A KEY part of East Lancashire’s musical heritage goes up in smoke.
Taken in March 1976, these photos show fire fighters trying in vain to save the Nelson’s Column club following a blaze which left it as a burned out shell.
The venue is best remembered as being Nelson’s former Imperial Ballroom, or The Imp. Originally built as a skating rink in 1911, the building became the town’s municipal hall in 1925 before then becoming a ballroom.
It was in the 1960s that The Imp would come to prominence hosting the likes of The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix and soul legend Otis Redding.
When Nelson’s Column caught fire, plumes of smoke could be seen from Burnley.
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