It's no surprise the legendary Amadeus in Rochester earned the nickname "Amadangerous".

The £5 million club, at Medway Valley Leisure Park, opened in a blaze of glory in 1997.

It included the latest lighting and sound systems, five bars and a VIP lounge and was surrounded by restaurants, a gym and a multiplex cinema.

KentOnline's Nicola Jordan was there on opening night on July 24 - which also happened to be her 40th birthday.

She enjoyed unlimited bubbly and canapes all night, while Craig David and the Artful Dodger performed what would become a garage classic, Re-Rewind.

"It reached number two in the charts and I have been a garage fan ever since," says Nicola.

"I just remember Amadeus being the being the biggest club I had ever been to - and I spent my younger years clubbing in London.

"I got lost trying to find the toilets.

"It was certainly a night to remember and the cheapest birthday bash I have ever had!"

Other revellers have recalled what Amadeus was like when it first opened in the nineties - and how being underage didn't necessarily mean you wouldn't get in.

Writing on KentOnline's Facebook page, Jude Hutchinson said: "Me and my best friend and her mum went on opening night.. dancing away and a girl bumped into me and my friend.

"She apologised and said it’s nice to see older people enjoying themselves.

"Wouldn’t mind but we were both in our late 20s... so God knows how old she was."

Mark Charles Gibson-Penman said he used to go to Amadeus in 1997 when he first started university.

"Many greats nights were had there," he said.

Seventies night on Thursdays were his favourite, with punters dressed up in some "amazing costumes".

He added: "God I miss the 90s - good times!"

With a capacity for thousands of clubbers, many people would meet their future partners amid the mayhem.

Sharing memories on Facebook, Vikki Couchman wrote: "Aaah Amadeus! Where I met my husband 15 years ago in the middle of the dance floor...now been married six years and have two beautiful boys together!

"The three-for-two on drinks and having to carry three bottles of Smirnoff/WKD around with you... Good times!"

Lyndsey Smith said she met her husband Dan at the club 21 years ago after they got talking while he was promoting a strippers night.

According to Vice magazine, Amadeus was once voted the UK's best one-room nightclub.

Liam Hodges, a designer for Vice, wrote in 2016 about how DJ Luck and MC Neat played at last once a month at the venue.

He described the vibe as foam parties and garage and said if you went often enough you'd be allowed in the VIP section.

"I'm sure there were times (years) when I went three nights a week," he wrote.

He also described the bus service which ran along the A2, stopping at each pub and picking everyone up at 10pm and 11pm before dropping them back at 2.30am.

But it wasn't just revellers from Medway taking a ride to the nightspot - people from every corner of Kent were packing on board buses and coaches.

One nostalgic punter recalled how people would get "hammered" on coaches from Folkestone to Rochester.

And after travelling the 42 miles north, came the moment of truth - whether or not you could actually get in the club.

"If you didn't get in you'd have to either sit in McDonald's next door or just sit on the coach waiting for everyone to come out!"

Amy Cracknell was another clubber who hopped on board a bus to the club.

She wrote on Facebook: "Loved Amadeus... drunk bus ride from the Prince of Wales. Seeing DJ Luck and MC Neat, Phats and Small!

"My mate even won an 18 to 30s holiday to Kavos which she took me on. Amazing times."

Lyn Rae said when she got the bus to Amadeus from the Rat and Parrot pub in Bexleyheath, it always felt like she was going somewhere miles away.

She added: "Never even knew where I was going... but a drunken bus load before and after... so funny.

"Now know as an adult it really was not far and not quite the adventure I felt at the time... great to be able to get food in a nightclub too."

As well as having McDonald's across the road to serve ravenous revellers, there was also a fast food area inside the club where you could grab a burger and chips.

Evelyn Dalton wrote how after getting the "pub bus" to Amadeus you would have to combat the club's "insanely sticky floor" before later heading home on the bus "filled with mostly hammered happy people".

"Never thought I'd say this but... those were the days," she added.

As well as the garage legends mentioned above, several other big names performed at Amadeus over the years.

Tinie Tempah, JLS, Chipmunk, Skepta, Kano and Olly Murs all took to the stage.

It also had the obligatory celebrity appearances which had become a fixture of nightclubs by the turn of the century - with Katie Price's then-boyfriend Alex Reid joining revellers in 2009.

Olly Murs performing at Amadeus on New Year's Eve 2009

Tiny Tempah live at Amadeus in 2010

The club was put up for sale in 2003 but carried on welcoming clubbers throughout the Noughties.

It was later renamed Passion and sadly closed for good in the summer of 2011. It is now a Hollywood Bowl.

Of course, there were many other popular Medway clubs in the 90s and Noughties.

Rochester also had Casino Rooms while Chatham had Big Hand Mo's and Krystals, and Gillingham had The King Charles Hotel, The Avenue, The Ritzy and Excalibur.

But no other nightspot can truly evoke the same reaction as Amadeus.

Reflecting on good times gone by on Facebook, Chantal Rozard wrote: "Ahh good old ‘Amadangerous’... Don’t think there’s been anything quite like it since."

Enjoy seeing these pictures? We've got loads more more classic photos from Kent nightclubs in the Nineties and Noughties.

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