Frankie Crocker

As suspected, far from a normal Saturday/Sunday 'Niter. Many regulars stayed away. The smaller-than-usual crowd numbered unfamiliar faces. The dancefloor was brightly lit and clusters of on-lookers were standing around. The cameras homed in on anyone spinning around then falling down. Such were the theatrics, the music at the time and later when dubbed, was irrelevant as the acrobats threw themselves to the floor when the camera approached rather than at a significant break in the track. The programme might have titillated some nostalgic Northerners but it was a travesty for the Casino and a slur on the Northern Soul scene that the media keep trying to match even today.

'The Lady In Red' perhaps?

Why stick at £150? Better to blow £1,500 on some all-time classics or £15,000 on a hot-box of current biggies. If you're short of funds, buy the records you like one at a time, saving up what it takes to fund the next purchase.

Yep, it's Wardie and he's on Soul Source. His spot in the limelight is him doing just that, being in front of the camera which until then had been focusing on Pete Ricketts. Credit where it's due, great bit of footwork... got to be a 70's shuffler.

Interesting question. Having seen the original programme and a video-tape of it many times, all the tracks were Wigan classics from the heyday. The soundtrack sounds loud and clear, rather than 'live' with all the crowd babble. The clips of the dancers are unlikely to be synchronised with a dub of the actual track fresh from a studio tape - that seems like a lot of extra work. So, I would guess the producer reached for obvious tracks by Judy Street, MVP's, Popcorn Wylie etc. Just an educated guess really but it would be good to hear the real story from a TV connection.

Tasty name, powerful name or myterious name...all tempting. Now, Adams Apples, are they hippies, new-age religion or a part of the anatomy? Give a group a daft name and it might not appeal to potential DJ's, record buyers, promoters etc.

Record was pretty scratched so interest was limited. First issue I've seen up for grabs. DJ copies surely outnumber demos by 10:1 at a rough guess. Great tune and evidently an in-demand top 500 oldie. Their other track on Brunswick lists at £100 and is hard to come by. The group were overlooked at the time, possibly because they had an odd name. Sorry, no info on the topic but interested to hear anything.

No, not really. The Friday Oldies Allnighters complimented the Saturday session. With two Allnighters at the weekend, punters could take their pick. As Saturday's tended to veer towards commercial sounds and 'newies', following the Mecca instead of steaming ahead, regulars headed for the Friday sessions. Friday's Motown sessions also complimented the Saturday with people attending both in many cases. Wigan Casino didn't end until it finally closed, but sure, the sounds varied along the way: Levine at Blackpool was responsible for the scene changing direction whilst Russ at the Casino opted for a few too many contemporary records when there were plenty of oldies awaiting discovery. The Friday sessions were possibly the forerunner of all the Oldies events in decades to come, so we should be thankful for their introduction.

If the record is cracked then this characteristic defines the grading and is the most important factor that would induce a buyer to pay a discounted sum for it. By all means, describe the vinyl in accurate terms but highlight the fact that it's cracked. If the price is right, someone will buy it.

Initial response, what a load of pseudo-mumbo jumbo and why does some academic feel a social scene based on musical taste should be analysed? Who is Wall anyway? Sure, more lads went to Wigan Casino than lasses, and maybe the dance floor reflected this, but there were obvious reasons for the difference. I doubt the assertion that lasses outnumber the lads dancefloor nowadays but of course there will be exceptions given the more localised nature of the scene. My recollections of Wigan in the latter half of the 70's bring back memories of 13-16 year old school kids rather than 'men' doing much of the acrobatics, with media interest focusing on the 'spectacle'- in reality, most of the crowd stayed on their feet avoiding the limelight. Huddled around the main room, balcony and M's were hundreds of lasses from all points of the compass, having a good time, and now probably bewildered that somebody wants to write about their Saturday night out 40 years ago...

Hi Ted. Good to see you're back in business. I watched this one sell and wasn't surprised to see what it fetched. Manship #7 has it significantly undervalued. The six white label sales on Popsike are mainly Jamie/Guydnen but two are not, one thought to be Jamaican and the other unknown? Maybe a story here perhaps? Good luck with your quest.

Good clip. Move over Michael Flatley. These girls know their stuff. Proper dancing. Dancers moving to the beat, feet following the music, having a good time, no showing off, how it should be done. I could watch this all day long.

Spot on. Requires a flexible outlook. Takes more skill based on experience. It's not just about throwing in a backdrop-kung fu kick sequence...

According to Manship #5, it may be a boot as the O in BRoS is smaller than the other three capitals. The original and boot demos are virtually identical apart from the matrix markings, the info from solidsoul above being particularly relevant. You could check out Popsike to see the variants and differentiating detail - one sold for about £200 a few months back if I recall and that looked pretty real.

Someone must have. John Manship auctioned one a month or two ago and it fetched £300 plus. Tim Brown had one at set sale a fortnight ago which presumably sold at £250. Both were original issues. Demos keep popping up for sale all over the place so surely outnumber issues. Most 'issues' up for sale are actually boots so caution is advised, buy from a dealer really in the know.

Back to the clip. Vaguely recall seeing it on a TV at a soul-night in Central London a few years ago. How many copies of the original take are out there? I would have thought the only person worried about the WCF clip was the person who removed it from the BBC archive: that said, I don't suppose the BBC cares who took it. The only people who have an interest in the video clip are us so can we please have it back?

Great clip. I always thought I was going to a club in Wigan and now it turns out to be a discotheque. But now there's hope for us all as we enter our 60's and 70's - clapping competitions instead of dance-offs. Bags I clap to Tainted Love...

Obituary in the Times today, page 54. Plenty of interesting points raised. The label Phil established has to be one of the best with so many good sounds from a host of artists.

Sounds awful... The Goodies were just so excruciatingly bad even then. Great news there is no evidence of this, unless of course someone puts a clip up on YouTube...

Thanks for this Steve. I have the Chosen Few record but it has not been played in 20 years. I really wanted to know about the dance troupe - who chose the dancers and what were the dancers' names? I remember the episode vividly as it really put the underground scene on the front pages generating much ridicule, which sad to say, persists today. Gethro Jones brings the topic up in his book and as a crack dancer at The Casino, understandably would be included in a collection of good dancers. When I was in Manchester in 1975, fellow student named Keith Jackson told me he was in Wigan's Chosen Few... a month later at the Casino, I asked Gethro if Keith Jackson was around and he said 'never heard of him'. Keith was from Wigan (or so he said) but evidently claimed some of the fame that rubbed off on the town - I wonder how many other lads claimed similar bragging rights at the time?

Probably fewer on trips to the US and fewer on eBay. There are fewer rare records in nice shape coming to market and the competition for them has hotted up. Becoming more interested in quality rather than quantity as I have too many records already and would prefer to buy one great, sound rather than half a dozen cheapies of lesser quality.

So, who were the Wigan's Chosen Few? What were their names? Is there a team photo of them out there? Who actually chose the group of dancers? I remember the TOTP clip at the time, yes a bit cheesy but not too zany for the era. Sure it is cringeworthy now but it is a footnote of some significance. I think the full clip should be in the public domain. It was once the property of the Beeb and then it left the building, another topic worthy of discussion? I can't recall the earlier thread but would appreciate any fresh info on the topic of 'The Wigangate Tapes'.

Shame Mike...PM me re 'drama', very curious. Did Gethro object to being seen in a Sunderland shirt? Clip reminded me what a bad prancer Sandy Holt was...

Not sure re this. They seem to have introduced another scam... been quoted $65 to send two records from Los Angeles, not having it, tried to change address to post to US hub and won't let me (but usually does), attempts to contact eBay futile, requests to seller to amend situation denied but not by seller so presumably eBay overrides requests. eBay see postage charges as another cash source so they force the costs up to gouge more fees. Small wonder they are regarded as EvilBay, greedy beyond words but beyond the reach of the Monopolies Commission or whoever looks into business skullduggery. Forget exchange rates, there's plenty of other deterrents to put UK buyers off.