Rock-Ola Rock n Roll Club

About me:

Rock-Ola began life as Canvey Rock ‘n’ Roll club on 26 June 1992 in a small church hall on Canvey Island. It was the brainchild of Reg Ramsay and he ran it with Brenda his then partner. With the then resident DJ Keith Thomas and a few loyal followers, the club began to grow in size and in September 1992 moved to The Paddocks where it occupied the small hall.

Early in 1993 it became apparent that for the club to grow and remain alive certain changes were needed, and in April of that year a committee of ten was formed to run the club. A membership was also started which is renewed on 1st January every year for a small fee (Currently £10.00) which entitles you to a £2.00 discount on admission.

On its first birthday the club changed its name to Rock-Ola Rock ‘n’ Roll club, and by the end of 1993 almost 150 members had joined. By the time our second birthday arrived we had outgrown the small hall at The Paddocks and taken residence in the large hall.

In January 1996 Rock-Ola was "twinned" with the Auckland Rock ‘n’ Roll club from New Zealand, which has since led to exchanges of correspondence, videos, ideas and the occasional visitor or two.

Over the next few years Rock-Ola built up a strong following and numbers did increase steadily to peak at an average attendance in 2006 of 268 adults over the year, but since then attendances have continued to decline to an average of 121 in 2010. 2011 has seen us return to the smaller No. 2 Hall at the Paddocks where a more friendly atsmosphere is maintained.

We are not a profit-making club and entrance to Record Hops for Adults is still only £5.00, with Under 16's £1.00 . In the past, an amount of money was donated to chosen charities, and to date the overall total stands at over £11,400. Over the past few years the club has been unable to continue supporting charities.

During 2012 the club had reverted to monthly Record Hop's on the 2nd Friday of each month where attendances have seen a steady increase and is viable once more. Long live Rock N Roll..... Our 20th Birthday celebrations on 15th June 2012 saw over 200 people enjoying Mark Keely's Good Rocking Tonight.....And THE FIREBIRDS for our December Club Night on the 14th...

Now in 2013 we are having bands every 3rd month with Record Hops in between. Bands are in the larger No.1 hall and Record Hops in the No.2 hall. All nights are on the 2nd Friday of the month.

We look forward to meeting you soon at Rock-Ola