Mick Bol

My mate used to take records to the Wheel to be played if the djs didn't have it. One I remember is Garnet Mimms Roll With The Punches. Then there was the time a lot of records were stolen during a break in, the djs asked for help from club members to bring records in to be played. I think its fair to say that nearly all R & B or Soul records released in the UK during the 60s would have had an airing at the Wheel, so long as they weren't being played on the radio at the time. One import I can't believe didn't get unearthed during the Wheels last few years is The Dells Run For Cover on Cadet released 1968. First played at The Torch i'm told.

Growing up in Bolton as a mod From the Mid 60s onwards we were lucky enough to have several youth clubs and 3 top nightclubs we could go to to listen to the music we wanted to hear, underground soul music. The 3 nightclubs were Bolton Palais, Bolton Casino, and The Cromwellian and it was Sunday nights at Bolton Palais as a 14/15 year old I first heard proper underground soul being played and danced to in different styles. The best dancers at the time were a group of West Indians (male and female) from Salford who came every Sunday night and stood to the right of the stage, and always brought between 10 - 20 people and watching the guys dance blew me away as they did splits, half splits and single spins during songs. What they were doing was bringing the moves the singers/performers were doing on stage onto the dance floor. Over the next few years more and more dancers were doing these moves on the dance floors and it became the norm', with the occasional clap. It was During my visits to The Wheel during 69/70 that I saw more acrobatic moves on the dance floor, and 1 guy took it to the max. There was a wall about 4 foot high dividing a sitting area from a small dance floor/stage area and this lad during different records would dance up to the wall and jump on top of it, shuffle/dance and spin along the top of the wall then at the appropriate time during the record would throw himself in the air towards the dance floor landing in a back drop and do a few flips and drops before coming up spinning and when he wanted to this guy could spin exactly like ice skaters spin. Wow. Some of you might know this guy, called Booper. As for the question Where and when did northern soul dancing start. Answer it started with the singers/performers on stage and the dancers took the moves onto the floor.

A little correction Joey, you prob' know this. Oscar Toney Jr sang "No Sad Song". Joe Simon sang "No Sad Songs". both Wheel classics. Two versions, same song.