Lifting the lid on 1960s Chesterfield

Aim

We want to celebrate Chesterfield in the 1960s - an era that saw the northern town host gigs by artists that went on to conquer the world.

The project:

The ‘Dirty Stop Out’s Guide to 1980s Chesterfield’ was an instant best-seller when it was released in 2013 – the 1970s version also enjoyed similar success a couple of years later.

We’re now gearing up to publish a book that celebrates arguably the most ground-breaking period in recent years in the town – the 1960s.

The decade saw Chesterfield hosting gigs by artists that went on to conquer the world. Everyone from Jimi Hendrix to Pink Floyd played landmark shows under the shadow of the Crooked Spire.

It was an era of massive cultural change with National Service and ballroom dancing at the Victoria Ballroom still the order of the day in 1960.

By the end of the decade it was pop music and flower power making front page news.

Albums and singles of day could be found at Hudsons and Some Kinda Mushroom and entertainment was provided by venues spanning the ABC to the Carlton Club.

We’re hoping you’ll support our project by considering buying exclusive, signed editions of the new book.

You’ll also get the chance to purchase exclusive copies of our first two hit Chesterfield books!

The author: 

The ‘Dirty Stop Out’s Guide to 1960s Chesterfield’ is being written by Pete Dodd – former Derbyshire Times journalist and founder member of the Thompson Twins. After his years in the Thompson Twins he remained in London and returned to writing mostly as an entertainment journalist. He moved back to Chesterfield in the Noughties where he continued as a freelance entertainment writer and co-authored two books on music – 100 Best-Selling Albums of the 80s and 100 Best-Selling Albums of the 90s. He is now 'semi-retired' and celebrating the completion of this book.

Our track record:

Dirty Stop Outs Ltd is a company passionate about celebrating the country’s rich and unique, nightlife culture.

We create experiences that take people on a journey – back to a time when music, fashion and dancefloors were the most important thing in their life.

Our books can take months – even years – to come to fruition. That's because they're only ever published when we believe we've created something that's truly representational of a period or scene.

We're truly blessed in the fact people love our books. In fact our first title - the 'Dirty Stop Out's Guide to 1970s Sheffield' - had that much love it even persuaded a couple to get re-married after 26 years apart!

We've also been fantastically received by the media:

The launch:

We're planning to launch the book in autumn this year. The first copies will only be available to buy through this crowdfunder campaign.

Why are we crowdfunding?

Our books are packed with hundreds of interviews, photos, visuals and more. The process of gathering this information is a massive piece of work. The very nature of our books means it can be anything up to two years before they start bringing any return on the investment.

So crowdfunding is a potential game-changer for us. It allows us to encourage supporters to purchase our products – and help us fund the first print run – before they’re published. We can sell editions that you'll never find in the shops.

This project successfully funded on 6th November 2018