Keith relf alamy stock photo
The Winter Gardens at Cleethorpes were constructed in the mid 20th century. It closed in 1973 after complaints from local residents, despite an appeal by singer Edwin Starr. Identification with the club was so strong that some Torch regulars sported tailor-made Torch logos on their blazers when attending other clubs. The main DJs were the ‘King-Spinners’, Keith Minshull and Colin Curtis, ably supported by Martyn Ellis, Alan Day and Tony Jebb. The club consisted of one main dance area and a stage, overlooked by a balcony equipped with a bar. A plaque commemorating the site of the Golden Torch club, Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire © John Keates / Alamy Stock Photo Many say that the club’s high point was 1972-1973. It was taken over by Chris Burton in about 1964-65 and converted for use as a club, initially hosting mainly pop music performances until starting to host soul music in about 1967. This club was based at the former Regent Cinema. A plaque set into the pavement at Oldham Street in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, commemorating The Twisted Wheel Club © David Crausby / Alamy Stock Photo The Golden Torch, Stoke on Trent Since 2000, the spirit of the club has continued with twice-monthy revival sessions at it’s new location on Princess Street in the city. The building has gone but is commemorated by plaques including one set into the pavement.
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This classic version of the club closed in early 1971. © Norman RogersĪ sign that the dancing was becoming looser however maybe that many dancers wore a driving glove, on one hand, to stop them from slipping when performing gymnastic ‘tricks’.
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Early clubbers in about 1969-70 at an ‘all-nighter’ somewhere between Manchester and the Midlands. To begin with, photographs show that the clubbers dressed in a smart style that was recognisably descended from the Mods, including ‘tonic’ or Trevira suits for the girls and lots of roll-collar button-down Ben Sherman and (cheaper) Brutus shirts all-round. Later covered by Coventry’s The Specials. An early up-tempo ‘stomper’ that might have echoed around the Twisted Wheel. ‘Sock it to’ em JB’ by Rex Garvin and the Mighty Cravers. Other key DJs in the 65-71 era were Brian ’45’ Phillips, Paul Davis and Les Cokell. The artists who played at the Whitworth Street club included names such as Billy Stewart, Lou Johnson and Ben E King.Įagle left ‘The Wheel’ after becoming disenchanted with many fans craving only faster up-tempo dance records or ‘stompers’. In addition to records, there were sometimes live performances by soul artists. In keeping with the name of the club, Roger Eagle deejayed from a cage constructed of twisted bicycle wheels. It consisted of a number of rooms, the floor was concrete, and the black painted walls ran with condensation. The building fabric of the Twisted Wheel was very basic and run down. The exterior of the Twisted Wheel on Whitworth Street, Manchester © Manchester Gazette Sited on Whitworth Street, near Manchester Piccadilly Station, having moved from Brazennose Street in 1965, this former club had a good claim to be the birthplace of Northern Soul.
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A quintessential Northern Soul track, covered in the 1980s by Soft Cell with a much different feel. Here, many kids, perhaps coming later to the soul party, still wanted to get dressed up to the nines and go out and dance all night to the gritty, heartfelt soul that spoke to them so well of love, loss and joy and frustration. Maybe ‘cool in a kaftan, love and peace man’ just about worked on the King’s Road, SW3, but not so well on Whitworth Street, M1? Clubbers at the Twisted Wheel in about 1970. Maybe meditating at The Middle Earth just wasn’t working-class Manchester’s, or Wigan’s, or Blackpool’s, or Stoke’s cup of tea. For many, soul gave way to psychedelia, progressive rock and a tendency to sit cross-legged looking inward for enlightenment-not to glide immaculately dressed across a polished dance floor.
KEITH RELF ALAMY STOCK PHOTO MOD
Mod had gone too mainstream and then fragmented.
KEITH RELF ALAMY STOCK PHOTO MODS
In the early and mid-1960s, London had been the R&B and soul capital of England, fuelled by the Mods who craved authentic Black music sounds to dance the night away to.īut by the late ’60s, ‘down south’ times had changed. Dancer’s from the last years at the Wigan Casino © Frank Orrell The birth of Northern Soul
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The name was coined by music journalist Dave Godin in ‘Blues and Soul’ magazine. Followers danced to, and collected, rare soul records from America. ‘Northern Soul’ is shorthand for a once ‘underground’ subculture that originally developed among young, mostly working-class people in the north of England in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Maybe after reading this, you’ll want to ‘Keep the Faith’ too. To celebrate the dance culture of Wigan and Blackpool, we’re looking at five places that formed the roots of the global music and dance phenomenon known as Northern Soul.