Feature Scooter: Wigan Casino
There are plenty of Northern Soul themed scooters, but the theme of Wigan Casino, ‘The Heart of Soul’, is probably one of the most inspirational and thought provoking…
There are plenty of Northern Soul themed scooters, but the theme of Wigan Casino, ‘The Heart of Soul’, is probably one of the most inspirational and thought-provoking.
Northern Soul was developed in the North of England from its roots, which had been set in Mod culture, Motown and R&B in London. As Mod culture phased out in the mid to late 60s the music moved towards an influence of love and psychedelia, which probably wasn’t a fitting scene for the hardworking grit of the Northern mind-set. Northerners wanted more; they wanted fast-paced music developed from Motown, and the DJs of the time went Stateside in search of it. The latest hard to find records were sought out and these records were then ‘broken’ for the first time at Northern Soul clubs’ all-nighters.
Wigan Casino ran from 1973 to 1981 and when it closed it broke a lot of people’s hearts. It was considered the end of an era, but it certainly wasn’t the end of Northern Soul. With a lot of young ‘Soulies’ getting into the scene, it’s probably now fair to say that Northern Soul is possibly more popular than it’s ever been. The records played these days are nearly all
floor fillers, as over the years the wheat has been sorted out from the chaff and the quality of the music delivered at Northern Soul events is also probably the best it’s ever been.
Darryl Braga has always been a passionate true ‘Soulie’. “I grew up with Northern Soul. I used to listen to the music with my brother and my mate. Once the music gets into your veins you can’t escape from it; it stays with you, and it gives you a buzz that only a ‘Soulie’ can explain. My first all-nighter was at the Queen’s Hall Swimming Baths/Leisure Centre in Derby in 1979. After I’d been to that I was hooked and I wanted more. I’d heard the music and I’d now seen the dancing in action; it was infectious!
“I first went to Wigan Casino in 1980. We got a mini-bus from the Beau Brummel pub in Derby to Wigan. When we got there it was out of this world and Northern Soul had been taken to a different level. DJ-ing that night was the creator of the Wigan Casino all-nighters. Russ Winstanley and the tracks he was playing were all one after another floor fillers.
Inspiration
“I got into scooters a while after I’d been into the Northern Soul scene, but when I got into scooters it was clear that the two sub-cultures were very well connected. I mean, there’s nearly always a Northern Soul room at every scooter rally you go to. With my love of scooters and Northern Soul, and having experienced the influence of Wigan Casino, I knew I had to develop a Wigan Casino tribute scooter.
“I wanted to ignite people’s memories. For the people who’d been into the Northern Soul scene since it started I wanted the scooter to take them on a trip down memory lane.
“For those who were newer to the scene, I wanted the scooter to tell the story of Northern Soul and give them a taste of the excitement of the day. And for those who’d never heard of Northern Soul, I wanted the scooter to tell them a bit about the history of Northern Soul and inspire them to listen to the music.”
The scooter
“Most Lambrettas which deliver a lot of custom artwork are usually based around the lines of a GP, but I didn’t want to use a GP for this theme. I’m aware that the model was around at the time that Wigan Casino was at its height, but for me the sporty appearance of the GP conflicted with the way I wanted to deliver the theme. I decided that the more curvy lines of the SX would be more fitting to the music and would carry the emotion of the music better.”
Having chosen the model of scooter,
which would form the canvass for the paintwork, artwork and graphics, Darryl had to decide how he wanted the subject to be presented. “This process was critical to the success of the delivery of the theme. The theme is massive; the options were numerous and they had to be put into an order which would deliver the story correctly.
“To complete this I had to meticulously go through a lot of media, photos, posters and flyers and put them into an order, which truly reflected Wigan Casino’s influence on the scene.”
Having decided on the images and the graphics for the artwork, Darryl now needed to decide what the base colour of the scooter would be. “I chose to have the scooter mainly white but with red touches. The white would allow the artwork and graphics to stand out and the red would add presence to the scooter. And of course the two colours were the colours of the Wigan Casino logo and background.”
With the paint and artwork decided upon, Darryl contacted ‘Phoenix’ to complete the initial phase of the artwork and then a secret contact of his completed the artwork inside the legshields. The combination of the artwork, graphics and paint works perfectly and causes the theme to be delivered with precision and interest.
Unique custom addition
As well as creating a fantastic custom scooter, Darryl wasn’t going to stop there. “I knew I would be showing the scooter a lot at rallies and at Northern Soul events, so this gave me the idea to create a themed show/display stand. The stand was fabricated by hand and it’s reinforced to carry the weight of the scooter. It has a lot of Northern Soul flyers and patches on it, and it works with the scooter to support the whole presentation of the theme and makes it more eye-catching.”
It’s clear from the thought, time, effort and presentation of this scooter that all the elements of the theme Darryl was hoping to deliver have been achieved. When I first saw this scooter on its display stand at a custom show it looked amazing. When I started to look round it, it re-ignited my memories of the days when I was at school discos and Northern
Soul was played; and that’s the endearing thing about this scooter.
“Although I never went to Wigan Casino, looking over the graphics and the artwork it took me to a place where I almost felt as though I could have been there. For me, that’s what makes this scooter probably one of the best Wigan Casino/Northern Soul themed tribute scooters on the circuit.” Acknowledgement: Scootering magazine would like say a special thank you to John Sanson, Gill Sarath and all the staff at the Grand Arcade Shopping Centre, Wigan, who helped with the photoshoot and allowed us the use of the premises. www.grand-arcade.co.uk