The gig is a shambles I remember Grip, and maybe Burning up time and Bitching! Before the stage invasion and the violence I was under a table out of the way as bottles and glasses smashed and it got real nasty! Not long after at the Roundhouse no fuckers messed with us! - Carl Greenwold 24.6.77 Brirtol Exhibition Centre (Cancelled). Wigan Observer November 14th 1936 Wigan Watch Committee Plans for new Super Cinema Approved. The Borough Engineer Mr J Dove said the new plans were satisfactory, but he would like to have a clearer explanation of what materials were to be used on the elevations. Left - The stage house of the Ritz Cinema.
Soulboy | |
---|---|
Directed by | Shimmy Marcus |
Produced by | Christine Aldersen Natasha Carlish Peter Rudge |
Written by | Jeff Williams |
Starring | Martin Compston Alfie Allen Pat Shortt Bruce Jones |
Music by | Len Arran |
Edited by | Andrew Hulme |
Distributed by | Soda Pictures Moviehouse Entertainment |
| |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Soulboy (previously given the working title Souled Out[2]) is a 2010 British film directed by Shimmy Marcus about 17-year-old Joe McCain (Martin Compston) coming of age in 1974 amidst the northern soul scene. The film was shot in Stoke on Trent.
Plot[edit]
The film is set in Stoke-on-Trent in 1974. Joe McCain, 17 and restless, is bored with the flatline tedium of a life that seems like it's going nowhere, spending his Saturday nights in a dead pub called The Purple Onion and trying to rob the local fish and chip shop. However he then sees a beautiful woman in the street, and acting on impulse follows her into a record shop called Dee Dees Discs, where he finds out that one of her main interests is soul music and dancing at weekends at the Wigan Casino - the home of Northern Soul. He decides to go with his friend Russ on the coach that Saturday night, and starts to devote himself to learning how to fit in with the soul scene and become a Soul Boy - but there are complications on the way...
Cast[edit]
- Martin Compston as Joe McCain
- Felicity Jones as Mandy Hodgson
- Alfie Allen as Russ Mountjoy
- Nichola Burley as Jane Rogers
- Craig Parkinson as Alan
- Brian McCardie as Fish Shop Bobby
- Jo Hartley as Monica
- Pat Shortt as Brendan
- Huey Morgan as Dee Dee
- Bruce Jones as Wigan Casino bouncer
- George Oliver as Speedy Guy
- Barbara Lynn Teague as Uncredited extra
Soundtrack[edit]
Paul Weller, Feeder, Duffy and The Dap-Kings worked on the soundtrack to the film.[3]
References[edit]
- ^'SoulBoy'. edfilmfest.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2 February 2011. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
- ^BBC story: Soulboy (previously titled 'Souled Out') set in the Northern Soul scene in the seventies.
- ^'Paul Weller, Duffy, Mark Ronson's band for Northern Soul film soundtrack'. NME. 14 August 2008.
External links[edit]
- Soulboy on IMDb
The Wigan Casino was a nightclub in Wigan, England. Operating between 1973 and 1981,[1] 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 Impney (Droitwich), the Catacombs (Wolverhampton) and the Golden Torch (Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent). It remains one of the most famous clubs in Northern England.[2] In 1978, the American music magazine Billboard voted Wigan Casino 'The Best Disco in the World', ahead of New York's Studio 54.[3]
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[edit]
Wigan Casino was the name of the last incarnation of a Wigan ballroom called the Empress. Local DJ Russ Winstanley and Wigan Casino manager Mike Walker approached lease owner Gerry Marshall to run all-nighters. Walker brought Winstanley, who had a DJ set at the local rugby club, to the Casino Club. At 2 am on Sunday 23 September 1973, Wigan Casino started its first-ever Northern soul 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[4] Soul performers that performed there include Jackie Wilson, Edwin Starr and Junior Walker.
When Did Wigan Casino Burn Down
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, and 'I'm on My Way' by Dean Parrish.[5] Parrish is still active on the Northern soul circuit.
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 had over four million people through its doors.[6]
Wigan Council owned the building and wanted to extend the nearby Civic Centre, but short of funding, it never went ahead.[6] 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)'.[citation needed] Annual reunions are held in Wigan hosted by the original DJs.
The Casino is commemorated with a Blue plaque, which was installed in 2014, marking the place where the doors to the club once stood.[7]
The site is now occupied by the Grand Arcade shopping centre, which pays homage to the club with its Casino Café.[5]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 22 April 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2019.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^'BBC Manchester - Clubbing - Wigan Casino'. BBC.co.uk. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
- ^'Wigan Casino voted greatest disco in the world'. The Guardian. 15 June 2011.
- ^'Chris Hunt | Wigan Casino'. Chrishunt.biz. 23 September 1973. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
- ^ ab'Casino'. www.grand-arcade.co.uk. Archived from the original on 15 May 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ ab'Another spin for the Casino'. BBC Local. 9 August 2007.
- ^'What Does A Blue Plaque For Wigan Casino Mean, Anyway?'. Clash. 9 September 2014.
Further reading[edit]
- Shaw, Dave. Casino. Bee Cool Publishing, ISBN0-9536626-2-4.
External links[edit]
- For Dancers Only The story of Wigan Casino by Chris Hunt, published in Mojo Collections magazine, Spring 2002
Coordinates: 53°33′N2°38′W / 53.55°N 2.63°W