Golden Palms to Utopia ­— Blackburn's once-thriving nightclub scene

But, as the years went on, the once buzzing nightlife has dwindled beyond recognition. ALIMA NADEEM takes a look back at some of the favourite hotspots of yesteryear.

THE Golden Palms, also known as Blackburn’s Mecca, was one of a number of town centre nightclubs popular in its heyday of the 1970s. Revellers would head on down to the St Peter Street venue to groove to the tunes of funk, soul, love and disco.

The club later became Jumpin’ Jaks and Liquid and Envy, which closed in January 2015 after almost a decade due ‘trading conditions’ and a reduction of customers.

It was revived as Nocturnal and, in April 2018, new life was breathed into the club and 3,000 revellers packed in for the launch of Switch.

Switch opened in April 2018 

But the success was short-lived and the venue shut down just six months later.

There was excitement when yet another nightclub was launched in the building ­— Code in March 2019 .

But Code lasted for just 11 days, surely a record for shortest stint on Blackburn's nightlife scene?

Over in Lord Square, The Cavendish had partygoers travelling from all sides of Lancashire.

When it became Peppermint Place and then Utopia, it still did not lose its appeal.

Clubbers flocked from across the North West to party at Utopia in the 1990s 

Blackburn was a music mecca during the 1980s and 1990s and these clubs played a huge part in the booming nightlife scene.

Millennium, Cicely Lane, went through several name changes over the years. It was launched in 1989 as Manhattan Heights in a £2million venture but, in 1991, the nightclub was forced to close after a fire severely damaged the premises.

Police investigated the incident which caused an estimated £50,000 damage. Two years later it closed again before being relaunched in December 1994 as Northern Lights. In 1997 it went through another revamp when it became the Millennium nightclub only to close a couple of years later.

Scroll through the gallery above for more photos 

Mr G’s Disco was the place for the dance crazy of Blackburn. But Moorgate Leisure Ltd, which owned nightclubs Mr G's and Sutty's Place, went into voluntary liquidation in August 1996.

One of its directors, Geoff Sutcliffe, who was chairman of the Licensed Victuallers' Association in Blackburn, was said to be "devastated" by the collapse.

Turning back the clock to the days of The Starlight Club, it opened at a cost of £30,000. Back in the day, it was a haven for watching cabaret acts take to the stage. The likes of Dickie and Dottie graced the Starlight Club, with many other stars being seen there at the start of their careers.

But the club was devastated by fire in 1962, with flames shooting through the roof when fire crews arrived.

The Blob Shop, formerly Yates's Wine Lodge, was the place for a drink for anyone looking to leave the weekdays behind as they chatted over drinks and danced the weekend away. This was before it closed in Easter 2001.

The Blob Shop was an old nickname given to wine lodges across Lancashire since they opened in the 19th century. The building, on the corner of Church Street and Lord Square, then became a pub called Liquid ­— opened by the owners of Marley's Wine Bar, also on Church Street.