Russ Winstanley (born October 1952) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

DJ, originating from Beech Hill, in

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the north-east and Warrington t ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

Early life

He attended Wigan Grammar School.

Career

He is best known for his championing of Northern Soul music at the

Wigan Casino The Wigan Casino was a nightclub in Wigan, England. Operating between 1973 and 1981, it became known as a primary venue for Northern soul music. It carried forward the legacy created by clubs such as the Twisted Wheel in Manchester, the Chateau ...

. Since its closure in 1981, Winstanley has still been active, both on the Northern Soul circuit and in

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...

. He has hosted his own show on

BBC GMR BBC Radio Manchester is the BBC's local radio station serving Greater Manchester. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at MediaCityUK in Salford Quays. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience ...

and XFM in Manchester, and has had a regular northern soul show on

BBC Radio Lancashire BBC Radio Lancashire is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Lancashire. It broadcasts on FM, AM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on Darwen Street in Blackburn. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly aud ...

. On 23 September 1973, Winstanley had the idea for putting on and DJing at the Soul Allnighters at

. Over four million people passed through the venue, which ran four nights per week, until 6 December 1981. Both Wigan Casino and Winstanley won many awards for best venue and best DJ. In 1997, Winstanley compiled

Telstar Records Telstar Records was a British record label that operated from 1982 to 2004. Background Telstar was founded in 1982 by Sean O'Brien and Neil Palmer with a government loan of £120,00Telstar RecordsIt was launched as a specialist compilation mar ...

northern soul album ''Soul Survivors''. In 1998, his book ''Wigan Casino Story'' joined the bestsellers' list. He was also music consultant on the Bolton Octagon's re-staging of ''Once Upon A Time in Wigan''. It was based loosely on Paul Sadot's original sell-out production of 2003. Ace/Kent Records released a CD compilation album in 2004. featuring music consultant and director, Paul Sadot's tracks from the original production.

References

English radio DJs Club DJs Soul music Living people 1952 births {{UK-music-bio-stub