Been dragging back memories today. Not easy. I got around to thinking that in the 70s we didnt have much cash and we were out nearly every night. I dont know how we managed to get into all the venues, buy gear, buy discs etc. And then I remembered. We used to nick in venues.

There were different ways into the Casino, but the one that we used for many weeks was over the roof and through the top cloakroom windows. Looking back it was dangerous as feck but hey needs must. There were about 4 of us doing it regular. Brian Waterhouse from Clitheroe showed me the route in and I tell you it werent easy.

You had to go around the side of the Casino and climb up a drainpipe that went all the way up to the roof. It was high and the pipe wasnt the sturdiest but we only weighed 9stone wet through. (Too many chalkies and green and clears) once on the roof a quick skip across it to the windows, urgent rapping on them and someone would always open them and you dropped into the cloakrooms. People were always gobsmacked when you landed on the floor, hands covered in shite from the climb.

Anyone else used to sneak in venues?

Been dragging back memories today. Not easy. I got around to thinking that in the 70s we didnt have much cash and we were out nearly every night. I dont know how we managed to get into all the venues, buy gear, buy discs etc. And then I remembered. We used to nick in venues.

There were different ways into the Casino, but the one that we used for many weeks was over the roof and through the top cloakroom windows. Looking back it was dangerous as feck but hey needs must. There were about 4 of us doing it regular. Brian Waterhouse from Clitheroe showed me the route in and I tell you it werent easy.

You had to go around the side of the Casino and climb up a drainpipe that went all the way up to the roof. It was high and the pipe wasnt the sturdiest but we only weighed 9stone wet through. (Too many chalkies and green and clears) once on the roof a quick skip across it to the windows, urgent rapping on them and someone would always open them and you dropped into the cloakrooms. People were always gobsmacked when you landed on the floor, hands covered in shite from the climb.

Anyone else used to sneak in venues?

nice one!!!

max..

OH-NO!...... someones mentioned the 'W' Word!.

So......

'Wigan stopped being a credible venue after 1975'

'People only went to dress up in Comedy Trousers'

'They only ever played the Wigan joker, Frank Wilson and some record about a Snake'

'The Toilets were a joke'

'The Pies were not very Warm'

'I never went... but it was still crap'

'Why can't people move on?'

'Hilda Woods ate my Hamster'

Right!...... I've saved everyone the trouble of the 'usual' Pointless posts whenever Wigan is mentioned, so carry on!.....

That should see this thread drop off the board like a stone now.

Edited March 18, 200817 yr by Teapot

Just got some chips from the chip shop, wanna piss on em? Ade

OH-NO!...... someones mentioned the 'W' Word!.

So......

'Wigan stopped being a credible venue after 1975'

'People only went to dress up in Comedy Trousers'

'They only ever played the Wigan joker, Frank Wilson and some record about a Snake'

'The Toilets were a joke'

'The Pies were not very Warm'

'I never went... but it was still crap'

'Why can't people move on?'

'Hilda Woods ate my Hamster'

Right!...... I've saved everyone the trouble of the 'usual' Pointless posts whenever Wigan is mentioned, so carry on!.....

That should see this thread drop off the board like a stone now.

not far wrong and also mike walker is alive and well he lives in marsh green now says he had to move on ,

Been dragging back memories today. Not easy. I got around to thinking that in the 70s we didnt have much cash and we were out nearly every night. I dont know how we managed to get into all the venues, buy gear, buy discs etc. And then I remembered. We used to nick in venues.

There were different ways into the Casino, but the one that we used for many weeks was over the roof and through the top cloakroom windows. Looking back it was dangerous as feck but hey needs must. There were about 4 of us doing it regular. Brian Waterhouse from Clitheroe showed me the route in and I tell you it werent easy.

You had to go around the side of the Casino and climb up a drainpipe that went all the way up to the roof. It was high and the pipe wasnt the sturdiest but we only weighed 9stone wet through. (Too many chalkies and green and clears) once on the roof a quick skip across it to the windows, urgent rapping on them and someone would always open them and you dropped into the cloakrooms. People were always gobsmacked when you landed on the floor, hands covered in shite from the climb.

Anyone else used to sneak in venues?

In the first year of WC , Myself and a chum one Saturday afternoon posed as piano tuners for the GP ........

It was late on in the afternoon when we were let in by the cleaners , and after they showed us where we needed to go , left us to our own devices , telling us to let ourselves out when we had finished , as they were going ......

We of course did not let ourselves out , instead we found a storeroom , in which we secreted ourselves until the jollities commenced ......

Malc Burton

Didn't sneak in from what I remember(apart fron the 2nd anniversary when I got in through Mr Ms), but I used to pour myself the occasional pint from the unmanned, upstairs bar in Mr Ms.

Paul

Nice one teapot , But to be honest , cant remember ever gettin in free.... apart when you helped carry in the dj,s box.... Which everyone wanted to do.... Like at stoke niters... except KEV the snake, would come around the record areas collecting the money... ha. And he knew who had paid, ha. stil it was better than waitin outside in all weathers... mart

Didn't sneak in from what I remember(apart fron the 2nd anniversary when I got in through Mr Ms), but I used to pour myself the occasional pint from the unmanned, upstairs bar in Mr Ms.

Paul

god! i cant remember .......payed in every time.There were different ways of getting there though.

had a few friends that did,nt go,but out of the kindness of their hearts would steal a car, take us there and back, and put the car back where it came from....

also did a little kissing and petting in mr m,s not by myself by the way,but with ladies ...but dont

tell the wife ......oh! we got divorced .......kids eh!!

Pete Mcnamee and me got in for nothing once we were early and 15 standing outside and we got asked to sweep the floor which we did and got to sit inside till it started other than that I paid every time.

also did a little kissing and petting in mr m,s not by myself by the way,but with ladies ...but dont

tell the wife ......oh! we got divorced .......kids eh!!

I used to use the phone booth thingy box on the balcony of mr ms for heavy petting

pete m

also did a little kissing and petting in mr m,s not by myself by the way,but with ladies ...but dont

tell the wife ......oh! we got divorced .......kids eh!!

I used to use the phone booth thingy box on the balcony of mr ms for heavy petting

pete m

Mr ms was ok for dropping things ??????????????

loved the casino and all the other nighters ,and dayers, what where doing the rounds in the 70s

Been dragging back memories today. Not easy. I got around to thinking that in the 70s we didnt have much cash and we were out nearly every night. I dont know how we managed to get into all the venues, buy gear, buy discs etc. And then I remembered. We used to nick in venues.

There were different ways into the Casino, but the one that we used for many weeks was over the roof and through the top cloakroom windows. Looking back it was dangerous as feck but hey needs must. There were about 4 of us doing it regular. Brian Waterhouse from Clitheroe showed me the route in and I tell you it werent easy.

You had to go around the side of the Casino and climb up a drainpipe that went all the way up to the roof. It was high and the pipe wasnt the sturdiest but we only weighed 9stone wet through. (Too many chalkies and green and clears) once on the roof a quick skip across it to the windows, urgent rapping on them and someone would always open them and you dropped into the cloakrooms. People were always gobsmacked when you landed on the floor, hands covered in shite from the climb.

Anyone else used to sneak in venues?

Sneaked in a few times by going in on my knees during the rush,got caught a few times as well .

I was only 14 when i started going to the casino and money was tight so most Saturday nights i would try to sneak on the crosville bus to Warrington bank quay station then jump the train then try to get into the casino without paying,most times i used to ask Mrs Woods(bless her)if i could go in,she used to tell me to wait a hour or so then let me in or she would let me in to go and cadge money to pay.

Great memories.

also did a little kissing and petting in mr m,s not by myself by the way,but with ladies ...but dont

tell the wife ......oh! we got divorced .......kids eh!!

I used to use the phone booth thingy box on the balcony of mr ms for heavy petting

pete m

was it you hahahaha!!!

Nice colour pic from inside the casino,not seen this one before .

I dont know about sneek. But blag yes

Ran a few coaches up from Cheltenham and one day i heard someone on the door id themselves as a coach organiser and go through with a guest.

As you can guess, apart from the ticket only anniversaries, I never paid again

The things you do when 17 eh!

Forgot all about that till now

me and many other wiganers had passes as cleaners and coke lads we used to carry crates of coke around one barr to another before the nighter started , we used to sit in mr mms and watch the cabaret in there before we started, ahh good old days eh?

Embarrassed as I am to say it, on the occassions that China and the other Wigan Town Lads used to rob our money off us, the only other option left was to go around the back of the Casino and enther through the Fire Doors - my memory is a little hazy here - but you could creep into the Gents bogs and hide therein until they let everyone in, whereby you where free and clear.

Generally it was okay, but on occassion you would be in a trap with one of the doormen pissing like police horse in the nest trap - quite scary when you were a kid.

Another place we used to get in free was Darwen Tiffs on a wed night. There was a small room next to the main room and it had a fire escape onto a run down dingy street. One of us would pay to get in and the others were congregrated on the said street waiting for the payee to sneak into the small room and open the fire escape doors. Easy.

I well remember all of us in that small room practising our dance routines, spins,kicks etc. This was whhen Levine and Curtis were playing their tunes in the main room We used to mark each other out of ten.

And cos we had no money we used to nick our parents/grandparents medicinal tablets for aiding sleep. and mixed with the rare beer we cadged they were a potent combination I can tell ya.

Happy and dangerous days!

Nice colour pic from inside the casino,not seen this one before .

brilliant old pic of the casino thanks for posting it up happy days for me and my mates, ,

have you any other casino piccys???? we/i would love to see them,

er is that ian levine to the right hand side in the middle, !!!!!!

Nice colour pic from inside the casino,not seen this one before .

Thats a great photo , the casino used to look so different when it was empty ,The only way I got in free ,was stood chatting with Alan Rhodes at the bar [ think Tabs was with me as well ] after the early session , people started coming in for the nighter and no one asked us to pay.I think some people used to get in free by sweeping up etc . after the early session .Best ,Eddie

Never sneaked in for free but a few of us had a scam going with the bouncers, we would wait in the alley that ran between the caf & the Casino & drop the bouncers a few bob when they opened the door.

Terry Mac, Dusty & Libby [Runcorn] & meself were on it at the beginning but after a few weeks there was more soulies queing in the alley than at the main door, remember Harry Green got wind of it & set a trap for the bouncer concerned but the 4 of us were in & straight on the dance floor before he could catch us.

Nice colour pic from inside the casino,not seen this one before .

Bloody hell...it looks so clean and empty!!!!!...cant recall it ever looking like that .....Delxx

Thats a great photo , the casino used to look so different when it was empty ,The only way I got in free ,was stood chatting with Alan Rhodes at the bar [ think Tabs was with me as well ] after the early session , people started coming in for the nighter and no one asked us to pay.I think some people used to get in free by sweeping up etc . after the early session .Best ,Eddie

Correct Ed.

I

someone must remember this,a few times I went and the place was so packed they used to open up the beachcomber to put all the spare people in.Some of us used to go to the back of the room where there was a small flight of stairs at the top somebody kicked some pannelling in and we were under the bloody stage,we went along on all fours to the front of the stage kicked that out and hey presto all these folk spilling onto the dancefloor in their winter coats,me being one of them and then quickly mergeing in to the crowd.Far as I know no one was caught...........someone else must have been in this group that night

just an add on ...if you look at the photo of the casino on this thread ..it was at the bottom leftish corner that we all spilled out on the dance floor.

Been dragging back memories today. Not easy. I got around to thinking that in the 70s we didnt have much cash and we were out nearly every night. I dont know how we managed to get into all the venues, buy gear, buy discs etc. And then I remembered. We used to nick in venues.

There were different ways into the Casino, but the one that we used for many weeks was over the roof and through the top cloakroom windows. Looking back it was dangerous as feck but hey needs must. There were about 4 of us doing it regular. Brian Waterhouse from Clitheroe showed me the route in and I tell you it werent easy.

You had to go around the side of the Casino and climb up a drainpipe that went all the way up to the roof. It was high and the pipe wasnt the sturdiest but we only weighed 9stone wet through. (Too many chalkies and green and clears) once on the roof a quick skip across it to the windows, urgent rapping on them and someone would always open them and you dropped into the cloakrooms. People were always gobsmacked when you landed on the floor, hands covered in shite from the climb.

Anyone else used to sneak in venues?

what makes me laugh now is ...it was only 75p to get in,in the first place.....lot of cash then though lol

Never snuck in but was 'let in' (for a quid) by the then bouncer. Round the back of the club, ended up on side of the stage. My memories are vague, think I'd had a beechams or two.

Never snuck in but was 'let in' (for a quid) by the then bouncer. Round the back of the club, ended up on side of the stage. My memories are vague, think I'd had a beechams or two.

only cost 75/£1.00 to get in anyway.......smart move

brilliant old pic of the casino thanks for posting it up happy days for me and my mates, ,

have you any other casino piccys???? we/i would love to see them,

er is that ian levine to the right hand side in the middle, !!!!!!

is that ian levine

Thought that portly stance seemed like Brian Rae?(sorry Brian ).

There's a few pictures on youtube posted from Rally of inside the casino.

only cost 75/£1.00 to get in anyway.......smart move

75/£1.00 to get in, as well the 2 hour wait in the cold! Seemed like a really smart move to me!

brilliant old pic of the casino thanks for posting it up happy days for me and my mates, ,

have you any other casino piccys???? we/i would love to see them,

er is that ian levine to the right hand side in the middle, !!!!!!

here's a piture outside the ladies lavs - who is that good looking guy with the 'tash???? A BIG Thanks to him for organising all those mini-bus trips

Bloody hell...it looks so clean and empty!!!!!...cant recall it ever looking like that .....Delxx

i thought that by now some anti wigan wag would have pointed out that this was wigan main room 3am in the morning circa 1979/80 floor empty (apparently it was sometimes???was it???) with mr ms full to the rafters,i think the djs are saying,"more in than last time????,imo of course, .

here's a piture outside the ladies lavs - who is that good looking guy with the 'tash???? A BIG Thanks to him for organising all those mini-bus trips

Did the chap have a bad case of diarrhoea , and the others were helping him until he could get into a vacant cubicle ? .........

Malc Burton

.........so does anyone recognise these handsome devils

come on Mr Vickers, who is it sporting the 'tash??

someone must remember this,a few times I went and the place was so packed they used to open up the beachcomber to put all the spare people in.Some of us used to go to the back of the room where there was a small flight of stairs at the top somebody kicked some pannelling in and we were under the bloody stage,we went along on all fours to the front of the stage kicked that out and hey presto all these folk spilling onto the dancefloor in their winter coats,me being one of them and then quickly mergeing in to the crowd.Far as I know no one was caught...........someone else must have been in this group that night

Yep I was one of those people.. and if I remember rightly the buggers locked us in the beachcomber cos there was quite a few of us millin about as the train from Crewe was about 2 hours late.

My friend Elaine was dressed all in white and looked a treat after being dragged along under that stage. It was up the stairs and into Ms trying to blend in with everyone else. Hilarious!! Never did it again tho to young and too scared of getting caught. happy days

'Hilda Woods ate my hamster' made me smile.

Piano tuner's post made me laugh.

Sneaked in a few times by going in on my knees during the rush, got caught a few times as well .

Tears rolling down my cheeks!

Just brilliant Neil, ah thanks for that mate.

Still laughing..

The night something hit me on the head, i bent down to pick it up and it was a plastic bag full of blue capsules, one of my mates promptly took them off me, then came back about an hour later and gave me a load of cash, back to the record bar for me

Terry Mac, Dusty & Libby [Runcorn] & meself were on it at the beginning but after a few weeks there was more soulies queing in the alley

When was this Garv?...

Used to travel up from Runcorn with Dusty (Pete) and Libby (Les) most weeks.....

On 18/03/2008 at 22:39, Zed1 said:

OH-NO!...... someones mentioned the 'W' Word!.

 

So......

 

'Wigan stopped being a credible venue after 1975'

 

'People only went to dress up in Comedy Trousers'

 

'They only ever played the Wigan joker, Frank Wilson and some record about a Snake'

 

'The Toilets were a joke'

 

'The Pies were not very Warm'

 

'I never went... but it was still crap'

 

'Why can't people move on?'

 

'Hilda Woods ate my Hamster'

 

 

Right!...... I've saved everyone the trouble of the 'usual' Pointless posts whenever Wigan is mentioned, so carry on!.....

 

That should see this thread drop off the board like a stone now.

I agree I stopped  also in late 76 as it turned in a Circus full o divs

My first niter sat on the stage with a family size  bottle of coca cola only had one sip never saw it again great times great mates and some top tunes

On 24/01/2019 at 10:01, Paul shirley said:

I agree I stopped  also in late 76 as it turned in a Circus full o divs

too young to go, just curious what you mean by 'it turned in a Circus full o divs' - I do have a memory of people saying how Northern Soul was 'done' and Jazz Funk was the new thing (maybe 78/79)- i was just a kid in an environment where rare soul was a thing in my family, maybe don't remember correctly

Edited January 29, 20196 yr by Shufflin

Media reports resulting in coach loads of 'tourists' turning up to see what it was all about, Top of the pops featuring Wigan dancers, record companies cashing in, High waister trousers etc in High Street shops. Basically what was once an underground scene suddenly became available to the masses. First two years were great. I pulled out shortly before 3rd Anniversary so I can't speak for what happened after that, but many saw it through to the bitter end and would count those years as the best years of their lives.

Always paid to get in - well worth the price of entry. Beachcomber warm-up was free and a welcome haunt when introduced. 1975 Footsee period was a bit of a media-frenzy with huge numbers of new faces but most dressed the part, lads and lasses. The crowd was the best dressed in the country bar none. 1976 was a good year. 1977 was a good year despite the Oldies v Newies debate - we still danced to The Flasher, Big Nasty, Kim Tolliver etc. 1978 was a good year. 1979 was possibly the last I went so cannot comment comment beyond then. I think the great times totally outweighed the bad so we can wallow in nostalgia 45 years down the road. The 70’s decade was generally a time of austerity but those who got to Wigan had the good fortune to be in the right place at the right time.

My first niter sat on the stage with a family size  bottle of coca cola only had one sip never saw it again great times great mates and some top tunes my first car was an hilliam imp with Wigan soul club across the windscreen how many mates did I have on sat night julian   mick r etc think we got 6 in one sat from imp and white heart in chorley.malcoms musicland for some great imports and my nan for ironing my Spencer's still collecting and DJ ing at leyland soul club next one on 22nd Feb ktf cheers nick