Earlier this month a few GCdCS members gathered to visit Grimsby’s old jazz Club for reasons of nostalgia and see if it would be suitable for a more expansive visit. We were a varied group: frequent visitors of the club in its original form, another had visited it only after it became more of a ‘pop’ venue, another’s recollection was only of amazing music wafting into the street – it turned out to be Fleetwood Mac’s Albatross – and there were those of us who had no connection with the club at all!
The visit started with feelings of wonder – what would we see? It soon became apparent that we couldn’t even make sense of the current layout with recollections – namely because the entrance is now different to where it was. Also, a younger self remembers few stairs, whereas 50 years later it was evidently at least 2 flights. We finally determined the actual room by the diagonal line in the lino flooring (the stage was apparently across one corner). The remains of colour and artwork on the walls obviously of the ‘pop’ period and therefore not recalled by those attending in its early days. Torches were an absolute must for negotiating our way through the labyrinth of rooms, debris and in some cases, avoiding atmospheric cobwebs. Many of our photos turned out to be disappointingly dark.
Overall, the overriding feeling was one of visiting the old, old fabric of Grimsby, which made the visit fascinating, but also disappointing as a means of kickstarting memories. We thank Allenby Stevensons for making this visit possible for us. SM
see also: https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/news/nostalgia/grimsby-jazz-club-fleetwood-mac-5987054