The boat that rocked: How Belfast's First World War battleship HMS Caroline became the hottest dancefloor of the Troubles
Belfast is known for its blazing nightlife – but for many years, its hottest and least likely dancefloor was a disco inside a First World War battleship.
From 1968 to 1994, it was all aboard HMS Caroline as the ship hosted the latest hits and sharpest tunes around, blasting out the biggest chart sounds three nights a week.
Initially started as an event by and for the ship’s crew, it soon set sail to include members of other branches of the armed forces.
The brainchild of two Royal Navy men, Chief Engineer John Taylor and Petty Officer Writer Billy Willis, the boat’s glitterball specials were packed out by navy officers, their families and friends, who danced the night away to the very latest music sounds across three decades.
John and Billy both DJed at the disco, as well as organising it.
As John remembers, the nights proved instantly popular with crew members, with the army soon wanting a piece of the action.
But there was just one problem with it being packed with military manoeuvres and groovers – the dancefloor was almost all blokes.
"We had the Wrens who served on HMS Caroline, but it was very much men,” he says.
"We needed to get some girls in, so we advertised around factories in the Ardoyne and Shankill. We brought the girls in by minibus, which we laid on to make sure they got down and then home again.
"For both them and the men, it was a safe night out during the Troubles.”
Well, mostly safe – as John found out the hard way, you cross Shankill women at your peril.
"One night Billy was on first, and a bunch of girls requested songs which he promised to play,” he says.
"He went off and I came on, not knowing about these requests. The girls were furious; their songs didn’t get played, and they came up and started beating me with their umbrellas.
"Those girls took no prisoners, I can tell you."
With the disco proving to be a hit, the DJs made a shipmate in the form of Radio 1 mainstay Annie Nightingale, who every week mailed over the UK’s top 10 singles.
"We had the biggest hits of every era, from Mungo Jerry to the Human League,” says John. “As long as we did it, we had the most popular songs in the country. Annie was wonderful like that.”
And the event proved to be a match-maker too, bringing many couples together – including John and his own wife.
“I’d say we’re among 30 to 40 couples who met at the HMS Caroline disco,” he says. “It could be quite a night.”
John and Billy both left the navy around 1994, and without their hands on the tiller the disco died out.
"By that point, the younger ones were less interested in a disco on the ship,” he says. “Things had changed a lot, it was safe for them to go to clubs in the city.”
But the event lives on in the hearts of many – and there was always one reliable floor-filler.
"Sweet Caroline,” says John. “We’d open and close every night with it. How could we not?”