Trainor also wanted to capture the shifting economic and cultural status of a place that loomed large in the popular psyche. From the late 18th and well into the 20th century, northern industrial towns would shut down for an entire week so workers could take a holiday — Blackpool was one of few affordable options. Its vast antique ballrooms weathered boom and bust, hosting ’70s Northern soul nights, DJs that would push the UK’s ’80s modern soul movement, and with Manchester close by, underground rave nights well into the ’90s.
But by the turn of the century, the growing popularity of budget airline flights to sunnier party spots, like Ibiza and Benidorm, was once again darkening Blackpool’s holiday…