Staffordshire is a landlocked ceremonial county in the West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the south-east, the West Midlands county and Worcestershire to the south, and Shropshire to the west. The largest settlement is the city of Stoke-on-Trent, and the county town is Stafford.
Stoke-on-Trent is a city and unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of 36 square miles (93 km2). In 2021, the city had an estimated population of 258,400. It is the largest settlement in Staffordshire and is surrounded by the towns of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Alsager, Kidsgrove and Biddulph, which form a conurbation around the city.
Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged in Northern England and the Midlands in the early 1970s. It developed from the British mod scene, based on a particular style of Black American soul music with a heavy beat and fast tempo.
Stoke-on-Trent North is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Jonathan Gullis, a member of the Conservative Party.
The Twisted Wheel was a nightclub in Manchester, England, open from 1963 to 1971. It was one of the first clubs to play the music that became known as Northern soul.
Tunstall is one of the six towns that, along with Burslem, Longton, Fenton, Hanley and Stoke-upon-Trent, amalgamated to form the City of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. It was one of the original six towns that federated to form the city. Tunstall is the most northern, and fourth largest town of the Potteries. It is situated in the very northwest of the city borough, with its north and west boundaries being the city limit. It stands on a ridge of land between Fowlea Brook to the west and Scotia Brook to the east, surrounded by old tile-making and brick-making sites, some of which date back to the Middle Ages.
Congleton railway station is a mainline station serving the Cheshire market town of Congleton. It lies on the Stafford-Manchester branch of the West Coast Main Line in the United Kingdom.
The Wigan Casino is the colloquial name for the nightclub the Casino Club, that operated in Wigan between Friday, August 27 1965 and 1981, associated with the Northern Soul movement in the UK. The club's enduring dedication to Northern Soul "all nighters" made it an icon among fans of the genre, continuing the efforts that other clubs such as the Twisted Wheel in Manchester, the Chateau Impney (Droitwich), the Catacombs (Wolverhampton) and the Golden Torch had started. It remains one of the most famous clubs in Northern England. In 1978, allegedly the American music magazine Billboard voted Wigan Casino "The Best Disco in the World", ahead of New York City's Studio 54, although there is no tangible evidence of this award ever being publicised.
Kidsgrove Athletic F.C. is an English football club based in Kidsgrove, Staffordshire, England currently playing in the Northern Premier League Division One West. The team, nicknamed "The Grove", play their home games at Hollinwood Road, Clough Hall.
The Blackpool Mecca was a large entertainment venue on Central Drive in the seaside town of Blackpool, Lancashire, in North West England, first opened in 1965. In the 1970s, it was particularly known for The Highland Room, which was a major Northern Soul music venue. From 1977 onwards it was also host to the Commonwealth Sporting Club. The building was closed down in 1980s and was finally demolished in January 2009 to make way for new campus buildings of Blackpool and The Fylde College. However, following an issue with funding B&FC withdrew and as of 2013 the site is planned for residential development.
Shelley's Laserdome was a night club in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. It was at the heart of the house and rave scene in the early 1990s, helping to launch the career of DJ Sasha and featuring regular appearances from Carl Cox. It was eventually shut down by Staffordshire Police.
SONS Records is an independent record label based in Stoke-on-Trent, a trading name for SONS Records Ltd. The original company SONS Ltd was formed in 2004 by Seb Clarke, who was shortly after joined by: Neil Graham, Al Padmore, James Wakefield and Tangwyn Davies. The label consists largely of bands native to the North Staffordshire area and has become a noted figure both locally and nationally, having recently received attention from Chris Hawkins, Steve Lamacq, and Huw Stephens as well as Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie SONS has earned comparisons to Factory Records for its DIY ethic and its unique 'SONS sound'. In May 2020 following a decade long hiatus, SONS announced the launch of a series of tracks from their new roster of artists. The first of these tracks to receive national airplay while remaining entirely exclusive to the streaming platform Sonstream, was 'College Days Over' by Jayne Taylor. Chris Hawkins commented on his show that "this sounds like a great old tune, but it's brand new... Muscle-Shoals-on-Trent, great song and arrangement. Classic Americana with a twist of English melancholia."
Soulboy is a 2010 British film directed by Shimmy Marcus about 17-year-old Joe McCain coming of age in 1974 amidst the northern soul scene. The film was shot in Stoke on Trent following initial discussions with former Wigan Casino DJ Kev Roberts.
Goldenhill is an area on the northern edge of Stoke-on-Trent, in the Stoke-on-Trent district, in the ceremonial county of Staffordshire, England. It is centred along the High Street, part of the A50 road that runs from south-east to north-west. It is about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Tunstall and 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south-east of Kidsgrove.
Neil Rushton is a British journalist, DJ, record dealer, record label entrepreneur, event promoter and author who is closely associated with the Northern soul scene.
Colin Curtis is a British DJ whose career spans several decades and musical developments.
Jollees was a live music and cabaret venue in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom. The venue was re-established in March 2016, after having closed in 1992. The original venue was opened in October 1973 and was the largest capacity cabaret venue in the UK in the 1970s. It also hosted the World Professional Darts Championship from 1979 to 1985.
Casino Classics: Chapter One is a compilation album released by Casino Classics in 1979, which compiles the first seven northern soul singles that the label had released or re-released as 45 rpm releases in 1978–79 following their popularity at northern soul nightclub Wigan Casino. The singles, some of which were rare, were originally released on the label in order to cater for the nightclub's record-collecting goers at the height of the nightclub's popularity. The compilation is the first in the Casino Classics series and was released to general acclaim. It has been described as a best-selling album. In 2015, Cherry Red Records re-released the album as part of the Casino Classics: Complete Collection box set.
"Skiing In The Snow" is an American soul song which became adopted by the Northern soul subculture in the UK, written by Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell.
