Comments and reviews from 21st March
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Just got home, what a brilliant night it was, great to put some faces to the names on here chalky,ezzie brown,ang b great to be back at the wilton, top night brilliant music, nothing else to say apart from thanks for this one dave,mouse,jerry see you next one

Hi Harry, it was also nice to meet you guys & a few more, after a bad start to the night for me, throwing up in the car for 1 half hours & excrutiating pains in my head, i thought i was dying, but managed to come back in & have a good dance till we left at 5, the freindly atmosphere & good venue, but what a long journey in the snow, great to meet up with Helen & freinds Di & Harry, Sharon & hubby& freinds & Del T,Baz & everyone else

Keith you are a star (even though i couldnt get out of the car) my god how embarrassing, an amazing night, it had the lot superb people, superb music, superb venue and last but not least superb bar (no last orders whey hey i was in my element) it was fab to meet all my new pals off SS you are all wonderful Ang, Paul, chalky, out on the floor, kylee,ezzie (luv ya) and last but not least Debbie and Tim from all the way down in loughbourgh thanks for making the trip you are lovely will speak soon THANKS TO YOU ALL I HAD A BALL I REALLY DID luv Di xxxx and thanks Dave for coming for us, Steve&shaz for taking us and the lovely keith for gettin us home safe and sound see you all in may xxxx

Why don't I ever get introduced to anybody off here?
Wasn’t going to go… but I'm weak, what can I say
The old place has definitely had an upgrade… but it's still the same old Wilton… only now its got a cracking new dance floor.
I loved it... one of the best floors I've had the honour of making myself look an idiot on for ages!
Somehow managed to fight our way through the wind and the blizzard to get there sometime around 2.30am.
The minute we walked through the door there was a great buzz about the place from ... took me back to Wilton days of old. That place used to rock... and I mean ROCK!
What I love about coming here is that you know you are going to see mates you don't see often enough... namely those gorgeous North East guys and gal (Headsy).
I can't believe the amount of people Tony said were in there last night that I didn't see… how the hell did you manage that guys!
The music was spontaneous and unpredictable... just how I like it... with each hour bringing something different to the table.
That's what I love about collector's nights... not knowing what's going to come next... keeps you on your toes.
Great sets by all DJ’s... although spot of the night for me goes to Kev J and Headsy... 10 out of 10 guys... you get record of the night also... Voltaires - My Baby - Bacone
Can I also say how great the staff were last night. There were loads of them... all smiling and helpful... makes a hell of a difference.
None of them however had a smile to match the one that was melted onto Mouse’s face once the lights went up.

He said... "I've waited 15 years for a smile like this one Joan" ...

Long may it continue.

Well done guys!

the honour of first dance on the fab new floor was down to me - by strict instruction by Mr Box

it was great being back at the Wilton, especially now its so posh (shall be wearing a Margot Leadbetter full length frock next time)

some great records played, but think I only managed to dance half a dozen times thanks to cramp in my calves and my evil stepmother casting a spell on my feet turning them into eagles talons - great for catching small furry mammels as a snack, but rubbish for dancing in.

sorry to everyone that stood still enough for me to be able to talk at them... you'll need to be quicker and avoid eye contact next time

great to see style icon Sue Henderson, Pete and Izzy for the first time in years, my mum Gail, the bionic man himself Mick Howard (not the Bury imposter, but the proper one), the beautiful and clever Mrs Rhodes, Joan and Tony, little tiny Ian Cunliffe, The Peakes and everyone else that I don't see very often due to my parenting responsibilies

thanks to the Holmes for my chocolate bunny: Kim for my cream egg that melted in my pocket: Karen for giving me some large scissors and pile of fliers and instructions to cut.. she then wandered off leaving me unsupervised. This is not something that she'll do again as only the top flier was printed in the direction I cut, so I effectively wrecked a huge pile and then sat on her hat when she told me off oh and finally for Rosemary and Catweasle making my dreams to be a bridesmaid come true and letting me be one at there wedding next year

have I missed anyone out, or anything off? only details of the nighter itself... but everythings a bit of a blur at the moment so I shall leave that job to someone sensible this time

can I have a trophy now?

Got to say, the Wilton looks fantastic now.....and the 2 most important things, the dance floor and the sound system, are both superb........Fantastic turn out for the lads and lasses.......loads of top people there , I spent all night talking rubbish. Just noticed loads of people there that I never even saw. hello Joan & Tony. Well done to all concerned. Next months line up is mouth watering........

Didn’t know which thread to put this on: Wilton or New Wilton, so I’ve put it on both!!

The Wilton. The old Wilton was definitely still there: refurbishment left just enough of the old Wilton intact to maintain familiar surroundings. The Wilton regulars came out in force and did us proud, thanks, thanks, thanks. It just can’t happen without you, the fans.

New Wilton. We worked with the management to create just enough refurb to bring the place up to the 21st century without destroying the old image completely. I must say, from your comments, we probably got it just about right. The new management and staff have been with us from the start and as mentioned already, had a friendly attitude throughout the night: a great team, headed by Grant and Tracey who, before the event, had no idea what to expect at a northern allnighter, but thought the fans were real nice people and whole thing was great success. They are looking forward to the next one. They even enjoyed the music, so maybe next time they’ll be on the dance floor! Their plans are going ahead to build on additional rooms, so the Wilton can only get better.

It was great to see many old faces back at the Wilton. Hope after the success of last night they are back with us for good. Quite a few from the Frobisher soul nights came early and kept the dance floor busy early doors. Very few people took advantage of the refund, most stayed on quite late through the night. Around 350 people attended and many arrived early, and the whole place was rocking, with a full dance floor very early on.

I’d like to thank all the DJs. All did great sets. The Wilton Collectors’ nights are always something special and this one was no exception. Like to thank Arthur Fenn and Maria O for honouring their commitments to the Wilton, even though they had to be at Heathrow by 8am Saturday, their flight leaving at 10am for Australia.

Wilton stalwarts, Roger and Jenny Banks, were at the venue by 8pm to set up their dealer table. They’ve always been great supporters of the Wilton. After packing up, they left a portable record player behind. After searching, the management couldn’t find it; the whole place was turned over to set up a comedy night the following night, so nothing was left behind. I’m sure somebody must have picked it up, wondering who it belonged to, so, come on guys, do the honourable (soulful) thing that the soul crowd are renowned for – honesty - and contact Roger and arrange for it to be returned. His telephone number is 0115 921 2549.

Next Wilton date is 2nd May, with a great DJ line up to die for: Roger Banks, Colin Denham, Andy Dyson, Mick H, Marco (celebrating his 40th birthday), Keith Money, John Weston, with Boxy, Jerry and Mouse.

All that’s left to say is thanks to everyone who attended. We can set the dates, set up the venue, book the DJs, but it’s you, the fans, who create the atmosphere. There’s no doubt about the success of our 15th anniversary special. The New Wilton must now be one of the top nighters in the country, let’s keep it there. Thanks, thanks, thanks.

Info: www.wheatsheaf.com/all_nighters/index.html

Fantastic refurb and really pleased to see so many there , only been going to Wilton for about 2 or 3 years but it's the best atmosphere I have witnessed myself in that time. Right from the start there was a real buzz about the place.
Musically and this is only my opinion so I don't want to enter into any great debate , I would have liked to hear a little bit more Mid-Tempo , the Up-Tempo stuff that the majority of the crowd seemed to want did seem to dominate for long periods of time but I suppose the dancefloor told the true story and this type of soul music is by all accounts what the Wilton is all about.

Having said that we did enjoy the sets from Arthur & Maria , Baz Atkinson & Duncan and Maria and Carl Willingham. We left at 4.30 as I had been working 6 - 6 on Friday so can't really comment on last 3 sets.

Best tunes of the night for us were Anthony White , Vee-Gees , James Phelps , Matadors , Turbines ,Betty Wilson, Mary Moultrie , San Franciscan Tko's , Newsound , Ernie Johnson, Ward Burton and the awesome Magnetics-Count The Days.
Be great to see some more playlists !!

A quick mention also for the bar staff , excellent , friendly and efficient considering the amount of people they had to deal with.

Thanks to Dave , Mouse and Jerry for bringing this event back to the Soul Calendar and already looking forward to the next one with such an amazing line up.

See you soon

Paul & Sue