Wigan Album

Forgot to say the entrance to the BODEGA is on the left.. GREAT DAYS...

Sticky carpet an' all!

I was in a band which was the supporting act for Nat Gonella at Leyland Motors works dance around this time.

I know who Eddie Calvert (trumpeter) and Nat Gonella (and his Georgians)were though they were just before my time. I think Nat Gonella was still performing in the 1990's. - I also remember the sticky floor in there too!

You are probably right Ron, re the younger ones, i am a touch older than you, lol, so i remember them. I saw Nat Gonella at the end of his career, believe it or not, in the Hesketh Arms, Shevington Moor, i have never seen a pair of cheeks expand like he's did when playing his instrument.I saw Eric Delaney in Benidorm only a couple of years before he died, still very entertaining in his early 80s. He used to guest regularly with the Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra all over the country. Go to Eric Delaney Telegraph, scroll down and then Eric Delaney Telegraph again and there is a great photo of him with the WYJO. Never saw our man from Preston, Eddie Calvert, i remember well, cringing in certain pubs when my dad got up to 'try' and sing Oh Mein Papa, which was Calverts best known song, it stayed at no1 in the Britsh charts for 9 weeks, which i think is still a record (if you'll pardon the pun) for an instrumental.

frank law was compere in the time 60s

Remember Frank well not a bad singer / compere, i met his son Alan in Oz a year or two ago and then again when he came to vist Wigan about 12 months ago, virtually in the same business as his dad, he runs an RSL club in Brisbane, Returned Soldiers League, similar to our British Legions, but better, they all have restaurants with good reasonably priced food, entertainment etc.

The door looks like it's had a visit from the local MOB Looking for Billy and Joe no doubt <g>

Another longstanding compere in the early days of the King of Clubs went by the name of Al August whose signature song was That's a Plenty For Me. He lived in Glebe St off Frog Lane and I seem to recall that he went on to work on cruise liners.

Amphetamine central, purple hearts were a must in the King of Clubs and widely available there in the 60's.

At one time they used to have what was laughingly referred to as a "Chinese Restaurant" at the back. I think they used to send the orders out to the Happy Palace. Always tasted good late on though!

My old pal tom pownal ( leggy ) was door man here,sadly no longer with us tough bloke through the sixties.