Music stars, celebrities and a future king have all danced the night away at Tubes

Generations of Meltonians have hit the dance floor and they’ve been joined, from time to time, by some very famous faces, including the former Prince William – the next in line to the throne – who dropped in with friends while he was training at the town’s Vet Camp.

Superstar singer Phil Collins has also visited, along with a host of celebrated DJs like Pete Tong and TV stars including Coronation Street actor Chris Quinten, who played Brian Tilsley.

That the place still thrives today, despite the economic challenges to hospitality businesses, is a real triumph for its founder, Trevor Vernon, who recently passed away aged 87.

Trevor’s daughter, Tracey, who took over running Tubes many years ago, explained how her father came to start it all off.

“The story goes that he went to a nightclub in Leicester one night with my mum and they wouldn’t let him in because he was wearing white socks,” said Tracey.

“He said to her after that ‘I’m going to open my own club’.

“It was an old derelict building when he bought it in 1981 and it took two years to finally get it open.”

Trevor spent over £100k refurbishing the three-storey building, which was a former woodworking factory, and he fought many planning battles with Melton council along the way.

It was originally going to be called Buttons and Bows before the family decided on Tubes.

Trevor bought the dance floor from the old Corn Exchange, before it was converted into the Bell Centre shopping mall, and it was duly installed in the Attic Bar, where it remains in place today.

A Melton Times advert from the week Tubes opened in 1983 declared ‘It’s new! It’s different!’ and punters were promised ‘fantastic disco sounds’.

Entry back then cost £2 for members, £2.50 for non-members, with a membership priced at £3. Tubes had a capacity for 250 people but 500 members were already signed up when the doors first opened.

The new nightclub caused quite a stir in the early years with the Melton Times reporting that underage girls were sneaking out of their family homes to join friends at Tubes, with many using fake Melton College student ID cards.

Customers were asked to smarten up in 1987 when the club reopened after a major refurbishment, manager Neil Boylan telling the Melton Times: “We’ve decided to ban the very casual style of dress, which can be scruffy because we think you can have a better night out if you take some trouble to dress.”

When the club celebrated its 10th birthday in 1993, Trevor told this newspaper: “We have them from 18 to 80 and they all mix together with no problem.”

One of the biggest challenges came when New Year’s Eve fell on a Sunday. Trevor had to convince local councillors to grant the club a license to ring in the new year even though a 200-year-old act prohibited public entertainment on a Sabbath.

Tracey says it is an honour to keep the family business flourishing, adding: "Dad loved being in the club – in the centre of it all – and I’ve always loved it too.”