The popularity of Roller Disco at Bagley’s on a Thursday night grew larger and became known as the UK’s premier night club on wheels, with the ever closer redevelopment of Kings Cross, Roller Disco Moved to the Renaissance Rooms at Vauxhall in London and the UK’s first dedicated night club on wheels, Roller Nation was born. The Roller Disco revival was the cause of many re development projects to large spaces, this lead dedicated skating venues to become fewer and fewer as most skating and roller discos to be set up in sports halls.
Roller Skating had a musical revival in the late 1970’s as disco music came to the dance floor and the birth of the modern Roller Disco emerged, bringing big hair, bright clothing and leg warmers to the dance floors along with tracks such as ‘We are family’ and ‘Good times’. Rolitio’s or fixed wheels skates came into existence in 1823 and in 1865 James Leonard Plimpton brought out what is now known as the quad skate, built with bushes and wooded wheels, these skates enabled us to change direction, which gave us the ability to dance on wheels.As the craze of skating in a rink in the early 1900 became very popular through to the 1930’s, the fascination of going out and putting on a pair of skates in fancy dress and wearing bright colours begun.
In 1760 Joseph Merlin exhibited his new skate at a masquerade ball in Soho Square, whilst playing a violin he crashed into a mirror seriously injuring himself, and so it began.
Here's a little history for you about how the fun began…. Do you know how skating started, and when Rinking, became so popular?