Hooker1951

There were far better Soul clubs before the Casino and there have been far many better after it shut, For the first couple of years 73 to 75 it served a purpose for youth graduating from youth clubs to adults in a night club environment , for them it was a great experience , but for the old heads who were already on the scene ,ie, Twisted Wheel veterans it was a step backwards, when the young ones caught up maturing and still loving the music it made for a much better scene, Stronger Music, more choice, and still young enough and fit to enjoy it, New discoveries of forgotten greats, and a chance for the proper NS fans to ditch the Joe 90,s of this scene, they have in real terms not really been relevant for the last 42 years unless they are stuck in your head, As regard NS at the proms the singers and orchestra did a fine job at trying to replicate the tunes , but the original always will and be better , how can you compare the atmosphere of a dingy dark club sweat dripping of the ceiling, whizzing of your head listening to those original tunes blasting and not having a care in the world? God Bless Mick L

That was a bloody good effort to get it right ML

I’m afraid it’s the time when all the part timers will come out of the woodwork, We all know so it shouldn’t really bother us, pretenders,part timers, phoneys really their just leaves off a tree, by October most of them will have disappeared again, ML

The All nighters I went to and the Soul nights in the mid to late sixties played plenty of tracks that later became NS classics or good club Soul, to us at the time it was just great music, You would expect to hear loads of Stax, Atlantic, and Motown interspersed with James Brown , sugar pie de santo, olympics Jackie Lee , Bob n Earl, flamingoes, Brenton wood ,Showstoppers ,etc etc the difference them days there was nearly always a live band on ie , Geno Washington n the Ram jam band and a Irish group called the Wheels who performed live doing their version of American Rn B and Soul, they made for very atmospheric experiences very full on of course if you went to the Wheel they had top artists on from the USA every other week, But it was a pretty big scene all round the country at that time, You would too get tracks played the likes of Len Barry , and Lou Christie a touch of blue eyed Soul, Roy Head was in the mix in those days too, everybody has their own time with the love of Soul music and their own opinions that’s what is s fascinating about it , It’s like being on a big Highway and you come off exploring the A and B roads find what your looking for and get back on the Highway as long as we are all heading in the right direction or similar we won’t catch any harm. Although some went on the A roads then B roads and got stuck in a cul de sac, but the Music Carries on Regardless Kind Regards Mick L

Sounds incorporated always did a good job backing top artists ie, Little Richard , Jerry Lee, Gene Vincent etc etc always sounded strong backing artists without stealing their Glory obviously in Britain ML

Karl is right, I’ve asked hundreds of people who visited Wigan Casino in its hey day which was probably 1973 till 75 I called in there a few times and the music then weren’t bad but the crowd for me at the time mostly consisted of 14 to 18 olds few and far between was there anybody older than 21 so for me being around 24 at the time it didn’t quite suit, when I called in the odd times between 75 and 1980 the music was dire and cheesy it just looked like a giant youth club open all night, I guess I was spoiled going to more adult type clubs from 1965 thinking I was in the inn crowd, Anyway roll the clock on to the mid 1980,s the kids from the Casino matured the ones that carried on through still loving the scene demanded stronger and more Soulful music, and for me a much better and stronger scene, the lightweights got left behind, in no way am I knocking the youth that loved and it was for many there coming of age in music and life itself , I posted a thread on here a few years ago Called ( What was your Golden Years of NS) it got a good response with many views, The magic that those kids felt in the early Casino can not be overstated so good on them, my point is that by the early 1990,s the scene to me was at its zenith , People were still young enough to do all nighters they knew what they wanted, loads of good records had been discovered and combined with the real strong oldies to me anyway it made for a better night, getting back to Karl,s question the people asked said they enjoyed their experience of the Casino but loved the scene better now, There was Soul before the Casino even in the Casino I was there and for me anyway there has been better NS since 1981 when it closed, The music if it’s good will always rule, And before anybody starts telling me about the Casino I used to sleep in the club when I worked there, LoL when I had no fixed abode. Cheers Mick L

For the past 70 years every time a music genre has been discovered, ie, Rock n Roll, RnB, Punk , Dance, etc etc, The original sounds are the best, then along that come the plagiarists , the people who water the original sounds down to suit their tastes sometimes, for a entirely different audience than the ones who loved the real deal and in some cases paying homage to the music that they loved or to make a quick pound and fame, Sometimes they might just want to entertain, We who know what the real thing is are some of us LoL, get aggravated if it’s not to our standards, What I’ve learned is that not all people hear the same thing with music it’s the same tune or noise but it effects different people different ways, if it makes them happy who are we to argue, My take on all this topic contrary to what I’ve said above is what I stated in another thread a week or so ago is Somethings are better left unsaid and Somethings are better left alone, LoL, Big example of when it doesn’t work in 1956 Little Richard singing Tuttie Fruitte and Long tall Sally Original Pat Boone singing Tuttie fruttie and Long tall Sally copy version Guess which sold most copies, the problem is their is more of them than us and this will go on forever like it has done the last 70 years , perhaps we should quietly celebrate we know best without getting angry about it, Take Care Mick Lyons

Somethings are better left unsaid, And Somethings are better left alone ML,

We are all doomed again,! . This topic is more frightening than watching the exorcist alone coming down on gear after a nighter, KR Mick L

Yes Fairgrounds in the mid 60,s onwards were certainly the place to hear the Soul music we all love, we played all the current American imports which were the big club soul sounds of the time, and would you believe sounds that were re released 5 or 6 years later and became big on the NS scene, The waltzer I worked on became known as the Soul castle in the north west, the mono sound blasting and the blue and green lighting with strobe lights made a fantastic atmospheric experience and of course those days you were still open till sometimes 1 am in the morning in some towns, Magic times, Great memories, and another great facet of Soul music presented in its great history KR Mick Lyons

How about just going to bed ML

For those who still like a bit of gear (Keep on Chewing) ML

Make sure you take good gear the music will pitch up without altering anything and sound better too trust me KR ML

Hi Roburt Yes the Canadians backed Chuck Berry at the Cavern in either feb or March 1967 I went to the show I remember thinking who was this backing band, anyway it was a great show. ML

Some good answers above but some above I rest my case me me me , brigade cut out the snobbery and elitism we are just human beings playing someone Elsie’s music some better than others some a lot better than others it’s as simple as that KR Mick

Jimmy Saville Clunk Click suck my? Only joking. ML What does best DJ mean , ?who discovered best records , Who could fill a dance floor and keep them there? Who was user friendly to the punters without thinking they were peas above sticks, there,s plenty of them . ? Who has 10,000 records and only 60 minutes to play them? Who is the most consistent? Etc etc, Etc, There are far to many faces to Northern Soul to make a judgement as profound as that, the Soulie who likes to dance or did and sweat of his trolley will have a completely different view to a Soulie who is a collector and who is only interested. In a DJ who finds rare soul only , although the two can cross over sometimes it’s rare, I salute the DJ who has discovered new and undiscovered sounds to our ears played them , but that does not make a complete 1 hour set and playing them in a manner that keeps the crowds interest for the full hour,, so for me it’s an unanswerable question, Give credit where it’s due that’s all you can do. ML

Keyboard bullies that’s all they are, leaves of a tree ML

I know I worked n the door there Robert, met Ben e king. Jimmy Ruffin, Edwin Starr, William bell, Arthur Conley, Johnny Johnson etc etc , way before 1973 first all-nighter, who ever was on at Wigan Casino also played at Bolton Casino sometimes on the same night same owners till 1972 when Gerry Marshall took over Wigan Casino as sole proprietor and changed the Wigan Palau’s to Mr M.s after of course is surname , I painted the place LoL, Mick Lyons

Following on from the Room at The Top original Soul club Market square Wigan open from 1964 till 1969 regular All nighters every weekend and Sunday all dayers 1965 till 1968 running parallel at the time with the Wheel, Geno Washington and the ram jam band regular live act there, never gets a proper mention I was there it happened 8 years before Casino all nighters kR Mick L

When your feeling it dancing is magic for your soul and your body and your spirituality and I believe you give an aurora of energy and presence that’s visible to people on the same wave length as you, that said it doesn’t have to be gymnastics by any means you’ve either got it or you haven’t I’ve always felt it that way with good music and of course good company. keep on Dancing ML

You’ve got to feel it not pretend to feel it or it looks pretentious and false just going through the motions was never enough for me, if your feeling it you are enjoying it wether your a good dancer or not it’s your thing nobody else’s KR Mick L

If Teds records are to be recovered it will happen because of the support of the NS fraternity , keeping ears close to the ground and willing to tell it like it is if they hear anything hopefully will lead to a positive result for Ted, The Police I’m sorry to say are useless and clueless with anything these days, you have got to do the job for them or it doesn’t get done. I had my record box 300 plus singles in it stolen from my car about 27 years ago, Luckily I sent word out that if they had robbed the box being opportunist thieves and returned them I would understand if they didn’t I would never stop looking for them ,and justice would be done, they appeared with apologies and with a bonus, otherwise they would have probably ending up being frisbees or sold to some pretend DJ, It’s a sickening blow when this happens when your young but it’s a lot worse when your 72 years of age , good luck Ted if I hear anything you will be the first to know KR MickL

This guy is definitely doing too many drugs and staying out too late, he needs help from a knowledgeable drug councillor before it’s too late LoL, ML

What a voice, what a singer, what a Legend, Original and will never be forgotten a True Soul Man, just hope it isn’t true KR ML