Final hurrah at legendary Batley Frontier this weekend

There will be one last chance to re-live happy memories at Batley's legendary Frontier club this weekend '“ but tickets are nearly all sold out.

The Bradford Road venue will close its doors after one final bash on Saturday night before it is turned into a gym.

General manager Nick Westwell said: “Anybody who’s got any memories should come and say ta-ra.

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“It’s come back in many different guises over the years but it won’t come back as an entertainment venue again.

“It’s the final hurrah and the last chance people will have is this Friday and Saturday.”

After much speculation, the club confirmed earlier this month that it would be shutting.

Fitness company JD Gyms will transform the 1,500-capacity night spot with an investment of around £2m. It will open early next year.

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The club said that smaller venues had been affected by changes in entertainment technology, transport links, drinking hours laws and the smoking ban.

But between 7pm and 11pm on Saturday, local DJ Alan Kent will play hits by the 1960s-1980s Batley Variety Club legends.

Then resident DJs Mark Freejack and Steve Mitchell will play tracks from the 90s to the present day for Frontier regulars.

Mr Westwell said: “It’s going to be one of those mad nights.”

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And Frontier staff hope to continue its legacy with a new night spot called Terrace-Bar-Club, a play on TBC, or ‘to be continued’.

This will open at the old Hitsville venue at the junction of Bradford Road and Hick Lane on Friday, August 5.

The site is having a £400,000 re-vamp and will include three bars across two floors.

Before it became the Frontier, the venue was the famous Batley Variety Club.

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In its heydey, co-owners James Corrigan and Peter Fleming hosted musical stars such as Roy Orbison, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Dusty Springfield, Shirley Bassey, Louis Armstrong, Tom Jones and Lulu. It opened in 1967 and was turned into the Frontier in the early 1980s.

To buy tickets for the Frontier’s last night, visit www.ticketor.com