l never saw these three things.....

A fight

A bust

Anyone jumping off the balcony

Maybe l was too busy dancing to notice

Mind you................ OUTSIDE!!

Edited January 19, 201114 yr by webbydublin

Hmm......

The atmosphere was, sometimes, errr Heavy!!

There was definitly a coupla crews you did not want to know-(even if you did)

All in this together with love and peace

My A*se !!

Over to Proudlove..........

Tony

Well you shouldn't have been so naughty,Tony!

I am pleading the Fifth yeronner.

Any way I was too skinny............

Skeleton with a Skin Graft ,

to quote the aforementioned Proudlove

T

I am pleading the Fifth yeronner.

Any way I was too skinny............

Skeleton with a Skin Graft ,

to quote the aforementioned Proudlove

T

i saw TWO

Couple having sex under a pile of coats....mates saw it but sadly not me, I was looking at records. Sorry its only one!

BH

l never saw these three things.....

A fight

A bust

Anyone jumping off the balcony

Maybe l was too busy dancing to notice

Mind yo................ OUTSIDE!!

Ok ,lets take these one by one.

A fight....................there were several in the early days outside..........a few scuffles in side and one spectacular bout of fisticuffs..............................I was sat outside Ms,when I was told to stay where I was because it was about to kick off................."where" said I..................here,now.....................apparantly a young black girl had been picked on all the way up to Wigan by another girl.What said girl didn't realise is that the black girl had a brother who was a talented boxer...............and tought her how to box..............you can guess the result.......................it lasted about 30 seconds..........

There were people busted inside and outside..................and on the trains..........and on Manchester Victoria Station...................and a few "lost" their gear in Rowntrees Sound bar............

No body jumped off the balcony at Wigan,it ws too big a drop.....................but Pete Tyldesley did at the Torch...............First time succesfully,but second time broke his arm attempting a back drop in the process of landing.

Steve.

l never saw these three things.....

A fight

A bust

Anyone jumping off the balcony

Maybe l was too busy dancing to notice

Mind yo................ OUTSIDE!!

The presentation of The Billboard " Best Disco In The World " award .

Malc

l never saw these three things.....

A fight

A bust

Anyone jumping off the balcony

Maybe l was too busy dancing to notice

Mind yo................ OUTSIDE!!

A fight yes on the second nighter someone fell out with another guy literally picked him up and threw him across the seating area guy landed on his back on a table that collapsed wild west style, needless to say the other guy didn't get up.

l never saw these three things.....

A fight

A bust

Anyone jumping off the balcony

Maybe l was too busy dancing to notice

Mind yo................ OUTSIDE!!

WEBBY,

Saw plenty of busts, all shapes and sizes, those girls wernt too shy in them days either that or they thought it was dark enough for nobody to notice.

One things for sure they were all real, no boob jobs in those days :thumbup:

Hope i am on the right track here regarding "busts"

ROY

i never saw any plumbers working in the bogs.....

Shouldn't that be in 'Northern Soul Urban Myths Thread' cos me and everybody else have read it...Without any evidence....your honour!!

The " award " is now part of NS folklore .

What puzzles me , given its' high profile / meritorious prestige , is that there is / was no photographic evidence - i.e. publicity shots - taken of the " award " being presented .

Malc

The presentation of The Billboard " Best Disco In The World " award .

Malc

here we go again!

this actually did happen Malc

there was no formal award - it just appeared in billboard and russ was notified

i have seen the cutting from Billboard and am sure it got coverage in b and s at the time

just like I remember the drugs deaths and the coverage they received in the Wigan Observer whose archives I plundered when doing the much-maligned Soul Survivors with Russ

The deaths and the official inquiry were included in SS - which dispels another urban myth often repeated on here that there was no reference to the drugs culture. But it was admittedly underplayed..............

dave

Edited January 18, 201114 yr by dave nowell

Not too sure about that,Dave,could you show us the cutting...

not seen it for about 20 years!

russ did have a copy of said Billboard piece in early 90s

trust me, i'm a journalist!

ps

talking of Casino fisticuffs

does anyone remember the mass brawl in the record bar 80/81ish?

stopped the entire place for 5 mins or so

then everyone carried on like nothing had happened!

here we go again!

this actually did happen Malc

there was no formal award - it just appeared in billboard and russ was notified

i have seen the cutting from Billboard and am sure it got coverage in b and s at the time

just like I remember the drugs deaths and the coverage they received in the Wigan Observer whose archives I plundered when doing the much-maligned Soul Survivors with Russ

The deaths and the official inquiry were included in SS - which dispels another urban myth often repeated on here that there was no reference to the drugs culture. But it was admittedly underplayed..............

dave

Then who voted it the best disco in the world , 95% of the Billboard readers wouldnt even heard of WC ? This claim has never made any sense to me - find the article & I'll eat a huge slice of humble pie & donate to your favourite charity

I thought I'd seen the article some years ago

Anyway if you know the issue of billboard it was in go to google books. All Billboard magazines are archived and viewable.

Then who voted it the best disco in the world , 95% of the Billboard readers wouldnt even heard of WC ? This claim has never made any sense to me - find the article & I'll eat a huge slice of humble pie & donate to your favourite charity

i have read somewhere that it was actually decided on who had the biggest membership

it may be wrong but fairly sure thats been put forward

not seen it for about 20 years!

russ did have a copy of said Billboard piece in early 90s

trust me, i'm a journalist!

ps

talking of Casino fisticuffs

does anyone remember the mass brawl in the record bar 80/81ish?

stopped the entire place for 5 mins or so

then everyone carried on like nothing had happened!

yeh i saw that and a record dealer smacking someone with a chair while he was stood on one !

i never saw any plumbers working in the bogs.....

...

l never saw these three things.....

1 - Lads with clean dry shoes....because bogs were ankle deep in pee pee.

2 - Far too short Half mast baggie trousers showing white socks!!!...We wore baggies...the correct length... socks not on display.

3 - Ashtrays...many a tin of pepsi drank with a fag end cocktail...

i have read somewhere that it was actually decided on who had the biggest membership

it may be wrong but fairly sure thats been put forward

Well no doubt that would do it , but the question remains how would Billboard be aware of how many members Wigan had ? It would be like The NME voting an obscure Country & Western club in Texas as top live music venue , its never added up IMO

.But if Dave proves me wrong I'll be first in line to apologise for doubting it

Well no doubt that would do it , but the question remains how would Billboard be aware of how many members Wigan had ? It would be like The NME voting an obscure Country & Western club in Texas as top live music venue , its never added up IMO

.But if Dave proves me wrong I'll be first in line to apologise for doubting it

I remember this "Best Disco" in the world it was featured in B & S,

As stated earlier in this thread it was "Awarded" on the premise of having the biggest membership of any "Disco in the world",This I would pressume was based on the fact that membership was free and it was advertised in B & S every week as being free,50,000+at the time of the award if I remember correctly,

How many of these members ever went to the Casino is a diferent matter all together,I myself knew loads of lads and girls who had memberships who never got past Bolton bus station because they would have missed the last 52 bus back to Radcliffe,

One in particular would get up on a Sunday morning,Just in time to catch the first bus back from Bolton two stops before he got off carrying a box of Pye disco demands,Claiming he had been at the Casino the night before,TRUE

He/she may be one of those on here who claim to have seen and heard everything that happened at Station Rd,I did not

I never saw that couple shagging on the piano

I never ever knew anyone who got busted by the DS

I never heard the doorman shout stop pushing at the back

And I never ever got a fresh meat pie or a cold bottle of orange from the balcony bar.

i have read somewhere that it was actually decided on who had the biggest membership

it may be wrong but fairly sure thats been put forward

that's about the size of it from my recollection. it was a subjective thing by the Billboard journos based on membership, longevity and the sheer scale of the bloody thing that was unrivalled anywhere in the world at the time.

it was general news at the time and generally greeted with a chuckle by everyone, and then forgotten.

no-one until recently has ever disputed it happened - and i mean sharp operators like levine, curtis, rushton, roberts, searling etc have never expressed doubts to my knowledge.

trust me if it was bollocks we would have been told by now!

have I got the cutting? no.

I can't even find my copy of SS

dave

that's about the size of it from my recollection. it was a subjective thing by the Billboard journos based on membership, longevity and the sheer scale of the bloody thing that was unrivalled anywhere in the world at the time.

it was general news at the time and generally greeted with a chuckle by everyone, and then forgotten.

no-one until recently has ever disputed it happened - and i mean sharp operators like levine, curtis, rushton, roberts, searling etc have never expressed doubts to my knowledge.

trust me if it was bollocks we would have been told by now!

have I got the cutting? no.

I can't even find my copy of SS

dave

We do trust you Dave .

Human beings are sceptical / questioning creatures at the best of times , none more so when it comes to the NS scene .

The main problem with this subject has always been , that given the high profile of the award , and the prestige / honour it must have given the WC management , why was there no " follow up " publicity ( photographs of the handing over of the award ) ever seen by the masses ?

That is the reason for the scepticism / questioning over the years , nothing more , nothing less .

Malc

Edited January 19, 201114 yr by Malc Burton

Fire Extinguishers...

I remember this "Best Disco" in the world it was featured in B & S,

As stated earlier in this thread it was "Awarded" on the premise of having the biggest membership of any "Disco in the world",This I would pressume was based on the fact that membership was free and it was advertised in B & S every week as being free,50,000+at the time of the award if I remember correctly,

How many of these members ever went to the Casino is a diferent matter all together,I myself knew loads of lads and girls who had memberships who never got past Bolton bus station because they would have missed the last 52 bus back to Radcliffe,

One in particular would get up on a Sunday morning,Just in time to catch the first bus back from Bolton two stops before he got off carrying a box of Pye disco demands,Claiming he had been at the Casino the night before,TRUE

He/she may be one of those on here who claim to have seen and heard everything that happened at Station Rd,I did not

I never saw that couple shagging on the piano

I never ever knew anyone who got busted by the DS

I never heard the doorman shout stop pushing at the back

And I never ever got a fresh meat pie or a cold bottle of orange from the balcony bar.

I never saw a 'fresh' pie in that cabinet

I never saw

Any fights...

Any DS...

Anybody smoking dodgy cigarettes...

Mind you I probably had my head stuck inside record boxes ...which reminds me, never saw any of the DJ's (except Dave Evison and Brian Rae) in the record bar...

We do trust you Dave .

Human beings are sceptical / questioning creatures at the best of times , none more so when it comes to the NS scene .

The main problem with this subject has always been , that given the high profile of the award , and the prestige / honour it must have given the WC management , why was there no " follow up " publicity ( photographs of the handing over of the award ) ever seen by the masses ?

That is the reason for the scepticism / questioning over the years , nothing more , nothing less .

Malc

Journalists are very sceptical beings as well Malc

and by the way, you should never trust one!

and always double check every claim associated with WC!

ps

there was no award - it was just a paper exercise

nobody batted an eyelid at the time - the Yanks were doing features on the Casino etc and Mike Walker once claimed on stage that Saturday Night Fever was based on the Casino.

Doubt that.........................anyone????

Hiya,Dave......How did the voting system work then?

pretty sure it was just the opinion of Billboard's writers

a bit like Mojo magazine picking their top ten albums of the year

it was no more important than that

at the time we had far more urgent things to think about - ie gear, girls, unmasking searling's cover-ups, etc

I never saw

Any fights...

Any DS...

Anybody smoking dodgy cigarettes...

Mind you I probably had my head stuck inside record boxes ...which reminds me, never saw any of the DJ's (except Dave Evison and Brian Rae) in the record bar...

Sam used to hang around in the recors bar during his short stint at The Casino .How do I remember ?.......I bought a Charles Johnson off of him blind for a quid before it was big & then gave it away because I didnt like it

Journalists are very sceptical beings as well Malc

and by the way, you should never trust one!

and always double check every claim associated with WC!

ps

there was no award - it was just a paper exercise

nobody batted an eyelid at the time - the Yanks were doing features on the Casino etc and Mike Walker once claimed on stage that Saturday Night Fever was based on the Casino.

Doubt that.........................anyone????

So what we are suggesting ts correct then Dave , it was not VOTED the best disco in the world in Billboard , (or indeed by anyone ) , but there MAY have been an article in Billboard where someone described it as the disco with the biggest membership in the world which was then reported in B&S ?????

So what we are suggesting ts correct then Dave , it was not VOTED the best disco in the world in Billboard , (or indeed by anyone ) , but there MAY have been an article in Billboard where someone described it as the disco with the biggest membership in the world which was then reported in B&S ?????

an interesting interpretation!

I never saw

Any fights...

Any DS...

Anybody smoking dodgy cigarettes...

Mind you I probably had my head stuck inside record boxes ...which reminds me, never saw any of the DJ's (except Dave Evison and Brian Rae) in the record bar...

which reminds me, never saw any of the DJ's (except Dave Evison and Brian Rae) in the record bar...

And of course MR GRUMPY. Anybody guess who i mean?

https://books.google....0casino&f=false

not sure if this link will work - but thanks to Chalky

if you google billboard archives and wigan casino you end up with a couple of stories

this one is from 1978 about casino classics - see page 69. the other is from 1975 and pye disco demand

worth a browse through the magazines just for a laugh

my favourite is "45 per cent of disco djs fail hearing test"

ha ha

Edited January 19, 201114 yr by dave nowell

https://books.google....0casino&f=false

not sure if this link will work - but thanks to Chalky

if you google billboard archives and wigan casino you end up with a couple of stories

this one is from 1978 about casino classics - see page 69. the other is from 1975 and pye disco demand

worth a browse through the magazines just for a laugh

my favourite is "45 per cent of disco djs fail hearing test"

ha ha

Pardon ? what you say ?

Malc

everyone knows someone called ed or eddie who went but never saw a single ted.Big or little.though there seemed to be quite a few in the streets at the time.

Edited January 19, 201114 yr by whatsthiscalled

an interesting interpretation!

And one I'm happy with .........lets wait for the evidence to surface

I'd hazard a guess as to Keith M.

which reminds me, never saw any of the DJ's (except Dave Evison and Brian Rae) in the record bar...

And of course MR GRUMPY. Anybody guess who i mean?

l'll go with that,Tabs...Think l've said this on here before that l helped him carry his records from the railway station to the Casino and never even got a Thank You...

I was selling some records one night, biggish stuff at the time, he pulled 5 or 6 out & asked if he could pay for the after his spot. Ok i said,

So the cheeky fecker played them in his spot then gave me tnem back telling me he no longer wanted them :angry2:

I was selling some records one night, biggish stuff at the time, he pulled 5 or 6 out & asked if he could pay for the after his spot. Ok i said,

So the cheeky fecker played them in his spot then gave me tnem back telling me he no longer wanted them :thumbsup::angry2:

Class

Tony

I joined as a member of Wigan in 1975 just before I was 16

Blues & soul application form false date of birth and here's one for the teenages of today a stamped addressed envolope containing a.

POSTAL ORDER !!!? Can't remember if it cost 50p or £1????

Think that was a yellow one??

As for ttrouble inside wigan we once went in mr m's for a beer about 10pm (it was a disco nightclub style thing before the nighter opened

Went to the toilet and walked in on someone pointing a knife at this guy demanding his gear and money

I went in to shock unintentionally distracted the knife man this other guy dropped him whilst he was looking at me just walking in we both then did a runner went. Down to the cafe (I was still shaking) this guy then told all his mates that I'd helped out!!

These lads were from Salford I think a bit older than me aid that they would "look after" me and my mates whenever we went Wigan

Never saw anyone jump off the balcony !!! But once whilst watching Julie bebb in one of the heats of the 77 dance comp a lad called vinny of layland was stood on a chair at the back of the balcony started cheering and clapping when julies name was called out he lost his balance and I grbbed his trousers belt and managed to stop him from

falling

As fo drugs busts?????? Can remember a couple of times about 6am the squad comming in lights went on and they just walked about staring at the punters scary !!

" spike"

I'd hazard a guess as to Keith M.

Fair shout - mind you, I tended not to look UNDER the tables...

Edited January 20, 201114 yr by Jerry Hipkiss

l never ever saw or went into The Beachcomber Bar....Where was it??

"In the Basement"

Bit of a Sh*te hole really

Tony

l never ever saw or went into The Beachcomber Bar....Where was it??

funny i never ventured in there either.

l never ever saw or went into The Beachcomber Bar....Where was it??

The entrance to the Beachcomber was outside at the front of the building .

I never saw any fights . never saw anyone get busted although I saw and was searched a few times , I never noticed a heirachy on the dancefloor I danced at the front not paricularly well .

Never saw a bloke called Alan that ruled the place in 74 until he copped it in a dance off .

Why were you looking for Fire Extinguishers....Don't tell me...They were playing Jimmy Mack!

Or Burning Bush

The entrance to the Beachcomber was outside at the front of the building .

I never saw any fights . never saw anyone get busted although I saw and was searched a few times , I never noticed a heirachy on the dancefloor I danced at the front not paricularly well .

Never saw a bloke called Alan that ruled the place in 74 until he copped it in a dance off .

I've asked this before but does anyone remember when they had some sort of raised mobile theatre seating stored in the Beachcomber and people were sitting on them - very surreal or was I hallucinating? Used to like the buzzing atmosphere in the Beachcomber but very odd place at times.

Cheers

Manus

l never ever saw or went into The Beachcomber Bar....Where was it??

Beachcomber was a godsend when it was feckin' freezing and t'casino didn't open until 2. Same in the morning before going home or lifts to dayers.

Paul

Mobile theatre,mate? Think those Back-Street Blues were a little hallucinagenic l feel...

My memories terrible these days Webby - but I'm pretty sure about this - I'm sure someone else will remember.

Cheers

Manus

I was selling some records one night, biggish stuff at the time, he pulled 5 or 6 out & asked if he could pay for the after his spot. Ok i said,

So the cheeky fecker played them in his spot then gave me tnem back telling me he no longer wanted them :angry2:

CLASSIC!

CLASSIC!

I make a point of reminding him of it every time i see him now, and allways make a point of barging him out of the way when he`s looking through records. And Keith being Keith we have a right good old laugh about it :lol: