Jumpin Jak's bar reunion coming to Southampton

For people of a certain age, a night out in Southampton wasn’t complete without a visit to Jumpin Jak's, which entertained the city from 1997 to 2008. 

And although the Leisure World complex is now being razed to the ground, the memories made within still remain strong.

But everyone with hazy recollections of fun at Jaks will be at least in their mid-30s by now, and to cater for that, the reunion will be held during the day.

Taking place on August 17 at the Engine Rooms, Jumpin Jak’s Day Party Reunion will transform revellers back in time with a nostalgic flavour of all that made the iconic Southampton nightclub great.

Organiser Ben Laurence was a DJ at various Leisure World clubs back in the days of Hotshots, Ikon and Diva, but began getting involved in events management.

He has been organising nights for the over 30s along the South Coast, where he has lived all his life, and this latest night has great meaning to him as it goes back to his roots working in Southampton’s nightlife.

“Mimi will be the face of it, as she was back then,” said Ben.

Perhaps the biggest DJ at the time, and the engineer of the venue’s old dance routines, Mimi will be one of the many original entertainers back for the event.

“Day events are becoming very popular and I had the idea to do it with Jumpin Jak's. So I got in contact with Mimi and we both said: ‘This could work. Let’s do it!’”.

Revellers can get in on the retro action on Saturday August 17, between 2pm-7pm at the Engine Rooms, West Quay Industrial Estate, Southampton.

Tickets can be purchased by visiting skiddle.com/e/38300996.

The pictures accompanying this story were taken at Jumpin Jak's during its time in Southampton.