Glory days of discomania in cavernous depths of Tricorn
For those of you who want to relive the great days of clubbing in Portsmouth then look no further than A Nobody With Dreams by former Tricorn Club DJ Pete Cross.
His new book all about his time at the venue after time spent serving an apprenticeship in church halls, social clubs, naval clubs and youth clubs that honed his skills to win the top job at the premier nightspot of the time.
He worked at the club from 1967 until 1975 and his story tells much about his life as a boy in Buckland, as a teenager and how he met and married his wife, Jan.
He started work at Portsmouth & Southsea railway station bookstall WH Smith. Pete says that so many personalities travelled by train he always had his autograph book at the ready. Dick Emery, Herman’s Hermits, The Searchers, Bud Flanagan and David Nixon were just a few of those he served.
The book also includes many posters from the 1960s like when the Beatles were bottom of a bill which saw Chris Montez as the headliner. The top ticket price (in today’s money) was 45p the lowest 18p. To see ELO in London today will cost you £180 for a toppriced seat.
At the Birdcage Club in Eastney Road Walker Brothers’ tickets cost 50p along with free Coca-Cola.
The Tricorn Club opened in in early 1967 in the heart of The Tricorn Centre at Charlotte Street, Landport.
Initially it was a cabaret club but attendances were low and with the coming of disco music the club turned into a discotheque to attract younger people and invited up-and