When 2,000 people a week wore down the dance floor at Sunderland nightclub Fusion
A Sunderland nightclub had to have a major makeover - because so many people were using it.
The demand for the popular spot was so high that structural changes - as well as laying new carpets and changing the decor - was all part of the revamp.
Admissions topped the 2,000-a-week mark
Four years earlier, the building had changed its name from the Top Rank Suite and had previously been known as the Rink.
Manager John Muir said in 1978: “With the number of admissions a week topping the 2,000 mark that means a fair amount of wear and tear.
“But the club still feels that it has gone for a wholesale revamping earlier rather than later, than it needed.
“The main reason for the change is that we are not going for a turnover in the crowd, we are trying to keep up with ones we have, ” Mr Muir added.
Twenty Fives nights at Fusion
Fusion’s specially dedicated nights of dancing for the over-25s were all the rage in 1978.
They were called Twenty Fives at Fusion and, as an Echo report said at the time, it was aimed at those people who have an ear for pop music’.
The idea of the evenings, said the story, was for anyone who liked listening to the likes of Abba to get along.
Fusion had two large bars and a dedicated following.
Over to you for more
Here’s the scene at the new-look Fusion after its 1978 makeover but we want to know if it was one of your favourite social scenes.
If it was, tell us more by emailing [email protected]