Wilton Ballroon All-Nighters To End in 2013

Friday 21^st September event is the last scheduled Wilton allnighter for 2012, and the next and final allnighter will be arranged around the 20th Anniversary sometime in March 2013. It is with deep regret that we have no alternative but to close the Wilton allnighter. The event is just not viable; the books don’t balance. For the first time in 19 years, the last anniversary night lost money (£470). We have tried everything to make it work, but the facts are simple: if people don’t attend in sufficient numbers to balance the books, we just can’t continue.

We have had some fantastic nights over the years, and we would like to thank you, the fans, for your support; also our regular and guest DJ’s who have continued to find new records and put together some fantastic sets.

We have finally come to the end of the road. The number of fans on the soul scene has exploded over the last five years but not in our direction. Increased numbers of allnighters, soul nights, and weekenders have taken their toll. In some respects, the Wilton has become a victim of its own success for several reasons: Our original music policy is now used at other venues all over the UK, so we are not special any more; we don’t get the travellers any more, they now choose their local venues; fuel costs have compounded the problem; many of our regulars are now promoting their own venues, which doesn’t help our situation; Saturday night events will always take preference to Friday’s; the list goes on. There’s nothing we can do about the situation apart from take our final bow at our 20th Anniversary in March 2013.

We hope to continue with our Soulful Sessions Nights next year if we can secure dates from the management.

The success of the next Soulful Session Night on Saturday, 10^th November, with a special live performance from Darrow Fletcher, is crucial to us securing dates for 2013. We need all the support we can get for Darrow Fletcher, and the future of soul at the Wilton.

Tickets for this special event are available online at

Thank you for being part of our lives for 20 soulful years. Mouse — Boxy & Val