The Totton Disco

Welcome to the website of the Totton Disco, the Central-South's leading volunteer-run transgender disco venue
(maybe the only one!)

Latest News 2023: Our disco nights should all go ahead as planned. Come along for a great evening out! Attendance figures are on the up, so we've had a great atmosphere at recent disco evenings.

January's theme: Sparkle and Shine!

A reminder that you should not bring your own food or drink into the Empire Hall for our evenings. If you have an allergy and need a specialist drink, the hall staff will try their best to get it in for you if contacted in advance. This is part of the licensing agreement they have with the local authority.

The disco has been running, in one guise or another, for more than twenty years in the same location: Totton's Empire Hall, on the western fringes of Southampton. We had a sequence of record-breaking attendance figures before Covid struck! In winter our average was in the mid-sixties; in summer the mid-fifties.

We have a dedicated team of volunteers who help run the disco evenings, currently led by the wonderful Maria Hayes and Sharon Ellison. The monthly event is a community effort; no-one gets paid for their efforts apart from our DJ. Why not come along and experience the friendly atmosphere? But please remember that it is a disco and its prime function is to give people a chance to dance. Please do not complain about the volume of the music. We like it that way!
If you are a regular at the disco and wish to volunteer for a half-hour spell, please have a word with one of the organisers or join our Facebook page. We ask for volunteers to pick a half-hour slot a few days before each disco.
Our finances are on a solid footing, with a bank account that requires two signatories to authorise all transactions. The current "finance" people are Eleanor (our treasurer), Maria and Sharon. We post a financial summary a few days after each disco; you can see it on our Facebook page. We believe in transparency in all of our financial matters. 

The Friends of Totton Disco is a loose-knit group of regular attendees. A small, informal committee of dedicated volunteers manage the monthly event, but is responsive to ideas from regular visitors. We encourage all attendees to participate in running the event, if they have the time.  We are a mix of transgender people, friends, family and supporters. We welcome all genuine transgender people, wherever you are on the spectrum, along with partners and friends - as long as you are tolerant and would like a good evening out in safe surroundings, you will have a great time at our venue. It is important to understand that the organisers and the helpers are all volunteers from the local trans community, receiving no payment for what they do. We are not a commercial venue.

What will you find when you arrive? A welcoming group of people (once we've extracted your £5 entry money!); light-hearted chat and conversation; the area's best dance floor and one of the region's best trans DJs; a varied menu of hot food; a full range of drinks at the bar; a mixed clientele of trans people of all types, partners and friends; a safe and secure environment in which to relax and enjoy yourself; a complete absence of intimidation (which the organisers will not tolerate); links to local and national support groups and societies; expert help and advice if you need it. The venue is supported by the local police LAGLO.

If you are trans, or a friend/supporter of the trans community then please come along and support this friendly bunch of people. It will only cost you £5 to get in and you'll have an enjoyable evening. We go out of our way to make wives/partners/friends/family members feel welcome and part of the group. We do our best to run a safe and supportive venue, light-hearted but with people on hand who can point you in the right direction for further advice and help.
Contact us for more information.

We meet on the 3rd Thursday of each month, from 7:30 pm until 11:30 pm. The fully licensed bar stays open until 11 pm, with a varied menu of hot food available until 9 pm. The bar serves a large range of wines, beers (including real ale), cider, spirits, soft drinks, tea, coffee and snacks. Our resident DJs, Katie Gridley and Maria Hayes, have been running discos for many years in the central south. Entry cost: a mere £5. We have a prize raffle, occasional make-up experts and manicurists, plus occasional clothes sales.

Venue details:
The Empire Hall (next to Totton Conservative Club), Salisbury Road, Totton. SO40 3PY.

Car Parking:
It is best to park in the nearby library car park. There is a lit walkway from the library that takes you to Library Road, very near to the Empire Hall. Do not park in the shoppers' car park opposite or you may find yourself billed. Do not park in the small number of slots around the hall. These are for staff only.
https://www.newforest.gov.uk/article/1401/Civic-Centre-Car-Park-Totton

Organisers and DJs:
We want to acknowledge the work of previous organisers and helpers. Namely Michelle King, who found the venue in 2002 and organised the disco for the first eight years or so of its life, and Tina Turner, who organised the event from 2008 until 2014. Eleanor Roberts took over from Tina in early 2014 and was the main organiser until May 2022. Current organisers are Maria Hayes and Sharon Ellison. Eleanor has stayed on as Treasurer.

Recent major helpers have included Ava Hay, Sylvie Buckle, Gina Hallett and Michelle Edwards. Thanks go to all these people. Colin Ross was the DJ for more than 12 years. Katie Gridley has been the main DJ since 2014.