Undoubtedly, the Wigan Casino, is synonymous with the word Northern Soul. Although it wasn’t the first club to play Northern Soul, it took up the mantle after the untimely demise of our own (Manchester’s) Twisted Wheel club in 1973. (The Twisted Wheel closing in 1971, then reopening in 2002). Like all good clubs the Casino is sadly no more, the Hacienda becoming apartments in the late nineties, the Casino becoming a Debenhams. Apparently the world needs orange shop assistants more than men dressed in slacks, leather soled shoes and a vest...
In 1976 a legend stepped into the club for the first time and has kept the torch burnin’ ever since. By ‘76 the Club had a sound following and had been going for 3 years. What Tony “Chippy” Nicholls experienced on that first night he can’t fully explain. The energy of the place hooked him from the start and he never looked back.
For those who have seen the film “Soul Boy”, you will have caught a glimpse of the moment that people were caught up in, although Chippy liked the film, it can’t quite capture that magic he was part of. For Don Mclean, the death of Buddy Holly was the day the music died. However to Chippy- that day was December 6th 1981- the Final Wigan casino all-nighter.
“I thought it was all over [after the Casino closed] a mate of mine saw me years later and noticed I was down. It was 1988. He mentioned there was a new Northern Soul night on. The moment I was back on that dance floor and the music hit me and I knew I was back for good.”
“Wherever I go to dance, I’m recognized. Even before winning the competition (World Championships in 2009)”
Which is true, at the Premier of Soul Boy, in Chippy’s native town Lancaster, he got a standing ovation from the audience.
One of the themes of Soul Boy, is the use of amphetamines by dancers at the Casino. Chippy remembers one night a good friend of his took too much and ended up having to walk him around the car park outside until an ambulance came. Did Chippy ever take uppers? “Never”. Good man. In fact while a lot of us (me) require a few shandys before we venture anywhere near the floor, Chippy is happy to dance without any alcohol. Truly a brave man.
Fast forward to 2009, the venue is the Tower Ballroom, Blackpool. The Title of world Northern Soul World Champion is up for grabs. It came down to the final 4 dance off, and after a closely fought battle Chippy won by popular vote and final ruling by 2008 winner.
“Winning that Title was awesome, so many people there. I put everything I had into it. The Money didn’t matter, all I wanted was the recognition and the chance to prove myself against the younger lads. I don’t have to prove myself anymore, I only regret that my Dad wasn’t there to see it”
So sitting pretty at the top of his game, I asked Chippy was there anyone he looked up to in the Northern Soul world?
“Vernon from Bradford. Man, we used to clean that floor together at casino. He was awesome; I can't put into words how good he was. We used to get in for free in those days. He was a real nice guy with it too though”
So what made Chippy decide to pass on his undisputed skills?
“Other have said to me I should, I want to give something back to something which has given me so much. I wanted to do something while I still can.”
Chippy got a bit of training from a friend in the beginning, then started to pick up the moves from those around him at the Casino.
"To get started you just need the basic moves which I will be teaching people how to do. If people want to progress then I will be giving some 1-2-1 sessions afterwards."
Finally give us your all time top 10 Northern Soul Floor shakers.
1: Free for All: Phillip Mitchell
2: Come on train: Don Thomas
3: I don’t want to discuss it: Little Richard
4: He who picks a rose: Carstairs
5: Turnin’ my heartbeat up: MVPs
6: I go to pieces: Gerri Grainger
7: Blowing my mind to pieces: Bob Relf
8: ‘Cause you’re mine: The Vibrations
9: I got the fever: The Prophets
10: Stay: The Virginia Wolves
To hear this playlist, get the spotify playlist here. Or come down to Odder on a Sunday afternoon.
To see the Winning dance Click on this youtube link.
To become a fan visit our facebook group click here
For live tweets from DJ sessions join twitter here.
No comments:
Post a Comment