Wigan Casino - Its Influence, Its Legacy... A Panel Event at 'Museum of Wigan Life'

View full article

that will be interesting. thanks for the heads up.

also the date is a poignant 😀

Thanks Ken, my day job and passion in one event! Hope you can make it

Will see if I can get over

Ticket booked , love a bit of nostalgia, amazing really while it was running the Council and the notorious local constabulary only wanted to get rid of the WC , I'm surprised that the local tourist information board hasn't pushed the council into rebuilding the place , just a thought lol .

Ticket booked. The write up mentioned a ‘soul do’ up the road later that night but no place or location was mentioned, or did I miss it?

Edit; just looked in the Events Guide and it’s probably at the Masonic Hall in Pemberton.

Hi Catsprint, yes it is the Masonic at Pemberton, and thanks for booking

Ticket booked  

Fabulous, thanks Chalky 😍

Just a quick heads up, we are a small museum so it will be a nice intimate event of 60 like minded souls. Over 40 of those seats have already gone, so if you fancy it, I would book asap. 

Thanks so much everyone

Two tickets booked, looks like a real interesting event!!!

Sounds great, booked a couple of tickets.

Are they going to stream it?

Thanks everyone, will definitely enquire about recording it. Leave it with me x

1 hour ago, Jumpinjoan said:

Thanks everyone, will definitely enquire about recording it. Leave it with me x

I can bring my Tascam thingy me job  

Quick question, why is there no picture of Wigan casino on this website. I’d absolutely love to see some as I’ve heard loads about the place from my big sis x

Try https://www.soul-source.co.uk/gallery/category/23-1970s-soul/

 

A few photos taken in Wigan recently. The shopping centre built on the Casino site and the display by the Casino Cafe.

The museum in Wigan has updated the Casino display recently.

Be kind people, that was me 😊

The exhibition covers all types of local music, and it's on until early next year so if you're passing, pop in x

That's all the tickets booked, thanks so much everyone 😍

I'll start a reserve list, so if you've missed out but fancy it, drop me a pm and I'll add your name. By the same token, if you have a ticket but nearer the time find you can't make it, please do let me know

This is going to be great event, just seen the post, would love to attend 

please put me on the reserve list Joan.

 Thanks 

i have this on my wall. the only other one i know of ( different colour) belongs to Andrew @Lovemusic

Hi Ken, yes that's right. Mine has the green circles on the badge and the price is £1. Plus Keith Minshulls name is miss-spelled differently on each one. Mine is the earlier version.

I have an e ticket for this event but I am now unable to attend, if anyone is interested the first person to get in touch can have it.

Hi everyone 

The event starts at 3pm but doors will be open from 2pm if you fancy a look around and get yourself settled. 

If you find you can no longer make it, please let me know as there is a long reserve list of people who tried to book months ago. Thanks so much x

Unfortunately I missed it, how was it?

I recorded it.  If Joan says it is ok I will post it for others listening pleasure.  

Sorry for the late reply everyone, not been too good. 

Here is the link to the panel event. The audience questions will be uploaded soon, will post here when they're up x

 

A great afternoon and insight on the soundtrack and memories  for a lot of our lives 

my name was carved behind that piano? spent loads of time there and somebody opened the curtain  op the the curtain....

guess who LEVINE

I thought this was superb ,many thanks Joan 

Tim's "Jesus Christ,is this possible" quote says it all.. game,set and match! 

Thanks for the post Joan, really enjoyed that,loved the storys & memories, Cheers guys.

Thank you for the ‘link’ I had Covid at the time so couldn’t go. Some good stories and memories told.

Great video, loved it. Always learn something more about this venue when you have stuff like this put on.  One thing that did strike a note with me, something that Tim said.

I started secondry school the year Wigan closed, given my age I can't really dispute this, and can honestly say I've never danced to it, in fact, I may only have ever heard it played at the 100 club, once!   But I love Romance Watson! 

 

22 hours ago, Jumpinjoan said:

Sorry for the late reply everyone, not been too good. 

Here is the link to the panel event. The audience questions will be uploaded soon, will post here when they're up x

 

Thanks for posting this Joan , and so sorry I missed the event . You have worked your socks off to get all of this done, so well done you . 
Hope you get better soon and pass on my regards to the old man . 
🙏

Steve & Shila . 

Well done to all, very enjoyable watch and interesting stuff in there.

Massive well done to Joan and all her dedicated hard work, a true soul indeed.

 

As promised, here are the audience questions from the panel event. It really was a special afternoon and I can't thank Tim B, Ian, Tim A, Gary, and Richard enough for their passion and support xx

 

6 hours ago, Jumpinjoan said:

As promised, here are the audience questions from the panel event. It really was a special afternoon and I can't thank Tim B, Ian, Tim A, Gary, and Richard enough for their passion and support xx

 

Thanks, really interesting again and some great questions and answers to consider.

Really enjoyed this makes a change to watch something thats honest and doesn't pander to the normal ill informed  distorted narative. Well done Joan and thank you 

This is great.    This is what the BBC should be doing when they make a programme about Northern Soul!

A programme by Northern Soul fans, for people who are into Northern Soul!   

The programmes the BBC and others make about Northern Soul are usually all aimed at people who know little or nothing about it! 

All involved in this did a great job. 

Such a lot of the guest speakers view's and opinions I share with!  I have never forgotten those great memorable times at the Casino allnighters. 

Everybody sees the scene from their own point of view, and there is a lot of rewriting history, so it's good to hear from people who know how it really was, and lived the life style!

 

I was too young for the Casino, would of course loved to have gone, and do soak the history of it up like a sponge, as I do for the UK soul scene in general plus of course the US scene of the 70's/80's: black music/club history.  But in truth from the turn of the year I was dreading September 2023 and all the BS surrounding the 50th Anniversary of WC.  Hanging on to the past is no good for any scene and indeed any individual IMHO............but a nod to it occasionally is fine..........and quite naturally, we ALL do it.  Just not to the point where an obsession with the the past hinders the (and our own!) musical future!!

These seminars/videos were good.  Much of it resonated with me in general, away from the specifics I can't comment on about WC, and Tim A was bang on..............to paraphrase him I would sum up by saying that some people know the price of everything, yet the value of nothing, when it comes to records!

It's particularly nice to hear GR get a voice in it.  I would say Gary's records from the Stafford era are amongst my best musical memories of that period (Oracles/Porgy & The Monarchs/Bobby Valentin/Gasoline Powered Clock/Little Stanley....on it goes).  Great to get his views.

A couple of things I thought were contradictory but I would have to watch again to remind myself which aspects.  But it's just opinions isn't it?

One observation though: when complaining about the way the BBC portray the NS (both on the videos and folk subsequently on here) I can't help but feel the BBC's interest probably wasn't by chance.  If you ponder that whilst considering the fact that we all know they won't portray it well, I think the reason for their involvement becomes clear and explains why we'll probably see further celebrations going forward, rather than letting it lie.

 

Cheers,

Mark R

30 minutes ago, Mark R said:

Just not to the point where an obsession with the the past hinders the (and our own!) musical future!!

Cheers,

Mark R

That was exactly what my question about The Casino being detrimental to the scene in the years that followed especially today.  The constant looking back and the same old same being the musical focus for the vast majority of venues has to have a detrimental effect.  I known for a fact it is driving people away, not just the mainstream but the so called upfront and crossover venues, it's the same records as 20 years ago, its boring and like watching an episode of top of the pops for 40 years or so.

3 hours ago, Chalky said:

 it's the same records as 20 years ago, its boring and like watching an episode of top of the pops for 40 years or so.

If there were lots of great records to play, they would be getting played!

There is a limited number of great records and once you know them all you can't have anymore! 

The scene is fresh to newcomers who have a lot of tunes to learn and appreciate.

It's all a matter of what you know or don't know, as to whether venues are boring or not!  

 

1 hour ago, Solidsoul said:

If there were lots of great records to play, they would be getting played!

There is a limited number of great records and once you know them all you can't have anymore! 

The scene is fresh to newcomers who have a lot of tunes to learn and appreciate.

It's all a matter of what you know or don't know, as to whether venues are boring or not!  

 

There are tons of records that could be getting played including loads from Wigan era that have been neglected in favour of the top 200. It is how much you spend on a record that gets you a dj booking. 

Surely thats ,wrong how much you spend Chalky?? Me and you probably do but that doesn't make wigan the b all and end all of northern surely, I was too young for the wheel and torch but did blue rooms mecca wigan etc and a varied epitome of records were played as you know cost in them days was miniscule, top dollar then was 20 -35 max ,I purchased with a friend big boys at the time chapter five 25,cobblestone 15,precissions 20,stemmons express 25 the list endless every week as it still is a hunt for tunes I had ,didn't have or un heard of stuffwhich I prefer anyway can't wait for wigan 60 ,wheelchair parade ,Ps well done in benalmadena too

5 hours ago, Chalky said:

That was exactly what my question about The Casino being detrimental to the scene in the years that followed especially today.  The constant looking back and the same old same being the musical focus for the vast majority of venues has to have a detrimental effect.  I known for a fact it is driving people away, not just the mainstream but the so called upfront and crossover venues, it's the same records as 20 years ago, its boring and like watching an episode of top of the pops for 40 years or so.

Spot on!

5 hours ago, Chalky said:

That was exactly what my question about The Casino being detrimental to the scene in the years that followed especially today.  The constant looking back and the same old same being the musical focus for the vast majority of venues has to have a detrimental effect.  I known for a fact it is driving people away, not just the mainstream but the so called upfront and crossover venues, it's the same records as 20 years ago, its boring and like watching an episode of top of the pops for 40 years or so.

My example is always this Chalky........I'm a Man Utd fan, but I don't watch the old games/teams, I follow what's happening now, and by Christ if there were ever a better excuse for the former than current form eh? 🤣

My other way of looking at it, is that it becomes the NS equivalent of an Elvis convention!

On this subject, and spoken as someone who wasn't there......surely one of the worst things that ever happened at the Casino was the introduction of the Oldies All Niter wasn't it?  The rot sets in from there I reckon.

Yawnsville...... 🤭

 

Cheers,

Mark R

2 hours ago, Solidsoul said:

If there were lots of great records to play, they would be getting played!

There is a limited number of great records and once you know them all you can't have anymore! 

The scene is fresh to newcomers who have a lot of tunes to learn and appreciate.

It's all a matter of what you know or don't know, as to whether venues are boring or not!  

 

I find that statement totally baffling and to my humble ears totally misguided.

DJ's often seem very apathetic in terms of leaving the comfort of their hot box, chancing their arm with a lesser known, or very often have no idea of the massive breadth of whats not played/underplayed.

A lot of this might be the result of the demise of record bars at events and the hours we spent listening to stuff we didn't know, searching for stuff we didn't know existed as well as those wants,  listening to both sides, and talking records and exchanging stuff to take home and sift through, returning it at a later date on trust. Chalky is spot on on this.

1 hour ago, Mark R said:

......surely one of the worst things that ever happened at the Casino was the introduction of the Oldies All Niter wasn't it?  The rot sets in from there I reckon.

Yawnsville...... 🤭

 

Cheers,

Mark R

Agreed Mark. "Wigan Oldies nighters".  

It's one thing that the Casino had an oldies nighter back then, up until it's closure, as even some of the " oldies" were not that old at the time.

But for so called DJs to still play those records is at best plain lazy and very unimaginative considering the vast amount of choice of under played and forgotten tunes available.