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Mr M's Wigan

Simon T

By Simon T
in All About the SOUL

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Barry
Barry

Downstairs Main Room Plan             Balcony Plan:       My shit editing skills have cut off the Soft Drinks Bar - The

Barry
Barry

M's entrance was situated up on the balcony to the left of where you see the stage in the main room - the room actually would have run above and behind the stage area in the Main Room.   W

Back Street Blue
Back Street Blue

Rectangular room, couple of rows of tables and chairs either side, small stage next  to the entrance, bogs on the left at the other end of the room,which were cleaner (and safer) than the main one dow

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Ian Parker Veteran

Ian Parker

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post-14474-0-55452500-1418493564_thumb.jFacebook was awash with people complaining about the recent film; they said it laid too much influence on the 'drug scene' at Wigan. If you want to know what M's was like just think of a smaller version of the main dance hall and think of people dancing and dancing and dancing to ANYTHING that was popped on the decks. I'm not saying that everyone WAS blocked - it just seemed like it.

M's opened regularly after the 2nd anniversary (Sept 75), at that time the Casino opened at 2:00 am and so M's used to open after the dj's who had been doing The Beachcomber carried all their kit from there to M's.

From it's first opening, M's was for dancers only. I heard many an old Wheel, Torch, even chart sound in there ('Wooly Bully' springs to mind). It was probably about a 1/3rd or a 1/4 the size of the main hall and the floor could get really packed - not much room for floor-work but if you liked to stomp you were guaranteed 1/2 a square yard. As you probably know, the club was a shithole, with the eponymous Mr Marshall refusing to spend anything from his ill-gotten on the punters. There was banquet seating around the sides of the room with some formica topped tables and the carpets around the edge of the dance floor and the upstairs balcony were a disgrace - definite health hazzard even in those days. There was a bar upstairs but I can't remember if it was ever open. There was an ante-room to M's where you could chill and possibly a cloakroom there once upon a time. Years later they opened a hole in the wall just outside M's to flog 'Spencer's' to the wannabe's.

The music policy was whatever Kenny and Steve, etc wanted to play. Downstairs we would rush from the record bar to listen to the latest crime being commited by Minsh or Winstanley, but M's was immune from all that. The sounds were eclectic to say the least. I heard Sack o woe (Cannonball Adderley), Scratchy, Anne Dandrea (Inst) and Only so much oil in the ground (Tower of Power). As the years went by, older Wigan sounds and chart stuff like Don Covey (Better to have) were played, I am told.

If you want to get a mental picture of M's, think of a dancefloor about as big as a penalty area, in a condemned nightclub, add about three hundred sweating, amphetamine soaked dancers. Rack the temperature up to about fifty degrees C, turn up the music. Can you hear it?..............Creation - I Got the fever. Get stomping boy :)

Like it ! 

 

 I remember snoozing on one of the 'banquet' seats and being woken by the percussion intro to I love music , O'jays .... I was up like a shot, I then remember hearing Linda Jones straight after.  

  Very eclectic music in M's, also very seedy judging by the comments on here.  But, I never saw that side of it, I was an adrenalin fuelled scruffy haired teenager on a dance marathon.

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Guest

Guest

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Bang on 100% $hit I thought I was there - normally an older crowd played oldies on oldies and on a Friday night guess what more oldies - turned up at the casino one night about 10 O clock it was freezing we went round the back entrance which was the entrance to Mr M's which I believe was called Jenny's — the bouncers let us in, there were rockers in there playing heavy rock and shacking there heads in the middle of Mr M's dance floor, we quietly sat in the reception area - chewing our nuts off - like you do — till midnight

 

It was called Gerry's Bar

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Gerry H Regular

Gerry H

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post-26811-0-40076600-1418502456_thumb.jwent on the balcony in m`s about 77ish with my m8 he was into wheel stuff had five chalkies siting at the edge of the balcony it was quiet i wanted to dance so i went onto the lino started dancing on my own lino was thick soft started doing tricks few others came back n forth as the weeks went on more n more got a good crowd up there

just practicing facing the front there was a door to a small coradore we used to use as a chill room then in there was another door on the right into a roof space long room few times i put the light on in there some couple would be having sex lol 1980 i danced against Vernon then couple of weeks later took a load of them vile horrible tasting backstreet blues then bang i was running around thinking i was a ghost tried to do back sumersats landing on my head seen the grim reaper the light at the end of the tunnel  stoped going for 6 months then went back kids up there with parkers with bulls eyes  on the back off there cakes on tunol in a mess frothing at the mouth the magic had all but gone didn't have any gere till the last night took some duramin an fillon had an awesome night walked out when the room went quiet then they decided another last i didnt go them 3 rooms must have taken some money over them years eh

Edited by Gerry H
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Guest Mart B

Guest Mart B

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The guy in the top photo,centre, is Jerry Lynch.

I think Jerry had the Ms sign over the door entrance from the Main Ballroom into Ms when Wigan closed,his Mum threw it out I recall,must ask him next time I see him.

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Guest Garry Huxley

Guest Garry Huxley

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I can remember the hole being just in front of the DJ area, maybe there were 2 holes-what a bomb shell. Best laugh i ever had in M,s was when i was there with Shaun Pawsey & Gaz Hepworth when a girl spinning spewed up and every bit ended up on Gaz,s new patchwork denims. What a place, what characters, loved every minute and would do it all again tomorrow.

I had a pair of patchwork denims which took me 2 weeks to make, made from 3 pairs of jeans from jumble sale total cost 15p and loads of blisters on my fingers, I thought they were the dog's bollox, gonna try and find the picky.

I loved M's as less pop in there

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KevH Veteran

KevH

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I had a pair of patchwork denims which took me 2 weeks to make, made from 3 pairs of jeans from jumble sale total cost 15p and loads of blisters on my fingers, I thought they were the dog's bollox, gonna try and find the picky.

I loved M's as less pop in there

 

I did too.!! One of my auntie's made them.High waistband. :lol:

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  • 4 years later...

Mr Fred Regular

Mr Fred

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Great atmosphere in there, records were all oldies twisted wheel etc Frankie Booper used to dance in front of the stage. The Dj's that come to mind were Mike Rolo, Dave Evison, Kenny Spence, Brian Rae and Steve Whittle.If I've missed anyone apologies as it was a long time ago.                                                 Regards Fred. 

 

Edited by Mr Fred
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