Legends has gone through various name changes - Placemate 7, Follies, The State... but its earliest name is The Twisted Wheel. Famed for its part in popularising Northern Soul, The Twisted Wheel was originally located on Brezennose Street, near the town hall, but relocated to Whitworth Street in 1965.
With DJ Roger Eagle at the wheel of steel (I assume there was just one then) the club attracted the sharply dressed, pill-popping mod-types as seen in Quadrophenia, set a decade later. The revellers couldn't buy alcohol here, it didn't have a licence to serve it, but with the amphetamine pills they were shoving down their necks, soft drinks sufficed.
These young, working-class northern kids found excitement and thrills in American, mostly black, music and danced to it all night, at the Twisted Wheel. In its many rooms ravers could dance to different sounds. One room held the stage where soul artists, again, many from the US performed, whilst Roger DJ'd in the dance room.
The visiting soul, blues and RnB stars were taken aback at the adoration they were shown here, whilst back in their own country they were musicians played only on black music stations and performing to largely black or segregated audiences. Anyway, enough about the birth of Northern Soul...
Since the Twisted Wheel's closure in 1971 the building has been home to a variety of different-named clubs: Placemate 7 (due to its seven rooms), Follies, Rockies, The State and Legends amongst others.
The different rooms played to and attracted different crowds, women-only, men-only, 'bears' only etc...
The first Homo Electric nights were held here, as were many of the other popular gay club nights of the millennium.
The club has been a place to celebrate underground music and LGBTQ+ culture as well as allowing local DJs and promotors to build upon their skills for decades.
In 2012, Legends closed for the last time and the area has since been redeveloped.
The only sign (literally) of any musical importance at the spot is a small plaque which states, 'Twisted Wheel Club. Pioneer of Soul & R'n'B music. "The birthplace of Northern Soul"', although there is no mention of its centrality to the city's queer community.
