Brown's Disco, Moston, Manchester- Wheel playlist

[Owd Codger]

My first Discotheque , aged 14, was in 1969.

The venue was Brown's Discotheque at the Ben Brierley, Moston, Manchester. (Actually it had been re-named Stop,Stop! by the time I started going. (I suppose that was some kind of Mancunian humour -  "Stop, stop" as opposed to " A go-go" ).

I presume most  late 60s  provincial discotheques played a mixture of Motown, Atlantic, Stax ( Club Soul) and pop chart stuff. However, at Brown's , the playlist was heavily influenced by the records filtering down from the Twisted Wheel. I'm not sure if the resident DJ  ( Roy - local postman I think) was responsible for the record choices. I might be doing him a disservice, but I seem to think that some Wheel regulars were bringing in the sounds.

On the playlist , heavily programmed were tracks such as :

The Right Track,  Harlem Shuffle,  7 days too long,  Boogaloo party,  Everybody's going to the love in,  Let's copp a groove,  Scratchy, Some kind of wonderful, Walking up a one way street, I spy for the FBI, Shake a tail feather, Help me, Can't satisfy, You've been cheating, Ride your Pony,  Spooky's day off, Baby do the Philly dog, Mine Exclusively, Wade in the Water, Going to a Happening, and more. Rarer Motown ( B sides, choice A sides) were played too.

Brown's closed about 1970 I think. By that time I was going into Manchester...several venues, (Top of the Town my favourite) and gradually got to hear rarer 45s , which led to visits to the Wheel. We were lucky to have several shops selling " USA Imports"...Spin Inn, Ralph's, Hime & Addison....

Great days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Owd Codger]

Other big tunes played included:

Feel so Bad

Cool Jerk

I'll do anything

Sock it to 'em JB

Who's making love

Bring it on home to me

Shake,

Freedom train

Funky Street (complete with crazy dance)

Happy, & Don't tell your mama...fairly new releases

You're not an ordinary girl,  Going down for the third time, There's no stopping us now and more Motown

And I now remember, half way through every session, the floor was cleared to enable all the girls (no guys) to take to the floor, and gather in a circle for a Barn Dance. The same 3 records were always played but I can only recall "Higher and Higher" , and "Give me my freedom (Glories). Can't recall the 3rd track.

Edited August 28, 2023 by Owd Codger

[Mike]

https://www.manchesterbeat.com/venues/venues-browns-levenshulme-uncle-toms-etc/browns

same place?

[Owd Codger]

Yes Mike...fantastic piece. Many thanks for that.

I wasn't too aware of the other clubs associated with Brown's ownership. It seems they were larger events, with artists appearing. I never saw anybody at Moston.

I recall it had a reputation for a bit of violence (probably  reputation more than fact...I didn't see anything, apart from one fight)...and my parents used to frequent the Liberal Club over the road, so my early visits were "uncomfortable" to say the least.

I'm glad that the Barn Dance wasn't  just my imagination running away with . Perhaps the guys did join in, but at 14 I would be too shy. Took me a number of visits to gather up courage to take to the floor. Glad somebody recalled The Glories.

 

I'll have a read of all that stuff...thanks again.

 

 

Many 

[Owd Codger]

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/local-news/readers-memories-of-the-old-moston-co-op-969080

 

a piece about Brown's , Moston

[Modernsoulsucks]

2 hours ago, Owd Codger said:

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/local-news/readers-memories-of-the-old-moston-co-op-969080

 

a piece about Brown's , Moston

I went once to the Levenshulme venue.

'69 I think as I went with a guy from school and he didn't stay on after Sept '69.

Back of his SX200. Venue was on main road from Stockport to Manchester. Not far from a bikers cafe.

Sure it was a weeknight and played overwhelmingly soul and Motown. From memory it wasn't a big place.

[Owd Codger]

Didn't know that Brown's had other venues until the previius post.

Sounds like a similar experience.