IT launched in a blaze of glory but closed six years later after highs and lows.

Atlantis – at the time Bolton’s largest nightclub, with capacity for 2,500 clubbers – opened in January 1998 in the Valley Centertainment complex in Waters Meeting Road as a “superclub for the Millennium”.

It attracted top stars such as Busted and Girls Aloud with a capacity for 2,500 clubbers and boasting six bars, two dancefloors, a diner and VIP lounge.

But the £5 million venue, one of the region’s most expensive nightclubs, hit financial difficulties after failing to attract enough clubbers to its out-of-town location.

In November 2000, there was a shooting incident when a gunman approached the club at closing time, produced a handgun and fired at least eight shots into a crowd standing near the doors.

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On a hot summer’s evening in 2003, chart toppers Girls Aloud entertained crowds at an event organised by the club with help from ITV Saturday morning pop show CD:UK.

Joining Cheryl, Kimberly, Nicola, Sarah and Nadine were Irish boy band D-Side and Transylvanian pop twins the Cheeky Girls.

But the end was nigh and it closed in March 2004. In October that year plans to demolish the building and replace it with 92 flats were approved.