If you go to a nightclub today, there's a chance part of your night will be captured by either a club photographer or friends filming on their phones.
But decades ago before reality TV, there was an anomaly on our screens which gave the public a glimpse into nightlife in clubs mainly across the North. Back in the late eighties and early nineties, The Hitman and Her aired on ITV's Night Network and visited various nightclubs , filming clubbers dancing to popular hits in the charts and playing party games, as well as showcasing a number of celebrity performances.
Legendary amongst a generation, host Michaela Strachan was the "Her" in the title, leading the show, whilst Pete Waterman was the "Hitman", named for a long string of #1 singles he'd written and produced over the years. Often, the dance music show was recorded Saturday nights, edited and then would air hours later on Sunday morning.
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It was one of the few places in the TV schedules where you could see real people doing real things, chatting to friends, looking bored, drinking and flirting. Clubbers would arrive at the featured club hoping to appear on television and the Hitman and Her also featured regular dancers, from Take That's Jason Orange to Jimmy Constable and Spike Dawbarn, who would go on to be members of the boy band 911.
The first ever Hitman and Her show came from Mr Smiths in Warrington in 1988 and the final show, which aired in 1992, was filmed from The Discothèque Royale in Manchester. But in its time, the show also visited the likes of Nottingham, Birmingham, Coventry, Newcastle and of course Merseyside.
Whilst on air, The Hitman and Her visited two popular Aintree nightclubs, Fallows and The Paradox. Over the years, they also did episodes at the likes of Palm Court in Southport, Falcon’s Crest in Formby, and The Ritzy in Bromborough, Wirral.
Today, there are some classic moments of different episodes of the show on YouTube that are a window into the past. An old rediscovered clips uploaded online show Fallows on the show in 1991.
Michaela opens the episode with "hello, welcome to The Hitman and Her, this is the Hitman," whilst Pete replies "and this is Her." Pete said: "We’ve got the usual sophisticated subtle things in the show this week and a new one called ten out of ten.
"Also we’ve got live music from Tongue N Cheek and the Wee Papa Girl Rappers. We've got live music, lots of it and good music meanwhile let's get on with the first track it's I Can't Take The Power, Offshore, this is Liverpool."
The camera then moves towards the crowd, capturing clubbers dancing. After the Wee Papa Girl Rappers perform single Best of My Love, What Do I Have To Do by Kylie Minogue is played to the crowd.
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The Hitman and Her also served as an outlet to showcase artists from Waterman’s PWL label. A message across the screen later reads: "Stay tuned to The Hitman if you want to see the whole of Kylie's new racy video - exclusively for you later on in the show."
Cameras from above scan the crowds whilst operators are on the dancefloor in the action to capture close-ups of the clubbers. That night, Michaela and Pete also hosted a fashion section featuring "funky" styles from a collection based on Mathew Street, which saw five models strut their stuff in everything from lime green playsuits to bright yellow bomber jackets and a red drawstring jacket with matching hot pants.
Fallows was known for its Monday and Thursday nights and the venue took off in the late 1980s before closing in 1992. Over the years, the Heysham Road venue has evolved, being separated into different rooms and then made into a pub called the Heysham Arms and another club called Kiss.
Eventually Kiss came to an end and so did the Heysham arms to make way for Thomas Valentino’s and the rest of the venue eventually became Time Out, children's indoor soft play centre. For over 15 years, Thomas Valentino’s was a popular function room, before transforming into The New Valentino's Function Suite.
Did you watch The Hitman and Her or attend a Merseyside club whilst filming? Let us know in the comments section below.
When visiting the Paradox, the venue could be seen packed with clubbers, who erupted into cheers when the DJ introduced the hosts. The short clip on Youtube then shows Michaela and Pete come on camera with people dancing and waving behind them.
Michaela said: "Hello, welcome to The Hitman and Her, this week we’re at another new club. This has had £3.6m pounds spent on it."
Pete replies: "And they created Paradox, we’re here. Tonight we’ve got fantastic games because it’s the ghouling witching hour and of course we’ve got drunken apple but with a difference."
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In the crowd, you can see clubbers on each others shoulders trying to catch a glimpse of dancers performing on stage, and colourful strobe lights illuminate the dancefloor. Later, Michaela gets the crowd involved with game Pass The Mic, which sees clubbers Amanda, Angela and Joe sing Help by The Beatles, which sees contestant three, Joe, win a pair of slippers.
The art deco style clock tower, on Ormskirk Road, Aintree, started out in the 1920s as the Vernon Pools building, but when they moved to new premises in 1991 it became the Paradox nightclub. The venue closed its doors in 2001 and in January 2013 the building was torn down, having stood empty for years and becoming derelict.
After the iconic building was later knocked down. The site is now home to a Sports Direct store with a gym attached.
In another episode, we see The Hitman and Her visit Palm Court, in Southport, for a second time. Also showing clips of the Victorian Baths in operation next door, we see clubbers dancing the night away, as well as couple Marie and Alan who met at the club the last time the hit dance show was filmed there.
On the night, Sydney Youngblood performed song Sit and Wait live to the crowds. The DJ also played Technotronic's Pump Up The Jam and Jason Donovan's When You Come Back To Me. The venue was popular in the eighties and nineties when it was known as Manhattans and Palm Court.
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As for Falcon's Crest in Formby, in the early 1990s the site was owned by the late body-building champion and popular Liverpool nightclub owner Terry Phillips. He claimed the Mr Universe title four times and also won Mr Britain in 1979 and Mr World in 1986.
In the nightclub world, he also owned the Wookey Hollow in Belmont Road, Tuebrook, Pickwicks, in London Road, and the Knowsley Country Club. The venue later became the Shorrocks Hill Country Club.
The Ritzy in Bromborough – and 5th Avenue next door – was the place to be for Wirral clubbers in the 90s and early 2000s, but the clubs closed in January 2003 after complaints from residents about violence and anti-social behaviour. The building was demolished in 2007 and replaced by a gym.
Many will remember the gunge bucket nights, 99p drinks nights, foam parties and seeing famous faces like Warrior from the Gladiators. The clubs are now lost to the past and for some there is limited footage, information or videos - but you can be transported back to The Hitman and Her nights at some of the venues on YouTube.
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