Fun nights out in the 1980s: 10 photos from a vanished South Shields nightclub
10 photographs recall Tyneside revellers in the ‘80s partying hard at the former Banwells nightclub in South Shields
“It was acceptable in the ‘80s,” as Calvin Harris’s 2007 smash hit single correctly pointed out...
And the distinctive period fashions and fun goings-on were certainly acceptable at Banwells nightclub in South Shields as our 10 images captured during that memorable decade show.
The popular club was situated on the town’s Queen Street, and Tyneside revellers partied hard there from the early ‘80s until it closed in 1989.
The photographs come courtesy of the Facebook page Banwell Revisited which was set up by the club’s former DJ Martin Urwin. We first featured the page earlier this year. “Banwells was massively popular in its day,” says Martin. “I worked there from 1983. We’d be open every Tuesday - when it was 10p a pint - to Saturday and get coachloads of people from out of town coming in for a great night out.
“We played a wide range of music - soul and funk mixed with house, acid house, indie and pop. A bit of everything really. We’d get celebrities in - everyone from glamour model Linda Lusardi to stunt motorbike rider Eddie Kidd. There were lots of stag and hen nights, and we’d host jelly wrestling and balloon dancers, as well as regular competitions which would be pretty un-PC by 2023 standards!”
Martin, a popular DJ around the region, is still regularly plying his trade today. “I’ve been working all over Newcastle, Sunderland and Durham,” he says. Starting in December, you can catch him in action every Saturday at the Chameleon Late Lounge in South Shields, a cocktail bar on Claypath Lane, just opposite the Town Hall. “As a matter of fact,” he says, “I’m thinking of organising a Banwells reunion night at the Chameleon which would be a lot of fun.”
For now, thanks to Martin and the Facebook page Banwells Revisited, step briefly back in time and check out 10 photographs capturing lots of 1980s big hair, padded shoulders and moustaches on show at the former South Shields nightclub.
Join the Facebook page Banwells Revisited. Check out Martin Urwin’s TikTok page TheskoolofYacht.
A night out in Banwell's from the 1980s
(Image: Banwell's Revisited (Facebook))1 of 10
A night out in Banwell's from the 1980s
(Image: Banwell's Revisited (Facebook))2 of 10
A night out in Banwell's from the 1980s
(Image: Banwell's Revisited (Facebook))3 of 10![A night out in Banwell's from the 1980s]()
A night out in Banwell's from the 1980s
(Image: Banwell's Revisited (Facebook))4 of 10
