Trust Me #105-107
Time Will Pass You By by Tobi Legend
Long After Tonight Is All Over by Jimmy Radcliffe
I'm On My Way by Dean Parrish
In 2001 I moved out of my childhood home and into a flat in Dennistoun. After years of commuting from Carluke for work and pleasure, I was now just a mile away from drinks and nights in the likes of McChuills and Blackfriars, both of which had (and have) a real affiliation with northern soul.
Blackfriars had a monthly night called Friday Street and there was a pre-party in McChuills. I was turned on to some exceptional music played at these nights and after one I went into town and bought a compilation album called The Best Northern Soul All Nighter Ever.
Amazon link
Let your backbone slip - energetic northern soul dancing at the Casino
The album concluded with the three songs mentioned above and the sleeve notes indicated that they were the songs traditionally played at the end of northern soul nights - the 3 before 8(am) -at the world famous Wigan Casino. The home, in many people's eyes, to northern soul music.
Can you imagine dancing the night away, right through to dawn, to pounding soul? Stompers, floaters and floor shakers? All night long! Little rest. Fuelled by the music, atmosphere and whatever else might take your fancy! Pulling moves, dancing to grooves, wondering about song titles, sticky with sweat, wearing your best clothes and shoes/trainers, trying to keep up, getting sucked into the crowd ... getting your kicks out on the floor.
“As the lights came up, the floor shook with thousands of feet, hands raised in the air, and voices belting out the final anthems. It wasn’t just a club night—it was communion.”
I've thought about it many times. The hardcore that could last through the night until 8am would be rewarded with 3 majestic moments, 3 life affirming songs.
Flying (possibly in more ways than one!) at the Wigan Casino
So, let's take a trip back in time to find out what was going on ...
In the heart of the 1970s, amid the post-industrial sprawl of the North of England, something magical happened. Wigan Casino, a disused ballroom turned temple of soul, became the unlikely epicentre of the Northern Soul movement. From midnight to 8am, working-class youth travelled from all over Britain danced all night on talcum-dusted floors, fuelled by amphetamines and 100mph American soul records that had been forgotten, many lying abandoned and gathering dust in warehouses until DJ's like Ian Levine went crate digging for them.
Check this old interview with Ian to get an idea of how his taste and crate digging skills were so important to the development of the northern soul scene.
Upon finding new songs they cherished, when playing them, Levine and other DJ's on the scene, would often cover up record labels, so that other DJ's, collectors and fans wouldn't know the real song title, label and artist. They were more than happy to play the record, but they wanted to be the only person who had it in their box. This fuelled demand and prices!
The queue to get into the Wigan Casino
It might have started with the very first all-nighter - or maybe it just became tradition over time - but when people look back, there’s a shared sense that the ending at Wigan Casino was something truly sacred. As the night gave way to morning, the final moments were marked by a ritual: three songs, always the same, always in the same order. They became known as the Three Before Eight.
Over time, Time Will Pass You By, Long After Tonight Is All Over and I'm On My Way became more than songs. They were ceremony. Closure. A final emotional release before the lights came up and dancers spilled out delirious, tired, sweating and blinking into the dawn.
Wigan Casino closed its doors in 1981. The building was later demolished. But the spirit lives on.
Lets take a look at each song in order.
Perhaps the most poetic of the three, Tobi Legend (real name Tobi Lark) delivers a soaring performance with life affirming lyrics that must have felt like they were written for the scene itself:
Life is just a precious minute, baby…
Tobi Legend recorded Time Will Pass You in Detroit back in 1968. The song was written by John Rhys Eddins, Nick Zesses and Dino Fekaris.
Imagine being back in the Casino when this dropped- a reminder to make the most of every moment, every spin, to wipe away the sweat and forget about the tiredness from hours of dancing - the night was almost over.
Music doesn't really get much better than this. This song became really important to me when my wife Lynn (girlfriend) and I went travelling in 2007 and 2008.
And in later life it feels like the lyrics, and the euphoric way that they are delivered, matter even more.
All you have to do is live for now
Come along with me and I'll show you how
Take my hand I'll show you how to live, why wait until tomorrow
Take my hand and I'll lead the way, to a brighter day
Life is just a precious minute baby
Open up your eyes and see it baby
Give yourself a better chance
Because time will pass you right on by
A sweeping, orchestral masterpiece released in 1964 on Musicor Records, this song was the emotional heart of the 3 before 8. Radcliffe’s aching vocal and the song’s sense of finality mirrored the bittersweet feeling of dawn. I've always thought it would be a great first/last dance song at a wedding.
Shuffling percussion introduces the song and Radcliffe is in super swoony romantic mood. The four line first verse leads immediately to a chorus that declares undying love.
Tonight with you, for the first time
I have learned what my lips are for
And darling now, that I've kissed you
I am craving to kiss you more
Long after tonight is all over
Long after tonight is all gone
I'll be yours
Forever and a day, and yours
Come anything that may
You'll always be everything to me
There is only one more verse, containing the beautiful line - when I hold you, I can feel that the world is mine , then it is straight back into the chorus. This perfect song is delivered within 2-minutes 23 seconds.
Taking it back to closing at the Casino, imagine this playing after a night of dancing, you are with your friends, or with people who became friends for the night ... jeez it would emotional!
An explosion of optimism, Parrish’s 1967 stomper gave dancers one last burst of energy. Clapping hands, stomping feet, a chorus of defiance. I've always thought that the opening guitar riff was very Blondie, but the song message is Northern Soul in a nutshell.
Defiance, resilience, light at the end of the tunnel. This song lifts you up. Whether you've had a bad week, or whether you're at the end of a night of dancing. There are multiple riffs through the song, the lead vocal is rich and soulful, while the backing vocals lift it higher.
The bridge into the final chorus, which repeats a line in the second verse, is utterly perfect;
Baby I give you everything I've ever had to give
And now I'm gonna live
Here I go, I'm on my way out of your sight
I'm on my way, you're off of my mind
(Flying high)
Catch me if you can
Gonna cry, what a way to die
Time Will Pass You By, Long After Tonight Is All Over and I'm On My Way are added to my Trust Me playlist; search for Everything Flows - Trust Me on Spotify or CLICK HERE. Check below for all previous blogs in my Trust Me series.
70.
Stove by The Lemonheads
