TWISTED WHEEL MAIL  PAGE 2

 

 

The X12 from Bradford to Manchester on Saturday evening in the early 60's had loads of people going to the Wheel in Brazennose Street. Others went on the train to Victoria Station and many hitched. A few Lambrettas if they could make it over Rishworth Moor on on to the Oldham Road.

 What a Mecca. 

Memories...oh the memories 

Mention the Wheel in my local pub in Norwood Green near Halifax and people start going misty eyed. Those that had heard about it and wanted to go but never made it and those that did, like me and were totally hooked until it moved. Only went once to the new Wheel when it moved. Lost its soul. Have thought about the reunion evenings but the actuality and the memories are enough. 

Henry Walker if you read this get in touch. andrew.parker@talktalk.net 

Regards to all Wheelers

 

Andy P

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I have a Wheel badge which was given out on the door, if I remember rightly, in mid-1970. I've not seen it anywhere on the net, nor in fact, anywhere else. It is mid-blue-coloured round plastic with black 'The Twisted Wheel Club' lettering on the front and it's sticky-backed, about 1.1/2 inches in diameter. I used to have it stuck on my holdall in the good old times and I was not unique. Does this ring bells with anyone ? If not, I'll happily send a scan if you're interested.

Kind Regards,

Graham (from Stafford). Ggrayzee@aol.com   

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Just found you web site. I's brill - Anybody remember seeing an act called Charles & Inez Foxx at the wheel?  They blw my mind with their version of Mockin Bird!!. In those days not many families from Salford (my home town) had 'phones so it was quite easy to say you were stopping over at your mates on a Saturday & vice vers, no one could really check!!  You were not allowed to sit down, you had to keep on moving.  Then we would all drift of to Piccadilly Gardens to 'get it real' before you arrived home in time for mum's Sunday Dinner, saying you were starvin, cos your mates mum, where you had supposedly stayed, could'nt cook like your own mum.  Bless - she was that chuffed she did'nt usually go into too much detail as to where you had really been! 

Mo (Ex Salford Wheeler)  maureenlamb@btinternet.com

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I am amazed at the memories of  people who have writen in to this site did the old wheel in brazenose st reason for leaving my first job at midland hotel manchester only place to go on finishing  work  moved to brighton used to go to the ram jam in london flamnigo rooms then back to manchester in 66 to find the wheel still going stax on fountain st  blue note  top twenty to many places to list as the substances used and abused diminish the memory banks my main recollection is of ruined shoes soaked and salt stained from dancing all night ulcers inside the mouth from chewing gum loads of new best friends who you did not recognise or remember the next week because you had been that blocked up  and footy games on the car park if you could climb the hill from the rear exit and getting the bus to the wheel at blackpool from mosley st bus station  as for the sounds they are embedded in my brain the music is what it says  soul  arthur hinchcliffe formerly of levenshulme now in the wilds of wales (brecon beacons)

beenthere@sky.com 

Hi - My name's Kath.

 Haven't seen any new messages on your site for ages, so thought I'd send you one!

 

I went to the Wheel from around '66-70, best all-nighters I ever went to. I occasionally tried a few other places - Top 20, Birdtrap, Plebs, but always went back to the Wheel. I used to catch the X12 bus from Bradford in W.Yorkshire, along with a friend - also called Kathy (who I recently tracked down, almost 40 year's worth of gossip to catch up on!) plus a few other people from Bradford who occasionally went to the Wheel. After the session at the Wheel ended, we used to go onto another club - usually Top 20 or The Blue Note, along with a bit more in the way of illegal substances. Saw some brilliant bands, Jr Walker was favourite, but also Oscar Tony jr, Jimmy Cliff, Jimmy Ruffin, Inez & Charlie Foxx, Drifters, Ben E King - I could go on forever! I was grounded by my parents, eventually chucked out because of it, but nothing was going to make me give it all up until I was ready!

 

I lost touch with all my old mates  when I stopped going there (well, you have to grow up at some point, don't you?) but I would love to be in touch with them again. I've been e-mailing a few "old Wheelers" whose addresses I've found on various websites - most of us can't remember if we knew each other back then - but we've all been having a laugh at some of the crazy stuff we used to do. Jimmy Norton, Dave Brockway, Dave Berg, Sue Rigg, where are you all? I'd love to get in touch & see how life has been treating you!

 

Kath Magson (Jenkins back in those days) k.magson@talktalk.net

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Hi Dave

 what a buzz I got from reading the submissions - and it also promted quite a few memories that had gotten well and truly buried.

I used to travel to the Wheel with a crowd from Hull and we would pick up with a gang from Doncaster on the way. If we were on the train (the TransPennine), we would gather in Hull city centre and get the 8pm (last one) which got us into Picadilly at around 11pm - perfect timing. The gang included Steve Jennison, Stu Mumby, Graham Bolton and the two Martins plus the Donny crowd of John Smith, Tom Sleight and Charlie Pettican (Goole). Musn't forget the girls - Chris Fernie and Beverley plus Gill and Denise.

The Edwin Starr gigs were great and I suppose we must have seen all the greats between 1967 and 1969. I recall one night when we fell out into the rear carpark at 7am and stood  around Charlies car waiting for him to open it up. He wandered up with his keys and was the first to notice it had gone ! I didn't mind his car having been stolen, there was always the train! But what really hacked me off was that in the car was my brand spanking new bowling bag containing my best Ben Sherman, a pair of ace black driving gloves (non driving variety)and two packs of extra strong mints! Sorry, Chas!

Still have five membership cards plus half a dozen flyers with acts such as the Alan Bown Set and  Zoot Money . Had some full sized posters too but assume my brother  Martyn, who is purporting to be a big time northen soul DJ, has stolen them?. When the all niters finished, we moved onto the Mojo in Sheffield for the all dayers. Fun times and I wish I could remember more........

Note for all Gondola (Hull) members - I still have my membership card which was signed by the Drifters when they played the Skyline Ballroom. 

 

Now living in complete vegetative state in rural France and would love to hear from anyone who has overlapping memories 

" THE OLDER I GET, THE BETTER I DANCED"

Mike Bird   Gotravelfr@aol.com

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hi Dave & everbody that went to the wheel etc ! 

My Name is Kevin O'Mara & I have been lucky enough to go to both Wheels [ although under age } near the " rising sun pub " & listening [ not much dancinig then ]

 to r & b music coming fast from the u.s.a  & the now famous blues bands - spencer davis - giger baker etc

 like everbody before me in there stories its was a great time ! personally I liked the later soul music & still do , travelling to burnley [ birdtrap ], blackpool [ mecca ] wheel ! Many thanks to you all for the great times - love from N.Z komara@xtra.co.nz 

 

 

Trying to track down a few old mates who used to go to the Twisted Wheel between 1967 and 1970(-ish).

We also attended the Mogo allniters (Sheffield) & Nite Owl niters (Leicester) before we settled on the Wheel as our Saturday night 'home'.

Had many a great night at the club, catching terrific live shows (Ike & Tina + those Ikettes in their short skirts, Oscar Toney Jnr, Edwin Starr, Jnr Walker and many more).

We (the Doncaster lot) used to hang around with the Hull (Mike Bird, etc), Goole, Lincoln, Nottingham & Kidderminster kids.

BTW, I wrote about my 1st visit to the Wheel in the book 'The In Crowd' (Chapter 6 --Jnr Walker on 14th October, 1967).

             CHEERS

                    John Smith; Oxford  JSOULSMITH@aol.com

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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