THE Newbridge Memo played host to a whole range of big name musicians when it was a thriving dance hall.

Tom Jones played there before he achieved worldwide recognition,and Joe Loss was another famous band leader who once graced the stage.

Now a group of famous artistes are gathered at the Memo once again - in a collection of photographs of some of the great musicians of the time.

The exhibition, which opened on Saturday, is one of several events being arranged to help boost the Memo's chances in the BBC's Restoration programme, which could result in a prize of £3 million to bring the Memo back to life.

The Argus is backing the campaign and has become the official Memo paper.

The new exhibition reflects the history of the Newbridge Memo as one of the 'premier entertainment venues in South Wales'.

The exhibition is by two photographers who are linked in spirit with the old miners' institute - which declined after thousands of miners were made redundant with colliery closures.

Photographers John Crerar and Denis Lewis both experienced similar lifestyle changes when they gave up their jobs to retrain as photographers. Mr Lewis, 55, who now works at University of Wales Newport, was employed at the Llanwern steelworks before switching to follow his passion for blues and jazz music.

His part of the exhibition is called Alternate Takes and features around 30 photographs taken over 30 years - with subjects including Dizzie Gillespie, Fats Domino and Otis Rush as well as lesser known contemporary musicians.

Mr Lewis told the Argus that the Memo cinema was "just amazing". "It just makes your jaw drop when you see it," he said. "Hopefully it can be brought back to its former glory."

The other photographer, John Crerar, who lives in Newport, teaches photography at Coleg Gwent in Crosskeys after previously working as a care assistant.

His is a Picture Palaces of Wales exhibition and he has taken a collection of photos of many former cinemas across the Valleys.

The exhibition runs until August 12.

l Does anyone have special memories of the Newbridge Memo that they would like to share? Contact the Argus newsdesk on 01633 777226.