Groups of pals queueing down the street eager to get inside the club and party - hands in the air in between downing bottles of VK.

Thanks to a Bolton DJ and videographer, you can now revisit some of the biggest nights held at the Bridge Street club before its closure on January 21, 2012.

Alex English, aged 30, from Astley Bridge, was there to capture the fun on film for Bolton promotional business Sunrise. 

He said: “It was my job at the time to make a monthly video for the events.

“On certain nights, I used to do all the videos and compile all the best bits.

 “It was fantastic. I used to love it.”

The landmark club was originally built as the Astoria Palais de Dance in 1928.

Later guises included Ritzy nightclub and Cinderella Rockerfellas, before Ikon appeared on Bolton's clubbing scene in 1990s. 

After rumours of it becoming a wedding venue or an all-you-can buffet it now stands empty, waiting for the bulldozers to flatten the building where friends once met, romances began and so many good times were had.

Alex, who shares videos on his Alex English Videography Facebook page, said:  “It was brilliant.

“You used to see people from many different backgrounds, dance music to the more rocky stuff.

“It had a welcoming atmosphere. Everything I experienced was really good.”

Speaking of how the nightlife scene in Bolton has changed, he said: “Rather than people going out once a week in Bolton, they save up and go on one big night out in Manchester.

“It’s pushed people out.

“There also seem to be a lot more incidents now, crime and violence.

“I know things happened then but not to the scale it does now.”

GALLERY: Photos from Atlantis - Bolton's 'superclub' of the late '90s/ early 2000s

GALLERY: Early '00s nights out in Bolton's pubs and clubs

For those who once partied every weekend in Bolton, Ikon and the clubs of yesteryear will always hold special memories - long after the bricks and mortar are gone.