Last waltz for lounge

ALL together now . . . Monday afternoon dancers at the Pennine Lounge

IT once hosted top acts who graced Sunday Night at the London Palladium, but the curtain will fall for the final time at Oldham’s Pennine Lounge on Saturday.

The venue, part of the First Bus depot at Wallshaw Street, Mumps, is part of a large social club established by the Oldham Corporation Transport Department back in the 1930s.

But First group, which now runs the depot, has decided that because it needs expensive electrical work, the club must close permanently.

It will be a sad day for treasurer Philip Bradbury and secretary Peter Charlton, former bus drivers and conductors.

Philip, who has been treasurer for 27 years, said: “The Pennine Lounge has one of the best sprung floors in Oldham for dancing and used to have top class acts on stage like Cannon and Ball.

“It’s hey-day was the 1980s and 90s, and to book a wedding reception here you had to apply 12 months in advance.

“But a lot of people have changed to having weddings in hotels. In the old days there was a card room where 10 games would be going on at the same time, and four snooker tables with people queuing to get a game.

“Now we have two snooker tables and we can’t even sell them because people don’t want them.”

Secretary Peter Charlton recalled how Mike Pender’s Searchers, the Platters, and comedians George Roper, Bernard Manning and Johnny Casson all appeared at the Pennine Lounge.

He added: “We don’t have a problem with membership, but we have a struggle getting people to use the club. It will be very sad to see it go, but we did send a message to members to use it or lose it.”

The Pennine Lounge has also hosted the Dallas Boys, Kaye Sisters and Craig Douglas at ’50s and ’60s nostalgia nights, who all appeared in Sunday Night at the London Palladium at the height of their careers.

Irish celebrity singer Brendan Shine also appeared at the lounge in 1990.

More recently, Anton du Beke, from BBC1’s “Strictly Come Dancing” gave a demonstration dance in 2006.

But it was the last waltz for the weekly ballroom dance partners on Monday, arranged by stalwart MC Joe Adams, which have been held for around 22 years.

Visitors included 97-year-old Leonard Gorvecc who takes two buses from Eccles to Wallshaw Street to enjoy the music and dancing.

Clare Harrison (82), from Hollinwood; Joyce Holmes (85), from Oldham; and Dorothy Gibson (86), from Shaw, are all sad to see the regular dances end.

Mrs Gibson added: “We have made real friendships here and we used to go on holidays twice a year.”

Mrs Harrison added: “It is a good floor for sequence and modern dance — and dance is good exercise.”

Robert Mason, operations director at First Manchester, said there are serious electrical wiring defects on the premises.

“Substantial costs involved in maintaining and repairing the club meant it was no longer viable.

And he added that war memorials from the former Oldham Tramways Department and the bus depot, remembering staff who died in both world wars, will be taken down from the club stairway and restored and re-sited in the depot.