Memories of the Cat's Whiskers nightclub in Weymouth

In the 1980s, the Cat’s Whiskers in School Street, near the Colwell Centre, was one of the most happening venues in the town.

The club’s owner was well-known Weymouth businessman Nino Ronzitti.

Nino ran the club between 1980 and 1987 and has good memories of the years there.

Speaking to the Dorset Echo in 2011, he said: “We were busy from Thursday night through to Saturday night.

“Thursdays were ladies’ nights and they were called ‘grab a granny’ nights.

“Then on Friday and Saturday nights the club was the place to be in the town.

Exterior view of The Cat’s Whiskers in School Street Picture courtesy of Tammy Riley

“We had quite a strict dress code and didn’t let people in if they were wearing jeans and T-shirts – they had to be wearing proper trousers and shirts.

“There was a little bit of trouble every now and then I suppose.

“We had doormen to keep things under control – they were always very smartly dressed – and if someone was getting too much, people seemed to sort it out among themselves.”

One of the highlights of the Cat’s Whiskers was its illuminated dance floor.

The legendary dancefloor of the Cat’s Whiskers

The club was the first venue in the town to have such an innovation and it certainly helped pull in the crowds.

“It was square and had a cat’s face in the corner,” Nino remembered.

“In the end they closed us down in 1987 because of the new town development, but in the end it didn’t happen for another 10 years and the town centre was one big car park.”

Cat’s Whiskers owner Nino Ronzitti gets into the spirit of Weymouth’s Trawler Race Day

Neil Coade DJ-ed at the club in the 1980s.

The doormen who worked at the Cat’s Whiskers

We asked some of the members of our nostalgia group We Grew Up in Weymouth and Portland for their memories of the Cat's Whiskers.

Kelly Zambelli said her mum worked there.

Graham Ryan, who worked as a taxi driver, remembers picking up many fares from the Cat's Whiskers. "It was a busy little place," he said.

Lisa Stevens said: "I loved the glitter ball and the disco dance floor that you stepped down into" and Michelle Honnor remembers having her 18th birthday there and eating 'steakwiches to soak up the alcohol'.

Donna J Young recalls 'we had a lot of fun there.'

Trina Mortimer tells us: "Me and my late husband went there every week, it was great."

Gill Foott said: "We had some great nights there."

The Christmas Eve lock-ins in the Cat's Whiskers are fondly remembered by Julie Cleaver.

Becky Blake remembers gatecrashing EF discos by 'pretending to be French' and Christine Coleman has 'great memories of going there on a Friday night after a drink at Cellarvino."

The Cat’s Whiskers crew at Weymouth carnival - can anyone place the year?

To share memories of the Cat's Whiskers and more, join our Facebook nostalgia group which you can find here