When was the first northern soul night held?
Staying up all night, fueled solely by sweat, speed, and soul, the northern soul scene of the 1970s completely revolutionised dance and club culture in Britain. Emerging from the cities and towns of Northern England, legions of young people became entranced by the infectious sounds of obscure, overlooked, and forgotten American soul singles recorded years prior, and the churches in which these soul heads chose to worship were the nightclubs, dancehalls, and local venues of the glorious north, where they would often stay up all night long.
By the mid-1970s, the northern soul scene was well-established across the UK, and its popularity had even spilt over into the musical mainstream when reissued tracks popular at soul all-nighters began to enter the pop charts. At that time, the indisputable Mecca for any northern soul obsessive was the mystical Wigan Casino, often viewed as the centre point of the entire scene. Those long queues, that great big dancefloor, and the wealth of young people swaying the night away made those Wigan all-nighters the magnum opus clubbing experience of the era, but the venue was certainly not the first to host a northern soul night.
It was September 1973 when the Casino Club in Wigan hosted its very first northern soul all-nighter, but the scene was already well-established by that point, so where did the first one of all time take place? Like with many aspects of the scene, this is a topic that is shrouded in mystery, with multiple conflicting accounts of where and when the first all-nighter took place. Nevertheless, it’s virtually impossible to discuss the early origins of northern soul without mentioning the Twisted Wheel in Manchester.
Located on Whitworth Street in the city, the club established the foundations of the scene, introducing countless young people to the incredible sounds of American soul. The Twisted Wheel held all-nighters soon after its initial opening in 1963, years before anybody had ever uttered the words ‘northern soul’.
Although those early all-nighters often featured the R&B and mod rock of the period, they were always soul-oriented and informed a lot of the sensibilities of later northern soul all-nighters, particularly with regard to the dance moves and, of course, the drugs. Had the Twisted Wheel not been shut down in 1971, amid growing pressure from the local police and council, it likely would have remained the defining venue for northern soul all-nighters for many more years. Instead, Wigan Casino took its crown.
Arguably, though, the roots of northern soul all-nighters go back even further than the Twisted Wheel. After all, the movement has its roots in the mod subculture of the 1960s and, in terms of mod, you need look no further than The Flamingo Club in Soho. It first opened in 1952, but moved to its iconic Soho haunt five years later, shortly before the streets outside the club became littered with sharp Italian scooters and parka-clad mods.
Typically, the Flamingo Club focused on early R&B music, as well as jazz and ska, but it did become famous for its all-nighters, even if those nights didn’t often include the obscure American soul that northern soul fans would later covet. You could certainly argue, therefore, that The Flamingo paved the way for venues like The Twisted Wheel, The Dungeon in Nottingham, the Mojo in Sheffield, or even the Tin Chicken Club in Castleford, all of which hosted soul all-nighters between 1965 and 1967, prior to the name being a recognised scene.
Ultimately, the first northern soul all-nighter is entirely dependent on your own understanding of the scene. If the event had to be explicitly advertised as northern soul, then the first official all-nighter likely took place in the early 1970s at The Twisted Wheel. However, if any soul, R&B, or American music all-nighter counts, then you’re looking much closer to Soho’s The Flamingo circa 1963. Like much of the northern soul scene, the first all-nighter is certainly up for interpretation.
