On the windswept promenade of New Brighton, where the River Mersey meets the Irish Sea, stood a venue that defined a generation. The Chelsea Reach wasn’t just a nightclub — it was a cultural landmark. Now, in Chelsea Nights, Paul Chase brings that era vividly back to life, capturing three decades of music, mayhem and memories that shaped Wirral’s nightlife.
CLICK HERE TO BUY THE BOOK VIA THE WEBSITE
Opened in the early 1970s and running until 2001, The Chelsea Reach quickly became synonymous with the rise of disco culture in the North of England. Owned by Chase’s family alongside Roy Adams — a larger-than-life figure dubbed “the King of Clubs” — the venue drew crowds from across the region. For many, it was more than a night out; it was a rite of passage.
CLICK HERE TO BUY THE BOOK VIA THE WEBSITE
Chase himself wasn’t just an observer. As both manager and doorman, he stood at the heart of it all — witness to the electric highs and occasional chaos that defined the club’s reputation. His memoir is grounded in lived experience, offering readers a raw, unfiltered look at what really went on behind the doors.
CLICK HERE TO BUY THE BOOK VIA THE WEBSITE
Music sits at the core of Chelsea Nights. The book celebrates the DJs who turned the club into a pulsating hub of sound, including Greg Wilson, Derek Kaye and Pez Tellet. These names weren’t just spinning records — they were shaping tastes, setting trends and creating moments that would linger long after the lights came up.
From the early days of disco through evolving club sounds, the music mirrored broader social shifts. It was a unifying force, drawing together people from different backgrounds onto a single dance floor. Chase’s writing is steeped in nostalgia but never romanticized beyond recognition. He paints a picture of a place where friendships were forged and broken, romance sparked under flashing lights and tensions sometimes spilled over.
CLICK HERE TO BUY THE BOOK VIA THE WEBSITE
Paul explains: “If you ever crossed the dance floor at the Chelsea Reach sometime between the early seventies and the mid-eighties, there’s a fair chance we already know each other — even if we never spoke. This book captures the mayhem, music and moments from the early days of disco to so many unforgettable nights and legendary characters over the decades.”
He continues: “This book is for you. But not just for you — it is for all those who embraced the new-found freedoms of the Disco era, the heads days of hedonism, who found community and a sense of belonging in the countless discos that sprang-up during the seventies and eighties. It is also a time capsule for people to take a glimpse into Merseyside nightlife over the years — long before mobile phones and social media.”
CLICK HERE TO BUY THE BOOK VIA THE WEBSITE
Michael Kill, CEO of Night-Time Industries Association, adds: “This is a powerful reminder of why nightlife matters. It captures a raw, unfiltered era when clubs were more than businesses — they were places of freedom, risk, belonging and identity. Honest, uncompromising and deeply human, it shows how the night-time economy helped shape culture long before regulation and corporatisation softened its edges.”
CLICK HERE TO BUY THE BOOK VIA THE WEBSITE
While Chelsea Nights revels in the energy of the disco era, it also charts the changing tides of nightlife culture. From the hedonistic highs of the 70s and 80s to the shifting social and political landscape of later decades, the book offers insight into how clubs like The Chelsea Reach evolved — or struggled to keep up.
Chase doesn’t shy away from the tougher aspects either: the incidents, the clashes, the realities of running a venue in a changing world. Yet through it all, there’s a clear sense of affection for what the club represented.
CLICK HERE TO BUY THE BOOK VIA THE WEBSITE
Peter Marks, Founder and CEO of The Deltic Group, says: “A great read about the early days of the disco and nightclub scene, its rawness, characters and how nothing stands still or is forever. Hospitality pulled Paul in like so many before and since. It is easy to forget the lack of structure around then — the jump in the deep end, think on your feet and true entrepreneurial spirit that gave rise to what was to follow.”
Legendary DJ Greg Wilson comments: “The Chelsea Reach was a shining light in New Brighton during its decline as a seaside resort, which gathered pace in the 70s when the pier was dismantled and the day trippers dwindled. I was a DJ there from late ’75 through to early ’78. It was the starting point on my journey as a DJ, which continues to date, so The Chelsea Reach is somewhere that holds a special place in my heart.”
CLICK HERE TO BUY THE BOOK VIA THE WEBSITE
Subtitled A Memoir of Mayhem, Music and Moments, the book speaks directly to anyone who ever lost themselves in a dance floor crowd. But it also reaches beyond that audience, offering younger readers a glimpse into a time when nightlife felt raw, communal and deeply personal.
CLICK HERE TO BUY THE BOOK VIA THE WEBSITE
The Chelsea Reach may be gone, but through Chase’s storytelling, its spirit endures — a reminder of a period when music, mayhem and shared experience brought people together in ways that still resonate today. Chelsea Nights is available to purchase for just £10 via Paul Chase’s website and will be appearing at Liverpool Book Festival on 2nd August 2026.
