Bill is overseeing oral history and photo cataloguing for a project about the Aquarius Club, Chesterfield.
First opened in 1972 as a cabaret club, the glitzy venue welcomed some of the biggest stars in the world and ran until the mid-1990s. Everyone from Marti Caine to Bob Monkhouse graced the Aquarius stage over the years. By the 1980s it was arguably more popular for its nightclub which enjoyed packed houses every weekend for much of the era with coaches turning up from around the region.
The Dirty Stop Outs – with funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund – are working on a two-year project to create a legacy to the nightspot that once gave famed British duo Cannon & Ball their first-ever star billing. We are recording memories of former staff, performers and club-goers. Many of the memories will feature in a forthcoming book on the Aquarius that will be compiled as part of the project as well as deposited in an archive. Hundreds of photos from the venue are being restored and archived, including some that will feature on the Picture the Past website.