Ocean Room clubbers share memories of iconic Gorleston venue

Bongo's Bingo helped put Ocean Room "back on the map" since a deal was signed in 2018, its owner said

Ocean Room nightclub in Gorleston-on-Sea in Norfolk is closing its doors after 50 years of entertainment - from the height of 1970s disco to high-octane bingo nights. The BBC looks back at an historic venue which holds fond memories of many a great night out.

"Absolutely gutted - this place was my church," says a woman on social media.

"So sad," says another. "Spent so many amazing nights there from childhood at Floral Hall, and all through my adulthood."

"Me and hubby Jeff met there in 1996, grab-a-granny night - on the stage dancing... Peter Andre!"

Social media has been awash with comments like these since the family-run Ocean Room announced on Friday it would cease trading with immediate effect.

Pink Floyd were among many bands who stopped off at the Ocean Room in the 1960s

It cited the "extremely tough times" - including the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis - and said it could no longer continue.

The club, with its distinctive circular main room, has been standing beside the harbour since 1939, when wartime defences guarded the east coast.

Back then it was the Floral Hall, hosting dinner dances and family entertainment, and went on to rock to the sounds of the 1960s with Cream and Pink Floyd performing live under its domed roof.

Blur played to a packed Ocean Room during their seaside tour for their The Great Escape album

The club was in the doldrums in the early '70s, but had a resurgence just in time to ride the wave of disco and to begin its new incarnation as Ocean Room.

Amid the grab-a-granny nights [for the stately over-25s], football award presentation evenings and wedding receptions, its salt-sprayed charm attracted Brit Pop gods Blur at the height of their pomp.

They played a one-off gig to 800 screaming fans in 1995 - soon after their chart battle with Oasis - and Rag'n'Bone Man took to the stage at a performance by local bands in 2020.

'We never missed a night'

The Ocean Room stage was as familiar with awards nights and presentations (with DJ David Clayton pictured in red) as it was with bands' drum kits and amps

Tracey Bagshaw grew up in Gorleston and has many fond memories of "The Rooms".

"Mondays were always the same" she recalled.

"We'd say 'see you up The Rooms' - always with an 's' although we knew it didn't have one - and get dressed up and made-up in the hope we'd be allowed be in the over-18s section and be served booze.

"There was something for everyone - rock 'n' roll, a bit of rock for the headbangers, soul, new romantic, disco, Motown, and always a slow dance at the end.

"Always and Forever [by Heatwave] takes me straight back to those awkward moments, and I'd bet almost everyone who went to 'The Rooms' on a Monday would still be able to do the dance routine to Tragedy by The Bee Gees.

"We never missed a night; I broke a bone in my foot there one week. I was back the next.

"When it was the Floral Hall it was the place for fancy dinners and I have seen photos of my grandparents dressed up to the nines at football club dinner dances back in the late 40s-50s.

"I remember Ocean Room as a lot of fun, where you met friends, made friends and just had a really good time."

'People have left flowers outside'

Ocean Room, pictured in 2012, is a distinctive building on the seafront

Director Kelly Evans, who is the third generation of her family to run Ocean Room since the '70s, said they were deeply saddened by the decision but buoyed by the public response.

"It's just overwhelming," she said.

"I'm blown away with the comments, the messages on social media.

"People have even left flowers outside the building.

"My family are so grateful because the messages are keeping us going at the moment."

She had many memories of the venue because it had been a "massive" part of her life, she added, but picked out Bongo's Bingo as a turning point in its recent fortunes.

Rag'n'Bone Man made a surprise appearance at the Ocean Room in 2020

With a big following at venues across the UK, Bongo's mixed traditional bingo with audience participation, dance-offs and rave intervals.

"When we sealed that deal it really put us back on the map," said Ms Evans.

"It gave us a massive boost, it was great for the local economy, people were coming from all over and staying at local hotels and holiday parks, just to come to that weekend, once a month.

"We've also had some really special performances - obviously Blur came, we've had Rag'n'Bone Man, Mike Tyson, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.

"I feel we've provided so much diversity; there was always something for everybody.

"It wasn't just a nightclub, it was a whole entertainment complex."

'It was absolutely heaving'

David Clayton earned his stripes as a DJ behind the decks at Ocean Room for seven years

David Clayton was the first DJ at the venue when it reopened as Ocean Room in the mid-'70s.

The room would host a couple of functions during the week, he recalled, along with special themed evenings such as family night, country and western and disco.

"I did the discos when the place was packed - it was absolutely heaving," said Mr Clayton, who went on to be editor of BBC Radio Norfolk.

"This is back in 1977, '78, '79, it was the time of Saturday Night Fever and Disco Inferno and Barry White - you couldn't play a bad record.

"It's got such a history; it had been a dance hall for decades.

"So many people would have met there, got engaged and married.

"Before it was the Ocean Room it was was a white elephant for quite a few years and was filled with slot machines until Gordon Edwards [Ms Evans's grandfather] had that vision and opened it up as an entertainment venue.

"It's a very special place for me as a DJ; I could work with an audience I could see and I remember thinking 'I'm standing on the same stage where Pink Floyd stood'.

"I think it's a great shame - there wasn't a better dance floor because it was round - the audience was right in front of you, there were no corners, it was a circle.

"I walked past it only last week and thought 'what good times I had there'."

It is not yet known what will become of the venue