Shelley's Laserdome
Shelley's Laserdome was a night club in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. It was at the heart of the house and rave scene in the early 1990s, helping to launch the career of DJ Sasha and featuring regular appearances from Carl Cox. It was eventually shut down by Staffordshire Police.
History
Before becoming a hit with ravers, the Shelleys building had been used as a roller rink earlier in the 20th century, before becoming the Panopticon Theatre, and then later Alexandra Palace Cinema. After closing as a cinema in the fifties, it housed bingo and shops.The club's heyday, 1990–91, saw a number of DJs at the beginnings of their careers: both Dave Seaman and Sasha were residents, who later found fame and success on a global scale. Other DJs who appeared included Doc Scott, Ellis Dee, Grooverider, Mickey Finn, DJ Rap, Stu Allan and local DJ Daz Willott. Legendary Rave Godfathers The Prodigy played a live PA at the club in 1991 whilst dancer Sharky was still with the band.
The first weekly night was Sindrome starting July 1990, and was run by Birmingham's Logical Promotions, Following that came Delight from Manchester, these two nights ran concurrently for a while and was probably the best era. In early 1991, The Haçienda had closed due to shootings by drug gangs, so when Delight began at Shelley bringing its large Manchester following along.
This nightclub has since become legendary because of the diverse crowd, quickly making its mark on clubbing history with help from first-rate, pioneering DJs of the emerging UK house music scene.