When You Stopped Going To Wigan . . .

[Guest welshruss]

I'll mention the Wilton but I never went to Wigan While I'm here, I might as well mention MY Wigan "Bradford Queens Hall"

.... & now I'll butt out of this thread, as I can't talk about Wigan

 

You,d never have got in anyway - your too small (wouldn't have been seen in the crush)......Went 74 to 79 by the way.

[Alison H]

You,d never have got in anyway - your too small (wouldn't have been seen in the crush)......Went 74 to 79 by the way.

I was REALLY small then Russ, 74 to 79? I was 5,6,7,8,9 & 10

[Ste S]

I'll mention the Wilton but I never went to Wigan While I'm here, I might as well mention MY Wigan "Bradford Queens Hall"

.... & now I'll butt out of this thread, as I can't talk about Wigan

My Wigan too flower, loved it. XX Guv.

[Guest manusf3a]

Late 79  and then had an enforced "Youre staying in every night(and day) behind these walls,fences and doors", till late 81 when by which time it had closed.While it was open I always preferred  places like cleethorpes,samanthas,st Ives when open, missed the renaissence Searling years ,prior to that last couple of years when did go to Wigan preferred M's to the big room.When eventually allowed by Big Brother to go out at nights again on release from enforced confinement(was it worth it,well they seemed like good things to get blocked on at the time !I dont think the pharmacist would have sold them to me over the counter if I asked him! however that is now in the past) I found that many of my mates had packed in the scene and I also went to a few all nighters which unfortunately coloured my thoughts as they were crap.Back on the scene a couple of years or so now I am happy to hear stuff that was played over the years I was away oldies to some but all new to me,I wore baggy(baggy not a pair of hot air ballons torn apart each to make one leg of a huge skirt like atrocity with a huge flare flares have been taboo for me ever since my skinhead days when flares were said to be for f......... hippies) parallel made to measure pants for a short period through the seventies and you would never get me into anything like it ever again never mind later half of the seventies when I wore jeans most of the time as did many others I know.The last nighter I went to at Wigan was a friday night  followed by a Peterborough nighter on the Saturday I recall.I do remember though a girl who was writing to me when I was on enforced holiday saying how she was going to the "Last", Wigan nighter and how that turned into yet "Another", last Wigan nighter etc etc.

Edited June 14, 2014 by manusf3a

[Mach]

 6 months after the Casino closed i got married, we all thought it was the end at the time, great sadness ensued, i retreated into my own world of bedroom sounds and  stopped going to allniters, then after a few years the urge to get out and about was too much and i began hitting the niters and soul nites again, Queens hall Bradford was local and brill and it ignited the spark, and the new sounds discovered at Stafford etc whetted my appetite for even more venues to attend and i did many up and down the country  until about 7yrs ago until it was no longer possible, ..Back to the Casino, i went to the original last all ticket allniter in sept 81, think tickets were a fiver in advance, then they started letting people with no tickets in for 2 quid on the door in the early hours, it then turned into a farce announcing that there were gonna be another final allniter, then there was the infamous complete power cut at about 4am with no sound,lights etc for what seemed an age, (many people forget this happened, maybe because they were  too smashed etc)  this only lasted about 5 mins,but enuff to cause a little panic though, i remember it distinctly, coz i was wandering around the balcony at the time and tripped over someones head who was asleep on the floor and i twisted my ankle, then to cap it all when we went back to the coach, all the seats were taken and we had to lay on the floor in the aisle all the way back home, my old mate Bob bloor (r.i.p) organised the coach and it was half empty on the way down,so he touted for some more passengers in the niter, but obviously over egged it, happy days!

[grouse]

I had switched to Wigan Tiffanies all-nighters before the casino closed. I think they were run by Richard Searling and Gary Rushbrooke. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

 

Then like many I went to Clifton Hall etc.

 

The Casino was a great venue but overall the music got much better as soon as it closed.

 

I used to hate Keith Minshull's spots at the Casino but in Morecambe he was playing some of the best records I'd ever heard. I couldn't believe it was the same DJ.

[Wicked]

I had switched to Wigan Tiffanies all-nighters before the casino closed. I think they were run by Richard Searling and Gary Rushbrooke. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

 

Then like many I went to Clifton Hall etc.

 

The Casino was a great venue but overall the music got much better as soon as it closed.

 

I used to hate Keith Minshull's spots at the Casino but in Morecambe he was playing some of the best records I'd ever heard. I couldn't believe it was the same DJ.

Minshull's spots were my cue to bugger off to M's for an hour or so.

[manus]

The last time I went to Wigan was in January 1979 - I don't know how I lasted throughout 78 as the music had really gotten fairly bad and good Soul records were becoming the exception and also most folk that I'd originally gone with had stopped going late 75/76. I think if it wasn't for the great crowd of younger folk going from my area I would have dropped away sooner.

 

Lot's happened after Wigan and I think the mid 80s onwards into the early 90s for me was one the best times for Soul music with the crossover/modern scene in London and rare 60s plus the fantastic Up North weekenders in the North West.

 

Cheers

Manus

[Ian Parker]

Stafford, Clifton hall, Alfreton, peterboro, Hinckley.

[Russ Vickers]

Wigan Casino was a venue, I am & was into the music, so it was just a matter of travelling to which ever Nighter was on at the time, have always attended all the big nighters of every era & many of the small ones too...my happy place is the 100 Club though, altho many of the current Nighters I enjoy too - Lifeline, Rugby, Radcliffe, Soul - Funktion etc, etc...

 

Russ