The Eighties

[Mordac]

The Mecca group. I remember that, the Mecca Ballroom in Purley was our Saturday night thing when I was a sixth former.

Couldn't afford the bus fare to Croydon then?

[xoggoth]

The Mecca group. I remember that, the Mecca Ballroom in Purley was our Saturday night thing when I was a sixth former.

[fullyautomatix]

I miss GricerBoy

Admin,any chance you could unban that fella?

[Big Blue Plymouth]

There was Neros where female revellers would be greeted on the door by Benny, the very portly Polish owner, with a wet, slobbery kiss, Tiffanys (gents in collars and ties only) and Acacia Avenue.

Tiffanys was owned by the Mecca group.

Wonder if they still exist? You'd have thought with a name like that they'd be getting singled out by religious nutjobs for blasphemy.

[shaunbhoy]

Note to self: Have a good flick through my Golden Treasury before going to sleep tonight

Fnarr fnarr!!

[xoggoth]

Bet Bath was much better in the 60s when I lived there.

[OwlHoot]

If Corbyn wins this Friday, we'll soon be fondly reminiscing about the good old days of the early June twentyseventeenies

[Pip in a Poke]

Hi Pip

Hi CM, how are you this goodly afternoon?

Note to self: Have a good flick through my Golden Treasury before going to sleep tonight

[ChimpMaster]

Hi Pip

[BrilloPad]

Yes, I know this is probably me looking back with rose tinted spectacles but I loved the 80s.

Because it matches your IQ?

[MrMarkyMark]

Didn't notice but that's Polish Benny right there in the trilby. He was a bit larger and greyer round the temples when he used to plant his kisser both my Givenchy perfumed cheeks.

Nice bit of jailbait with them

[Pip in a Poke]

Didn't notice but that's Polish Benny right there in the trilby. He was a bit larger and greyer round the temples when he used to plant his kisser on both my Givenchy perfumed cheeks.

[Pip in a Poke]

Hmm, inneresting. Let me guess - That "disco boy" was none other than you, until he realized his feminine side!

More likely to be seen dancing round my handbag in a rah rah skirt clutching a Blue Lagoon in one hand.

[OwlHoot]

:::

One would enter the club by descending a spiral staircase onto the dance floor and there would be Bath's very own disco boy direct from the ruins of Studio 54 - all decked out in white; White denim jacket, white jeans and he'd always be wearing a single, white glove on one hand. ...

Hmm, inneresting. Let me guess - That "disco boy" was none other than you, until he realized his feminine side!

[Pip in a Poke]

Moving on from talking about the demise of one great Bath institution, the Manvers Street Police Station, I found this really inneresting article in a recent copy of the Evening Chronicle celebrating the history of the City's nightclub scene over the years.

The nightclubs of Bath

As a keen Saturday night hoofer myself, I'm familiar with all these venues in their Boogie Wonderland 80's glory

There was Neros where female revellers would be greeted on the door by Benny, the very portly Polish owner, with a wet, slobbery kiss, Tiffanys (gents in collars and ties only) and Acacia Avenue.

But more firmly lodged in the memory is the Island Club, otherwise known as "Bog Island" owing to its previous incarnation as an underground public convenience.


One would enter the club by descending a spiral staircase onto the dance floor and there would be Bath's very own disco boy direct from the ruins of Studio 54 - all decked out in white; White denim jacket, white jeans and he'd always be wearing a single, white glove on one hand.

There he would be - really grooving out and getting into the music all on his own, oblivious to the bemused expressions on the faces of the people at the bar observing his routine.

In fact, he'd always have that expression on his face that people always have when they're really getting into the music. You know the one, pursed lips and screwed up eyes, his head bobbing up and down, snapping his fingers in time to the beat.

♫ Brothers, sisters, we don't need that fascist groove thang ♫

Yet it is fair to say that the passage of time has changed my perception of him from being a bit of a poseur to that of a free spirit devoid of any self conscious inhibitions.

In fact, from reading that article, I'd say that those were genuinely more carefree times where we'd put on our glad rags of a Saturday night and let it all hang out free from all the worries that saddle the incumbent disco going generation.


Yes, I know this is probably me looking back with rose tinted spectacles but I loved the 80s.