The Dickens P.H was opened by Mr Dennis O`Callaghan in 1983. His company, Ivanhurst Ltd., took over the leisure centre opposite the police station and, after building up a good restaurant and pub trade, decided to turn their attention to the younger element in the town with nowhere to go. From March 1984, the upstairs disco was opened.
Did you go to the Dickens, can you remember?
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I remember going there a few times, maybe 1985, and seeing Hedgehog play. Pretty good band as I recall. (It was around the same time I’d go to see the Wendy Robert’s band at the Castle Maine, in Basildon)
I remember The Dickens really well in approx 1986, me and my mates used to go there after working our shifts at Gateways. Friday /Saturday nights were the best, waiting for the disco upstairs to open.
I was there the night that [it] would lose it’s 2am licence.
I remember a night club upstairs, think it was called Se-veers, short lived. Also remember watching the hand of god England – Argentina football match on TV in The Dickens and when Maradona punched the ball in and the replay was shown, somebody threw their pint at the TV, which obviously fused, so there was a mass exodus of 30 plus people carrying and drinking their drinks, up the High Street to The Swan for the rest of the game.
I used to be there every Friday and Saturday nights. I loved it there.
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