Chippenham Museum are opening late this Thursday (July 5) leading to a great chance to experience history from across the years.
Many have spent the last few weeks enjoying nights out and evening pub outings since covid restrictions eased.
In Devizes, the Exchange Nightclub is not opening until August 20. Meanwhile, in Chippenham, E11evn’s Nightclub has been open from 11pm each weekend since they were given the green light.
But many in the town will still remember queues of a different kind, when there was Goldiggers nightclub on Timber Street.
Chippenham opening of Goldiggers night club in 1981.Wiltshire Photographers Archive collated by Colin Kearley...
2021 marks 40 years since the club opened, back in 1981, in the former Gaumont Cinema building. It became the premier night club for the entire region.
During the 1980s it had been part of Richard Branson’s Virgin chain of go-to nightspots playing host to the top bands of the day.
The club attracted acts such as Elvis Costello and the Style Council in 1984, The Smiths with Morrissey a year later, Boy George, Sonia, Damon Albarn from Blur and Bad Manners.
It closed in 1999, to the dismay of many.
Reunions were held throughout the years as many celebrated memories of the club. And in June 2017 Chippenham Museum joined with media students at Wiltshire College and University Centre in a collaborative project to record the memories of those connected to Goldiggers.
Singers Sonia, Mel and Kim at Gold Diggers nightclub in Chippenham in 1990 for the Hitman Show. .Wiltshire Photographers Archive collated by Colin Kearley..
It generated huge interest and excitement and led to more than 40 interviews.
“I’ve been to Greece and places like that, and talking where do you come from and I’ll say ‘oh Chippenham’ and they all say ‘oh that’s where Goldiggers is’ so it was known on the map!” Tony Dolman, a DJ and clubgoer had recalled.
People can still reminisce at the Chippenham Museum, where a whole array of items retell the town’s history from throughout thousands of years.
The Chippenham Museum team, photographed in February 2020 when the Goldigger exhibition opened
Ticket stubs, posters and even wigs all make up the display on Goldiggers as part of a wider room on ‘modern’ Chippenham and how the town has evolved in recent years.
The museum is holding a series of late evenings this month, including today (July 5). Go to www.chippenham.gov.uk/chippenham-museum for more
You can also go to https://goldiggersmemories.herokuapp.com/ for more Goldiggers memories.
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