Wigan Casino Canvas

Imagine a ballroom hall packed with young men and women and pulsating with the deep bass emanating from the speakers. The bodies grooving to the beat as a unified organism. Sweat stains mark the floor, and the many feet never stop moving. Some are dancing the night away, some are throwing up in a corner, and some are so high that they can feel their feet moving faster than the rest of their body. But the music unites them all, and the DJ is their master.

Welcome to Wigan Casino.

A Dance Culture

Wigan was always known as a quiet, hardworking town. All that changed when the Northern Soul music and dance culture took roots in the industrial and mining town. And the Wigan Casino was the epicentre. Originally a ballroom hall, it took the vision of two men to turn it into one of the most happening discos in the world.

Local DJ, Russ Winstanley, and Wigan Casino manager, Mike Walker, thought it would be a good idea to use the big, wide hall for Northern Soul all-nighters. On September 23^rd973, a horde of young people flocked to the venue at the early hours of 2 am to experience the music. Soul performers such as Jackie Wilson and Junior Walker lit up the stage and enthralled the crowd. This set the tone for what would become a significant counterculture in the 70s.

Wigan Casino went from strength to strength after opening night. It became a bastion of youth culture. From all over the United Kingdom, young men and women trekked to Wigan. The popularity of the joint meant that long queues formed, sometimes all the way to the next street. Just getting in was considered an achievement.

This was long before the birth of internet and online casinos. The was no free spins and sites lite free-spins.org hadn’t been invented yet. So we guess that dancing was the way to go, back in the 70s in Wigan.

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The dance hall reached its peak in the late 70s when Billboard magazine named it the best disco in the world. And to think the most happening place on the entire globe existed in good ol’ Wigan.

Rebirth

As the Northern Soul movement faded, so did Wigan Casino, ultimately shutting down in 1981. It has now been reborn as Casino Café in the Grand Arcade, where people can catch a glimpse of its famous past.

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Live action at the Casino. Courtesy Wigan Observer.

Making sure she’d sewn her badge on properly, Zoe Graham made her way to Wigan History Shop for an all-nighter for old times’ sake.

Be transported back to the heyday of Northern Soul with Wigan Casino: The heart of soul on show at Wigan History Shop until February 26.

The exhibition charts the rise of the venue through its early days as the Empress Ballroom, a major dance hall in the town, through to the Northern Soul era when between 1973 and 1981 Wigan Casino became the place to be seen.

Founder of the all-nighters, DJ Russ Winstanley (left) was joined at the exhibition opening by Wigan native, BBC Radio 2 DJ, Stuart Maconie. Courtesy Wigan Heritage Service.

What would become a Mecca for ‘Soullies’ (Northern Soul fans) was originally an idea of local DJ Russ Winstanley who persuaded club owner Brian Child to host an all-nighter. On September 23 1973 the casino hosted its first soul event.

Northern Soul is a rare form of music originating from Detroit and Chicago, so in a way it’s fitting that a rare piece of furniture greets you on arrival at the exhibition. The Casino King Throne, by Gaye Chorlton, is covered with memorabilia such as records, towels, bags, talc and others objects that pay homage to northern soul.

Original art work by local artist David Barrow, himself a Casino regular, is also present and perfectly captures the atmosphere of a night at the club.

This painting by David Barrow depicts the Casino Club in its heyday. Courtesy Wigan Heritage Service.

Wigan Casino Canvas Collection

His paintings evoke a real sense of anticipation, depicting the hoards who would queue to get in on a weekly basis and catching the essence of their unique and highly energetic dancing styles.

There are also records from the time, which now change hands for thousands of pounds, on show, including a replica of a Frank Wilson record from 1965 - Do I Love You (Indeed I Do) – the original copy of which sold for £15,000!

Several designs of the instantly recognisable Wigan Casino cloth badges are on display as well. These badges were designed by Russ Winstanley and were initially given away to mark the first anniversary of the all-nighters.

Every self-respecting Soulie had to have a cloth badge or two. Courtesy Russ Winstanley.

Wigan Casino Canvas Shop

In 1978 Wigan Casino was named Best Disco in the World by American music magazine Billboard, beating the infamous New York club, Studio 54.

However, all good things must come to an end and the Wigan Casino and Northern Soul all-nighters were no exception to this rule.

The last official all-nighter was held on September 19 1981. Two more ‘final’ all-nighters were held on and December 2 and 6 the same year, but a fire in March 1982 signalled the end of the Wigan Casino and in the following year it was demolished.

A dancer at the Casino in the late 1970s. Courtesy Wigan Observer.

For a while the site was a supermarket, but now it stands empty and is used as a car park.

These days Wigan is probably as well known for its so-called pier, rugby league and football as it is for its connections to Northern Soul.

So get your dancing shoes on, grab your talc, head down to Wigan, relive the Northern Soul era and find out what the music really meant to thousands of ‘Soullies’.

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• rugby
• football
• magazine
• hoard
• radio
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• sewing
• Shop
• Music (art)
• black and white
• Painting

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