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My first visit to The Twisted
Wheel was memorable for many reasons, not least the quality
of dancers on display. For
me, it was a unique experience seeing people dancing
freestyle, unaccompanied, in circles or in rows,
clapping in unison with the beat. The truly great
dancers, like Frank Booper, could spin from one room to the
other, just like a tornado. The
most popular movement was to slide across the floor from side to side.
Booper gave me a quick lesson one evening, "pull your right
knee across your left, move it back, slide to your right,
then to your left......". He was amazing! Where are you now Frank? Then
there were the acrobats, who would do backflips and press ups
as the instrumental part of the record kicked in. The
influence must have come from the American Air Force bases which
were peppered throughout England during the Cold War. Words
and photographs could never do those dancers justice because
you had to be there - in a club with great music, like
minded people and loads of
atmosphere. When
respected music journalist, Dave Godin, visited the Twisted
Wheel Club in
1970, he couldn't believe his eyes. In his follow up article
he eulogised about events surrounding his trip and made
reference to an evening of Northern Soul music. It was a term
never before used, but one that would soon be known
throughout the country. Above
is an example of
a dancer at
Wigan Casino in 1977 - all that's missing is the beatin'
rhythm.
Notes thanks to David Meikle.
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