Casino

Whilst we were surprised to find out the site that Grand Arcade was built on was once an important Roman settlement, we would not have been surprised if any old vinyls had been dug up. This is because Grand Arcade was also built upon the ground where the famous Wigan Casino Soul Club once stood, which was once voted the World's Best Venue by America's Billboard Magazine, beating New York's Studio 54.

At Grand Arcade we like to embrace the history of Wigan, which is why we have a bespoke eating area called Casino Café which has been themed on the illustrious Wigan Casino Soul Club, which stood on the site of the centre until the early eighties.

The Wigan Casino Soul Club was a nightclub in Wigan and it operated between 1973 and 1981, it was known as a primary venue for northern soul music. Young people from all over the UK regularly made the trek to Wigan Casino to hear the latest northern soul artists and to dance. Queues to get in were sometimes five or six people deep, and stretched quite a way up the road. Every all-nighter traditionally ended with three songs that became known as the 3 before 8: "Time Will Pass You By" by Tobi Legend, "Long After Tonight Is Over" by Jimmy Radcliffe, and "I'm On My Way" by Dean Parrish. Parrish is still active on the northern soul circuit.