IF you wanted a night out in the 1980s then the Park Hall Ballroom in Wormelow would’ve been one of your top options.

The venue was visited by hundreds on Saturday nights from its beginnings in the 1950s, as top acts such as the Russ Allen Band and the Moody Blues entertained the crowds.

The partying continue well into the 1980s, but it was beginning to end when Ross-on-Wye businessman Henry Danter bought the entertainment complex in 1988.

But the memories of its heydays still live on.

Some big names entertained the crowds there, as people have been reminiscing about on Facebook as part of our new We Grew Up In Hereford group.

From Radio 1’s Steve Wright in the mid-1980s to Hot Chocolate, the soul band whose 1975 song You Sexy Thing made the Top 10 in three decades.

Talented Herefordshire musician Ambrose Frederick Emerson was also a regular face who performed at the venue.

He grew up in Bartestree and started his musical career when he learned to play the piano at the age of eight under the watchful eye of his father.

After he added the accordion to his list of instruments he regularly entertained the children in the Saturday morning picture club at the Odeon cinema.

His musical talents were appreciated by those watching the Russ Allen Orchestra at Wormelow’s Park Hall Ballroom in the 1970s and 80s where he would play weekly to a large audience attracted from miles around.

The band supported visiting national performers at the time such as the Syd Lawrence Big Band.

Mr Emerson went on to feature as part of the Booth Hall Jazz Band and performed with many world famous artists who came to Hereford.

He died following a short spell in Hereford County Hospital on February 13, 2017.

Mr Emerson was among a long list of people to perform at Park Hall, with English ska band Madness also featuring on the venue’s line-up in the 1980s.

Whether it was hopping on a bus from Hereford out to Wormelow and then riskily walking back to the city in the pitch black, there are lots of other happy memories being talked about on We Grew Up In Hereford, including from those who had their wedding receptions at Park Hall.

You can join in the conversation on Facebook. Just search for We Grew Up In Hereford.