Ulverston revellers take a trip back in time
Last updated at 10:30, Tuesday, 25 September 2012
MORE than 700 revellers attended a nostalgic reunion five years after Ulverston’s top nightclub closed for the final time.
Buffers used to pull in hundreds of punters each weekend, when it was among the premier night spots in South Cumbria from the early 1980s until the turn of the millennium.
Once the place to be for the latest in house and trance and classic disco sounds, the railway platform building Buffers once occupied is now home to a children’s fun house.
But on Saturday night, the spirit of the popular club night was alive and well as around 720 party-goers flocked to the Coronation Hall in Ulverston for the Buffers reunion.
In response to a growing local demand over the last few years, the former nightclub’s three resident DJs Matty ‘Bassdriver’ Messenger, Chris ‘Mr’ T and Myles teamed up to put on the event.
Ulverston promoter James Crayston helped organise the showpiece and said hopes were high it could become a regular feature after a successful night on Saturday.
He said: “The feedback was absolutely incredible.
“There was a lot of people who sort of worried ‘will I enjoy it?’
“‘Will it be cringe-worthy?’
“But every single person who we spoke to on the way out, they couldn’t compliment it enough.
“We said to Dave Phillips, the Coronation Hall manager, we wanted it to go really well last night and we didn’t want there to be any trouble, which there wasn’t, and we hope we can do this maybe on an annual basis, maybe even more than that – maybe a twice a year thing.
“It’s all down to the Coronation Hall and whether they want us back.
“Realistically, there is only the Coronation Hall in Ulverston that has got the capacity for what we want to do.”
The event went on until 1.30am and was held in two sections, with the main hall hosting dance music and 1970s and 80s tunes upstairs with the Bay radio DJ Darren Milby.
The strong attendance was close to the record turnout from back in the day, demonstrating there is still a strong demand for a nightclub in the town.
Mr Crayston said: “It was a really good night, a great atmosphere.
“It was the right crowd that we aimed to get in.
“I think people were worried there was going to be quite a young crowd, but it was the people we wanted to be there for the occasion it was.
“Back in the Buffers prime time, I think the record in there was 750 to 800 one night.
“As it went on, it did sort of die down and there was only a couple of hundred.
“So it was really good to see Ulverston able to pull in a crowd like that, especially when there’s not much going on in the town, in that respect, anymore.
“We put a lot of time into it, but the idea was never to make a profit.
“We just wanted to do something in Ulverston that remembered something that was once there.
“And I think, hand on heart, we definitely did that last night.”
First published at 11:24, Monday, 24 September 2012
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk
Have your say
What a top night, Ulverston hasn't seen anything as big or as good as that for a long time. Everyone from the door staff, dj's, promoter and coro staff did Ulverston proud and just hope there is another one to come.
Congratulations james, matty, chris and mylesPosted by Dave Jones on 25 September 2012 at 18:28