It has been a landmark in Kirkcaldy for generations but the final dance has well and truly taken place at the iconic Jackie O’s nightclub.
Demolition crews have moved in to bring the legendary venue to the ground, with plans in place to develop the site into a luxury hotel and apartments.
Although more recently known as McSquinty’s and the Candlerooms, which closed in 2010, the site remains known to many throughout central Fife and beyond as Jackie O’s.
The building was constructed by the Macioica family in 1930 and enjoyed a prominent spot on the town’s Esplanade.
Opening as the Trocadero cafe, the premises operated under a variety of names in its time, including the Troxy, Burma Dance Hall and the Winter Gardens.
However, the nightspot enjoyed its heyday as Jackie O’s in the 1980s and early 1990s, attracting revellers from across Scotland.
It gained further fame in 1994 when its logo adorned the shirts of the Coca-Cola Cup-winning Raith Rovers team.
However, after further name and ownership changes, resulting in the premises returning to the hands of the Macioica family, the music stopped for good in 2010 as supermarket sales of alcohol and the recession impacted on Kirkcaldy’s nightclub scene.
Earlier this year the site was purchased by local developer Alex Penman, who plans to build 32 luxury flats and a hotel.
Although planning permission is still required, Mr Penman is optimistic that it will be granted.
He said: ”We’ve had lots of good responses and people seem to be very much in favour of the proposals.”
jowatson@thecourier.co.ukIt was once the place to beMention the name Jackie O’s to anyone of a certain age and the chances are many of them will tell you that it was the place to be, writes Claire Warrender.
Girls in white stilletos would queue up outside, alongside shirt-sleeved men waiting to get in.
In what now seems like the dim and distant past, I would make my way to the Esplanade with a group of friends at pub closing time to enjoy the music and a late drink.
Stilletos were never really my thing but I would take to the dancefloor with the best of them, watching as others skirted the edge, eyeing up the talent.
Later someone would suggest going through the ”spooky tunnel” a dark corridor which appeared to be starlit, leading to a quieter bar area where you could also get chips.
Fridays or Saturdays were our nights but we were occasionally seen there on a Wednesday which was for over-21s and was quite unbelievably now known locally as the ”grab a granny night”.
As cheesy as it often was, I look back on it with a sense of nostalgia, remembering the laughs with pals and the banter with the other regulars we would bump into.