photo gallery               A web-site fulll of real memories
                                      UK northern soul memories past and present                
       

 Forward about this website
Welcome to a free website aimed at people who attended Wigan casino allnighter. You are not asked to pay or join to browse the site. But being interested in the UK's northern soul scene of now or past times is very useful. If you attended Wigan casino allnighter this site was intended to give you memories that so far most book's failed to recreate. If you have just started going to allnighters or just want the true picture about the way allnighters ran in the 1970's. You will find the content is good to give you the facts. I have not tried to hide anything the things stated are true. But are told as a reflection of the time it took place not as a guide on doing the things mentioned at all I don't advise breaking the law in anyway.
  I have always been careful not to put anybody's name in the sites content. If anything stated on here gives people the impression that it refers to you contact me. I will remove it at once and issue a apology that says it was not you mentioned at all. The Wigan casino allnighters ran from 1973 until 1981 I would ask that all casual observers bear that in mind when reading the content. It was quite a long time ago nearly all the casino's members where teenagers following a top fashion of the time and where young. Fashions make a large number do things they would of never done until they followed it.
 Reminders + memories
 The photo's shown on the far left of this page. Will give the people who went to the Wigan casino allnighters a good reminder of it. The first shows Dave Evison (centre) who was the oldies dj at the casino is spot was a big feature and ran between 6am to 7am early Sunday morning. After him it was Russ Winstanley who bought the allnighter to a end at 8am. On the left is Gethro a leading face at the casino allnighters. He is at the moment compiling a book of his memories of Wigan casino. Details of the books progress and a complete description of it's content by Gethro himself. Will be available to visitors of this site first if you knew him you know the book will be very outspoken about things. 
 As we get to the end of 2009 and look back at the year it is still apparent to me. That northern soul is still wanted by enough people to make it viable to stage events. The Crossfire allnighter Susie and I attended at Easter was very well supported. Along with a wide variety of other events we went to throughout 2009 at the Twisted wheel, Blackpool, Prestatyn weekender, Kingshall in Stoke, 6 hills, Rugby, and numerous soul nights. I think we would both agree the year was a resounding success as Susie is currently on vacation in Thailand I will have to predict her answers. But I think the allnighters she went to she enjoyed herself a lot. Going by the expression on her face anyway which was a big smile. The new year also looks to be holding a host of good events the content will have to be sampled before I comment on it.
 There is definitely a lot of activity around the UK at the moment. Northern soul can only benefit from the added interest and good attendances at events. I cant ever see another place like Wigan casino taking place in the UK again. But having said cult fashions like punk rock and a few others have made numerous appearances over time. So knowing my predictions there stands a good chance of it happening sooner than later. The way going to allnighters became a almost a religion for many in the 1970's might not be the same. As times change fast the UK is'nt anything resembling the place it was then that's for certain. They say that lightening never strikes the same place twice. They proberly where saying that when the Twisted wheel was closed. Then said it after the Torch's last allnighter but the most successful was yet to come. Will there be another more successful allnighter still to happen yet? not for gear that's a fact.
 A overdue book that will tell the truth
  I think myself the release of Gethro's book might stir a lot of interest from teenagers. It  will undoubtedly  portray the true side of Wigan casino allnighters. A thing no other book published as got close to doing the feeling of togetherness the members had. The long journeys up the M6 where never tedious the coach was a hive of activity. Everybody knew eachother 7 days without seeing eachother was a lifetime when your a teenager. Many did'nt go to the casino every week but went to Yate, st Ives, Cleethorpes, or another venue every other week. So you first had to get the rundown on the other allnighters first the records played, the faces there, and was there any good gear at it. I'm fairly sure many places played brilliant records back then but where never considered good. Simply because the local DS had targeted it with large numbers of drugs squad there. The UK scene was governed by word of mouth in the 70's. If there was a large number of people busted at a particular allnighter or alldayer word soon spread. Watch yourself if you ever go there the squad are right bas*****. On reflection of coarse they where doing there job.
  When you cast your mind back and think of the blatant law-breaking that happened at every allnighter at the time. If many of the drugs squad where not so obvious that nearly all of them present where easily picked out. The northern soul scene at the time might as well of held alldayers at various magistrates courts as a large number would of been there anyway. There is always 2 sides of a coin many of the DS where very young so nieve to the scale it was happening. In the 1970's it was a part of allnighter culture if you went you got smashed on the way. That is 100% true the reason the conviction's are so low in number. Only a fraction of the gear taken each week went anywhere close to the venue itself. Bought at the persons home location off people they already knew and trusted. 
A viable reason why it won't happen again the same as Wigan casino did. It fitted the time it was created in but the way the teenagers where was very much different to today. If you wanted something you got off your ass and got it. Nobody would do it for you I cant imagine a 14 year old now hitching it to Wigan not without there parents. You did it or you did'nt go in the 70's it was a straight choice today it would not be safe to either. At 49 I would have to think about it then plenty of young girls hitched up the motorway to Wigan. How can young girls feel safe when going to a local shop is a gamble these days. I hope this was a reasonable introduction of how the time and place where very different to today.
  I will continue to tell visitors the a far wider story than you get in the published books, and TV shows. The true way it ran the revelry between dancers to be seen as the best there. The way places like Manchester, Wolverhampton, and Scotland where known by. The way they dressed, the way they danced, and the gear that they took. It was never a violent confrontation more a psychological war of fitness and teenage wish's to be no1 at the no1 allnighter on the northern soul scene. The lengths people would go to achieve this had no bounds what so ever at that time. A amphetamine cocktail was the normal solution to ward of fatigue and enable people to dance for gruelling lengths of time. Which sometimes began at 12.30 on the Friday night and ended at midnight on a Sunday night at 1 of the many alldayers at the time.
 Without sleep since finishing work on the Friday a large number of people. Where then heading back to work on the Monday morning having danced a majority of the weekend away in a demanding physical way. Had'nt had any rest or sleep but where about to do in certain cases a hard days work. If you imagine that you had just completed a marathon as you crossed the finish line. The people walk over but instead of a medal they say well done. Now run back to the start and we will see you there but if you stop we will have you killed. You manage to reach to complete the 26 miles again mainly through being petrified if you stop your dead. The same group stroll over every muscle in your body hurts you just want to rest and your sure in 2 minutes you will. Again no medal appears only a firm command right you are at the start now run the coarse. Same rule applies stop your dead and 10 family members will also be killed
  You just would'nt be able to start and complete the marathon again. It would not be a thing your body is able to do. Yet members would be at the oldies allnighter on a Friday night after doing a days work dance allnight. Be back on the Saturday having had neither rest or sleep and would be there still when Russ played "I'm on my way" the record that ended the allnighter each week. Was it some sort of endurance miracle members inherited by joining Wigan casino soul club back in the 1970's. After filling in all there details in the Blues + soul membership form and sending it in. They instantly became stamina icons of there time. I don't seem to think so but it was more of a certainty they had taken a vast amount of amphetamines to ward of fatigue. Anybody that can do a days work dance for 7 and a half hours on the Friday night. Do the same Saturday night then proceed to a alldayer on the Sunday which ended at 11 or 12 at night. But still be at work 8am on Monday morning. Had taken a large amount of drugs to be able to do it.
  Not some bulls*** to attract people to this totally free website that as been suggested in the past. But a 100% true fact the Twisted wheel, the Torch, and Wigan casino where all fuelled on large amounts of amphetamine drugs. It was an intrinsic thing in the 1970's if there was an allnighter there where also large amounts of amphetamines taken. This was not going to effect the licensing of the venue's at all. It was not a large drug pushing syndicate behind it just word of mouth somebody would hear  that some gear was available in there area. Before long most was bought and was the fuel for the next allnighter was taken long before going into the venue. So a crowd that had taken illegal drugs might of been in the  club. But had mostly not been taken there. The word of mouth network was a thing the police could not control as it was not large scale drugs dealers made a difference maybe.                                                                                       Which ever way you look at it there was very little that could of been done at the time to stop amphetamines being used. Even with lots of drug squad there every allnighter word went out and they where known soon after the night began. In general the problem was confined to the allnighter and did'nt effect the outside world as I never knew anybody who used them 7 days a week. Mostly on the Monday morning everybody returned to there normal way of life and went to work. Normality until the next time when the whole thing started again.  going                                                                          click-to-continue 
              














The content of this website is intended to be used as a reflection of the Wigan casino allnighter for those who where members. Not as a guide to doing anything that is mentioned anywhere in the content of it.