The Constitutional Club

The Constitutional Club a was in an excellent position, in the 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 Rudzitis, 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 from Leicester 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 local northern soul events in Hinckley, and still a very active member of the soul scene, Pete Wileman.

Pete is a Twisted Wheel veteran, a winner of many dance competitions, and a man with a genuine 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 at the time), set up our own mid-week northern soul night at the Constitutional Club. The music played was mainly bootlegs and current releases on Disco Demand etc. The flavour was mainly Torch and Wigan, with sounds like "Unsatisfied" - Lou Johnson, "Help Me" - Al Wilson and "Times A Wasting" - The Fuller Brothers going down well.