Shelley’s Laserdome

Shelley's Laserdome was a night club in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, that became one of the Midlands' best-known rave venues in the early 1990s. The building had a long history before dance music arrived, having served earlier in the twentieth century as a roller rink, then the Panopticon Theatre and later the Alexandra Palace Cinema, before housing bingo and shops after the cinema closed in the 1950s.

The club opened in July 1989, with Friday and Saturday nights eventually built around separate promotions. Sindrome, run by Birmingham's Logical Promotions, started in July 1990, while Delight, brought in by a Manchester promoter, launched around the same period with Sasha as resident DJ from September 1990. Dave Seaman also held a residency during this era, often cited as the club's heyday of 1990-91. After Sasha's departure in May 1991 the Friday night was rebranded, and from February 1991 Amnesia House took over Saturdays with local DJ Daz Willott as resident, a partnership that ran until the club's closure and became its longest-standing night.

Beyond its residents, Shelley's hosted a roster of DJs associated with the emerging house, rave and jungle scenes, including Carl Cox, Doc Scott, Grooverider, Mickey Finn and DJ Rap, and welcomed touring promotions and PAs; the Prodigy performed live there in 1991, and Staffordshire duo Altern 8 filmed the video for "Activ-8 (Come With Me)" in the club's car park in September 1991 after finishing a set inside. The club drew crowds from well beyond Stoke, including ravers from Manchester who had previously been regulars at the Hacienda, reflecting its position roughly halfway between Manchester and Birmingham.

Alongside its reputation for breaking new DJs, the venue became known for drug dealing and underground violence between rival gangs, which eventually led Staffordshire Police and local authorities to revoke its licence. The club held its final night on Saturday 31 October 1992, and the building was demolished shortly afterwards as part of a local regeneration scheme. Since around 2011, Shelley's Reunion events have been held at venues in the Stoke-on-Trent area, including Keele University's student union, bringing back original DJs such as Dave Seaman, Mark Archer of Altern 8 and DJ Rap to play music from the club's original era for both former ravers and newer audiences.