm sure you won't be missed. Don't know why people can't let individuals make their own minds up regarding the type of event they attend instead of dictating what type of music they should or should not be listening to. A lot of jealousy from some quarters, methinks.
For anyone who is interested there is a petition on Facebook regarding the proposals for the Wheel , don't know if it will do any good but you never know. Personally I think it would be a shame if the Wheel were to close permanently, I know it's not everyones cup of tea but they must be doing something right to get the crowds they do.
May even pop along this Sunday................

[dave nowell]

Mark S, on 09 February 2012 - 06:11 PM, said:

Placemate 7 top floor funk room had many a good night in there

I went to Placemates a few times in the 70s during my obsessive Wigan Casino days.
Never realised then it was the Wheel and no-one else ever mentioned it.................how strange