Frankie Crocker

Hi Tim. On the one hand, trouser width may appear to be a trite issue. On the other, the discussion relates to past values and norms - if you don’t know where you’ve come from, how do you have a clue where you might end up? Sure the scene keeps harping back to a Golden Age, but perhaps some of those things that made it rosy then are missing now. A conversation on the scene today may well include remarks saying all’s fab as you can wear what you want, but that demotes the importance of cultural identity linked to music, dancing and fashion on which the scene was based in the first place.

No, of course not. But in the 70’s, many, perhaps most households owned a record player. The adults bought the records and the children played with them. Teenagers spent their pocket money on chart records and some went a lot further getting into obscure forms of music, acquiring a serious vinyl addiction as they went along. This of course rarely happens nowadays, even with a diddy vinyl upsurge we keep hearing about.

It just occurred to me, is it the high prices of records that could be deterring youngsters from joining the scene or is it a range of other factors? Sure, not everyone on the scene today actually buys records but is it the impossibility of building a large collection putting off potential youngsters?

Fair point. Know what you mean. There’s You Tube clips I just can’t bear to watch. On the other hand, some video clips show off the dress-making skills of lasses who have evidently gone the extra mile to attire themselves in bespoke way to enjoy dancing to the music that moves us.

I like much of what you say. But when I bought a pair of work trousers in Eastbourne in 1978, they were wide bottomed bags. Kids at the time had side pockets at thigh level on their school trousers. Sure, a new era of club fashion was dawning and becoming more visible on the High Street. Wigans Ovation reflected what people were wearing whenever they appeared on Top Of The Pops, a trend that went nationwide with Footsee exposure in 1975. In the mid to late 70’s, High Street chains were churning out wide waistband, multi-pocketed bags before jeans became narrower in 1977/78. Cuban-heels were taken on by brogues in 1973, the former fading away by 1974/75. By 1975, leather bomber jackets became vogue on the soul scene at a time when the public barely considered them but by the end of the decade, denim and cord jackets had been widely supplemented by them. Soul scene clothing in the 70’s was a distinctive part of the ritual. The underground scene embraced it with a passing nod to the Mod scene and football fan attire. By the end of the decade, Northern cult gear had given way to the new styles that prevail today. But if someone wants to wear 70’s retro-gear in 2018, I say let them - it was fine back in the day and should be accepted today.

It looked the height of coolness at the time in 1973/74 to us fresh to the scene. It looked great during the Golden Age. Sure it can look out of place in today’s venues but full marks for the retro-crowd for flying the flag. Other nostalgia scenes contine to wear their cult gear and it looks fine. By the early 80’s, Northern dress styles had moved on, perhaps in line with the music or the new recruits who opted for High Street fashion. The Casino pictures of the final months could have been taken at any Sixth Form bop or at least the less sweaty discos of the time.

Read the text properly. When Wigan was experiencing the boom years, tourist divvies could be spotted wearing regular jeans, Levi jackets and ordinary shoes as trainer’s were not as common as they are today. With the arrival of the 80’s disco-funk sounds, peg-leg jeans became vogue, worn with a dangly belt, capped t-shirt and occasionally plastic sandals. These new to the scene folk wanted to dress like Brian Ferry but they did’t hang around long as the Casino closed so they went back to dancing to Gary Numan on Top of the Pops. British fashion followed the soul scene in the 70’s but was always a year or two behind. Skinners followed Wranglers. Spencers followed cords. Bags followed parallels. Collared shirts followed bowling shirts. Cardigans, bomber jackets, leather trench coats, it was the underground soul scene that led the way. When New York disco wear crossed the Atlantic to Blackpool, then the Ritz, Birmingham Locarno etc, clubbers in Britain soon followed suit and so too did High Street fashion.

Cracking tune mate. On the All Platinum subsidiary label so it must be disco🤔

It’s all a bit of a blur to me. Once we called the 70’s sounds ‘Newies’ but now we call it ‘Crossover’. Disco sounds or rather commercial nightclub music can be soulful hence it being appreciated by those with the gift of good taste. There’s Rare Soul and commercial soul but both have their merits and of course their weaknesses. The genres offer some context, if only for conversation - not all soul music is the same so pigeon holes help to differentiate things. The main thing is though, if it’s soulful, it’s good and that’s what really counts.

When Wigan opened in 1973, there was a self-imposed dress code for the gents and lasses. Not a uniform, but sharp gear for dancing in. This changed somewhat after 1977 with the disco-soul fashion pushed by Blackpool Mecca and the Manchester Ritz. By 1978 the scene was split dress-wise but the whole nation was wearing clobber popularised by soulies up and down the country. I think it’s good to see old soulies sporting the gear they once wore. It is not a uniform. Neither is it clown-wear as the naive suggest. It’s smart, distinctive, often made to measure and reminiscent of a golden age. Back in the day, only divvies wore trainers and narrow jeans to soul do’s. Nobody ever feared the punks at Wigan, they ran a mile and it was the drug squad who had trembling knees as they wasted their time on fruitless bag searches. As I’ve said before on Soul Source, trainers don’t enhance the look but I concede there’s a few nifty dancers who prefer them...somebody give them a pair of brogues for Christmas please...

Copy still up for grabs... A pristine copy just sold on a Manship auction for £322. This copy is not quite as perfect with a superficial stylus mark and a couple of storage rubs to the label. Comes in the company sleeve it was filed in having sat in a large collection for the last 40 years or so. All in all, a beautiful copy that needs a good home...

Very nice copy in Excellent condition up for grabs at £175 plus £7.50 postage to UK address, overseas by arrangement. One non-feelable stylus scratch and a couple of slight label rubs stop this being mint. PM to reserve please. Send email address for photos. Payment by PayPal preferred (buyer to cover fees). Thanks for looking.

Well known photo but you can not see Anna’s face. The Casino manager, Mike Walker, is at the table suggesting it is a ‘meet the press’ formality. The lasses around the table seem to be making up the numbers with a photographer. The suited gents in the background suggest this is not an Allniter photo but could be a Saturday evening disco snapshot. Still waiting for Anna to confirm she was an ‘early fan’ as the photo caption suggests.

Yes, familiar with it. So, did she visit just the once for the purpose of work or did she put on a pleated skirt, high-heeled wedges and t-shirt to dance the night away on other occasions?

An interesting article that suggests Anna Ford attended the Casino as a reporter. Folklore has it that she went to the Casino and by inference was a regular soulie, but I’ve long since dismissed this as an urban legend of no substance.

PM to reserve. Send email address for scans or further info. Payment by PayPal (buyer to cover fees) preferred. Postage £2.50 to UK address - overseas postage by arrangement. Thanks for looking. Little Anthony & Imperials-Better Use Your Head- Veep (octagon label): VG+ SOL WOL £30 SOLD O’Jays-Hold On/Working On Your Case-Minit: VG+ DH SOL label wear £30 SOLD Superiors-Can’t Make It Without You-MGM DJ: VG+ date on label £30 Hot Tamales-Love’s Inventions-Detroit DJ: Ex WOL on flip £30 Linda Mackey-Yours For The Asking-Claire: VG+ £25

PM to reserve. Send email address for scans or further info. Payment by PayPal (buyer covers fees). Postage £2.50 to UK address. Thanks for looking. Mamie Galore-It Ain’t Necessary-St Lawrence: M- £15 SOLD Sammy Taylor-Don’t Lie (Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye)-Enjoy: M- £15 Frank Butler-How I Feel About You-Space Age: M- £15 Shelley Fisher-Big City Lights-Aries: M- £15

Couldn’t get the link to play on the iPad, but this is one of the best records ever spun on the scene, made for audience participation and as you say, hugely atmospheric.

Hi Pete. I don’t think the Northern Soul scene has gone corporate and it never will. The whole roadshow is put on by dedicated amateurs, promoters who generally make a loss or barely break even, DJ’s who never get paid and punters who pay a fiver to hear thousand pound rarities. As a business model, it really sucks so massive credit should be given to the lynchpins of the scene who promote weekenders ie Kev, Ady, Pat et al... As I was watching Friday’s BBC 4 programme about super-clubs, I thought back to the Casino days when there was a glitter-ball that didn’t revolve and only one UV strip light working as the other was broken. I don’t think that much has changed looking around at the host of small venues, Tower Ballroom excepted of course. The Northern scene is still for the chosen few and not the masses who settle for computer assisted, commercial EDM and long may it be so.

Thanks for this Rob. Like yourself, I’ve been to Vegas on numerous occasions, catching The Coasters, Drifters and Platters at a casino lounge in 2006. Further down the road, very few of the 60’s artists that were still performing at the turn of the millennium are active, but it must have been some consolation for them to be on stage in Vegas.

I think a lot of the dancers featured were so far off their trees, they would have no recollection of what happened. True, the labels and artists were hugely overlooked, but the punters didn’t seem to be bothered about what they were grooving to - perhaps the collective experience overshadows the quality of the music? Everything I’ve read by Dave Haslam has been excellent, so his book on clubs for £3 is a real steal.

I watched and enjoyed the programme even though there wasn‘t much in the way of soul music. For someone who missed out on all of the clubs featured, it was an eye-opener. Clearly young people have a giant demand for opportunities to dance all night long, which begs the question, why not join in on a Northern dancefloor? Maybe EDM is the latest sound for the masses with mass raves for 50,000 which makes the Northern scene a deep dark secret by comparison. Next Friday’s show will be featuring DJ’s, but given the cult of celebrity, I doubt if anyone familiar will feature.

Programme on the TV tonight looking at the development of club culture over the last 30 years. Last Friday’s programme had a really good look at Chicago House, Detroit Techno and Philadelphia soul - very well presented making the links between 60’s soul and later types of dance music. Don’t think it is a repeat so could be worth checking out.

Well it’s Northern but not as you know it. Gone global. Gone local. Still the best music around but it’s now ubuiquitous, on TV, in the elevator, down the pub, wedding discos, zillions of You Tube clips etc. USA record reserves are drying up and UK collections are starting to flood the market but there’s no shortage of DJs. Good to see a resurgence in record decks and vinyl in general but I suspect that the younger generation has still some way to go before fully embracing this crazy scene. Good to see the truly dedicated are on Soul Source regularly and out on the floor from time-to-time, even though sleep deprivation is catching up with a few. The Weekender programme has picked up from where the Allnighter scene left off so plenty of action for fans of all ages suggesting there’s plenty of years ahead.

PM to reserve or send email address for further info/label scans. Payment by PayPal preferred, buyer to cover fees. Prices include postage, packing and insurance. Thanks for looking. Don Ray-Born A Loser-RCA DJ: Excellent apart from one non-feelable stylus scratch, couple of slight label rubs-£175 Flaming Emeralds-Have Some Everybody-Fee orange label: VG++/VG+, slight WOL, small label tear on instrumental side-£70 Del-Cords-Your Mommy Lied To Your Daddy-Impala: VG+ topside label clean but reverse has WOL and SOL-£50 Robert John-Raindrops, Love And Sunshine-A&M: Excellent-£65