Accra then and now: Personalized fun displaces entertainment spots
Then, workers, the youth and the elderly expectantly yearned for the afternoons (between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.) or the weekends, when spinners with dexterity span turntables to the merry rhythmic gyration of patrons.
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Live bands and concert bands drew revellers to the spots in their numbers.
Now the stairways leading to the iconic entertainment spots in the city are dark, dull and silent.
Then entertainment spots around the city hosted the trendiest live bands and folklore troupes like the “Wolomo,” today those who still operate play some CDs of known hiplife performers and amplify them to some dozen patrons who visit to just take a drink.
Metropole, Wato, Tiptoe Hotel, Apollo Theater, Ams Hotel, Lido, etc., which were renowned entertainment spots of repute about two decades ago, have now lost their fame.
Most are now bustling commercial enterprises, while others have been converted into churches.
Today, out of the five entertainment spots visited by the Daily Graphic, only one is still functioning, and even that at its lowest ebb.
Metropole
Nii Allotey, in his 50s, nods with a smile, while he reminisces the Metropole of yesteryear.
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Now Metropole has been converted into shops, with no vestige at all of its past fame!
With a gleam in his eye, Nii Allotey found in one of the rooms of Metropole, recalled how there never was a dull day or weekend in the 1970s and 1980s.
Revellers from all over the city were spoilt for choice as reputable live bands performed at the various entertainment spots.
"Sitting over drinks and listening to live band music had a special ambiance of its own that many did not want to miss," Nii Allotey said.
He was uncertain what had accounted for the waning fortunes of entertainment spots, but hazarded some guesses.
"The rise of Christianity has made many turn from entertainment spots," he said.
He did not believe, though, that technology and the pervasiveness of social media was totally to blame for the waning interest of the youth in patronising such spots.
That was because of his conviction that social media and staring at the computer for hours on end, or even fidgeting with a mobile telephone in the course of chatting with friends, did not provide the same kind of kick derived from the entertainment provided by any of the iconic entertainment centres of the 80’s.
In part, he was of the view that mobile phones and social media platforms might have captured the attention of the youth, but that was nothing compared to the special ambiance characteristic of entertainment spots with patrons gathered in a sort of cult to listen to favourite bands and skilful spinners.
Wato
Wato, also in the Central Business District, still operates as an entertainment spot, but is a poor shadow of its former self.
The entrance leading to the hall has a relic of the past fun-filled times, with the board that had advertised various local, continental and international dishes, with the best liquors, still welcoming patrons.
However, the spot serves no food currently and patrons visit just to drink.
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Two ladies in their 20s recounted what they knew of Wato.
For Millicent, her mum, who used to work around Wato when she was her age, had told her about how the spot bustled with revellers in the afternoons and at weekends and how people also used the spot for other social functions, such as naming ceremonies, marriage celebrations and other social activities.
Rebecca, for her part, was briefed by a friend who lived near Wato about how the place was abuzz with activity, revellers, music and all nocturnal pleasure seekers.
Sea View Hotel
The Sea View Hotel, near the James Town Prison, has its painted wall bearing its name and overlooking the sea as the only relic reminding all about the spot.
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A tour guide, Samuel Addo, born and bred in Sempe, remembered the buzz at Sea View Hotel.
But he was then young and was not allowed into entertainment spots, so he could only see the bustle at the entrance to the hotel and listen as the sea breeze carried the sound of spinners and live band music around his native community.
“The place is now used as a boxing training ground for the youth of the community,” he told the Daily Graphic.
He led the way to a side of the hotel where the building had been broken down, with heaps of rubble within the area where the spot once stood.
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What was left of what had not been broken down was what the youth used as their boxing training grounds
Apollo
At the Apollo Theatre at Circle, a coconut seller displayed his coconut at the entrance of a spot remembered well, by a former student of the Christian Methodist Secondary School (Chrimeto), Prof. Kweku Osam of the Linguistics Department at the University of Ghana, Legon.
Apollo Theatre shared a wall with the secondary school in those days.
The caretaker, who did not want to be named, proffered some information when pressed.
“Well, the place has been sold and I do not know to whom or what it is to be used for,” he said.
At the side, kebab sellers still plied their trade, and it seemed they had better fortunes in patronage than the defunct Apollo Theatre.
Tip Toe
In the past, with its renown at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, the spot had bequeathed its name to the street leading to the premises.
Today, the street still bears the name as a befitting reminder of the fame of the spot.
Most traders along the Tip Toe Lane, who are in their teens, 20s and 30s, were children at the peak of the fame of Tip Toe but now hawking all manner of clothes, gadgets and shoes along the lane, and they have no clue as to how the lane was christened Tip Toe.
The spot is now a church, housing the Grace Empowerment Ministry International.
Being a weekday, elders of the church were unavailable.
Outside, phone repairers used the entrance of the church to fix handsets of passers-by.
Personalised entertainment
The linguist, Prof. Osam, remembered that in the 70s, while a student of Chrimeto, people used to visit Wato for afternoon jumps, a dance with a live band held generally between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.
He also remembered the fame of Lido and Tip Toe.
Not the “jamming” type, the professor said his source of highlife came mostly from GBC Radio 2.
Prof. Osam thought the growth of the church in the country had something to do with the dipped fortunes of entertainment spots, and changing tastes.
“Now entertainment is more personalised,” added.
In a way, entertainment becoming personalised was not good for society as it meant people were gradually becoming individualistic, he added
Now
Personalised entertainment includes entertainment through mobile devices.
Thus, the mobile game, the videos accessible on mobile devices, all genres of music accessed on line through portable devices, has made entertainement in Ghana now customised. Ready entertainment, tailored to personal tastes has resulted in the near obliteration of entertainment spots which once held sway in the city.
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