Legendary nights at Cream in Nation and the clubs that came before it

It's now been more than 30 years since a small underground club night in Liverpool city centre first burst onto the scene. But prior to that, the venue was home to numerous nightclubs, attracting clubbers across the generations.

Clubbers of the 90s and 00s will know it as Nation - but the nightclub spot in Wolstenholme Square lived many lives before it became the home to club night, Cream, and was eventually demolished. Decades ago, many will remember the square being home to the likes of Snobs and Kazimier Club.

But today, Wolstenholme Square is home to more than 400 residential apartments and a number of commercial units. After closing in early 2016, both The Kazimier and Nation, the original home of Cream, were levelled to make way for the blocks developed by the Elliot Group, the ECHO previously reported.

This weekend, award-winning dance festival Creamfields, once based in Liverpool, will return to Daresbury in Cheshire and see hundreds attend. Ahead of the event, we've taken another look back at the club night, Cream in Nation,. that started it all - as well as the nightclubs that came before it in the same site.

This list intended to be comprehensive. But the clubs included and these old photographs are bound to stir some memories for different generations of clubbers.

Russell's

The Nation nightclub site had many lives before it became the home of Cream. Back in 1969, Norman Baker opened Russell's, which quickly became known as one of the North West’s premium cabaret clubs.

In its ten year reign, famous faces were known to regularly frequent the club. This included the likes of Bruce Forsyth and Lulu to Bob Monkhouse, Tony Christie and more.

But rising overheads and spiralling artists’ fees led to its closure in 1979. Later that year, Norman reopened the club, alongside his wife Maureen, after an extensive refurbishment and it was renamed.

Snobs

In 1979, Norman reopened the club and it was renamed Snobs. In its time, it was one of the areas "in places" for clubbers, breaking new ground in providing one of the best and brightest discotheques in the city.

Open till 2am from Tuesday to Sunday, Snobs catered for over 26's. The ECHO previously reported how its members were "happy to be affectionately known as Snobs."

Many will remember dressing up and heading there for a night out on the town and being a member. What also stood out where the staff uniforms, with the likes of barmaids wearing leotards with bow ties.

The club remained as Snobs for around sic years until the summer of 1986. It later reopened under a slightly different name after a £500,000 facelift.

Snobs 2

By 1986, the club became known as Snobs Take 2. At the time, the ECHO reported how owner Norman Baker's aim was to completely redesign and refurbish the club to bring it into the 20th century.

No expense was spared with £100,000 alone going on the new lighting system. The grand opening was invitation only, with Snobs Take 2 opening to the general public later that week.

The new club boasted several bars and lounges, as well as a restaurant. Snobs Take 2 was also known for its light shows and the different DJs who passed through its doors.

But by the end of the decade, the site again transformed. This time, it dropped the 'Snobs' name completely.

Harvey's

In June 1989, an £150,000 refurbishment saw the former Snobs’ Club in Wolstenholme Square become Harvey's. Harvey's was the first venue in Liverpool to be equipped with a CD digital musical mixer and also boasted a multi-screen video, which showed pop up videos and classic comedies.

The ECHO at the time reported how new seating and house lighting, as well as marble tables especially made for Harvey's, now decorated the site. The upstairs cocktails bar also got a new look, giving customers a birds eye view of the dancefloor.

But by the 90s, the site had transformed again. It was the Academy Annexe before becoming known as Nation, which was home to Cream.

Cream/Nation

At the cutting edge of dance and electronic music in the 1990s and through to the early 2000s, superstar DJs travelled from around the world to get to play sold-out sets at the Cream club night in Nation . The weekly house music night first launched in October 1992 and later went on to be known for offshoot events and festivals around the world.

When the team behind Liverpool super club Cream decided to hold a music festival in the late 1990s, they couldn't have foreseen the behemoth that Creamfields would become.

Starting in Winchester, Hampshire, the event was also held at the Old Liverpool Airfield in Speke from 1999 until 2005 before outgrowing the site and moving to Daresbury in 2006, where the festival has been held ever since.

Sadly, the iconic Nation club closed its doors in 2007, and the venue was demolished in 2016 as part of the regeneration of Wolstenholme Square. But its legacy lives on with Creamfields, which returns on Thursday, August 22 and concludes on Sunday, August 25, 2024.