Casino Club (Station Road, Wigan)

The Casino Club was in Station Road, Wigan, Lancashire and opened on Friday, August 27, 1965 with 28-year-old Shirley Bassey (b. Shirley Veronica Bassey, Friday, January 8, 1937, Tiger Bay, Cardiff, South Glamorgan, South Wales) topping the bill.

The Casino Club (known colloquially as The Wigan Casino) was the name of the last incarnation of a Wigan ballroom called The Empress Ballroom which was at 23 Crompton Street, Wigan and had been opened on Wednesday, November 1, 1916 by the Atherton family.

On Sunday, September 27, 1973 at 2pm The Casino Club started its first-ever Northern Soul all-nighter with 21-year-old D.J. Russ Winstanley (b. Russell Winstanley, Tuesday, October 21, 1952, Beech Hill, Wigan, Lancashire, England) and his helper Ian Fishwick. An unexpected eager crowd of 652 came.

Winstanley had been brought in by the venues manager Mike Walker (b. Michael Walker). Winstanley came up with the idea for putting on and DJing at the Soul all-nighters. So, he was the founder of The Wigan Casino Soul Club. 

The third D.J. at The Casino Club all-nighters was D.J. Kev Roberts (b. Kevin Antony Roberts, 1956, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England).

The Northern Soul all-nighters which ran four-nights a week carried on until it closed on Sunday, December 6, 1981, with the 500th all-nighter from 12pm to 8am. Over four million people passed through that venue in that time.

Information courtesy: John H. Warburg Mayl 2024