Dannii Minogue was front of house and Geoff Capes was on the door when The Venue reopened at the Stack Leisure Park 30 years ago.
The 21-year-old Australian singer arrived in Lochee from the West Indies on June 26 1993 to perform her new single, This Is It, at the nightclub’s opening weekend, which was described as “one of the greatest showbiz happenings in Dundee for some time”.
The Venue first opened in 1991, after the Camperdown Works complex was transformed into the £50 million Stack Leisure Park by Dundee entrepreneur Michael Johnston.
The British Entertainment and Disco Association voted it Best Club and Best Designed Club during its initial spell of operation but the site was insufficiently developed.
The £4m Venue closed in 1992 because the Stack Leisure Park was “not too well known to the public” but all that changed with the arrival of the Megabowl and William Low supermarket which — by 1993 — were now doing “brisk business”.
The newly built six-screen Odeon would open on June 19 1993.
Strictly no jeans and trainers at The Venue
So the time was right “to relaunch The Venue” and it was going to be “done in style”.
“We’ll get it right second time around,” said general manager Alex Sweeney.
He was resident DJ at Buddies nightclub in Broughty Ferry for 11 years, before his management career began at Clever Dick’s in Anstruther and De-Stihl’s in Dundee.
The Venue would open from 9.30pm until 2.30am.
Entry was £2, and £4 after 11pm.
Over-21s and smart dress only with “strictly no jeans and trainers whatsoever” – except Wednesday for over-25s night and from Friday 7-10pm at the under-18 disco.
A free shuttle bus from the city centre would leave from North Lindsay Street to the venue at 9.30pm, 10pm, 10.30pm, 11pm, 11.30pm, midnight and 12.30am.
Geoff Capes — Olympic shot putter and two-time winner of the World’s Strongest Man — was in charge of security and responsible for keeping order.
So what was the entertainment on the opening weekend?
R&B group The Pasadenas performed on the Friday night, alongside robotic dancers, before a gala day disco took place in The Venue car park from 3pm on Saturday.
A highlight was four skydivers free-falling from 2,500-feet and landing in the complex!
Who else was flying in to The Venue in 1993?
Dannii Minogue arrived from the Caribbean following a “working holiday” with boyfriend Julian McMahon, who starred alongside her in Home and Away.
The Courier reported: “From the West Indies to Dundee — it’s all in a day’s work for soap star-turned-singer Dannii Minogue.
“She flew in from St Lucia on Saturday evening to appear at the reopened Venue nightclub at the Stack Leisure Park.
“Dannii and fiancé Julian McMahon had been in the West Indies for a five-day holiday and photo shoot for a magazine.”
In Dundee she spoke about her future plans.
“I have a new album coming out in August which is the result of a year’s work, travelling round the world and recording with different producers,” she said.
So what was it like walking through the doors of the nightclub back in 1993?
An Evening Telegraph advertising feature said: “From the moment you cross the threshold of The Venue’s entrance, you will be very impressed, and filled with anticipation of a great night.
“As you enter, you will find yourself in the spacious and comfortable reception area. This is an ideal place to meet up with your friends, or other members of a party, rather than search for them amongst the throng.
“In fact, the reception area has its own fully-stocked bar, so you can have a drink there if you find yourself waiting for a latecomer, for instance.
“From there you can move on to Venue 1, the hub of the complex which features a superb dance floor, and while there you can enjoy a drink at what is believed to be the longest bar in Europe.
“In Venue 1, the theme of the décor is a space ship landing in an ancient castle.
“The whole point of this is that the interior decorating experts were able to create a truly fabulous environment for relaxation which incorporates items of interest from romantic bygone days, along with wonders of microchip technology, like moving statues.
“This time, locally recruited staff, 100-strong and headed by general manager Alex Sweeney, are confident that The Venue will provide what the Dundee disco-going public want, and prove an attraction for people from far and wide.”
The wooden dancefloor became one of several defining features, but it was the £60,000 laser lighting system that stole the show as the first of its kind in Scotland.
How about warming up with a few drinks before dancing?
The Buzz Bar at the Stack Leisure Park was open Monday to Friday from 7pm to midnight, Saturday from 1pm to midnight and Sunday from 1pm to 11pm.
Mona Lisa’s and Mad Hatters
Fancy a VIP experience? Perfect – for £200 – if you’re not quite ready to leave wonderland behind.
The advertising feature said: “There are intimate areas around Venue 1 where you can sit and have a chat, but you are never completely cut off from the main arena of activity, as glass walls throughout enable you to see the action on the dance floor.
“Venue 2 adjoins Venue 1 and is decorated to the same high standard, but is self-contained so that it can fulfil a different purpose.
“It is absolutely ideal for private functions, with all the facilities that could be required for a celebration, be it a retirement party, wedding anniversary, or any form of happy get-together, when refreshment, dancing and relaxation are on the agenda.
“Turning to another aspect of the complex, it should be noted that The Venue also fulfils the function of a private club by having a VIP membership card facility.
“For a subscription of £200 per year, card-holders have the use of the VIP Lounge, which has an Alice in Wonderland theme.
“The furniture and décor are on a delightfully giant scale, and the designer of this lounge has played many clever tricks which have to be seen to be appreciated.”
Was there a menu fit for the Queen of Hearts at the nightclub’s restaurant?
McTavish Eating House had a comprehensive menu “to suit a variety of tastes”.
Mr Sweeney promised “more big names in the entertainment business are to come” following Dannii Minogue’s performance including “Britain’s answer to ABBA“.
Imagination, Edwin Starr, George McCrae, Odyssey, Voulez-Vous and the Liverpool-based Beatles’ tribute band Cavern were among the acts booked for the first six weeks.
Last dance in 1994
Sadly, the good times — and the ABBA hits – didn’t last.
The nightclub racked up significant losses in 1993 before the doors closed for good in 1994 as the developer’s vision for the Stack Leisure Park proved to be a pipe dream.
Successive operators cut their losses and closed before Liverpool company T. J. Morris Ltd bought the site in 2012 and derelict sites were replaced by retailers.
The former Venue building — where Geoff Capes once stood with arms crossed — eventually became home to Smyth’s superstore and the Gym Group in 2018.
The site’s fortunes have now been completely transformed.
