A celebration event at Molinueux Stadium, Wolverhampton, as the historic Lafayette Club receives a blue plaque.
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00:00Well, Susie, tell me about being here today to unveil the plaque.
00:03What are the emotions that are coming up right now?
00:05I think we're all really excited about today because the Wolverhampton Society have honoured the Lafayette,
00:10the inimitable club Lafayette, with a blue plaque.
00:16And it's got everybody together, which is always really great.
00:19Something positive and there's some incredible memories in this room.
00:23Lots of people talking about their time at the Lafayette, meeting their partners, bands that they saw.
00:28You know, it's really fantastic.
00:31We don't obviously do name-dropping, but we talk about John Richards meeting his wife there,
00:36Led Zeppelin being there, members of The Who being there, and many other celebrities.
00:40It became the place to be, didn't it?
00:42It was absolutely the place to be between 1968 and 1982, really.
00:46I was talking to Robert Plant last week here.
00:49We did an interview, obviously, for the Express and Star,
00:52and he was saying that it was the first place they went to where they were accepted, actually,
00:57and it was on two levels, so they had fantastic bands every night,
01:03but also the bands themselves could go there and mix with each other
01:07and have conversations and have a steak and chips.
01:10It was unique, and it had a licence until two o'clock in the morning as well.
01:13Which, I suppose, at that time was quite unusual, wasn't it?
01:16Well, no-one outside London had a licence after eleven o'clock,
01:19so if you were a band playing in the Midlands, you would always end up going to the Laf afterwards
01:24for your post-gig drink, and you could imagine how things went on there.
01:28It's like you said, you were maybe too young to actually experience it,
01:31although you did at least enjoy your birthday party there.
01:34What are your memories? I realise it's a while ago, but what are your memories of that time?
01:38I was 12 when it closed down, and obviously it was me and my friends who are here today at our dad's place.
01:44So I remember going up there on a Saturday, getting the bus up if my dad was working,
01:48and he'd always get me and my friends a Coca-Cola, or we'd pull our own Coca-Cola,
01:53and it was the smell of stale beer and cigarettes, and that's kind of stayed with me as a positive entity.
02:00You know, wherever I go into a club, where your feet stick to the floor,
02:03I know it's going to be a really good night, because it reminds me so much of the Lafayette.
02:07And yeah, I had a birthday party there, but you know, obviously my experiences were so different.
02:12And I've kind of lived through different stories of different people talking about the Lafayette,
02:17and what a place! I would love to have been a bit older, you know,
02:20so I could have gone there and experienced it as a punter.
02:23You've got the second-hand experience.
02:24Second-hand, yeah.
02:25But at the same time, you've still got, just through other people, you can sort of visualise what it's like,
02:31and see what it was like in there, when it was really jumping.
02:34Absolutely, yeah. I mean, you know, I was a teenager throughout the 80s,
02:37and I experienced lots of live music gigs, where I feel really at home,
02:43and that's kind of what I love to do the most, go and watch live bands,
02:46and it obviously comes from my mum and dad, really.
02:49So, you know, I think I get a sort of sense of what it was like.
02:53But because it was the first, it's always so heady and much better, you know.
02:59I think all these people in here will go, yeah, this is great, but it's not like the Laf, you know.
03:03The Laf was really magical and special, and yeah, what a great thing that the lads did, really.
03:09I'm saying the lads, including my dad in that,
03:11because their idea was to bring live music into Wolverhampton on a daily basis,
03:16and somewhere for people to go and enjoy themselves.
03:18You know, I wish we had somewhere like that now.
03:22But it's being celebrated today with a blue plaque.
03:25What were your emotions when you found out that they were going to do this for you?
03:28Yeah, both Cheryl and I, because Cheryl's dad is George Maddox,
03:32so my dad and George worked together with Alan and Morris and the boys.
03:36We thought it was a really lovely thing to do for our dads and organise,
03:40and yeah, we just felt really, really delighted that the Wolverhampton Society had come to us.
03:46Because they, of course, they all used to go to the Lafayette themselves.
03:49So for them, they wanted to honour the Lafayette.
03:52For us, it's for our dads, really.
03:54Do you think that something like that could be a big thing for the Wolverhampton scene these days?
03:59What do you mean?
04:00Do you think if they reopened, something like the Lafayette?
04:02Oh my God, yes.
04:04I mean, maybe we should do it, you know.
04:07Maybe we should carry on the trend.
04:09I think somewhere to go, there's a club sort of environment as well,
04:13where you maybe need to have a membership, where you can get something to eat, watch a band.
04:17I think that would be incredible, no.
04:20And today, your dad's here to be part of the ceremony here at the Home Awards.
04:24Yes.
04:25You must be overflowing with pride right now.
04:27I've always been really proud of my dad and the things that he's done, but yeah, I am today.
04:32I think it's going to be quite emotional.
04:34I wish my mum could have been here to see this, because I know she would have really loved that.
04:37My brother's here and so are my family, so that's really nice to experience.
04:41She's probably here in spirit, enjoying a drink right now.
04:43Absolutely, yeah.
04:44She's always at the Molyneux anyway, so yeah, she's definitely here.
04:48So, for all three of you, what does it mean for you to be here today to get this blue plaque?
04:53Very privileged.
04:55I mean, the idea of having a plaque when we started the Lafayette was not even a starter.
05:03We feel quite privileged that we're just getting an award, I suppose.
05:07I suppose, in a way, that you're doing this, you three are here to represent everyone who was involved in the process starting out, weren't you?
05:14Yes, we are, yeah.
05:15There were seven of us when we started, and we're just highly honoured to have an award like this,
05:23which we never thought of in 1968, when we were just keen on opening our club and providing live music to the West Midlands.
05:33How much does it bring back, the memories of those days, for you?
05:37Quite a lot, really, isn't it, George?
05:40Yeah.
05:41It's here.
05:42Yeah.
05:43It's here.
05:44It just comes back to you from every part of your body?
05:47Yes.
05:48And for you, to be here today, what was your feeling when you found out that the blue plaque was coming?
05:54How did you feel when you found out?
05:56Well, I was very surprised and honoured, to be honest.
05:59I just think, as I said before, we were privileged, or we are privileged.
06:03Yeah.
06:04It just brings back the warm memories of that time, doesn't it?
06:07Yeah, tremendously, yeah.
06:10What did you reflect as well?
06:12When we opened the club, as we went on, we found it was difficult to get the acts we wanted from London,
06:20because down there it was viewed, Wolverhampton was viewed as a suburb of Birmingham,
06:25and it took a long time to change their minds, so we could get the acts into Wolverhampton.
06:30And let's detail some of the acts who played at the club back in the past,
06:33because we were talking about this before, but you mentioned some big names.
06:36Yes.
06:37Dire Straits were regulars, John Mayles, Blues Breakers, Yes, Led Zeppelin.
06:44The Quo.
06:45Jethro Tull.
06:47Fleetwood Mac.
06:48Fleetwood Mac.
06:49Queen.
06:50All played the Lafayette.
06:52And it was the fact that it wasn't just a music venue, it was also a perfect post-gig show, wasn't it, for people in the Civic?
06:58Yes, very much so. A lot of the bands wouldn't step away, they'd come back here for a drink and a meal.
07:03Just as we get ready to see the plaque being unveiled,
07:06what would you like to say to everyone who supported the club over the years?
07:09Thank you for your support.
07:11There's a lot of people who met their wives, met their husbands by going to the Lafayette Club,
07:16and there's a lot of people who also had divorces by going to the Lafayette Club,
07:19but there's a lot of marriages.
07:21Yes.
07:22What would you like to say to all those people who came over the years?
07:25All I should say?
07:26Yes.
07:27Just thank you for everything.
07:29Yes.
07:30And for yourself?
07:31Thank you for supporting us. Without people coming and supporting us,
07:35we'd never have been able to do what we did do, and present what we presented to Wolverhampton.
07:41So it's all down to the public, and thank you very much.
07:44Thank you, gentlemen. Enjoy your day.
07:47Ladies and gentlemen, here it is.
07:49Woo!