Shelley's Laserdome

Shelley's Laserdome
Genre Electronic music,
Location(s) Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire

Shelley's Laserdome was a night club in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. It was at the heart of the house and rave scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s too, helping to launch the career of DJ Sasha and featuring regular appearances from Carl Cox. It was eventually shut down by Staffordshire Police.[1]

History

Before becoming a hit with ravers the Shelleys building had been used as a roller rink earlier in the 20th century, before becoming the Panopticon Theatre, and then later Alexandra Palace Cinema. After closing as a cinema in the fifties, it housed bingo and shops.[2]

The club's heyday, circa 1990, saw a number of DJs at the beginnings of their careers: both Dave Seaman and Sasha were resident, who later found fame and success on a global scale. Other DJs who appeared included Doc Scott, Ellis Dee, Grooverider, Mickey Finn, DJ Rap, Stu Allan and local DJ Daz Willott.

The first weekly night was Sindrome[3] and was run by Birmingham's Logical Promotions, then came Delight from Manchester, these two nights ran concurrently for a while and was probably the best era. In 1990, The Haçienda had closed due to shootings by drug gangs, so when Delight began at Shelley bringing its large Manchester following along.[3]

This nightclub has since become legendary because of the diverse crowd (Shelley's was halfway between Manchester and Birmingham), quickly making its mark on clubbing history with help from first-rate, pioneering DJs of the emerging UK house music scene.

Altern 8 Concert

At least two dance music videos were filmed there. The most famous one was the now legendary performance from Staffordshire rave duo Altern 8, for their "Activ-8 (Come With Me)" video in September 1991. The video shoot took place outside in Shelley's car park.

Mark Archer from Altern 8 had wanted to do a free PA in the club's car park as it would get great footage for the video of their coming single as well as giving the ravers a something to dance to.[4] At 0300 after the club finished, the band started to perform from a lorry they had hired. There was a crowd of thousands as they had made people aware that they were performing. Footage shows the people "going mad" dancing on parked cars. This went on before it was halted by police.[5][6]

End of Shelleys

The club was blighted by drug dealing and regular (albeit mostly underground) violence between rival gangs. Staffordshire Police and local authorities revoked the license from management due to these issues. Shelleys final night was Saturday 31 October 1992. [3]

Shelley's Reunion

Since around 2011, Shelley's Reunion events have been taken place in venues around the Stoke-on-Trent area. DJs that appeared at the original Shelley's such as Dave Seaman, Mark Archer from Altern 8, DJ Rap have appeared to play music from the club's heyday.[7]


See also

References

  1. ↑ "Shelleys Laserdome - History". Retrieved 2007-05-20.
  2. ↑ Neale, William A. (2010). Old Theatres in the Potteries (Second ed.). Stoke-on-Trent. p. 161. ISBN 9781446638460.
  3. 1 2 3 Shelleys Laserdome - History Fantazia Rave Archive
  4. ↑ That Time When - Altern 8 - StrayLandings.co.uk
  5. ↑ Altern 8 - Frequency - Discogs.com
  6. ↑ Altern 8 Live @ Shelley's Longton (recording) - YouTube
  7. ↑ Shelleys Laserdome Reunion - Residential Advisor

Coordinates: 52°59′11″N 2°8′14″W / 52.98639°N 2.13722°W / 52.98639; -2.13722

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