I have to agree with you, I went from late 73 till I moved to London early 76, and felt it was on a slippery slope even that early on and never once did I feel I was missing anything or the yearning to travel back there. I do feel privileged to of been part of the very early days but certainly do not regret moving on from it and experiencing other music such as punk, punk may not of been to everyone's liking but it certainly gave the record industry the kick up the pants it needed in the mid to late 70s and as it moved on as a scene it seem to merge with the mod scene with the likes of the Jam/Alarm etc which comes full circle back to soul in some ways.
Wigan was great in the early years but from what I can see and I hear it just became a money venture for a few people who thought they owned the Soul Scene, I am glad I stopped going when I did as I may of become as cynical as others instead I just feel lucky that I was there in the best years
QoFxx