Memories of big bands and big nights come flooding back for legendary Wolverhampton club founders as blue plaque tribute is unveiled
It was a day which brought a sense of pride and memories of great nights out flooding back for the founders of an iconic Wolverhampton club which featured big names and a nightlife unmatched for the time.
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The three surviving founders of Club Lafayette were joined by their families, friends and specially invited guests at Molineux Stadium for the official unveiling of a blue plaque from the Wolverhampton Society.
George Maddocks, Alan Clayton and Tony Perry were guests of honour at the event, which was hosted by Tony's daughter, broadcaster Suzi Perry and also saw messages from former Wolves players John Richards and Kenny Hibbert and from rock legend Robert Plant, all of whom had fond memories of the club.
The plaque was a way of paying tribute to the much-loved music venue, which was affectionately called "The Laff" and stood on the corner of Thornley Street between 1968 and 1982 and which became a must-see venue for live music, as well as being open until 2am throughout the week.
It was a venue which welcomed some of the premier bands of the day, from Led Zeppelin to Queen, while Jethro Tull played a show at 1am after appearing on Top of the Pops and Stevie Wonder famously went on stage to play harmonica after playing a show at another venue and coming to Lafayette for a drink.
George Maddocks, Alan Clayton and Tony Perry were part of Astra, an agency which managed and promoted bands, venues, comedians and DJs, and they worked alongside Stan and Pete Fielding, Len Rowe and Maurice Jones to create a club they said was simply about providing a live music venue for a town that was felt ignored.
They spoke about that initial struggle to get bands in and how honoured they were to receive an award like a blue plaque.
