Wigan Casino

In May of this year a 45rpm record, recorded as a demo for the Motown offshoot label ‘Soul’ in 1965, sold for over £25, 000 at auction.

The single ‘Do I Love You (Indeed I Do)’ by Frank Wilson, probably means very little to the vast majority of people, but for a small group this record represents a kind of Holy Grail.

The record that sold in May is one of only two originals thought still to be remaining in the world after Wilson is believed to have destroyed all other copies.

Contrary to his original feelings about his song, the record is loved and considered one of the most important of the Northern Soul movement.

Its significance and it’s uniqueness place it in a prestigious list, populated by far more well known artists, of the most valuable and rare records in history.

The passion for music that results in a single record fetching such a high price typifies a movement like Northern Soul.

The same enthusiasm meant that the small Northern Soul club Wigan Casino became so popular that in 1978, it was voted by America’s Billboard magazine, “The Best Disco in the World”.

The history of Wigan Casino is always surprising and very interesting, and for an unusual insight into the normally quite secretive nocturnal world of the all-nighters that happened there, a film by Tony Palmer called Wigan Casino, which for years has been doing the rounds on the internet, has been remastered and is being shown at SPACE Studio until 19 December.

Whether you have never heard of Wigan Casino or you regularly attend the annual Casino night now held in the shopping centre where the club once stood, Palmer’s film is an enlightening look at an important but too often overlooked piece of Britain’s musical history.