Pair install blue plaques for Stoke-on-Trent's lost nightclubs
Mr Johnson said Historic England was in charge of the official plaques, which are almost exclusively in London, and they had only recently allowed them to be installed elsewhere in the country.A plaque for ceramic artist and designer Clarice Cliff is one of the first of the few official ones outside the capital. It is located at Cliff's former flat in Shelton, Stoke-on-Trent, where she lived at the height of her success."I was thinking, wouldn't it be fun to find a company that makes them, sort of 'mock' blue plaques," Mr Johnson said.
He added they had cost him about £35 each.He initially came up with the idea for The Antelope pub in Hanley, he said."Various groups and genres of music fans used to get in there," Mr Johnson told BBC Radio Stoke.Mr Leigh, who himself used to be a DJ at The Void, said the city seemed to be "at the cutting edge of whatever music scene was evolving or going on at the time".Some only lasted a few years, which made their rise to prominence all the more remarkable, he said.Mr Johnson said they currently had put blue plaques up at five venues:The Top Rank, now a bingo hall, which honours DJ Chris WillamsThe Heavy Steam Machine, once the biggest disco in Europe, honouring DJ Colin CurtisThe Place, reputed to be the first disco in the UK, honouring soul DJ Trevor MThe Void, honouring DJs Pete Bromley and Kelvin AndrewsThe Antelope, honouring DJ Philip J Oliver
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