The Cooperage - The Close

There was a time when a man wearing a white shirt, black slacks, white socks and black slip-on shoes could walk into any club in town, but woe betide those whose outfit lacked one or all of these ingredients.
Fortunately, The Cooperage gave a warm welcome to anyone who fancied a late drink and a dance and wasn't dressed like a waiter, even taking rejects from The Mayfair.

The club opened in 1975 in a timber-framed medieval building the new Quayside which looked as shabby as its clientele, but it was the casual attitude to everything that kept it popular for three decades.
There were bars and restaurants spread over four floors, but the late-night action took place at the top of the building. Despite being 50 feet above the ground, the stone walls and low beamed ceiling gave the impression of being in a cellar, with a dark and sweaty space at the back where the bands played and people danced.

Former Club aGoGo favourites The Junco Partners were the first of many resident bands, and Thursday nights were the epicentre of the local music scene.
Unfortunately, the weekend Techno DJs got louder and louder until the neighbours could tek no more, and The Cooperage was closed down in 2009.