Chelsea Cat, Kismet and Oz! Remembering South Tyneside's loved and lost nightclubs

Watch more of our videos on Shots!
and live on Freeview channel 276

It may be that absence has made the heart grow fonder, but there’s no denying we ALL have special places in our hearts for the nightclubs that made the weekends of our younger days something to remember (or, indeed, try to forget ...)

Recent data from The Night Time Industries Association (NTA) revealed that the Covid-19 pandemic and current economic pressures have taken a toll on the UK’s nightclubs.

And statistics from CGA, a data and research consultancy for the food and drinks market, recorded that there were 1,446 nightclubs in Britain in December 2019, down from 1,924 in December 2014.

We turned to the Gazette’s readers to shout their favourite clubs from the borough’s past – whether they closed in recent memory, or decades ago.

So let’s all take to the dancefloor for another round of your clubbing tales.

Pouring one out for the loved and lost nightclubs of South Tyneside …

Here are more of your South Tyneside nightclub memories from the Shields Gazette’s Facebook page:

Gazette readers have been sharing their loved and lost nightclub memories.

Jade Louise Coleman: “Thursday and Saturday night route: Eivissa for a Cheeky Vimto, Coast, Raffles for a Kangaroo, Vibe for a fishbowl, Atlantic, then Dusk or Vogue depending on how radge you wanna be.”

Kelly Crowther: “We lost the best one years ago when they shut Venue down. I loved that place.”

Dave Myers: “Oz but the Tunnel for one mental summer was the best place on earth!”

Mark Morley: “Chelsea Cat, Banwells. Ruperts. Shoreline. Kismet club. Miss ‘em all.”

Back to 2003 for a photograph outside Eivissa! Was it one of your weekend favourites?

Nightclubs in South Tyneside: Gazette readers remember the most loved and much-m...

Decka Smiler: “La Strada. Kismet. Ruperts. Ranch House. Chelsea Cat. They were the best days of our lives.”

Kerry Anderson: “Used to love Porters and always had a laugh in Venue, even if your feet did stick to the floor.”

Trish Grayson-Deeley: “Oscars and Victors without a doubt!”

Back to 2012 for this view of Porters. Remember it?

Oliver Wallhead: “Coyote Wild. The queue used to be round the building. Good times.”

Denise Houston: “Ruperts, great music and vibe.”

Emma Thomson: “Oz, Limelites or Oscars for 70s on a Friday.”

Ken Campbell: “The Tavern. Anyone remember Karlo’s Kabin in Kepple Street ? Had a lot of good times there.”