From a news article (click on the text to read the article)
In December, the building that once housed the famous Wigan Pier nightclub was knocked down. Council bosses described the former club as ‘one of Wigan’s biggest eyesores’.
The council bought the building in 2013, but it stood empty and rotting for more than 12 months.
The club’s popularity peaked in the mid-1990s with the explosion of the house music and rave scene. It closed in 2010 after rows over noise levels.
Working at Wigan Pier nightspot at the time it closed, I was first hand to see what was going on, and I can assure you, it wasn't connected with noise levels.
Wigan Pier as the club was known, correctly, peaked in the 90's as the rave and dance music scene's grew. In it's later years, the club did begin to hit difficult times. Infact, within it's last years it wasn't rare to hear that the club had closed early, in one time, it closed a mere hour after opening because only 3 people had gone in to the club.
The building which it was in was always rented and never owned by the club itself. We had been going through a period of the club being quite popular again and more people kept turning up, that was until I received a call on a Monday from the club.
It was from my friend Lorna who was bar manager at the time. She explained how the club had been given notice on the sunday, that the following weekend the club would not be allowed to open and as such, a farewell, last minute rave had been planned for the Thursday night. It would be the last time the club would open at this base.
What had happened is that the lease on the building was up for renewal. Instead of approaching the nightclub with a view to extending the contract, the owner had simply said that he wanted us out, no chance of staying in. It is VERY possible that his decision was even paid for by Wigan Council who had long sort to see the closure of many night spots within the town itself.
The Thursday night rave went better than expected, with attendance over capacity, reaching numbers of over 1,500 people trying to get in to the club to say a fond farewell.
Since then the building stood empty. Around about a year a go the middle floor of the club was removed, and the building quickly began to show sign's of collapse, before in December 2014, demolition work began to take place on the building.
However, it is important to not let the media try to report the history wrong.
The club DID NOT close over noise complaints, it was that the lease was up.
Since it's closing at the site, the Wigan Pier nightclub brand has been on tour, until being merged with "Bounce Till I Die".
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