By Andrew Brown Stand Up For Southport
Revellers danced the night away as they gathered together to celebrate an iconic Southport nightclub of the 1980s.
People came from far and wide to enjoy the Follies Reunion at The Vincent Hotel.
They were there to remember the former Follies nightclub, which was situated inside the complex where Silcock’s Funland now stands, on the Promenade in Southport.
Follies closed its doors for the final time, on 17th November, 1984, but the great memories remain of a bygone era.
The Follies Reunion was organised by local businessman Colin Parry, 63, who said: “It was a fantastic night!
“It was really good, everyone had a great time.
“I was so tired afterwards! I didn’t see much of Sunday. I didn’t get home until around 1am.
“It was brilliant to see everyone. Lots of people who I used to enjoy nights out with 40 years ago turned up.
“I really enjoyed seeing lots of familiar faces; as well as some people I had not seen since the 1980s!
“Trina, the wife of the former Follies DJ, Tim, drove five and a half hours to come to the reunion. It was lovely for us all to see her.
“Russell Harris, another of the original DJs, called in as well.
“I would like to thank everyone for coming.
“I am also very grateful to Andi and Jolene from The Vincent for all their support with this event. They really did us proud.
“Serena Silcock-Prince from Silcock Leisure Group was very kind too with everything she did, including lending us the famous Follies mirror!
“The mirror took pride of place in the room on the night. Lots of people were having their pictures taken with it.
“The atmosphere was fabulous. There was lots of dancing, lots of great songs from the era, people had a really good night.
“While it was good fun, it was hard to catch up with everyone properly.
“The next reunion I organise will probably be a sit down meal so we can all have a proper chat and find out how everyone is.”
Guests at the reunion were able to enjoy an 80s theme – of course – with some of the greatest hits of the day, plus food and drink.
The evening was a great chance to catch up with old friends and reminisce about good times in our town, when people going for a night out were spoiled for choice with the likes of Follies, The Kingsway, Palm Court, and many more.
Colin said: “If we were out in town, we always seemed to end up in Follies.
“The community of people we had in there was amazing.
“Southport had some superb nightclubs in the 1980s. We had places like Follies, The Kingsway, The Dandy Club, The West End, Toad Hall, Lombards and Tiffany’s.”
Colin met his wife, Wendy, in Follies. The couple met there in 1979, and have now been together for 45 years.
They married in 1984 and celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary earlier this year.
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