Organiser, Tony writes:
At long last I am putting pen to paper, to give you some details of the start of Rock 'n' Roll at Chester. Our son & daughter, Paul & Lynn had been to gigs all over the place and asked could we try one at Broughton Wings Club. I have been on the entertainment committee at the club for many years, so I put it to the club and so it started - one gig every three months. My son-in-law, Paul and his wife booked the bands for us but unfortunately, they were mostly Rockabilly and the gigs didn't go very well. We were given phone numbers of Rock 'n' Roll bands around the country and we started to book them. Some were good, others poor but eventually we were successful.
We were offered the chance of Bill Haley's Comets so we worked out an Alldayer having Big Boy Bloater and another young band. The original price for the Comets was expensive but by the time they arrived it was twice as much. The club were not too happy with the result but you live and learn.
Since then, we have built up a steady crowd of customers from all over the country and have also built up a string of popular bands. There was a saying in the club initially, 'Rock 'n' Roll will never take off here!' How wrong they were.
My wife Audrey helps me and we manage to make things tick. People say that the raffles are worth coming for; we have couples doing gear stalls for us and everyone seems to enjoy themselves. We allow children to come in, with their parents of course, providing they behave themselves.
At the end of the day, everything goes well, no hassles, no rows - trouble makers are not welcome and a good time is had by all.