I can remember the Top Rank days in Albion Square, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent vividly; this dance club was open on Saturday mornings for children and open for children and early teens on a Tuesday night. I used to go in the years between 1972 and 1975, mostly on a Saturday morning. To say it was the 'in' place to be would not do it justice. The odd time 'I got in' on a Tuesday night it was as though I had really come of age. 

The popular groups around at this time were the Sweet, Slade and The Glitter Band and I was most definitely a Sweet fan (having experienced my musical epiphany with Hell Raiser in one of those little booths in Sherwin's music shop – now demolished). There were often competitions at Top Rank and I remember I entered one which featured the Sweet. One had to dress up like the characters in the group and I chose to dress like a Red Indian to illustrate Wig Wam Bam. The eventual winner, though, was a girl who had made one of those caped cloaks Steve Priest from the Sweet used to wear on stage. Yes, the winner was the contender who received the loudest cheer from the audience, made up of hundreds of children. 

Top Rank was always packed. Even under the stairs, where many a romance occurred in between the coats. Your dress for the occasion had to be top rank and was of paramount importance in those days. The shop was Chawners on Hope Street, Hanley, where the clobber was not what one would call vieux jeu. The fashions of the day post-bellbottoms were parallels (the leg of the trouser was supposed to be parallel all the way down). There were also different names for the different colour trouser. We had Stones (a creamy colour), Wines, Petrol Blues, Bottle Greens and Canaries (yellow). There was also Tonics and Tonic Checks, Prince of Wales and Bakers (like a white jean). I also persuaded a friend to give me a 'feather cut' to match, which was the latest hairstyle of the time, but my mother was not a happy bunny on seeing the result and immediately sent me to the barbers to have it rectified. I eventually opted for Wines (a maroon colour) and got a discount on my first pair because my cousin worked at the store. 

Ben Sherman shirts, as an accompaniment, were also fashionable in this epoch which sometimes sported the 'panda collar' (a massive flap-like shirt collar). Shoes-wise, it was Brogues and Monkey Boots to accompany your Harrington or Star jumper. 

Yes, life was sweet in the Top Rank days, your only worry being if you could enact your dance routine to the latest hits. These would include that caper where you put your hands on your hips and sort of rocked your arms as you bowed your head (I would never partake in this one; it was done by those Greaser or Frib types to tunes by Status Quo and the like). Then there was that dance to the Glitter Band where you moved your legs one behind the other in rhythm. The trendiest though, was to move one's feet slowly in a short forward step, then back again to the glam rock beat.