Guildford Nightclub Reopens

Published on: 15 Sep, 2024
Updated on: 17 Sep, 2024

AUX nightclub as it was in December 2023

By Martin Giles

The nightclub formerly known as Aux and The Casino on Onslow Street is being re-opened as “Y”.

The club closed suddenly in April when owner Michel Harper said that his company had “exercised forfeiture”.

The club’s new name in the main entrance is hard to miss.

Police searched the venue on April 20 following the arrest of a 32-year-old man from Guildford on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs. He was subsequently released on police bail.

The open-air bar area with large screen for viewing sporting events is one of the areas currently open at weekends.

A police investigation is understood to be ongoing but the man arrested is not believed to have been charged.

The refurbished dancefloor with original ceiling plasterwork picked out in gold paint.

Now Michel Harper is determined to restore the reputation of the club in its new identity and with a new manager.

He said: “The club is being completely refurbished and we have started to open certain areas at weekends. I am looking forward to having the club fully open again soon.

“It is very important, I believe, to have a venue such as this in Guildford. It is not only good for the town’s nightime economy but people need a place where they can meet in reality not vitual reality or online.”

Historical note

The nightclub is was built as a cinema in about 1912 and called the Central Hall Picture Palace, seating 600.

The building soon after it was built as a cinema. Picture: David Rose collection.

In October 1930 it was re-named the Plaza Cinema and survived until 1956 after which it lay unused for several years until the 1960s when it became a live music venue, where local bands of the time, such as Guildford-based Crescendos, played there.

Poster for Guildford’s Ricky Tick club featuring the Animals one week followed by Sonny Boy Williamson and the Yardbirds the next!

The Ricky Tick music clubs used the venue bringing artists such the Who, the Animals, the Graham Bond Organisation and many more up and coming band of the time.

Ricky Tick also brought American blues artists to the venue such as Howlin’ Wolf and Sunny Boy Williamson. It’s also said another young American musician played there, then known as Little Stevie Wonder.

In the early 1970s it was used as a discotheque and as a bingo hall.

Since around 2001, it became The Drink nightclub changing its name to The Casino nightclub around 2014.