Memories of nights out at famed Chesterfield nightclub Aquarius

Neil Anderson has been researching it for his Dirty Stop Out’s Guide to 1980s Chesterfield – Aquarius edition:

The Aquarius was the brainchild of J D Williamson senior. His son, John Williamson, became involved from an early age and became the face of the venue in later years.

Mr Williamson senior had forged a strong relationship with Mansfield Brewery, and it was that partnership that helped create the venue that was to become the Aquarius.

Punchbowl Entertainments was the name of the business. It was actually rooted in Skegness where Mr Williamson operated ventures on the East Coast – he even became the Lord Mayor.

He also had a major love of Spain – which was the inspiration for much of the design of the Aquarius.

Nobody was in the thick of the action more than compere and all-round showman, Chesterfield’s own Bernie Clifton, in its early days.

His career was on vertical trajectory and much of it was played out on home turf.

Bernie Clifton remembers: “In 1973 I was already doing quite well on the cabaret circuit and I used to compere at Batley Variety Club and I used to sing a lot. But then something happened to my voice and I turned into a monotone.

“It was something to do with the nodules on my vocal chords and I had to stop work. It happened at a time that Eddie Buchanan, who had been compere at the Fiesta, had just left.

“It was like fate as I just fell into the job and I lived 100 yards away from the stage door. I used to leave my house, walk through the neighbour’s garden and I was in the Aquarius car park. I had to rest my voice for three months and I worked at the Aquarius through the summer of 1973.

“But as a result of that, John Williamson, the Aquarius owner, offered me the job of booking the acts. I used to work above the Blue Bell pub which used to be the base for Punchbowl Entertainments.

“I was in the office all day on the phone to the London agents. I’d then go home, have my tea and it would be down to the Aquarius.

“I remember booking Cannon and Ball, it was £300. They turned up for the band call on the Sunday afternoon and were horrified to find they were topping the bill. They ended up topping the bill and went down a storm.

“Probably the one aspect of my tenure there were the presentations. They started to become a kind of a cult thing. The first half of the evening would be support acts and then a long interval - maybe an hour.

“And then you’d start the presentations and you’d end up with probably half a dozen hen parties coming in. The prospective bride would be dragged up on stage and then all these obscene items would come out of a box.

“The Aquarius was the place to come and celebrate.

“I always felt sorry for the main acts of the evening because of instead of going on at midnight they be wondering if these presentations would ever finish

“Then there was Big George - he was a former boxer, man mountain and no-one ever saw him physically throw anyone out. He was about six foot four. He never needed to exert any physical violence as his presence was enough.”

Few names were more synonymous with the Aquarius than compere Tufty Gordon.

Entertainment was in his DNA. Sheffield born, he began playing the saxophone at 14 and became equally proficient at the clarinet, flute, oboe and piccolo. He became a session musician and worked with artists spanning Tony Christie to Joe Cocker.

He even went on to compere at the first snooker championships at the Crucible.

Ian Jones: “Tufty was an absolute pro. Everything revolved around him on stage at the Aquarius. He seemed inexhaustible. He was without a doubt one of the most gifted entertainers you’d ever find.”

Taken from the Dirty Stop Out’s Guide to 1980s Chesterfield – Aquarius Edition which is out on June 8 and available from www.dirtystopouts.com