The site was originally occupied by the Empire variety theatre and ballroom that was designed by John Dent Harker and opened on 4 July 1895.

[5] The ABC Theatre opened on 31 May 1963 with the Holiday Carnival summer season stage show which starred Cliff Richard and The Shadows.

[6] Four songs they sang live at the gig appeared on the Anthology 2 compilation album in 1996 – "I Feel Fine", "Ticket to Ride", "Yesterday" and "Help!".

The ABC building was bought in the summer of 2001 for about £4million by local entrepreneurs Mike and Sandra Nordwind and converted into the Syndicate nightclub.

[9] After the club closed in January 2006 following the refusal of a 4am licence,[10] it was bought in May by national operator Nexum Leisure who undertook a £1m refurbishment of the venue.

[11] On 7 September 2008, John Robb the vocalist in the punk rock band Goldblade who co-founded The Membranes in Blackpool in 1977 and who also works as a journalist and television pundit, hosted a special event entitled "A Celebration of Music, Fashion & Football 1975–1995" at the Syndicate, with guest speakers Andy Nicholls, Shane Meadows and former Inspiral Carpets musician Clint Boon.

[12] On 14 September 2008 the Syndicate staged a boxing event with American former world heavyweight champion, Tim Witherspoon making a guest appearance.