The Golden Torch: The Stoke venue that saved northern soul
‘Keep The Faith’ isn’t just a handy phrase for people to slap on shirts, bags, and whatever else they can sell to cash in on the northern soul realm; it also encapsulates the enduring spirit of a scene which, at one time, was the enemy number-one of local councils, politicians, and police forces.
Music, fashion, and drugs – these are the three key components of virtually every decent subculture in British social history, and northern soul was certainly no different. Its earliest origins, after all, were in the mod subculture of the mid-1960s, which became the scourge of local authorities for their violent clashes with rockers, and penchant for all-night dances fueled by amphetamines.
So, when the mod subculture morphed and splintered off into the northern soul scene of the late 1960s and early 1970s, there was certainly a worry that the violence of mods and rockers would be repeated. After all, the music wasn’t all that different – original mods being obsessed with Motown and American soul – and neither were the drugs. Pretty quickly, once the northern scene began to blossom, it became clear that police and local councils had already earmarked it for a crackdown.
In 1971, that crackdown finally came, when Manchester’s Twisted Wheel – the spiritual birthplace of northern soul and an essential venue during the early days of the scene – was shut down after months of increased police presence. In the end, it was an obscure by-law that put an end to the Wheel’s legendary all-nighters and, for many soulies of that generation, northern soul seemed to die with the closure of those doors.
There was certainly a risk, in the wake of the Wheel’s closure, that northern soul itself would dissipate into the ether, without anywhere to call home. Luckily, though, another venue was able to take on the mantle left by the absence of the Twisted Wheel and, thus, the Golden Torch became the unlikely new Mecca for the northern soul scene.
Located in the comparatively quiet Stoke-on-Trent town of Tunstall, in a largely residential area, the Golden Torch wasn’t exactly a natural replacement for the city centre dwellings of the Twisted Wheel. Nevertheless, it had the credentials to suit the scene, having been opened in 1964 and quickly establishing itself as the go-to spot for Stoke-based mods. It was only after the Wheel had shut up shop, though, that Keith Minshull and Colin Curtis suggested the Torch start hosting all-nighters.
It was in March of 1972 that the Torch held its very first northern soul all-nighter, and it soon became the definitive venue for the scene, attracting the greatest DJs and discovering a wealth of records that are now synonymous with the sound of northern soul. As if that wasn’t enough, the club also attracted many of those obscure American soul stars to perform live and in the flesh, seeing the likes of Edwin Starr, the Drifters, and the Chi-Lites visiting the town of Tunstall.
Ultimately, though, the glory days of The Torch were short-lived before it fell victim to the same problems as the Twisted Wheel. Drugs were rife, there was a near constant police presence, and the 500-person capacity of the room was regularly flaunted until, in 1973 – almost one year to the day since its first all-nighter – the venue had its license renewal rejected by the local council.
In the wake of its closure, the mantle of northern soul’s premier venue was passed down to Wigan Casino, which, in the end, was also closed down due to being targeted by the local council, although it did last significantly longer than either the Wheel or the Torch.
Still, though, that unsuspecting venue in Stoke played an essential role in keeping the faith, and keeping northern soul’s flame burning following the dark days of the Twisted Wheel’s closure. Without it, the scene might have burned out completely.
