Nightclub frozen in 1990s to reopen for photo show

A long-shut nightclub where Gavin and Stacey star Rob Brydon once pulled pints and goth legends The Cure played is to reopen after 30 years as the unlikely venue for a photography exhibition.

Portraits of people from Port Talbot, some of which have been displayed in national galleries, will be shown in the Troubador club, in the basement of the Aberafan Shopping Centre.

Photographer Roo Lewis, 39, said he instantly knew he wanted to use the club - with its decor frozen in the 1990s - despite some obvious shortcomings.

"I thought we've got to do a show here, [even though] it's totally the wrong place to show photos, there's no natural light," he laughed.

The photographer from London said his first real visit to the town was by chance, when he was capturing the nearby annual Porthcawl Elvis festival for a glossy magazine, and the only remaining hotel room was along the south Wales coast in Port Talbot.

"I just remember being in bed one night in the hotel and the whole room lighting up orange; it was flaring from the work, the whole sky would glow orange like it was on fire," he said. "It was mad."

It was the beginning of an "obsession" that led to what was meant to be a six-month project, but turned into a two-year "love letter to the town".

"The idea of the book was to take photographs of these wonderful characters that I think south Wales breeds, particularly Port Talbot.

"There's this tenacious attitude, this lovely warm personality and this lovely rhythm and folklore to the place; and when you get under the skin, I really sort of fell in love with it," he added.

Alongside the National Portrait Gallery, the work has also been shown in the Royal Academy and now the Troubador.

The name is described by actor and comedian Rob Brydon - who plays Uncle Bryn in BBC sitcom Gavin & Stacey - in his autobiography as "lending a undeserved air of sophistication" to the basement bar where the "glasses were made of plastic".

As a teenager, he recalled working at weekends alongside characters who "would have been a scriptwriter's dream".

It was the job of Chris Morgan to help clear the club for the event. The venue still has its distinct 90s art work on the walls, alongside mounted records, and a mirror-tiled DJ booth.

The shopping centre manager said the team had been working whenever they could to get the space ready, despite it being the busiest time of year.

"We've got 30 years' worth of storage... paperwork, photographs, and the Christmas decorations, so you couldn't move in there," he added.

Now 51, he remembers visiting the club in its heyday, and said it was a "no-brainer" to reopen.

Gareth Bamsey, who had a job collecting glasses there, remembers the Troubador well.

After catching up with old friends a few years ago, he decided he wanted to write a book about the venue, before settling on a Facebook group.

The 61-year-old recalled seeing punk band The Damned there, with other artists including The Tourists - Eurythmics' Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart's early group – and The Cure also appearing in the basement venue.

"You had this major music scene in London, and then all of a sudden Port Talbot was part of it," he added.

The podiatrist, who now lives in Cardiff, said as unemployment rose in the late 70s and 80s, there was a sense of community around the club.

"Usually, [on] 18th birthdays you hired the Troubador. They'd give you something like 200 tickets, you'd give them to your school friends, and any leftover you'd leave out in the corridor for anyone to pick up," he added.

It is that sense of community Mr Lewis is hoping to recreate, with the hope that the club could remain open for two weeks for as many people as possible to see the space so many fondly remember.

"I'm really happy we're reopening it now," he said.

"People just want to come see the place and don't care about my photos or me, and that's fine."