The Wigan Casino is the colloquial name for the

nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

the Casino Club, that operated in

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

between Friday, August 27 1965 (with Shirley Bassey topping the bill) and 1981, associated with the

Northern Soul Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged in Northern England and the Midlands in the early 1970s. It developed from the British Mod (subculture), mod scene, based on a particular style of African American music, Black American ...

movement in the UK. The club's enduring dedication to Northern Soul "all nighters" made it an icon among fans of the genre, continuing the efforts that other clubs such as the Twisted Wheel in Manchester, the Chateau Impney ( Droitwich), the Catacombs (

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...

) and the Golden Torch ( Tunstall,

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...

) had started. It remains one of the most famous clubs in Northern England. In 1978, allegedly the American music magazine ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' voted Wigan Casino "The Best

Disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

in the World", ahead of New York City's

Studio 54 Studio 54 is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater and former nightclub at 254 West 54th Street (Manhattan), 54th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. Opened as the Gallo Opera House in 1927, it served ...

, although there is no tangible evidence of this award ever being publicised. ''This England'', a TV documentary about the Wigan Casino, was filmed in 1977. Russ Winstanley and Dave Nowell wrote a history of the club, ''Soul Survivors, The Wigan Casino Story'', which was published in 1996. A stage play by Mick Martin about the Wigan Casino years, ''Once upon a time in Wigan'', debuted in February 2003 at the Contact Theatre in Manchester and has since toured nationally.

History

'The Casino Club' (known colloquially as Wigan Casino) was the name of the last incarnation of a Wigan ballroom called the Empress. Local DJs Brian Rigby and Alan Cain approached lease owner Gerry Marshall to run all-nighters. Venue manager Mike Walker brought in Russ Winstanley, who had a DJ set at the local rugby club, to the Casino. At 2 am on Sunday 23 September 1973, Wigan Casino started its first-ever

Northern soul Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged in Northern England and the Midlands in the early 1970s. It developed from the British Mod (subculture), mod scene, based on a particular style of African American music, Black American ...

all-nighter, with Winstanley as the DJ. After Winstanley and his helper Ian Fishwick, Kev Roberts was the third DJ at Casino all-nighters, who was quickly joined by Richard Searling Soul performers that performed there include Jackie Wilson,

Edwin Starr Charles Edwin Hatcher (January 21, 1942 – April 2, 2003), known by his stage name Edwin Starr, was an American singer and songwriter. He is best remembered for his Norman Whitfield-produced Motown singles of the 1970s, most notably the num ...

and Junior Walker. Young people from all over the UK regularly attended Wigan Casino to hear the latest northern soul artists and to dance. There were long queues to get in. The second dance floor, Mr M's, stayed open until 6 am and played oldies songs from a variety of DJs including Dave Evison and Steve Whittle. All-nighters generally ended with three songs that became known as the '3 before 8': "Time Will Pass You By" by Tobi Legend, "Long After Tonight Is All Over" by

Jimmy Radcliffe James Radcliffe (November 18, 1936 – July 27, 1973) was an American soul singer, composer, arranger, conductor and record producer. Biography James Radcliffe was born in New York City. He released such singles as "My Ship is Coming In", a so ...

, and " I'm on My Way" by Dean Parrish. Parrish (born Phil Anastasi) remained active on the Northern soul circuit until his death in 2021. Wigan Casino's 500th all-nighter was held on Saturday 16 May 1981, from midnight to 8 am. Over the eight years it was open, it reputedly had over one million people through its doors. Wigan Council owned the building and wanted to extend the nearby Civic Centre, but short of funding, it never went ahead. The club closed on 6 December 1981; that final night of Wigan Casino in its Northern soul state was DJ'd by Winstanley, and the '3 before 8' were played three times consecutively at the end of the night. The crowd refused to leave; according to Winstanley, to "break this spell of hysteria", he picked a 7" at random from his box and played that. This final Wigan Casino song became one of the most famous Northern soul songs of all time, Frank Wilson's " Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)". Annual reunions are held in Wigan and Blackpool hosted by various original DJs. The Casino is commemorated with a

Blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...

, which was installed in 2014, marking the place where the doors to the club once stood. The site is now occupied by the Grand Arcade shopping centre, which pays homage to the club with its Casino Café.

References

External links

For Dancers Only
The story of Wigan Casino by

Chris Hunt Chris Hunt is a British journalist, magazine editor, and author. Hunt has worked in journalism for over thirty years, most often writing about football or rock music. He was editor of ''Match'' from 1993 to 2001, a period that saw the weekl ...

, published in '' Mojo Collections'' magazine, Spring 2002
History of the Twisted Wheel ClubWigan Casino: I'm On My Way – Grand Arcade
* {{coord, 53, 32, 47.24, N, 2, 37, 44.48, W, display=title, region:GB_scale:5000, format=dms Nightclubs in England Soul music Buildings and structures in Wigan

History

See also

References

Further reading

External links