Do you remember Raquels?

Do you remember Raquels? We want to meet you at our memory collecting sessions!

Wednesday 11 December from 7pm - 11pm @ Owl and Pussycat Basildon

Artist Emma Edmondson and writer Tim Burrows want to invite those who danced, played and worked at Raquels to share their memories at the Owl and the Pussycat pub.

They are hosting two nights at the boozer to invite the great and the good of Basildon and beyond to reminisce and fill in the blanks of what happened at Raquels since it first opened as the Locarno Ballroom in the early 1960s. The results will go towards a wide-ranging project funded by Arts Council England and Essex Heritage Trust and supported by Estuary Festival, which will result in the creation of a new artwork, book and events that dig into the history and legacy of Raquels and the wider south Essex nightclub scene.

Since 2020, a third of all nightclubs left in Britain have shut their doors for good, a figure of 1,244 in June 2020 down to 873 in June 2023. Emma and Tim grew up clubbing in different sites on the Thames Estuary, and forged the project fuelled by a sense of alarm at what has happened to the nightclub in the UK. But rather than dead, we want to prove the desire for a good night out is alive and well, by recounting the history of one of Essex’s most storied and loved former nightspots.

So - bring your photos, flyers, tickets and more – we want to archive Basildon's nightlife! Photographer Tessa Hallmann will be on site all night to take photos of anything you bring!

Host or Publisher Emma Edmondson