stai visitando un raggio di soul, il sito che ... stimolates your gray matery !
ON THE CLUB SCENE
Ad Ottobre se ne è andato anche Dave Godin, colui che ha coniato il termine "Northern Soul". Il suo ricordo vive attraverso le storiche colonne di "Blues & Soul". In questa - del 1975 - promuoveva, nella rubrica "On The Club Scene", un locale di Wigan che poi avrebbe fatto storia..
WIGAN CASINO ALL NIGHTER every Sunday morning 2:00 thru 8:00 a.m. Members ad their guests only over 18 years. Free membership on application by post. Admission £ 1
FACILITIES : OK
SOUNDSYSTEM : Loud and imperfect, but as good as anywhere else
SOUNDS PLAYED : Variable but high standard with accent on heart-beat "dancers" and unique instrumentals
DJ's : All know what they're doing, and know what the public is looking for. They deliver the goods
MANAGEMENT : Friendly, cordial and non-uptight
BEST POINT : Soul laden atmosphere and intense enthusiasm
WORST POINT : Lethal, slippery toilet floors !
ATMOSPHERE : Lively, cool, solid and permissive. A leader in the field of soul locations, and deservedly so
COMMENTS : In less than a year Wigan casino has built up an enviable reputation amongst the soul fraternity through its all nighters, and this feat was largely engineered by manager Mike Walker with the help of Russ Winstanley and his friends.
Mike has taken the pulse of what today's Soul dancers are looking for, and has come up with a combination that satisfies and delights. The harsh light of the world and everyday life is exorcised by the dim atmosphere |…| and the dance floor is a never empty sea of people who gyrate until broad daylight.
A large bar serves soft drinks, and being separate from the dance hall itself, provides a cool oasis in which refreshment can be found alongside intense discussion and chat. A large balcony surrounds the main floor, and on this upper floor hot drinks and snacks can be obtained.
Bouncers and other "heavies" do not intrude to create bad vibes, and in any case, with such an enormous crowd assembled in one place, discipline is largely of people's own making. If you're into the soul scene to even the smallest degree, a visit to the Wigan Casino is not only mandatory, but will also give a new and vivid dimension t the complex and always fascinating phenomenon that we know and lobe as the Northern Soul Scene
DJ PROFILE : Russ Winstanley, graduated from playing records at the local Rugby Club, to become one of the top spinners at the Wigan Casino, when his old friend Mike Walker asked him to join in estabilishing an allnighter that might replace the vacuum created by the closure of the last of the big ones : the Wheel.
Having his own record business which deals to a great extent in imports, has not unnaturally given his an adge of great value over his competitors, and he claims the first Wigan allnighter to be his most thrilling (soulful) experience. He says he started in the DJ business "because he thought he could do it as well as anyone else" (a thought that is, I am sure, secretly echoed in the hearts of all Soul brothers ) , and since 1970 he's not looked back.
His favourite record is Dean Parrish's " I'm On My Way ", which Wigan now use to close their allnighter, and his favourite labels are "Loma" and "Warner Bros". £ 8 is the top price he's ever paid for a single, and that's was for The Sherry's " Put Your Arms Around Me ".
Russ is most concerned that DJ's on the Northern circuit do not get enough credit in any of the Soul magazines for the work they do, and already he has been branching out and making his influence felt by working on Radio Piccadilly. Tommy Hunt and James Lewis are his favourite singers, and over the years he has estabilished a close friendship with Tommy. In the group field, the O'Jays