RUSS WINSTANLEY
How did it all start?
“After attending Bolton’s Cromwellian Club in the late 60s and Blackpool Mecca in the early 70s I started a Friday Northern Soul Night at Wigan Rugby League Club in 1971, before transferring to the much bigger Wigan Casino with three rooms and a capacity of over 4,000. I ran the events every Saturday; midnight until 8am. Once a month there was also an ‘oldie’ allnighter and early sessions every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.”
Between 1973 and 1981, how many people do you think visited Wigan Casino?
“There were over 500 all-nighters and 1,600 early sessions. There were approximately 100,000 members. The average all-nighter attendance was around 3,000 and the early session attendance was around 1,250. Weekly attendance, with oldies all-nighter included, was over 10,000
