Wigan Album

Brought back so many happy memories seeing that photo. Upstairs learning to dance and then downstairs at the cinema and the live shows. Apart from The Rolling Stones (which the boyfriend and I weren’t keen on) saw them all, including The Beatles but my favourite first second and last was always Cliff Richard. When I hear The Drifters singing Saturday Night at the movies - boy such happy memories. Thank you Ron.

The last time I went into this cinema was to watch ET with my son,so it must have been about this time.The sound did not come on for about the first ten minutes and spoiled the film but they would not start it again.Never went again but still have many good memories of the Ritz.

This cinema was lush..I remember everything about it,I've said before..your feet sunk into the carpet when you stepped foot into the foyer..and of course the ABC minors was something that every child who attended will never forget..Saturday mornings was brilliant...oh where did it all go in the name of progress...it makes me wonder,I go to Wigan town centre twice a week and practicaly every shop is closed ..what on earth will they do with all the closed shops..for my money,they're just ripping the heart out of our town.

I went on my first date here. I was 15, he was 17. We saw Bonnie and Clyde. He bought a box of Clarnico Peppermint Creams from the kiosk and we sat on the back row. He never took his eyes off the screen, ate all the peppermint creams without offering me one and made me come out before the end because they all got shot. Can you believe I am still with him? !

I was the Senior Projectionist there for ten years until closure in March 1983. I much preferred working there prior to conversion as a triple. I worked there again when it reopened as the Ritz Film Centre, but only on Sunday evenings as I was working elsewhere by then. I did this in order to give the projectionist his time off. A lot of good memories there.

I remember my sister & myself getting the bus from Holland Moor to queue up outside to see a film....it was such a glamous theatre....another disaster by the planners . They had no idea that they were destroying a town.

Lovely story Irene, it resonates with me that one, I was 15 as well . Years later we took our 10yr old to watch Grease.He couldn't sit still in his seat, and he danced all the way home.The following Mon,I caught him putting his dad's Tru Gel on his hair for school, said he was being John Travolta.

Tom I would love to know how the projectionist got the change over of the reels to run so smoothly? "You couldnt see the join" to quote Eric Morecambe<g>
I remember going to the Scholes Picture House in the 1950's when the projectionist would put a slide on the screen advising a short delay while the projectionist changed the reels <g>

To the right was a big flight of steps leading down to Crompton Street . About half way down was an emergency exit . Our trick at the ABC minors was for one kid to pay in then open these doors to let the rest of us in for free .
Shameful of course , but when you're ten it was an act of derring do , just like the heroes on the screen .

Lovely story from you too, Edna! My husband took both our children to see Ghostbusters at The Ritz before it was demolished. I'm glad they went inside that old cinema before its destruction.

I, and many others have queued up along that part of Station Rd a few times. The Ritz Super Cinema as it was known, was built in 1937 -38 containing 2,560 seats. My abiding memory of the Ritz was in February 1958 and being where i and 3 mates shouldn't have been, in the gents stage side toilets, with me being stood next to my favourite artiste, Buddy Holly in the urinals, (my claim to fame). The stage side toilets where supposedly closed to the audience, but, in the interval, 4 15 / 16 year old lads where having none of it and chanced our hand that the door may be open and it was. There was a notice in the foyer saying the foyer toilets had to be used and not those inside the 'theatre'.
There is an article and an inside photograph about the building of the cinema on Google under the heading, "The Ritz Super Cinema, Station Road, Wigan"

The doors at the ext is where we would come out just before the film was ending to avoid the rush. Gong down the carpeted steps in the dark. I'm surprised there was nobody at the door to stop anybody getting in free, loads of kids did that.

I remembered the Ritz for its grand cinema and loved all the blockbusters I watched there.. Jurassic Park anyone?
Let's not forget that that it didn't close completely in 1983 as it opened again after its short time closed and stayed open until about 1997.
The last film I watched there was Twister... the one about the the tornado.
It was sadly closed shortly after.

went to a package tour in about 1965,smokey Robinson,stevie wonder,martha and the vandellas,georgie fame and the blue flames, how about that and there was hardly anybody there,georgie fame complained from the stage about what was the most exciting bill ever put together featuring American artists, and nobody from wigan seemed interested, today it would be megabit will never happens have a poster in a frame of an advertisement for this concert.

My what a grand photo , it has brought back very emotional and good memories for me . The Ritz was where i went on a kind of blind date and, met the most wonderful person one could ever wish to meet. From that date she became my wife and we have celebrated 51 Glorious years of Marriage together . The film on that Saturday night was "On Her Majesty's Secret Service"with George Lazenby ,he was awful but i didn't see much of him !!!What to this day surprised the then wife to be was like someone has mentioned she walked up the red carpet's whilst i got the ticket's and i gave her a ten bob note and said just get what you want ,( She must have thought this is rockafeller or something ) We laugh about it a lot . Back to the issue it was a grand old lady that cinema and was a very sad day when it closed ,then pulled down. THANK YOU RON HUNT ......

My memories predate all the above I saw Gone With The Wind there.Could it have been before the war?I was bored by it.A more memorable film was Es.some cinema buffcape or some such title with Loretta Young,Nazimova & Conrad Veldt.Some cinema buff will tell me whenThe film that for no good reason sticks with me from the war years was Oil Town USA.A generation before the rest of you youngsters

I have since checked The war had just started when Gone With the Wind was released in this country and Escape a few months later but starring not Loretta Young but Norma Shearer Old Men Forget