Business journalist James Graham has made a short film about the last soul sessions at the old Twisted Wheel building in Manchester before it was demolished to make way for a hotel.
In the 1960s the legendary venue hosted soul nights and performances by artists such as Ike and Tina Turner, Edwin Starr and Ben E King and it is considered by many to be the birth place of Northern Soul.
The club closed in 1971 and subsequently became the location for new clubs trading as Placemate 7 and more recently Legends but in 2000, DJ Pete Roberts resurrected soul sessions at the venue using the Twisted Wheel name.
James Graham’s film, Long After Tonight – The Last Days of the Twisted Wheel, captures the final nights in December 2012 and the subsequent demolition.
He said: “I work nearby and wanted to capture the building and everyone who went to the soul nights before it vanished. So many significant buildings are swept away and forgotten.
“There’s such passion amongst the Northern Soul crowd and the Twisted Wheel night is continuing at another club, but for them this venue was very special. I hope I captured that and also the way people and their passions tend to get swept away in the name of regeneration.”
The buildings were owned by Targetfollow and sold off when part of that business went into administration. They were picked up by London-based Olympian Homes which struck a development agreement with German hotel chain Motel One.
Construction on the hotel is now underway.
The lease was held by Julian Lyons who employed around 60 staff at the Hotel International, a pub called The Outpost and Legends.
James Graham is the deputy editor of the North West edition of the BusinessDesk.com and he was also deputy business editor of The Yorkshire Post.
