80s Hi – NRG & Eurobeat

Flamingo, Blackpool Hi-NRG Chart Summer 1988

In the 1980s, Blackpool was something of a gay mecca; a little bit like Brighton – situated on the seaside, with a good assortment of gay bars and nightclubs. These towns were popular weekend spots that gay men flocked to. Flamingo 2001 was one of the big Blackpool clubs, which played up to the moment Hi-NRG, Italo and Euro Disco.

The club contributed a Hi-NRG chart to various publications like Gay Times and Gay News. The below is a Flamingo 2001 club chart, coupled with sales of the records from the local HMV record shop. This chart was published either in Gay Times or Him magazine (unfortunately I don’t know which one), and was published at some point in the Spring/early Summer of 1988.

Jocks Magazine Hi-NRG Chart Summer 1988

Jocks Magazine started as an industry magazine for British DJs and ran from 1986 to 1991. In these early years, the magazine concentrated mostly on DJ equipment and the world of mobile and radio DJing, rather than dance/club culture. The magazine contained numerous dance charts, including a Hi-NRG chart like the one compiled by Alan Jones and James Hamilton, although it was pretty identical to the Hi-NRG Chart published in Record Mirror.