An online petition has been launched by music fans in Manchester and beyond to try and save a city centre club, which has been bought by a developer.
Legends club [previously The Twisted Wheel] in Whitworth Street has been sold to a developer and it may be turned into a hotel, if planning approval is granted by the city council. Olympian Homes has indicated that it is considering a number of options for the site, including a hotel.
Twisted Wheel DJ Pete Roberts likened the loss of the club to the demolition of the Cavern Club in Liverpool. The Manchester club used to be the focus of a legendary soul night in the 1960s which was resurrected by Roberts at Legends.
Olympian Homes has said that it is considering various options for the existing basement which houses Legends. Among the options are retaining its current use with a different operator or a leisure facility associated with the new proposed hotel.
Pete Roberts says it'll mean a great deal to a lot of people who are still into soul music "because the Twisted Wheel is the most iconic soul club that there ever was." Ike and Tina Turner, Edwin Starr and Ben E King played there.
The Twisted Wheel was one of Manchester's most important clubs in the 1960s, hosting live shows by black American soul artists, before it closed in 1971.
Roberts says coach trips came from all over the country to The Wheel where black American artists would perform "and were treated like Gods."
After it was taken over and became Legends nightclub, Roberts resurrected the soul night as a bi-monthly event at the venue.
In an interview with the BBC, he said he was concerned the proposals included the possible destruction of the club.
"Liverpool only has a Mickey Mouse Cavern now and the council probably regret ever dropping it," he said. "We've still got the Manchester Twisted Wheel - once it's gone, it's gone, and there'd be a lot of people crying, none more than me."
It's role in the development of the soul scene was important. Two years after the original Twisted Wheel closed, the Wigan Casino opened.
