One night at a famous Merseyside superclub saw "hysterical girls keel over" watching their favourite singer perform.
Formed by accident and introducing Liverpool to house music, Quadrant Park first opened in the late 80s in Bootle before becoming more influential in 1990. In the beginning, it was primarily a mainstream nightclub playing chart music, later establishing itself as one of the UK's first "super clubs".
Also known as the Quad, or Quaddie, the nightclub on Derby Road is still remembered fondly by all those who went there. But like many other local nightclubs, the site also hosted events and saw some famous faces pass through its doors.
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Back in 1989, Quadrant Park was packed with a much younger clientele to its regular customers. In April that year, the ECHO reported how "teenyboppers" were being warned to stay at home if they did not have a ticket for "an all-star Bank Holiday pop show at Quadrant Park in Bootle."
Tickets for the Hitman and Her roadshow spectacular sold out within two days of going on sale. Hosted by Michaela Strachan and Pete Waterman, The Hitman and Her aired on ITV's Night Network and visited various nightclubs , filming clubbers dancing to popular hits in the charts and playing party games, as well as showcasing a number of celebrity performances.
A host of big names, headed by Neighbours star Jason Donovan, descended on Quadrant Park for the event for 14 to 17 year-olds. The line-up also included the Reynolds Girls and the London Boys, with funds going towards the Hillsborough Disaster Fund.
At the time, the £2 tickets were said to be changing hands for £25 on "the teeny black market." Club boss Jim Spencer said: "All 2,250 tickets have gone so there is little point anyone else coming along on the night. I would appeal to those without tickets not to come."
Did you attend this event at Quadrant Park? Let us know in the comments section below.
Images, recently unearthed from our archives, Mirrorpix, capture the lead up to and the night of the anticipated event. Unseen for years, two images show Jason Donovan fans queuing for tickets to his concert.
Among the many girls queuing for the tickets was Ann Marie Dean, 14, of Formby on April 15, 1989. You can also see what outside the lost Quadrant Park club looked like at the time.
Other images show Jason Donovan on stage at the Bootle nightclub on May 1 that year. One photographs shows the club packed as fans reach towards the stage to touch the star.
But one report from following day said the "sight of Jason Donovan in the flesh proved too" much for scores of his Merseyside fans. On May 2, 1989, the ECHO reported: "Hysterical girls keeled over in scenes straight from the days of Beatlemania as the Aussie golden boy heartthrob Scott in top soap Neighbours took Quadrant Park Bootle, by storm.
"He sent them wild during his 15-minute act for the Hillsborough Disaster Fund. St John Ambulance teams carried the teenagers out on stretchers and several were taken to Walton Hospital.
"An ambulance spokesman said: "They've just become over-excited in a very hot atmosphere. None of them was really injured."
"The girls sobbed uncontrollably, shrieking Jason's name throughout his routine. Last night's two shows which attracted about 2,000 fans were sponsored by drinks firm Coca Cola which gave £25,000 to the disaster fund.
Collections were also held for the bereaved families. The other performers were "Hitman" Pete Waterman, the Reynolds Girls, Shooting Party, Girls Talk, Sonia, Big Fun, London Boys and Jon Otis."
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By the 90s, Quadrant Park was drawing crowds of up to 2,500. At the time was said to be the UK's only legal all-night rave, because it didn’t sell alcohol.
The success attracted clubbers from across the country and the Quad became a rival to Manchester's world famous Hacienda. At one point, Quadrant Park also used their snooker hall's 24 hour license to host legal all night raves, which soon entered into folklore.
The club closed its doors after a few years in the 1990s. All that remains are memories of the superclub and photos of nights there like the ones above.
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