The Night The Casino ( Really Died)

[Mach]

Do you remember where you were when the lights went out?, i,m talking about the Casino in 81, the night that was touted as the last ever Wigan Casino Nighter, ( which never was ) because after entering we found out there was going to be another Last ever allniter,later on, ..felt a bit peaved at the time, because it cost me a fiver for that ticket,..and also to rub salt in, they started letting people in on the door for a quid.

A strange thing happened that night, that had never ever happened before, i,m talking about the Total Power Failure that occured,..remember it? i do distinctley, i was ( unusually)instead of dancing on the floor, wandering about on the balcony at the time, when without warning the atmosphere of deafing loud music, 100,s of stomping dancers and the eriee lighting, all of a sudden, was plunged into total darkness and silence, and as to be said "panic"it only lasted for a few minutes, but it seemed forever , and nobody knew what to do, you could,nt see nowt, pitch black....i remember where i was because i stumbled over a sleeping body on the floor and it sticks in my mind, because as all casino goers remember,( when you could see) there were bodies all over the casino floors, tables etc that you just stepped over as you milled about the place.. Do You Remember it?

[Guest]

I went to several "last nights" and at every one but the very last one they had miraculously managed to negotiate an extension that meant they could do one more night

God I was a gullible youth

[Mach]

yeah, there were several " last nights" but this was supposed of been "THE" last night, infact it was the last but one, an "all ticket" affair at a £5 a go ( lot of dosh back then)...You,re Right though,,, we were young and vunerable .

[Guest Matt Male]

yeah, there were several " last nights" but this was supposed of been "THE" last night, infact it was the last but one, an "all ticket" affair at a £5 a go ( lot of dosh back then)...You,re Right though,,, we were young and vunerable .

I went to the last oldies nighter, the one with the orange badge. I thought that was my last night but i've since been informed i went to another last one later. I can barely remember anything from those days. I definately didn't go the last official Saturday nighter though, which is the one you are referring to (was it a black or dark blue badge?). At the last oldies nighter at the end lots of people were sitting on the dancefloor crying when the lights went up, that's about all i can remember.

I agree it did become a joke when it went on after the official last nighters.

[ImberBoy]

I wish I had and I think many do miss the fact that they where too young or didnt go at the time but the spirit lives on

[Guest nubes]

Yep ..if it was the one on September 20th....81...i remember the deadly silence...and nobody wanting to leave...it was like we were all, frozen...coz most of us knew that when we walked out that would be it..and those of us who knew that ...didnt wanta go...think eventually everybody left..around 10..ish....awful feeeling....remember being soo pissed off getting the flyers about thetemporary repreive..i thought then ..u robbing foookers!!!!...my opinion now????...robbing batstewards!!!!!.....Delxxx

[Guest]

The infamous Barry on here, took some of the dance floor from Mr Ms if I remember rightly after the fire and put it down in his Ma's kitchen, dont know if he still has it.

That could be another story for him to tell us

[Guest mickeyb]

Yep ..if it was the one on September 20th....81...i remember the deadly silence...and nobody wanting to leave...it was like we were all, frozen...coz most of us knew that when we walked out that would be it..and those of us who knew that ...didnt wanta go...think eventually everybody left..around 10..ish....awful feeeling....remember being soo pissed off getting the flyers about thetemporary repreive..i thought then ..u robbing foookers!!!!...my opinion now????...robbing batstewards!!!!!.....Delxxx

I went to at least 3, may have even been 4 last ever. I can't remember when the last one was - October 81? By the last one, a lot of people wre getting quite blase about it and thought "yeah, same again next week" - as you say "robbing bastards". Although we all loved it, there were plenty of people who thought its time had come and it was time to move on.

[Anoraks Corner]

I went to the last bunch of nighters, includng 'Farewell Oldies' and the 'End of an era'...and on that night (Sept 19th) a flyer was distributed announcing another night that was also to feature Tommy Hunt (Oct 2nd), which was to be recorded...scan of flyer on AnoraksCorner >>> HERE <<<. I bought a ticket, but the event never happened.

Then a few weeks later a fresh batch of six (or was if five?) further nighters were announced in Black Echoes. Yes, as MickeyB has already stated, at this stage folk started to (understandably!) get a little blase about there ever being a true final night! I beleive it was on the third of this new batch of dates (sorry haven't got the advert/dates to hand) that mid-way through the night it was announced over the mic that this particulalr nighter was gonna be the final one...which folk didn't believe (understandably!)...however it was. The final couple of dates then never happened. Think December 5th (?) was the actual final date...I was there.

[Guest mickeyb]

I went to the last bunch of nighters, includng 'Farewell Oldies' and the 'End of an era'...and on that night (Sept 19th) a flyer was distributed announcing another night that was also to feature Tommy Hunt (Oct 2nd), which was to be recorded...scan of flyer on AnoraksCorner >>> HERE <<<. I bought a ticket, but the event never happened.

Then a few weeks later a fresh batch of six (or was if five?) further nighters were announced in Black Echoes. Yes, as MickeyB has already stated, at this stage folk started to (understandably!) get a little blase about there ever being a true final night! I beleive it was on the third of this new batch of dates (sorry haven't got the advert/dates to hand) that mid-way through the night it was announced over the mic that this particulalr nighter was gonna be the final one...which folk didn't believe (understandably!)...however it was. The final couple of dates then never happened. Think December 5th (?) was the actual final date...I was there.

A lot of coaches for Frenchie, eh Flynny?

[harpo1]

Yes i paid for my tickets and went to the farewell oldies and supposed last nighter, but when it kept stumbling on afterwards i decided to not go again.

Then one night i was in the Old Vic. in town, had a few beers, when some of the lads came in and offered me a lift and free goodies if i went, and off we went.

Spent all night in the room behind the stage with the usual crowd, Evo, Ste Whittle, Brian, Neil(Nogger)Allen was there as was Sam, and if i remember correctly Tony Clayton.....when i emerged at the end i was told by the lads that it was gonna be the last one, i have this feeling that it was a Friday nighter, but i may be mistaken...and that as they say was that.......or so it should have been.....dragging out the bandwagon year in year out has become more of a farce than the original death throes as it stumbled on after the official end.

It was a special place for me and my peers, and will always stay with us....we dont need all the shopping centre hype and spin.....let her rest in peace

Edited September 27, 2009 by harpo1

[Guest Trevski]

The night the Casino really died? the Night Russ played Tony Blackburn!

[Anoraks Corner]

A lot of coaches for Frenchie, eh Flynny?

I dunno, squire...I used to travel up by train...can still recall some of the train times and sadder still I know packed away in storeage are some of the train tickets!

I think you're right about it being a Friday night, Harpo, as I recall walking from the station to Adey Pierce's place in the morning...to tell him that that the last night news and to show him my Patti & Emblems Kapp WD that I had bought off the decks (thanks Russ!).

[grant]

Do you remember where you were when the lights went out?, i,m talking about the Casino in 81, the night that was touted as the last ever Wigan Casino Nighter, ( which never was ) because after entering we found out there was going to be another Last ever allniter,later on, ..felt a bit peaved at the time, because it cost me a fiver for that ticket,..and also to rub salt in, they started letting people in on the door for a quid.

A strange thing happened that night, that had never ever happened before, i,m talking about the Total Power Failure that occured,..remember it? i do distinctley, i was ( unusually)instead of dancing on the floor, wandering about on the balcony at the time, when without warning the atmosphere of deafing loud music, 100,s of stomping dancers and the eriee lighting, all of a sudden, was plunged into total darkness and silence, and as to be said "panic"it only lasted for a few minutes, but it seemed forever , and nobody knew what to do, you could,nt see nowt, pitch black....i remember where i was because i stumbled over a sleeping body on the floor and it sticks in my mind, because as all casino goers remember,( when you could see) there were bodies all over the casino floors, tables etc that you just stepped over as you milled about the place.. Do You Remember it?

remember the place being full to the rafters,l ost me mates til the morning, cudnt get near the bloody dancefloor, great atmosphere all nite tho.

[Mach]

The night the Casino really died? the Night Russ played Tony Blackburn!

...yeah, remember it well,.. strange thing it almost filled the floor,.. mind you that was the time it was all starting to get a bit ( lot) weird i.e joe 90, white stompers etc,...suppose it was all part of the "era",..warts an all..although i have to admit i always had a soft spot for the belmonts.....

[Freebie]

I went to the last bunch of nighters, includng 'Farewell Oldies' and the 'End of an era'...and on that night (Sept 19th) a flyer was distributed announcing another night that was also to feature Tommy Hunt (Oct 2nd), which was to be recorded...scan of flyer on AnoraksCorner >>> HERE <<<. I bought a ticket, but the event never happened.

Then a few weeks later a fresh batch of six (or was if five?) further nighters were announced in Black Echoes. Yes, as MickeyB has already stated, at this stage folk started to (understandably!) get a little blase about there ever being a true final night! I beleive it was on the third of this new batch of dates (sorry haven't got the advert/dates to hand) that mid-way through the night it was announced over the mic that this particulalr nighter was gonna be the final one...which folk didn't believe (understandably!)...however it was. The final couple of dates then never happened. Think December 5th (?) was the actual final date...I was there.

I went to the "official" last night in the September and was delighted to hear they had managed to get an extension (I was very naive then). I went to the subsequent nighters and thoroughly enjoyed them, I even bought tickets for the Tommy Hunt special but never got there due to the car I was travelling in breaking down, I was gutted, at the loss of the fiver for the ticket and not seeing Tommy Hunt. It was only a couple of months ago while reading another thread on here that I found out that Tommy Hunt never did appear that night, so were there "technical difficulties" or something more suspicious?

[Wiganer1]

I went to the "official" last night in the September and was delighted to hear they had managed to get an extension (I was very naive then). I went to the subsequent nighters and thoroughly enjoyed them, I even bought tickets for the Tommy Hunt special but never got there due to the car I was travelling in breaking down, I was gutted, at the loss of the fiver for the ticket and not seeing Tommy Hunt. It was only a couple of months ago while reading another thread on here that I found out that Tommy Hunt never did appear that night, so were there "technical difficulties" or something more suspicious?

=======

same here,,if it hadnt been for the 'extra' nights i would have only got to the heart of soul once instead of three times..loved every one and changed my life FOREVER!!!

[22ndsoul]

Was there the night the light's went out,brilliant night.Travelled over in my mates little Fiat 500cc,took us bloody ages

[Guest KEN-SOUL]

I remember begging the Edinburgh bus organiser (or Og, Ewan Angus are you out there?) for a "last night" ticket and seat on the coach... never got one though. I decided to organise my own all-nighter in my bedroom with all my records and an omnibus edition of a carry-oot! I still remember drinking to 8.30ish from 10pm... it was still sad as hell- and our beloved CLOUDS all-nighter closed its doors shortly after to compound the pain.