Suddenly – and shockingly – the Carlton became a bingo hall in 1966. Understandably, there were many irate letters in the local newspaper. Angry parents complained that their teenage children were being deprived of a local dancing venue and would have to travel to other towns. One letter from a bingo player stated that lack of support was the reason why dancing nights were ended. The Carlton’s manager was quoted to say that Friday night dancing was dropped because it was “not popular”. A DJ at the Carlton in the 1960’s summed up many people’s feelings: “When it closed down, Rochdale lost something that nobody has been able to replace and even though many night clubs have since opened in Rochdale, they have never achieved that Carlton magic." It appears that bingo continued at the Great George Street venue for the next two decades. (Bingo hall history is notoriously unrecorded.) The bingo hall closed in 1989 after a fire. Six years passed with seemingly no activity in the building.
But good news was on the horizon as the Rochdale Observer in 1995 announced “Dancing is making a comeback at the Carlton Ballroom, more than 60 years after it opened.” There was opposition at the time from Northern Leisure who ran Xanadus and Pazazz in Rochdale who said that the Carlton would end up as a disco “within a month or two”. Refurbished by Mike Fay and Ged Clark, the New Carlton Ballroom reopened on September 2nd 1995 with reports that the end of the queue stretched back from the entrance, along Great George Street right up to Champness Hall on Drake Street.
The 18 piece Glenn Miller Orchestra were the star attraction who flew in from Copenhagen. The reopened venue could now hold 1900 people and a mix
of ballroom and line dancing, dancing lessons and cabaret was promised. For the next four years there was a steady stream of 1960’s pop acts such as The Manfreds and The Merseybeats, as well as 1970’s disco stars Boney M and The Real Thing. The majority of performances were, however, tribute acts including our own Tony Grant’s Rhapsody, along with Back Out Of Hell (Meat Loaf); Voulez Vous (Abba) and many, many more! Line dancing was enjoying a surge of popularity and dancing classes were held on Mondays and Tuesdays. At the beginning, afternoon tea dances were held on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for just £1.95 admission. There was an occasional appearance by a swing band and a short phase of Chippendalestyle “male revue” acts. The advertisements in the Rochdale Observer suggest a thriving night spot. In the summer of 1999 the regular Carlton advertisements in the Rochdale Observer abruptly stopped. The ballroom closed on September 11th for a refit. In November the opening of Liquid Rock in the same building was announced. This night spot continued until its closure in 2006. The building was demolished soon after and various plans were discussed. However, nowadays the site is now a car park. Surely the Carlton deserved a better fate than that? Anyone in favour for a blue plaque? Richard Lysons Thanks, as always, to Local Studies staff.
www.issuu.com/stylemagazine
45
