Golden Torch

Last updated
The Golden Torch
The Torch
The Golden Torch Tunstall.jpg
A commemorative plaque placed at the venue's former site
Golden Torch
Location Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent, England
OwnerChristopher Burton
Type Nightclub, music venue
Genre(s) Northern soul, live music
Opened1964
Closed1973

The Golden Torch, more commonly known as The Torch, was a nightclub in Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent, England. Opened as a mod venue, it later became important to fans of Northern soul. Peter Stringfellow was amongst the many DJs who at some time had a residency there.The main Soul Anighter Dj's were Keith Minshull Colin Curtis Alan Day & Maretyn Ellis [1]

Contents

History

The building was located on Hose Street, behind the Sneyd Arms Hotel on Tower Square in Tunstall. It started as a church, before becoming a roller skating rink, and in the 1940s, the Little Regent Cinema. It featured marble pillars, and a balcony overlooking the dance floor. Retaining the original features, the cinema was converted into a mod club by Christopher Burton—a contemporary of Ivor Abadi (founder of the Twisted Wheel. [2] The club was opened on 30 January 1965 by headliners Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas. Acts such as the Kinks and Wayne Fontana followed. In 1967, after a performance by visiting soul music artists Inez and Charlie Foxx, the Golden Torch became a major soul venue, with a similar clientele to Manchester's Twisted Wheel.

After the closure of the Twisted Wheel in 1971, Chris Burton took up Keith Minshull & Colin Curtis's suggestion of Saturday Northern soul all-nighters at the Torch, holding its first on 11 March 1972. [3] The Torch's all-nighters proved a massive success, running from 8 pm Saturday to 8 am Sunday. Although the building was designed to hold a maximum of 500, a record 1300 people attended an all-nighter in 1973. [4] Artists who performed live included the Drifters, the Stylistics, Oscar Toney Jr, the Chi-Lites and Edwin Starr. [5]

However, it became a victim of its own success, with regular police presences, drug-taking and overcrowding. When the club came to renew its licence on 16 March 1973, Stoke-on-Trent council refused the renewal; without a licence the club simply faded away. The building afterwards burned down in a fire, but (following a public appeal led by former club barman and part-time DJ John O'Brien, and his friend Steve Hoskins) [6] a plaque now commemorates the club on Hose Street. [4] The closure paved the way for the Wigan Casino, now without any real rivals, to become internationally famous as the UK's foremost Northern Soul club, until local council antipathy forced it, too, to close, in 1981. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

Staffordshire County of England

Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands County and Worcestershire to the south, and Shropshire to the west.

Stoke-on-Trent City and unitary authority in England

Stoke-on-Trent is a city and unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of 36 square miles (93 km2). In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement in Staffordshire.

Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged in Northern England and the English Midlands in the late 1960s from the British mod scene, based on a particular style of black American soul music, especially from the mid-1960s, with a heavy beat and fast tempo or American soul music from northern cities such as Detroit, Chicago and others.

Stoke-on-Trent North (UK Parliament constituency)

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.

Twisted Wheel Club

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, Staffordshire Human settlement in England

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.

The Wigan Casino was a nightclub in Wigan, England. Operating between 1973 and 1981, it became known as a primary venue for Northern soul music. It carried forward the legacy created by clubs such as the Twisted Wheel in Manchester, the Chateau Impney (Droitwich), the Catacombs (Wolverhampton) and the Golden Torch. 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's Studio 54. Although there is no tangible evidence of this award ever being publicised.

Kidsgrove Athletic F.C. Association football club in England

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.

Blackpool Mecca

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.

The Sentinel is a daily regional newspaper circulating in the North Staffordshire and South Cheshire area. It is currently owned by Reach plc and based at Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent.. Its sister website is StokeonTrentLive. Originally delivering news to the residents of North Staffordshire and South Cheshire via its website, the website and it's mobile application now primarily focuses on clickbait to attract comments from its readers.

<i>Soulboy</i> (film) 2010 British film

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.

Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service is the statutory fire and rescue service responsible for fire protection, prevention, intervention and emergency rescue in the county of Staffordshire and unitary authority of Stoke-on-Trent. The county has a population of 1,126,200 and covers a total area of 2,260 km2. Staffordshire shares the majority of its border with Derbyshire, Cheshire, West Midlands (County) and Shropshire; although, in much shorter stretches, the county also butts up against Worcestershire, Warwickshire and Leicestershire.

Goldenhill Human settlement in England

Goldenhill is an area on the northern edge of Stoke-on-Trent, in 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 an influential British DJ whose career spans several decades and musical developments.

Chell, Staffordshire Suburb of Stoke-on-Trent, England

Chell is a suburb of the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England, that can be subdivided into Little Chell, Great Chell and Chell Heath. It lies on the northern edge of the city, approximately 1-mile (1.6 km) from Tunstall, 2 miles (3.2 km) from Burslem and 3 miles (4.8 km) from the county border with Cheshire. Chell borders Pitts Hill to the west, Tunstall to the south west, Stanfield and Bradeley to the south, with the outlying villages of Packmoor and Brindley Ford to the north and Ball Green to the east. Since 2011 the area has been divided into the electoral wards of Bradeley & Chell Heath, Great Chell & Packmoor and Little Chell & Stanfield.

Abbey Hulton United F.C. Association football club in England

Abbey Hulton United Football Club is a football club based in Abbey Hulton, in Stoke-on-Trent, England. They are currently members of the North West Counties League Division One South.

"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.

References

  1. "Hinckley Soul Club - The Golden Torch". Raresoul.org.uk. 1973-03-16. Archived from the original on 2015-05-09. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
  2. "Wigan". Northernsoulmusic.co.uk. 1981-10-02. Archived from the original on 2015-05-30. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
  3. Archived November 29, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  4. 1 2 "Stoke & Staffordshire - Entertainment - Respect to The Torch". BBC.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
  5. "The Golden Torch". Northernsoultrain.webspace.virginmedia.com. Archived from the original on 2015-09-05. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
  6. "Stoke & Staffordshire - Entertainment - See: Photos of The Torch". BBC.co.uk. 2014-11-13. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
  7. Dave Shaw Casino, ISBN   0-9536626-2-4, Bee Cool Publishing

Coordinates: 53°03′32″N2°12′41″W / 53.058967°N 2.211343°W / 53.058967; -2.211343