IF you wanted to enjoy the latest craze in Southampton back in September 1980 you really needed to get your skates on.
For years youngsters packed out the Top Rank Suite on the site of the old stadium in Banister Park for regular disco dancing nights.
When roller skates started to become a common sight in the city Top Rank’s management, who were always looking for the next big thing to keep the customers rolling in, decided to fuse the two crazes together and introduce the city’s first roller skating disco at the popular ballroom. They would attract queues of people eager to put their roller skating skills to the test to all the latest hits.
The events were so popular that the Daily Echo sent a staff photographer to capture these images to illustrate what all the fuss was about.
However, the roller skating disco and all the other events held at the Top Rank were not enough to save the suite – once Southampton’s number one night spot – from closing.
Within three years, in April 1983, it was announced that the venue was up for sale.
Eventually it was demolished to make way for a housing development.
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