Nightclub nostalgia: the evolution of nightlife on Tombland

Dancing in the ballroom of the Samson and Hercules in the early 1960's. Picture: Archant Library (Image: Archant Library)

Tombland had some of the biggest nightclubs in Norwich, do you remember them?

We are doing something different for Nightclub nostalgia this week as we look back at Tombland.

It used to be the place to be on a Saturday night with locals hitting the dancefloors, whether that was the ballroom of Samson and Hercules or the sweaty nightclubs of Ritzy’s, Central Park and Ikon.

Take a look through our gallery of Tombland nightlife in decades gone by.

Both 5th Avenue and Ritzys nightclub on Tombland in November 1996. Photo: Archant Library (Image: Archant Library)

Were you a Ritzy's regular in the 1980s? Picture: Archant Library (Image: Archant Library)

Do you remember doorman Carl Dale of Norwich nightclub Ritzy in 1995? Picture: Archant Library (Image: Archant Library)

DJ Phil Simmons doing his job at Central Park in February 1991. Photo: Archant Library (Image: Archant)

Ritzy's turned into Ikon nightclub, the next step of the Tombland nightlife evolution in the 1990s. Photo: Archant Library (Image: Archant Library)

Preparing to dance the night away at the last night of the Fifth Avenue nightclub in Norwich. Picture: Bill Smith (Image: EDP pics © 2003)

Jerri Roberts, left, and Michelle Caddick at the last night of the Ikon nightclub in Norwich. Picture: Bill Smith (Image: EDP pics © 2003)