A division of RK Records (q.v.). Casino Classics was one of several labels to license and release popular American Soul records during the time of the Northern Soul craze of the mid to late '70s, though it also issued original material. The 'Casino' part of its name referred to the Wigan venue that was arguably at the centre of that craze, and it was reported in 'Music Week' of the 22nd of July 1977 that the label had a link to the venue in that label manager Russ Winstanley was one of the DJs there. The article added that a three-track various artists maxi-single of Northern Soul tracks, '3 Before 8', had been well received when it had been released in February of that year, on RK (RK-1004); the success of that record and of the Wigan Casino Soul Club had prompted the launch of the new label. The occasional Casino Classic brushed the charts: Gerri Granger's, 'I Go To Pieces' (CC-3) got to No.50 in 1978, a feat matched by the Allnight Band's, 'The Joker' (CC-6) the following year. Several of the company's singles were issued in coloured vinyl. Manufacture and distribution were by Pye, as they were for RK's other records. Promo copies of the first release had a large hollow black 'A' on the label; there don't seem to have been any more promo markings until CC-8 and subsequent singles, when a Pye-style filled black 'A' was adopted (2). The final single in the discography below appears to have been issued in the 1980s, though there is some doubt over its date. In the case of split singles the different artists and their tracks are listed; where both sides of the record were performed by the same artist only the 'A' side is given.
Copyright 2006 Robert Lyons.