Together with Vernie Ley I started operating at the Ritz Skewen in 1963. The original dances were held on Saturday nights with the rest of the week being held for Bingo sessions. At about this time The Beatles burst on the scene and from then on the group scene exploded.

Dances were now held on Thursday and Saturday evenings with local bands providing the entertainment. About 600 revelers would attend on each of these evenings. The local bands played on a regular basis and with the large crowds the Ritz built up a special atmosphere and became the 'in' place to go in the entire area.

Of the many bands playing at the Ritz I remember The Iveys, a great group and The Eyes of Blue being among the most popular. Regulars also included the Corncrackers and The Bystanders. The latter named group I believe had a member who is now the great Welsh comedian and broadcaster Owen Money.

The Ritz in 1964 was extremely popular and on Saturday nights queues of customers would stretch 100 metres up Station Road waiting for the doors to open. With the crowds had to come more staff and we employed five bouncers, all dressed in smart red coats. They were Eric, Eddie, Don, Charlie and Dai.

There was very rarely any trouble at the Ritz and drugs did not seem to exist in those days.

The Ritz bar, supervised by John Davies, sold huge quantities of beer on dance nights. All beer was bottled 'Bitter Ale' brewed by Evans Bevan of Neath, and sold for 1s 9d per pint.

Later in 1964 we started introducing 'Big' names to the Ritz on a monthly basis. This created huge interest in the area and crowds exceeding 1000 packed in to see their idols. Tickets were priced at 10/-(50p) for these occasions.

The groups appearing, to name a few were: - The Hollies, The Moody Blues, The Yardbirds, Manfred Mann, The Ivey League, and Lulu and her band. The record attendance, however, was reserved for The Spencer Davis Band whose record "Keep on Running" was No.1, the same week as they appeared at the Ritz. Les Saville was the compere who "Whipped up" the crowds enthusiasm before opening the stage curtain.

I remember the pianist of one very famous group testing our piano on arrival only to declare that it was out of tune. We had about an hour to find another piano or the group would not go on stage. In a frantic effort, myself and colleagues knocked on the doors of the surrounding streets begging to borrow a piano.

Finally one kind lady agreed and we hastily carried it from her front parlour to the Ritz stage. The lady had her piano back in the morning together with a generous sum of money.

Written by John Taylor, the 'J' of Jayvee Entertainments.