Memories of Maxims top the charts

Back in the days before music could be streamed on Spotify, vinyl LP records were a necessity for any music fan. Now, following a 12-month campaign, the newly opened Belong Heritage Gallery in Newcastle-under-Lyme has released the first additions to the ‘Memories of Maxims’ record collection.

The Belong Heritage Gallery is an integral service provided by Belong’s newest care village, although the building has stood in the town for centuries under different guises, most recently as the famous Maxims nightclub which closed in 2006. To celebrate the rich history of the site, members of the public were invited to come forward with their memories of the building over the decades. Once received, the memories were each assigned an appropriate pop song of the era and turned into a novelty record sleeve for the Memories of Maxims collection.

This record launch marks the beginning of what will be a regular feature on the gallery’s social media pages. Following the hashtag #MaximsMondays, the gallery’s Twitter, Facebook and Instagram pages will unveil a new record sleeve and memory every week.
Tracy Paine, deputy-chief executive of Belong, was excited to get involved with the project as a regular visitor of the Maxims nightclub during the 1980s: “I actually had my hen party at Maxims in 1982! I wore a bright pink jumpsuit (which was the height of fashion at the time, I promise!), and danced all night with my fellow student nurses. Quite aptly, the team at the Belong Heritage Gallery assigned my Maxims Memory to Cyndi Lauper’s smash hit Girls Just Wanna Have Fun – and that we did!”