Ive noticed on here quite an anti Wigan Casino vibe from no little amount of forum users...

Is this common across the whole scene?

Obviously not being of an age to have been there, from an outsiders view I always thought Wigan was the pinnacle of the Northern movement?!?

Can any of you give me a little background on this hostility?

It's something ive been amazed at to be honest and id like to know more...

Obviously not being of an age to have been there, from an outsiders view I always thought Wigan was the pinnacle of the Northern movement?!?

It was...DON'T LET ANYONE TELL YOU ANY DIFFERENT.

It was...DON'T LET ANYONE TELL YOU ANY DIFFERENT.

very true it certainly was take no notice

i think Beeks it's the case of they(mostly all) loved it at the time but have gotten a little pretentious over the years with being anoraks and it's in vogue to slag off the Wigan .

Just an opinion of course

I mean I've done a little reading on it...and I know there was quite a rivallry between the Blackpool Mecca and Wigan...but there seems to be more to it than that by the looks of it...

from day one,for the first 3/4 years it was the bollocks (and yes l was there from the first night) went almost every week.everything everyone else will say about the place it true.I personally like to see that the roses around the door however are not allowed to run riot ie great music played also a lot of shite,not everyone there was there for fun and not everyone there was your friend...in short it was a f**king shady place where concentration was required at all times lol.So as far as i'm concerned,great but don't lose our sense of reality atb tezza

It was a fantastic moment in time, never had a bad night there and I stood next to Tim Ashibend and we both shed a tear or two as they played the final three records on the 'first' last night. But I have said before, for me it wasn't the only venue that I enjoyed at that time. The Mecca at times was it's equal, but for different reasons, but that's just my opion.

Wigan, top club, great peeps, lots of great records and dj's.

i loved the place but it shut its doors 25 years ago as i have said before its time to let the old lady rest in peace its the venues now that matter.

Ive noticed on here quite an anti Wigan Casino vibe from no little amount of forum users...

Is this common across the whole scene?

Obviously not being of an age to have been there, from an outsiders view I always thought Wigan was the pinnacle of the Northern movement?!?

Can any of you give me a little background on this hostility?

It's something ive been amazed at to be honest and id like to know more...

Do you lie awake at night trying to think up stuff that will cause the most amount of arguments on here?

pmsl Joan very funny

Do you lie awake at night trying to think up stuff that will cause the most amount of arguments on here?

no argument from me this time joan lol.....still smarting from the manuel jibe lol..........

ITS A CAR PARK GET OVER IT LOL

Do you lie awake at night trying to think up stuff that will cause the most amount of arguments on here?

Why? Do you lie awake at night trying to think of contentious replys to my posts?

It was the dogs gonads

Fantastic memories and I met a lot of people that are still on the scene today.

It opened at the right time and probably closed at the right time, and was many peoples introduction to our brilliant music and I think made our scene stronger, just a thought how many people would not have got into Soul if it had not been for Wigan?

I for one could never knock it although it did have a down side with the "pop music" that was played but it didn't retract from the true soul sounds that were played and are still being played today..

Steve

It was a fantastic moment in time, never had a bad night there and I stood next to Tim Ashibend and we both shed a tear or two as they played the final three records on the 'first' last night. But I have said before, for me it wasn't the only venue that I enjoyed at that time. The Mecca at times was it's equal, but for different reasons, but that's just my opion.

Wigan, top club, great peeps, lots of great records and dj's.

Right on the money!

It was the dogs gonads

Fantastic memories and I met a lot of people that are still on the scene today.

It opened at the right time and probably closed at the right time, and was many peoples introduction to our brilliant music and I think made our scene stronger, just a thought how many people would not have got into Soul if it had not been for Wigan?

I for one could never knock it although it did have a down side with the "pop music" that was played but it didn't retract from the true soul sounds that were played and are still being played today..

Steve

Ditto!............................there will always be debates and opinions, personally I hated the "Teeny-Boppers" who went overboard with the gear, were not into the music, just the image....the TV, Tony Blackburn .... but it was a priceless time in my life which im proud to have been a part of.

I think people get abit anti Wigan because some people think that every soul night should be a mirror image of Wigan and others are asking them to wake up and smell the coffee.

memories are made of this - but thats waht they are - memories

I mean I've done a little reading on it...and I know there was quite a rivallry between the Blackpool Mecca and Wigan...but there seems to be more to it than that by the looks of it...

The rivallry only lasted for just over 3 years. The Mecca opened over 2 years before the Casino, and the Mecca had stopped playing Northern by 1977. Lets not forget that lots of people (me included) went to both venues. My fav. was the Mecca because the music to me was light years ahead.

The Highland Room 71 to the Powerhouse 08 (and everthing else in between)

Agree with Dave T and Steve L. For many of us I suspect that due to the sheer excitement of the place, it was probably the best. But then that was partly due to other things as well as the music. The size of it, the style of it, the fact that most of us were 'youngsters' who were part of a large but still relatively "underground' scene. The music has certainly been as good at other venues, both before and since it closed, for sure. I never did the Wheel and have heard great tales of nights there, and so for sheer excitement level, sustained over the whole allnighter, the Casino for me stands alone. I think the animosity comes when people want to turn the current scene into an 'Casinofest' of 70s memories. Great memories they are....but that's what they are, memories. I don't think that the Casino's atmosphere could ever be repeated nowadays as it was a 'time and place' thing as Dave T remarked. And for me. the record bar was like nothing ever since. 1000s of 45s being bought, sold, traded, talked about. All at 100mph! Great stuff.

I suppose the litmus test for me is..."If I could have one more night in any event/gig I've attended in the last 30 years, where would it be?"

Casino - Hands down every time.

Agree with many on here - we were young & all-niters were exciting places to be when you were aged between 16 & 20 - a time & a place & Wigan Casino for a short time in my life was fantastic - as was The Mecca - The Ritz - hearing new tunes - buying records - being with your mates - riding scooters - standing on football terraces - being young & enjoying yourself.

like most people that went to the casino,back in the days,i attended many other venus.cleethorpes,wakefield unity hall,ritz etc..but theres only one place that still to this day that just talking about it excites me..just the mention of this iconic establishment, brings back heartfelt memories that i know can never be replicated..sure i,ve moved on and are by no means an oldies dynasaur...probably just because those nights/mornings were some if not thee..best times in my life,and just thinking of them , makes me feel alright,(wow turley richards).

Agree with many on here - we were young & all-niters were exciting places to be when you were aged between 16 & 20 - a time & a place & Wigan Casino for a short time in my life was fantastic - as was The Mecca - The Ritz - hearing new tunes - buying records - being with your mates - riding scooters - standing on football terraces -being young & enjoying yourself.

Bloody hell Andy, this post has hit me like a hammer, the age thing

O well there,s still life in us yet as long as the music plays on

Dave

I had momments at wigan particulary circa 79 and Searling that will never be matched ie playing Eddie Jefferson for the Aycliffe crowd etc,also have many mixed feelings about the place,do agree it was a wonderful momment in time however.One thing i often think about is how sexy some of the young women were back then,they ozzed class when alot of the men just fritted about off heir boxes lol.

I did, will always prefer the intimacy of the smaller places in the eighties and early nineties,more friendly [wigan was full of nutters]and ofcourse the music had moved on.The mass hysteria sorrounding the Casino WILL NEVER BE JUSTIFIED it was after all just a building,and if i could go back now in the olD time machine id give at least 2 of the bouncers a good kicking cos there were bullies and wankers most of them lol.

BAZ A

Agree with many on here - we were young & all-niters were exciting places to be when you were aged between 16 & 20 - a time & a place & Wigan Casino for a short time in my life was fantastic - as was The Mecca - The Ritz - hearing new tunes - buying records - being with your mates - riding scooters - standing on football terraces - being young & enjoying yourself.

Does that include "Scoeys" Epic

Obviously not being of an age to have been there, from an outsiders view I always thought Wigan was the pinnacle of the Northern movement?!?

IMO It was a snapshot in time - where mostly good or great records were played - and where some absolute dross was played.

Sadly it became a cliche for 'Northern Soul'.

Northern Soul legendary venues included (in some kind of chronology):

The Mojo

The Twisted Wheel

The Torch

Blackpool Mecca

Wigan Casino

Samanthas

Cleethorpes (x2)

Clifton Hall (Rotherham)

Bradford Queens Hall

Stafford

Warrington Parr Hall

All of these were historic venues and all were responsible for breaking great records.

The crescendo, though, came at Wigan, eventually attracting huge media interest.

Huge numbers of people flooding onto the scene (over 100,000 members).

The perfect Nighter Venue.

Fantastic atmosphere!

Incredible record bar!

Pretty awesome Allnighter - and no wonder it became so popular.

It probably hung around too long for its own good - got very commercial and that's where, I guess, some of the hostility (bit of a strong word really) comes from. Most who'd been around Soul Music and the scene prior to Wigan saw it as a bit of a 'sell out' prefering the underground status that the scene had previously enjoyed.

Me and a bunch of mates went quite a lot (early days) but eventually got sick and tired of the 'pop' image, the eventual 'Last Nighter' palava and what appeared to many to be sheer exploitation.

Even before its actual demise a large number felt the Northern Soul scene was walking dead, left the scene, and missed out on what was to follow at other incredible venues throughout the UK.

Course, many have returned in recent years (having missed out entirely on the 80's and 90's) hankering after the nostalgia of Wigan, often uninterested in what came along post Casino. Fortunately, many of these folk are trying to catch up - but some are trapped 'freezeframe' in the nostalgia of Station Road.

Maybe those who aren't so caught up in the 'Wigan thing' often come across as hostile because they know there's much more to being a soul fan than that one period in our history!

But I must admit, by and large, it was a pretty awesome place and there's little wonder that people still speak of it with affection.

Sean

I had momments at wigan particulary circa 79 and Searling that will never be matched ie playing Eddie Jefferson for the Aycliffe crowd etc,also have many mixed feelings about the place,do agree it was a wonderful momment in time however.One thing i often think about is how sexy some of the young women were back then,they ozzed class when alot of the men just fritted about off heir boxes lol.

I did, will always prefer the intimacy of the smaller places in the eighties and early nineties,more friendly [wigan was full of nutters]and ofcourse the music had moved on.The mass hysteria sorrounding the Casino WILL NEVER BE JUSTIFIED it was after all just a building,and if i could go back now in the olD time machine id give at least 2 of the bouncers a good kicking cos there were bullies and wankers most of them lol.

BAZ A

Yes 79/80 great music being played but where were most of the crowd at the fri oldies night not sat.

Not much changed there than. My best times music wise was the last 2/3 years.

Does that include "Scoeys" Epic

Midweek do Levine on cira 74 near winter gardens if i remember

It was the dogs gonads

Fantastic memories and I met a lot of people that are still on the scene today.

It opened at the right time and probably closed at the right time, and was many peoples introduction to our brilliant music and I think made our scene stronger, just a thought how many people would not have got into Soul if it had not been for Wigan?

I for one could never knock it although it did have a down side with the "pop music" that was played but it didn't retract from the true soul sounds that were played and are still being played today..

Steve

Totally agree with ya...Richard Searling's sets during the last two years at Wigan...still takes some beating......Delxxxx

Totally agree with ya...Richard Searling's sets during the last two years at Wigan...still takes some beating......Delxxxx

Here,here don`t think to this day ive heard anything to rival some of those spots in the last two years, have a couple of old northern noise mags from then, searlings say so in there with his playlist WOW!!! this of course is only a personal opinion, but i think those years may have been the begining of the RARE soul scene as we know it today, will never forget him playing things like moses dillard, court davis, little ann etc it was just a brilliant time, and at a time when really the place was on its knees, i stuck out the saturday night sessions it was a shame to see how the attendances had dropped but there was some trully great music played, great memories for me anyway

Bloody hell Andy, this post has hit me like a hammer, the age thing

O well there,s still life in us yet as long as the music plays on

Dave

A great sentiment 1 which l share with you Dave, Wigan was a great place for me and l loved it, the bad sound system, the wade in the water routine on visting the dated loo's, the thread bare sticky stairs carpet and beyond, Mr M's , especially dancing on the balcony dance floor in there, the many bodys littering the corridors, bags stacked x amount of feet high up walls and against the pillars, and the morning after coming out into daylight and realising that tops esp white ones were covered in big dark brown stains, nicotine stained condensation dipping from the very high ceiling in the main hall being the culprit, oooh heaven some of the most happiest days of my life, and like wise to others l 'd do it all again tomorrow given the chance. Yet it didnt stop me progressing in my learning thirst and quest of soulful music.

Happy days.

Sandi

A great sentiment 1 which l share with you Dave, Wigan was a great place for me and l loved it, the bad sound system, the wade in the water routine on visting the dated loo's, the thread bare sticky stairs carpet and beyond, Mr M's , especially dancing on the balcony dance floor in there, the many bodys littering the corridors, bags stacked x amount of feet high up walls and against the pillars, and the morning after coming out into daylight and realising that tops esp white ones were covered in big dark brown stains, nicotine stained condensation dipping from the very high ceiling in the main hall being the culprit, oooh heaven some of the most happiest days of my life, and like wise to others l 'd do it all again tomorrow given the chance. Yet it didnt stop me progressing in my learning thirst and quest of soulful music.

Happy days.

Sandi

Edited July 27, 200817 yr by Malc Burton

Hey Sean you missed the 100 club all-nighters around 1981-1985 .

it seemed to get part of the 60's resurgence/mafia off the ground

A great sentiment 1 which l share with you Dave, Wigan was a great place for me and l loved it, the bad sound system, the wade in the water routine on visting the dated loo's, the thread bare sticky stairs carpet and beyond, Mr M's , especially dancing on the balcony dance floor in there, the many bodys littering the corridors, bags stacked x amount of feet high up walls and against the pillars, and the morning after coming out into daylight and realising that tops esp white ones were covered in big dark brown stains, nicotine stained condensation dipping from the very high ceiling in the main hall being the culprit, oooh heaven some of the most happiest days of my life, and like wise to others l 'd do it all again tomorrow given the chance. Yet it didnt stop me progressing in my learning thirst and quest of soulful music.

Happy days.

Sandi

Whether you loved or loathed the place , there is no disputing the musical ( except for the " dark side " period ) - and cultural - contribution Wigan Casino made during its' life , and has made since its' closure , to the scene ........

I am going to play the devil's advocate here .........

How different would the scene have been if The Casino had never existed ? ............

Malc Burton

morning malc, very good point mate, makes you wonder would the places like the the torch, cleethorpes, mecca etc have carried the banner as much has wigan has over the years? there was some trully great music from those venues as well,but would the history of been the same? suppose we`ll never know wigan in so many ways has overshadowed so many other venues imo

Ive noticed on here quite an anti Wigan Casino vibe from no little amount of forum users...

Is this common across the whole scene?

Obviously not being of an age to have been there, from an outsiders view I always thought Wigan was the pinnacle of the Northern movement?!?

Can any of you give me a little background on this hostility?

It's something ive been amazed at to be honest and id like to know more...

Without "beating about the bush",and having frequented the venue on many occasions over its duration, and taking on board the"warts and all" experiences personally encountered, I for one am grateful of the "privelige", that has had so much influence on my "social life" to date and for one have no regrets for the overall experience. ...I do wonder however how much, critics who never actually had the opportunity first hand, tend to somewhat knock the place...... they may have never had the opportunity of actually visiting......just an observation.....

Wigan Casino was the bollocks, END OF--FACT. cya

Wigan Casino was the bollocks, END OF--FACT. cya

Everyone has their favourite - and cherished - venue : If like my marra Paul , The Casino was it for you , so be it .........

Paul , as with other people who know me , know where my heart lies in respect of a favourite venue : I have openly admitted that I was never overly fond of The Casino : I had a love / hate releationship with it , possibly due to having been spoilt by its' predecessor , but I knew - and admitted - from that opening night that there was a certain " something " about the place , and given the chance and time , it had the makings of a great venue - which it proved to be ........

A person's values , reasons and opinions in the case of a venue such as The Casino , are very much like their stand on music , clothes . food , religion or whatever : their views are special and important to them , and therefore should be given total respect ........

If The Casino was not your perfect venue , please do not keep going on about it ........

Malc Burton

Edited July 28, 200817 yr by Malc Burton

Ive noticed on here quite an anti Wigan Casino vibe from no little amount of forum users...

Is this common across the whole scene?

Obviously not being of an age to have been there, from an outsiders view I always thought Wigan was the pinnacle of the Northern movement?!?

Can any of you give me a little background on this hostility?

It's something ive been amazed at to be honest and id like to know more...

Some of the comments on here about The Casino on here have been very interesting to say the least, so being someone who went regular to Wigan for the first year (up to the first anniversary with Edwin Starr headlining if my memory serves me well) and remembering being blown away by the atmoshere the first time i went, just sitting on the balcony taking it all in, the dancers, the sounds the people etc but like every thing there were the bad sides like wadeing through piss in the toilets so your trouser bottoms didn't get soaked, having to go to the toilets with mates in case you got rolled over by arse holes thinking you had drugs on you they wanted off you without paying for them, never did the drug thing myself as the music did it for me, then while we are on the subject of music it went downhill when Russ introduced the tailor made Northern instumentals and crap vocals put onto instumentals as supplied by our friend Simmon and just out and out pop music getting played

But on it went, untill realising because of requests for certain tracks at Wigan punters had heard at Cleethorpes Pier/Winter gardens Wigan realised they had BIG competition which brings me on to whether the scene could have carried on in the way that it has without what the Casino had done well, yes it could and the reason i say this is because one particular weekend the Casino hired the Winter Gardens on the SAME nite as the Pier with ALL their top guns djing but the Gardens was empty all but for the dj's and their wives/girlfriends, not even the Wiganites who regulaly came to Cleethorpes deserted the Pier, now you tell me, would this happen to day, i think not, and did the Casino try this with any other venue? NO

So the one venue that was in my opinion (and not just because i was an original dj there) was for me Miles better in the quality of music played (60's and 70's) and could have held that mantel mentioned elsewhere in this thread, the Casino knew it that that is why they did what they did, we were just unlucky that we were closed down by the Council because of presure from the police leading to no more all nite licences being granted, The Casino was a great place to be for me for a while, loved it but it took a turn for the worse but i will always remember the GOOD times i had at the Casino and the GREAT times i had at Cleethorpes. Rick Scott

PS Strange how the Casino survived the Drugs thing, the rumoured deaths due to drugs at the Casino (is this true?) and conspiracy theories as to who had relatives in high places (allegedly) mmmm i feel another thread cominng on.........................

Some of the comments on here about The Casino on here have been very interesting to say the least, so being someone who went regular to Wigan for the first year (up to the first anniversary with Edwin Starr headlining if my memory serves me well) and remembering being blown away by the atmoshere the first time i went, just sitting on the balcony taking it all in, the dancers, the sounds the people etc but like every thing there were the bad sides like wadeing through piss in the toilets so your trouser bottoms didn't get soaked, having to go to the toilets with mates in case you got rolled over by arse holes thinking you had drugs on you they wanted off you without paying for them, never did the drug thing myself as the music did it for me, then while we are on the subject of music it went downhill when Russ introduced the tailor made Northern instumentals and crap vocals put onto instumentals as supplied by our friend Simmon and just out and out pop music getting played

But on it went, untill realising because of requests for certain tracks at Wigan punters had heard at Cleethorpes Pier/Winter gardens Wigan realised they had BIG competition which brings me on to whether the scene could have carried on in the way that it has without what the Casino had done well, yes it could and the reason i say this is because one particular weekend the Casino hired the Winter Gardens on the SAME nite as the Pier with ALL their top guns djing but the Gardens was empty all but for the dj's and their wives/girlfriends, not even the Wiganites who regulaly came to Cleethorpes deserted the Pier, now you tell me, would this happen to day, i think not, and did the Casino try this with any other venue? NO

So the one venue that was in my opinion (and not just because i was an original dj there) was for me Miles better in the quality of music played (60's and 70's) and could have held that mantel mentioned elsewhere in this thread, the Casino knew it that that is why they did what they did, we were just unlucky that we were closed down by the Council because of presure from the police leading to no more all nite licences being granted, The Casino was a great place to be for me for a while, loved it but it took a turn for the worse but i will always remember the GOOD times i had at the Casino and the GREAT times i had at Cleethorpes. Rick Scott

PS Strange how the Casino survived the Drugs thing, the rumoured deaths due to drugs at the Casino (is this true?) and conspiracy theories as to who had relatives in high places (allegedly) mmmm i feel another thread cominng on.........................

Hi Richard ..........

Just a sideline to your posting / reply , but it does have relevence .........

When I promoted Wakefield Unity , and was using Richard , Minsh , John Vincent , Martyn Ellis and Dave Evison on a regular basis at the Friday all - nighters , Mike Walker threatened me with legal action if I continued to use them stating that they were employed solely by The Casino .....

Richard told him to b******s , and Martyn told him " no chance , they pay me more " .......

Shortly after we started enjoying success at WU with the Friday all - nighters , The Casino " competed " , and started to having a regular friday one ........

As for conspiracy theories , I have heard - but never been able to prove - that MW was involved in getting me ousted from the Unity ......

Malc Burton

Edited July 28, 200817 yr by Malc Burton

Hi Richard ..........

Just a sideline to your posting / reply , but it does have relevence .........

When I promoted Wakefield Unity , and was using Richard , Minsh , John Vincent , Martyn Ellis and Dave Evison on a regular basis at the Friday all - nighters , Mike Walker threatened me with legal action if I continued to use them stating that they were employed solely by The Casino .....,

Shortly after we started enjoying success at WU on a friday with all - nighters , The Casino started to having a regular friday one ........

As for conspiracy theories , I have heard - but never been able to prove - that MW was involved in getting me ousted from the Unity ......

Malc Burton

Hi Malc, Didn't know that, Just makes you realise how paranoid some people are, by the way how is Paul Rowan these days, i text him and not had replies, has he changed his phone number by chance?

Brilliant Sean.............very well put, balanced post.............I loved Wigan to bits, but its gone, its about the music, there were & always will be other venues, onwards & upwads.

Russ

IMO It was a snapshot in time - where mostly good or great records were played - and where some absolute dross was played.

Sadly it became a cliche for 'Northern Soul'.

Northern Soul legendary venues included (in some kind of chronology):

The Mojo

The Twisted Wheel

The Torch

Blackpool Mecca

Wigan Casino

Samanthas

Cleethorpes (x2)

Clifton Hall (Rotherham)

Bradford Queens Hall

Stafford

Warrington Parr Hall

All of these were historic venues and all were responsible for breaking great records.

The crescendo, though, came at Wigan, eventually attracting huge media interest.

Huge numbers of people flooding onto the scene (over 100,000 members).

The perfect Nighter Venue.

Fantastic atmosphere!

Incredible record bar!

Pretty awesome Allnighter - and no wonder it became so popular.

It probably hung around too long for its own good - got very commercial and that's where, I guess, some of the hostility (bit of a strong word really) comes from. Most who'd been around Soul Music and the scene prior to Wigan saw it as a bit of a 'sell out' prefering the underground status that the scene had previously enjoyed.

Me and a bunch of mates went quite a lot (early days) but eventually got sick and tired of the 'pop' image, the eventual 'Last Nighter' palava and what appeared to many to be sheer exploitation.

Even before its actual demise a large number felt the Northern Soul scene was walking dead, left the scene, and missed out on what was to follow at other incredible venues throughout the UK.

Course, many have returned in recent years (having missed out entirely on the 80's and 90's) hankering after the nostalgia of Wigan, often uninterested in what came along post Casino. Fortunately, many of these folk are trying to catch up - but some are trapped 'freezeframe' in the nostalgia of Station Road.

Maybe those who aren't so caught up in the 'Wigan thing' often come across as hostile because they know there's much more to being a soul fan than that one period in our history!

But I must admit, by and large, it was a pretty awesome place and there's little wonder that people still speak of it with affection.

Sean

Ive noticed on here quite an anti Wigan Casino vibe from no little amount of forum users...

Is this common across the whole scene?

Obviously not being of an age to have been there, from an outsiders view I always thought Wigan was the pinnacle of the Northern movement?!?

Can any of you give me a little background on this hostility?

It's something ive been amazed at to be honest and id like to know more...

In it's day it was the place to be. But that was 25-30 years ago.

I think a lot of the hostility comes about because the scene for many of us has moved on.....but some still hanker back to the days and fashions of Wigan, and musically haven't moved on either. OK it's well known I don't rate russ winstanley and a few others as well, but as Dell says Richard Searling was just awesome there week in week out, and he wasn't alone.

In it's day it was the place to be. But that was 25-30 years ago.

I think a lot of the hostility comes about because the scene for many of us has moved on.....but some still hanker back to the days and fashions of Wigan, and musically haven't moved on either. OK it's well known I don't rate russ winstanley and a few others as well, but as Dell says Richard Searling was just awesome there week in week out, and he wasn't alone.

Too true steve it was 25-30yrs ago, and those searling spots WERE fantastic, probably the highlight of my soul life, but we have to move on to keep things going and i`m hearing some fantastic stuff nowadays and loving it as much as i ever did, maybe i`m wrong but the enthusiasm of youth was also a factor back then imo, plus the regularity of the event, you met your mates from far and wide EVERY week, wich also as well as music made it a big social eventas well, as malc burton said in an earlier post how would the history of the scene have changd without wigan

from day one,for the first 3/4 years it was the bollocks (and yes l was there from the first night) went almost every week.everything everyone else will say about the place it true.I personally like to see that the roses around the door however are not allowed to run riot ie great music played also a lot of shite,not everyone there was there for fun and not everyone there was your friend...in short it was a f**king shady place where concentration was required at all times lol.So as far as i'm concerned,great but don't lose our sense of reality atb tezza

I've spoke to people who talk about fights / dodgy dealers / people nicking jackets at knife point etc etc but when you hear Russ Winstanley talking it was a vision of Utopia?!?

I would have loved to have gone by the way, and of course the early Cleethorpes / Mecca nights / nighters - anybody got a time machine i can borrow?

Ste

Ste.

I went from the beginning to 78 and it was awasome. yes like any venue it went through bad patches, but overall it was simply fantastic and I for one, an glad i was aorund to enjoy it and all the other venues, Torch, Mecca, Central etc.

Wigan will always be loved or hated (mainly loved).

Oh and as some have said, it could be a dangerous place, so long as you were streetwise thought you were OK. But I found that the Beachcomber, where we all waited to go into the Casino, was a very dangerous place!

According to a Keb Darge interview, he had enough when he went one night and they played The Who...when did this happen? Towards the end I imagine.

We will never see the likes of it again, unless you were there it's hard to describe people running from upstairs down to the dance floor when one of the big plays came on, especially if you were going in the other direction, you ended up back downstairs. How we danced on such a crowded dance floor is beyond me. It was the youth of it all, yes it could also be a bad place those demands for 10p when you visited the bogs were a pain, though I never paid up I always felt uncomfortable. Wading through the piss to have a piss was a not a great experience either. Six deep at the record bar trying to push your way to the front to buy the latest set of pressings before they sold out. Musically yes there were suspect records played, no different today really. Great acts backed by crap bands. Custom made tunes. TV and newspaper coverage. The Casino had it all the good, bad and the ugly, but for anybody who attend it mostly has great memories as we were young, foolish and happy, and ruled the world.

Mark

According to a Keb Darge interview, he had enough when he went one night and they played The Who...when did this happen? Towards the end I imagine.

I was told that was 1979

I get the feeling some people want the wigan tunes now and others don't.

nostalgia of times gone by or move on and listen to songs prehaps not discovered or not made into big sounds at wigan.

For me I could compare this to going to some smaller lesser documented house clubs circa ealy 90s and having just as good if not better times than in the superclubs like cream etc etc.

smaller venues being more intimate and prehaps also more progressive the larger venues having to catering for a much larger prehaps easier pleased audience.

For me I could compare this to going to some smaller lesser documented house clubs circa ealy 90s and having just as good if not better times than in the superclubs like cream etc etc.

Happy to say I never set foot in the place...by the time it opened its doors the scene was already dead...Quadrant Park was the only house club in Liverpool worth going to...and that was circa 89...I liken it to Wigan Casino in the sense I had probably the best times of my life in there...

I get the feeling some people want the wigan tunes now and others don't.

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im defo one of the former and slowly but surely all the soounds are coming back

for every naff wigan theyres 10 gr8 ones!

love em all me ..good or bad!

apart from mickey mouse concerto

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im defo one of the former and slowly but surely all the soounds are coming back

for every naff wigan theyres 10 gr8 ones!

love em all me ..good or bad!

apart from mickey mouse concerto

I don't know about that but I was there when someone (possibly Russ Winstanley) played The Ozark Mountain Daredevils.....I kid ye not.

KTF

Baz

According to a Keb Darge interview, he had enough when he went one night and they played The Who...when did this happen? Towards the end I imagine.