The Union Inn

A bit of an odd one this. The Union was a hotel right in the centre of town, and was a bit of a rabbit warren with lots of small rooms, and an upstairs function room big enough for about 70 people. In the 1960s the Union had gained a reputation as being a meeting place for drug users, and had been the subject of many a police surveillance. This is a certainty, as my Mum used to work in a Dagleys jewellers opposite to the Union, and the police used to use the upstairs showroom of the shop to spy on the punters!

This reputation made the place almost a perfect northern soul venue. The small function room had lots of atmosphere, and it was one of those places where you could hear the music as you climbed the stairs... great! One small problem, though - there was no actual dance floor. You had to roll the carpet back yourself!

Local DJs from Hinckley and from down the road in Nuneaton provided the music, and many an Out Of The Past pressing was played there. I distinctly remember the Rygelski sisters giving it some to the Funky Sisters "Do It To It" and Chuck Wood "Seven Days Is Too Long" packing the floor after it's recent UK re-release on Pye. Wigan sounds were the order of the day, with tracks like "Nothing Can Compare To You" - The Velvet Satins, "The Human Zoo" - The Commodores and "Goodbye, Nothing To Say" - The Javells ft Nosmo King also going down well.