The Constitutional Club

Location: Station Road, Hinckley.

Date: 1975.

The Constitutional Club was in an excellent position, town centre just around the corner from the taxi rank. A first floor venue, above shops, it was a large room with a stage at one end and a bar at the other.

At the time, a successful soul club was running in Leicester called the Centre Soul Club, and some of their DJs put together a Hinckley Soul Night on a Friday.

The attendance surprised everyone. The first night was packed, playing mainly popular Wigan sounds of the time, and featured a certain Paul Rudzitas, he of Boogaloo Records fame. I seem to remember somebody saying that Pep had played there, but I can't swear to it. Anyone with the slightest interest in Northern Soul was there, and quite a few who didn't even know what it was!

The interest sparked the beginnings of home-grown venues. If these chaps can come in from out of town and make a success of it, why can't the locals do it?

Time to introduce one of the founders of the Northern Soul following in the town, and still a very active member of the soul scene, Pete Wileman. Pete was a Twisted Wheel veteran, a winner of many dance competitions, together with his wife Nita, and a man with a passion for Northern Soul. Pete purchased a set of disco decks, and together with myself (how I got involved in this I really don't know, but I was extremely honoured... I was only about seventeen), set up a mid-week Northern Soul night at the Constitutional Club.

The Constitutional Club wasn't a massive success for two reasons: one it was a Tuesday or Wednesday night (sorry, my memory fails me here), and secondly our record collections were not exactly up to the standard of Kev Roberts or Ian Levine. I can actually remember playing The Chantelles 'Runaway' on Black Magic... oh dear. Still, it was a start, and paved the way for much better things to come.

The Constitutional Club was eventually (and sadly) converted into offices, and now hosts one of the local newspapers.