How Bad Was Wigan, Really

[Pete S]

as said above wigan was great for the first 18 months but then it all went downhill, a lot of the people that were joining the scene at that time were likely to have been there because a mate might have said 'hey i go to this great club want to come on saturday' rather be drawn to it like a magnet like previous kids were, so when russ dropped footsie they thought thats what it was standards dropped and things got silly. personally i wish we were looking back at a wigan without russ, i know it was his baby but i sure wish it had been someone elses and we wouldnt be reading this topic today...

 

Russ was a top dj up to the middle of 1977, he had more or less every top sound, same as the other dj's.

[NEV]

ok then go into refosoul and find my casino tapes from saturday nights

 

  Mark "Fluff" Freeman used to put the sounds from wigan onto cd and went into great detail with playlists from all the dj's and he even had some original sounds from a rather crude but the order of the day ,mic over the balcony with one of those tape cassette players we all had in the day !

 Can remember listening to that live cd and the goose bumps came over me when the whole big room dropped the clap at the same time during the record playing !

   Sadly you just can't re-create that time and that's why it  will always be a case of " you had to be there" ..it's not a gloating statement but a fact !

[Guest Nick Harrison]

As a young em back then. I still view it and cringe at the fact, that all the Dee Jays were old men at Wgan.  One going hairless, one a bully, one pot bellied and one with a built up shoe, who all owned a seriously shocking fashion sense.  But were responsible for the music.

 

Did anyone actually guest DJ that was under 25 ? - Nev Wherry perhaps would have come close.

 

[maslar]

I first went in the early summer of 1980 in what was obviously the post-pop period. I was actually quite surprise at the amount of relatively new records played. The first night I went it thought it was pretty busy but talking to someone who was obviously a regular up on the balcony, he told me the numbers were down. The first few Saturdays  i went Mr Ms was closed. I never did take to Ms - I could never see the point in it. The first time I saw it packed was at the 7th anniversary. Following on from that I went a mixture of Saturdays and Friday Oldies.

 

The record I always associate with Russ W. at that time are The Seeds "Pushing Too Hard" and that Sweet Talking Guy instrumental by whoever. Also Present, "Many's The Slip". The Seeds sounded brilliant in the Casino. To me it's a psychedelic soul type sound and I doubt whether the majority of people at Wigan would have been able to tell whether the singer was black or white.  Although it wasn't a super rare record it was still fairly difficult to get hold of and I don't think many Casino goers would have been aware who The Seeds were.

 

Obviously the Casino was including more modern sounds but  I can remember on a few Saturday nights when Soul Sam and Arthur Fenn were given spots back to back and the dance floor was virtually empty for the entire period. In fact that small episode must rank as one of the strangest events ever to occur at WC. I don't think at any other time in its history would the floor have been that empty for that long.

 

Mas

 

[Zed1]

Only went to Wigan from 77 to 80ish which (I'm told) were the 'Pop years'....

 

Have to say though that old Dickie Searling didn't half play some good Disco tunes during this time!.

[Ian Dewhirst]

As a young em back then. I still view it and cringe at the fact, that all the Dee Jays were old men at Wgan.  One going hairless, one a bully, one pot bellied and one with a built up shoe, who all owned a seriously shocking fashion sense.  But were responsible for the music.

 

Did anyone actually guest DJ that was under 25 ? - Nev Wherry perhaps would have come close.

 

 

You must have gone later Nick. I was 18-19 when I started @ Wigan, Richard was about the same age as me and Kev was a year younger. It was kids playing to kids in the early 70's which is probably why it was so different to now......

 

Ian D  

[Guest MrC]

The last couple of years had periods of an empty dancefloor in the main room, but I ended up enjoying that too, playing football with Dave Evison and a few others, Minshull getting annoyed with the repeated shouts of "OY" Keith, can we have our ball back!"

Wigan was an experience, a part of your life that never leaves you, I went through the 'pop' years, the 'empty disco' years and some of the better years, but all of it was great to me, the music was right for it's time, and all this 'they only played pop crap' is absolute rubbish, and something that's spouted by 40-60 year old chin strokers! Probably the same people that now moan about the youth of today, and look how short those skirts are, and dont they ever go out with a coat on - Wigan was brilliant! End of story, the fact that people have turned into grumpy old men/women who think that they now know better, doesn't detract from the point that at the time there was nowhere like it, and it was an awesome place to be at that time in your life.

 

Stop whingeing, and be greatful that you had the opportunity to be part of the whole thing at it's height.

[Russ Vickers]

It was all good, hind sight is a wonderful thing, some cherry pick their periods of time at WC cos some periods now are considered more worthy than others, I went from '77 until mid '81 ish, didnt go every weekend, some months once, some months every Saturday, only ever did 2 Friday oldies nights.....for me I thought it was all bloody brilliant...hind sight tells me some of the records were pop, but TBH as a 15 year old I didnt really have a clue about soul music, it was all about dancing & feeling part of an underground scene, my musical education came later, on the whole & mostly after WC had closed its doors....some people think we're impressed when they say, WC was crap between so n so n so n so, what they really mean is other factors stopped them attending & they feel they need some sort of excuse to explain away the lost years.... in some circles certain folk try to impress other folk with thier 'soulful credentials', most of which they have read on here anyway & didnt experience personally....so, to conclude WC was just another soul venue playing the records of the time, one thing I will say tho, is I would much rather attend an Allnighter than a soul night & the Mecca was a soul night, it broke tunes for the Nighters to play.... 

 

Best Russ

[Pete S]

The last couple of years had periods of an empty dancefloor in the main room, but I ended up enjoying that too, playing football with Dave Evison and a few others, Minshull getting annoyed with the repeated shouts of "OY" Keith, can we have our ball back!"

Wigan was an experience, a part of your life that never leaves you, I went through the 'pop' years, the 'empty disco' years and some of the better years, but all of it was great to me, the music was right for it's time, and all this 'they only played pop crap' is absolute rubbish, and something that's spouted by 40-60 year old chin strokers! Probably the same people that now moan about the youth of today, and look how short those skirts are, and dont they ever go out with a coat on - Wigan was brilliant! End of story, the fact that people have turned into grumpy old men/women who think that they now know better, doesn't detract from the point that at the time there was nowhere like it, and it was an awesome place to be at that time in your life.

 

Stop whingeing, and be greatful that you had the opportunity to be part of the whole thing at it's height.

 

I love it when people say "I went for the first year but then it got crap so I stopped going" - so how did you know it was crap after that if you stopped going?

[Guest MrC]

I love it when people say "I went for the first year but then it got crap so I stopped going" - so how did you know it was crap after that if you stopped going?

 

 

Can I just point out that I never said that, and that Pete's comment wasn't directed at me, but was agreeing with the main gist of my post (I think?!)

[Pete S]

Can I just point out that I never said that, and that Pete's comment wasn't directed at me, but was agreeing with the main gist of my post (I think?!)

 

yeah it was just a general point...not aimed at anyone on this thread

[Epic]

The problem with all this is that everything "good, bad or indifferent" always gravitates to Wigan Casino.

It was a club which lasted 8 years in a scene which spans over 40 years.

My take is that Wigan 73-74 was still heavily influenced by The Torch & Blackpool Mecca - the "golden" era for Northern Soul IMHO.

1975-1979 the scene had then ceased to be underground & "the beat" took over - lots of what I thought unacceptable tunes being played.

Last 2 years of Wigan Richard managed to drag it back from "the abyss" & some great records were indeed played there.

[Citizen P]

Okey dokey then.

 

Thank you to

 

Toad

Pete S

Grant

Solidsoul

petebangor

 

who understood the topic.

 

I think the rest of you need to start your own  

[Pete S]

Okey dokey then.

 

Thank you to

 

Toad

Pete S

Grant

Solidsoul

petebangor

 

who understood the topic.

 

I think the rest of you need to start your own  

 

[Agentsmith]

Wigan was an essential part of the evolution of Northern Soul with some GREAT  DJ'S and deserves it's place in the "Northern Soul Hall of Fame" but coming from the generation of the time, and living where I do, I would still rateThe Torch at Tunstall, Catacombs Wolverhampton, and Blackpool Mecca as influential - and I went to all of them.

The venue just before my exposure to "NORTHERN sOUL" which unfortunately I never went to was the Twisted Wheel but this must have been THE launchpad.

In the West Midlands The Crypt in Dudley, the Chateau Impney in Droitwich on a sunday afternoon,, and the cellar in the Kingfisher Country Club in Wall Heath with "farmer" Carl Dene were all influential.

Memorable also were VaVas at Bolton, Tiffanys, Halesowen, Old Hill Plaza, TheOctopus in Wolverhampton, Raven at Whitchurch,, and Tiffanys Newcastle..

bri, i was talking to soul sam yesterday about tiffs, newcastle-under-lyme....mecca venue with palm trees...remember the bali hi down stairs?, sunday evenings. somebody was playing "night of the wolf" in arena1 @ prestatyn yesterday afternoon....i nudged him and said: "do you remember playing this in the bali, 1975?" hairs on the back of the neck stuff then....and still today...i know thats all irelevant to this thread, but its the mention of other gigs prior to the daddy and where your grounding was. a tired old red brick building elevated all of our status's, our expectation of the music, forever and a day we can wade through the mire of dogma associated with the casino, that includes the music policy but its our heritage and our history and we've aspired to drive forward...the pheonix that is the scene of today, rose from the ashes of our glorious predecessors demise...like it or not, an all pervading scene that refuses to go underground, such is its standing in the world of music now. we shall forever endear ourselves to the belief the casino, and its ilk gave northern soul a greater voice and us, a lifestyle that is as fresh, vibrant and exciting as the very day the term was coined.

Edited March 11, 2013 by AGENTSMITH

[Mal C]

Maybe a slant, not discussed, but glaringly obvious.. Isn't the fate of Wigan the same of all the big clubs? either house or Soul, or what ever genre, I can list half a dozen House clubs that may not have grown as big, exclude the Hacienda of course, that were great for two years then limped along to a painful death, most kids, most people in fact generally really bare down for two years then naturally move on to other things, I think that time span is true in life for many things...

 

Music wise the house scene also had its fair share of 'Footsie' records, and when the Altern 8 stuff and allot of the 'jungly stuff' really started coming in, allot moved on...so for a club like Wigan to have lasted so long, is certainly a wondrous thing, Must have been doing something right...!!!

 

Mal.C

[Guest MrC]

I think the big mistake was  labeling the Scene 'Northern SOUL'  - it's the 'Soul' part of that name that seems to be what eveyone has latched onto these days, mainly because they see it as more elitist, and cooler!

It was never a purely 'Soul' scene, and it still isn't.

[macca]

Dunno about that. If you'd asked anyone in 1972 what music they were into they'd have said Soul, but not the 'commercial type'. Soul was the word on most people's tongues. Then again, what do I know? I was a mid to late 74 arrival knowing that I preferred 'I'm Satisfied With You' 'I've Got Something Good' and 'Just Ask Me' to Win Place Or Show (She's A Winner). I considered myself a Soul fan, then and now...

[Guest MrC]

Dunno about that. If you'd asked anyone in 1972 what music they were into they'd have said Soul, but not the 'commercial type'. Soul was the word on most people's tongues. Then again, what do I know? I was a mid to late 74 arrival knowing that I preferred 'I'm Satisfied With You' 'I've Got Something Good' and 'Just Ask Me' to Win Place Or Show (She's A Winner). I considered myself a Soul fan, then and now...

 

Fair comment, and I know what you mean, but it's never been a purely soul scene, mainly soul, yes, but there's always been non 'soul' records played, 60s 70s 80s 90s and even now, there's still records played that aren't 'soul' records, that's what I was getting at.

 

[Len]

I think the big mistake was  labeling the Scene 'Northern SOUL'  - it's the 'Soul' part of that name that seems to be what eveyone has latched onto these days, mainly because they see it as more elitist, and cooler!

It was never a purely 'Soul' scene, and it still isn't.

 

That's true, this is why we have so many disagreements on what should and should not be played on 'the Scene' (Guilty as charged!)

 

Not that I was 'there' in the 'beginings', but would I be correct in saying, that as soon as it was named 'Northern' Soul, it seemed to immediately become a nostalgic Scene?.....All changed in the 80's as we  know, then full circle (in the main) back to nostalgia again...Maybe naming it 'Northern' Soul was actually a bad thing. In saying that, I think the name 'Northern Soul' helped 'fuse' it all as a Scene, if that makes sense - Who knows?.....

 

All the best,

 

Len  

Edited March 11, 2013 by LEN

[macca]

Agree. I loved I'm Gonna Change The Four Seasons, a Russ sound (?) and not what most "non northern" Soul fans would recognise as a Soul record. If that's Pop crap, then I'll own up to liking it. It's also better than the Velours in my opinion... Christ.  

[Citizen P]

I wasn't going to be drawn into this part of the debate, but....

 

Your take on the Soul part is probably going to differ depending on where and when you first found the music..

 

I was a mainsteam(ish) Soul fan first and kept hearing things that were a little different to that and wanted to hear more-saw the adverts for The Pendulum, went and had my head blowed off...so to me the Soul part was the most important element (yes, I did listen to and to some of the Pop stuff--duidn't we all???)

 

It was called Northen Soul by Dave Godin in his shop to differentiate the type of SOUL northerners wanted to buy from the funkier type stuff coming into vogue in the SOUTH.

 

If you joined as a Post punk new wave Modernist, you take on the desirabilty on the Soul part of Northern Soul may be different to mine.

[Jim G]

Agree. I loved I'm Gonna Change The Four Seasons, a Russ sound (?) 

It wasn't a Russ sound, it played way before the Casino opened its doors, I heard it at the Torch.

[Pete S]

It wasn't a Russ sound, it played way before the Casino opened its doors, I heard it at the Torch.

 

It was a Russ sound at the Casino though.

[jocko]

I think the big mistake was  labeling the Scene 'Northern SOUL'  - it's the 'Soul' part of that name that seems to be what eveyone has latched onto these days, mainly because they see it as more elitist, and cooler!

It was never a purely 'Soul' scene, and it still isn't.

 

Elitist and cooler, what playground wall did you see that on. You can't just be a soul fan daring to stick up for the music you love, you can't have your own taste within the 40 years of the history of the very differing music played on the scene, you can't like debating on the differences , obviously not unless it fits yours obviously??

 

fu*k right off, what is it with all the name calling whenever anyone dares to disagree with a couple of you on here. Why can't you accept it and debate it like a fuc**g normal human being rather than pathetic 5 year old name calling twat. F**k me, some of the shit on here gets more like the worst acid trip going.

 

Oi Dave, yes son, you know how you coined that sh*t we used to sell to Northern people as Northern, no son it was Northern Soul because my shop only sold Soul, oh right, just there's a debate doing on down there saying it was never soul, yes son that was the dickheads that came a few years later and like writing history to suit there own ends, oh right Dave so nothing for us to worry about then, no son get back to filing those soul 45's in order. 

 

F**k me. Very few people say there should be no pop records played, lots of people don't like the shit pop records, which some of us like having a healthy debate on, our opinions because guess what we feel as strongly as you do on your opinion, get fuc**g over it but don't rewrite f****g history. 

[Guest gfarrington]

by the way 'footsie' beats any house(wtf) record hands down

[Guest gordon russell]

 

I wondered what "tommy hunts" were.....then remembered you call me that Gordon.  .

No no kev.....that was "berk"....berkley hunt.....rhyming slang for knob lol lol...which l might add mate you ain,t

[Guest gordon russell]

 

Elitist and cooler, what playground wall did you see that on. You can't just be a soul fan daring to stick up for the music you love, you can't have your own taste within the 40 years of the history of the very differing music played on the scene, you can't like debating on the differences , obviously not unless it fits yours obviously??

 

fu*k right off, what is it with all the name calling whenever anyone dares to disagree with a couple of you on here. Why can't you accept it and debate it like a fuc**g normal human being rather than pathetic 5 year old name calling twat. F**k me, some of the shit on here gets more like the worst acid trip going.

 

Oi Dave, yes son, you know how you coined that sh*t we used to sell to Northern people as Northern, no son it was Northern Soul because my shop only sold Soul, oh right, just there's a debate doing on down there saying it was never soul, yes son that was the dickheads that came a few years later and like writing history to suit there own ends, oh right Dave so nothing for us to worry about then, no son get back to filing those soul 45's in order. 

 

F**k me. Very few people say there should be no pop records played, lots of people don't like the shit pop records, which some of us like having a healthy debate on, our opinions because guess what we feel as strongly as you do on your opinion, get fuc**g over it but don't rewrite f****g history.

Jocko...could Dave have got that wrong?.....was he a proper soulie?.....bet he never even went to Wigin.

[Pete S]

Elitist and cooler, what playground wall did you see that on. You can't just be a soul fan daring to stick up for the music you love, you can't have your own taste within the 40 years of the history of the very differing music played on the scene, you can't like debating on the differences , obviously not unless it fits yours obviously??

 

fu*k right off, what is it with all the name calling whenever anyone dares to disagree with a couple of you on here. Why can't you accept it and debate it like a fuc**g normal human being rather than pathetic 5 year old name calling twat. F**k me, some of the shit on here gets more like the worst acid trip going.

 

Oi Dave, yes son, you know how you coined that sh*t we used to sell to Northern people as Northern, no son it was Northern Soul because my shop only sold Soul, oh right, just there's a debate doing on down there saying it was never soul, yes son that was the dickheads that came a few years later and like writing history to suit there own ends, oh right Dave so nothing for us to worry about then, no son get back to filing those soul 45's in order. 

 

F**k me. Very few people say there should be no pop records played, lots of people don't like the shit pop records, which some of us like having a healthy debate on, our opinions because guess what we feel as strongly as you do on your opinion, get fuc**g over it but don't rewrite f****g history. 

 

Is this the response of a rational human being?

You need serious help for that anger management problem.

[Guest MrC]

Elitist and cooler, what playground wall did you see that on. You can't just be a soul fan daring to stick up for the music you love, you can't have your own taste within the 40 years of the history of the very differing music played on the scene, you can't like debating on the differences , obviously not unless it fits yours obviously??

 

fu*k right off, what is it with all the name calling whenever anyone dares to disagree with a couple of you on here. Why can't you accept it and debate it like a fuc**g normal human being rather than pathetic 5 year old name calling twat. F**k me, some of the shit on here gets more like the worst acid trip going.

 

Oi Dave, yes son, you know how you coined that sh*t we used to sell to Northern people as Northern, no son it was Northern Soul because my shop only sold Soul, oh right, just there's a debate doing on down there saying it was never soul, yes son that was the dickheads that came a few years later and like writing history to suit there own ends, oh right Dave so nothing for us to worry about then, no son get back to filing those soul 45's in order. 

 

F**k me. Very few people say there should be no pop records played, lots of people don't like the shit pop records, which some of us like having a healthy debate on, our opinions because guess what we feel as strongly as you do on your opinion, get fuc**g over it but don't rewrite f****g history. 

 

I was obviously on the opposite side of the playground to you, I was the one NOT calling people names and swearing....   I was just getting on with it all and enjoying myself without having to turn absolutely everything I heard into a half hour session with my analyst.

[Mark Bicknell]

it were bad when we went before colour television lol

 

[jocko]

Is this the response of a rational human being?

You need serious help for that anger management problem.

Anger management, behave yourself, there is a world of difference between finding someones ill thought out post worthy of a strong response to getting angry! So stop your sh*t stirring, we have been here before.

 

I am showing just how ridiculous your chums name calling is, and articulating it as it deserves. 

 

Its getting absolutely stunning the level of pish people seem to say out loud on here, and the fact that people continue to call peoples names and slag them openly and then act all innocent when they get the level of retort they deserve.

 

But you are right, I have better things to do than deal with peoples ignorance, so back to leaving you all to it. 

[jocko]

I was obviously on the opposite side of the playground to you, I was the one NOT calling people names and swearing....   I was just getting on with it all and enjoying myself without having to turn absolutely everything I heard into a half hour session with my analyst.

 

Here we go again Mr Innocent. 

Which bit of saying people only say they like to hear soul because they want to be cooler and elitist, i.e. they can't really mean it, isn't name calling and insulting. 

,

But you are right, silk purse and pigs ear etc etc. On you go with your hard thought out opinions. And as always you don't even read the response other than the swear words, 

[Guest gordon russell]

 

It was called Northen Soul by Dave Godin in his shop to differentiate the type of SOUL northerners wanted to buy from the funkier type stuff coming into vogue in the SOUTH.

 Thought thats what l said?....no matter shows l ain,t alone lol

[Pete S]

Anger management, behave yourself, there is a world of difference between finding someones ill thought out post worthy of a strong response to getting angry! So stop your sh*t stirring, we have been here before.

 

I am showing just how ridiculous your chums name calling is, and articulating it as it deserves. 

 

Its getting absolutely stunning the level of pish people seem to say out loud on here, and the fact that people continue to call peoples names and slag them openly and then act all innocent when they get the level of retort they deserve.

 

But you are right, I have better things to do than deal with peoples ignorance, so back to leaving you all to it. 

 

I just must have missed the bit where he called someone 'names' - he said - correctly - that back in the 70's, lots of people 'pretended' to be into soul music, especially Northern Soul, because it was considered cool and yes, elitist.

[Ian Parker]

   on my hand full of visits to station road.    i distinctly remember good tunes played.    this is maybe because the apparently 'pop' days had disappeared, so it was back to good quality tunes (opinion of course)

 

    there was no mistaking the class music of the time. we had a good eclectic mix from memory.   Will Collins,  Lester Tipton, Fluffy Falana,  Vicky Baines, Bunny Sigler (follow your heart), Wilbur Walton Jnr, Skip mahoney etc.  none of these to my ears are what you call "Wigan white pop",  they're a fair soulful mix from 2 different decades.

 

     The toilets were shitty, the walls were shabby, the place was falling down,  but there is no mistaking the excitement,  the adventure, the travelling and the mates.   believe me,  for a 17 yr old who didnt drive,  gettting there from Grantham on 4 or 5 occassions was a trek,  but im pleased i was a small part of it.

[Guest MrC]

I'm only pointing out that the whole debate seems to centre on pop vs soul, and that now, people have tried to turn it into a purely 'soul' scene, they're tthe ones trying to rewrite history, not me, it's never been a purely 'soul' scene, yes I said that and I stand by it. It was all about music with a beat you could dance to, that's changed in peoples perceptions as they've got older, part of that is due to the fact they can't dance to 100mph records all night like they used to, and partly because they actually listen to music a lot more, but that's no excuse for knocking something they enjoyed at the time, just because they're more grown up now! That's what's it looks like to me anyway, and that's MY opinion, something that I'm perfectly entitled to, as is everyone else, as you go to such great lengths to point out Jock! 

[Guest gordon russell]

 

I love it when people say "I went for the first year but then it got crap so I stopped going" - so how did you know it was crap after that if you stopped going?

Pete, it,s generally accepted that the first 3/4 years were the best....l stopped going because of how bad it got musically and l guess that was a lot of folks reasoning....it probably took a while for the realisation to sink in,having stopped it was hard to go back....because no one came up to me ever and said "hey tez","wigans got really good again"....and by this time Yate and the mighty Ian Clarke was a calling along with Aidey's starlight room in london. Edited March 11, 2013 by gordon russell

[Pete S]

 Pete, it,s generally accepted that the first 3/4 years were the best....l stopped going because of how bad it got musically and l guess that was a lot of folks reasoning....it probably took a while for the realisation to sink in,having stopped it was hard to go back....because no one came up to me ever and said "hey tez","wigans got really good again"....and by this time Yate and the mighty Ian Clarke was a calling along with Aidey's starlight room in london.

 

I stopped about the same time as you or maybe a few months later because for me it wasn't so great anymore but at least I base my evidence on recordings, so if I was to say Keith MInshulls playlist in october 1978 was terrible, at least I'd have some evidence to back it up. 

[Pete S]

I'm only pointing out that the whole debate seems to centre on pop vs soul, and that now, people have tried to turn it into a purely 'soul' scene, they're tthe ones trying to rewrite history, not me, it's never been a purely 'soul' scene, yes I said that and I stand by it. It was all about music with a beat you could dance to, that's changed in peoples perceptions as they've got older, part of that is due to the fact they can't dance to 100mph records all night like they used to, and partly because they actually listen to music a lot more, but that's no excuse for knocking something they enjoyed at the time, just because they're more grown up now! That's what's it looks like to me anyway, and that's MY opinion, something that I'm perfectly entitled to, as is everyone else, as you go to such great lengths to point out Jock! 

 

You don't have to explain, just take no notice of him and tell him to f*ck off  go away.

Edited March 11, 2013 by Pete S

[Guest gordon russell]

 

I'm only pointing out that the whole debate seems to centre on pop vs soul, and that now, people have tried to turn it into a purely 'soul' scene, they're tthe ones trying to rewrite history, not me, it's never been a purely 'soul' scene, yes I said that and I stand by it. It was all about music with a beat you could dance to, that's changed in peoples perceptions as they've got older, part of that is due to the fact they can't dance to 100mph records all night like they used to, and partly because they actually listen to music a lot more, but that's no excuse for knocking something they enjoyed at the time, just because they're more grown up now! That's what's it looks like to me anyway, and that's MY opinion, something that I'm perfectly entitled to, as is everyone else, as you go to such great lengths to point out Jock!

I loved my time at wigin,but sticking ya head in the sand and saying that it,s not about soul is daft...the reason folk danced all night like demented devils was quality gear end of...the same product allowed you to readily accept the pop shite and the same product allowed a period in time for a lot of us that is special.........so wigin was special for a number of reasons, music not being the main one nesessarily

[macca]

Lainie Hill "Time Marches On" 07.25, morale flagging, that intro, familiar buzz, tingling... Now there's a monumental Wigan Pop record for you and I feel certainly privileged to have heard it in those 'conditions'. Could this have been Russ? 

[Guest gordon russell]

 

I stopped about the same time as you or maybe a few months later because for me it wasn't so great anymore but at least I base my evidence on recordings, so if I was to say Keith MInshulls playlist in october 1978 was terrible, at least I'd have some evidence to back it up.

That maybe the case Pete, fair enough....however in the same way a few have posted lists of soul records played there......there is an equally large list of pop records played there err that nobody wants to list

[Guest MrC]

 I loved my time at wigin,but sticking ya head in the sand and saying that it,s not about soul is daft...the reason folk danced all night like demented devils was quality gear end of...the same product allowed you to readily accept the pop shite and the same product allowed a period in time for a lot of us that is special.........so wigin was special for a number of reasons, music not being the main one nesessarily

Exactly...  it wasn't all soul, but at the time, it was great, for whatever reason, pharmaceutical or not!

 

Nobody likes every record they've heard played out, and some of those that people dont like are soul records, and some aren't,  but no one seems to shout as loudly about the Soul records they dont like do they?

Edited March 11, 2013 by MrC

[Guest gordon russell]

 

Exactly...  it wasn't all soul, but at the time, it was great, for whatever reason, pharmaceutical or not!

No it wasn,t nesessarily MUSIC!!....of any type that made ones particular time there great

[jocko]

I'm only pointing out that the whole debate seems to centre on pop vs soul, and that now, people have tried to turn it into a purely 'soul' scene, they're the ones trying to rewrite history, not me, it's never been a purely 'soul' scene, yes I said that and I stand by it. It was all about music with a beat you could dance to, that's changed in peoples perceptions as they've got older, part of that is due to the fact they can't dance to 100mph records all night like they used to, and partly because they actually listen to music a lot more, but that's no excuse for knocking something they enjoyed at the time, just because they're more grown up now! That's what's it looks like to me anyway, and that's MY opinion, something that I'm perfectly entitled to, as is everyone else, as you go to such great lengths to point out Jock!

I am assuming you are the organ grinder in your relationship with Mr Smith so I will respond to this and leave you to it.

 

A The first bit is in your head, the debate is much more about do we want to hear pop records now, or it would be if anyone got into any sort of reasonable debate these days without people flouncing off calling people names. I have never seen anyone saying it is or was a purely soul scene, and I reserve my right to debate on what is good and bad and if pop vocals make it baad for me now that is not me saying anything about the past. 

 

B. You said people want to make it a soul only scene to be cooler and elitist, which to any sane rational albeit swearing person means that they don't really care about the music more about the image. If that isn't patronising, arrogant and name calling then your planet is much further from mines than I ever thought.

 

I will leave you to now protest at your good guy image being ruined wrongly and unfairly, Sorry and all that.

[Carty]

what has not yet been mentioned on this thread ( i dont think) is the era of the soussan  instrumentals, some of these were pretty ropey in hindsight , and these were played early on,one i remember, going to a go go , had a brilliant xylophone intro, no one would touch it today of course ,but it did the buisness back then. while we are on the subject, there was a great instrumental of the belles dont pretend that used to get serious play in 74 /75, the soul fox boot has an instrumental called pretention on the b side,this was not the one that used to be played though, i am wondering did the one played at wigan ever get put on 45s other than emi discs?

[Guest Soultown andy]

Well my time was late 77 to early 80 and enjoyed it all,ive always collected pop records as well as soul so for me theirs never been an issue.

[Northern Soul Uk]

It was the biggest club at the time that introduced 1000s of people to the first ever underground dance music scene in the UK

Edited March 11, 2013 by Northern Soul UK

[Pete S]

what has not yet been mentioned on this thread ( i dont think) is the era of the soussan  instrumentals, some of these were pretty ropey in hindsight , and these were played early on,one i remember, going to a go go , had a brilliant xylophone intro, no one would touch it today of course ,but it did the buisness back then. while we are on the subject, there was a great instrumental of the belles dont pretend that used to get serious play in 74 /75, the soul fox boot has an instrumental called pretention on the b side,this was not the one that used to be played though, i am wondering did the one played at wigan ever get put on 45s other than emi discs?

 

You know I did a podcast (two actually) and used the 'proper' version of the Mirwood Strings "Don't Pretend", the one without the lead vilolin dubbed on? - in fact I think it's on one of those Thinking Mans Oldies volumes currently up in audio/video