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Kingsway, Southport

Kingsway
Kingsway 2006.jpg
The Kingsway during renovation in 2006
Kingsway, Southport is located in Merseyside
Kingsway, Southport
Location within Merseyside
General information
Architectural style Art Deco
Town or city Southport
Country England
Coordinates 53°38′47″N 3°00′45″W / 53.64646°N 3.012373°W / 53.64646; -3.012373
Completed 1931
Demolished 8 September 2010 (following fire)
Technical details
Structural system Brick

Kingsway (also known as Kingsway Club, and Bliss) was a nightclub and casino built in 1931 at the south end of the Promenade in the seaside resort of Southport, Merseyside, England. In the 1960s it hosted many well-known celebrities, such as The Beatles, Tom Jones, and Engelbert Humperdinck. It was also very popular during the 1980s punk era and the 1990s dance era.

The nightclub and bar closed in 2004 and reopened for a short time during 2006 before closing its doors for the last time in 2007. In 2008 plans were put forward to demolish the site and build a luxury hotel, apartments and retail complex, none of which came to fruition. On 6 September 2010, a major fire destroyed the derelict building. The building was demolished two days later.

The Kingsway was built in the 1931 in an art deco style with large portrait windows and hexagonal turrets with hexagonal windows. It was constructed over three floors, the basement being a bar, the ground floor being a nightclub, and the top floor being a casino.

On 22 January 1962 the Beatles had their first gig at Kingsway, which was then known as the Kingsway Club. On 5 February 1962, Ringo Starr made his debut with the Beatles at Kingsway when he replaced then-drummer Pete Best, who was ill at the time. The Beatles are known to have made 7 appearances at the Kingsway in 1962 before moving onto bigger projects and fame.

The Kingsway also hosted performances by Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck, Norman Wisdom (while filming What's Good for the Goose film at the Birkdale Palace Hotel in 1969), Larry Grayson, Tom O'Connor, and Cilla Black. Golfer Lee Trevino visited the casino of the Kingsway during the Open Golf in the 1960s.


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