Places   (Help with places, streets and buildings in Wigan.)

The History of Wigan Casino and Northern Soul

Part One

As weeks went by after the opening night I began to meet people from all over the UK and of course my own mates from Wigan. One particular lad I met was from Aldershot by the name of Meggy never knew his real name but he introduced himself by asking if I had any gear, I said no of course but knew where he was able to get it. About two hours later inside the casino I saw him on the dance floor, dance, he made the people on so you think you can dance look like prats, this boy had movement and dance rhythm down to a tee, he glided on the floor and would then just produce a routine of high kicks, back drops and a spin of the toes you thought he was on roller skates, I then realised I was a shit dancer and watched his moves for about 3 weeks went home and perfected them. Then one night I decided to try out my routine with a few moves of my own. I started at the front of the stage on the left near the toilets, at least if I made a twat of myself I could escape out of sight for a while and yes I did a few times but then everything clicked into place, the sounds of nothing can compare by the Velvet Satins helped me perfect my dance steps and to this day I have never lost it. When I go to the Northern soul events all over Australia, New Zealand and would you believe a few years ago Japan, (not famous, never heard of Wigan quote, Tonker) I love the people who relate to Wigan and the northern scene. For the casino the music got better week in week out, the DJs Russ and company just produced them out of that 45s box every week, god knows how they found them, mixed in with the sounds of the twisted wheel and Torch the place became a mecca for non commercial black music thrown in the rubbish by the US. Every Saturday afternoon I would go to Wigan Markets to Russ Winstanleys little stall outside the front of the main hall and browse through all these wonderful sounds on black vinyl. I would never miss a Saturday at that stall for a long time even if it was freezing or pissing down, Wigan had something special and I was a big part of it, life would never be the same.