Who remembers the fantastic Pulse 17 dance nights in Hartlepool?

They were all the rage in Hartlepool at the start of the new millennium, and they went down a storm at the Wesley nightclub.

Today, we take another look at the attraction in 2000 and ask ‘were you one of the youngsters who danced the night away?’.”

It must have been good. After all, there were queues of people waiting to get in.

Eighteen years ago, more than 300 youths turned up for the first ever Pulse 17 disco.

They were there to have a great time and they were so keen to be involved, they were waiting at the door for it to start.

A Hartlepool Mail report at the time said: “So far, it seems that teenagers throughout the town can not get enough of it.”

Pulse 17 was a disco which was held to mark the return of the Grapevine Club. Grapevine was a regular feature in the Hartlepool Mail during the 1980s and early 1990s.

It was a chance for youths aged 11 to 17 to get together and socialise. It even had its own bulletin board so that members could send messages to their friends.

Pulse 17 was a return of Grapevine and all it cost was a £1 membership charge to join. The first disco was an undoubted hit and the Mail report added: “Due to public demand, there will be a disco at the Wesley every afternoon this week between 2pm and 6pm until Friday.”

Once you had joined the new Grapevine club, it only cost £2 to get into Pulse 17. Mail officials said at the time that the paper was “extremely excited about the return of Grapevine and it seems like the teenagers are too.

“They just could not get enough last night and many said to us what a fantastic time they had and how great it was to have Grapevine back.”

But it wasn’t just discos that made the new club such a success. Members were given discounts for restaurants and clothes shops and the Pulse 17 discos were only one part of a great summer of fun for members.

What are your memories of it and can you tell us more? Who did you go to Pulse 17 with and what are your memories of the Grapevine scheme?

To give you a reminder, here’s a few other highlights of news and events in Hartlepool and East Durham in 2000.

l The Northern Ambassadors jazz band from Hartlepool qualified for the world finals at Port Talbot;

l The new £2million Summerhill attraction in Hartlepool held a orienteering and a scavenger hunt to promote its new facilities;

l An exciting virtual reality display at the Historic Quay in Hartlepool was a big hit with visitors;

l On the fringes of town, the Seagull pub at Crimdon was holding a karaoke competition for children and the first prize was a chance to have your own song recorded.

Get in touch with your memories of Pulse 17 and other 2000 events in Hartlepool by emailing [email protected]