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Perfectly capturing the atmosphere, mood of the punters and, most importantly, the state of Hope Street come kicking out time, the name of this nightclub could hardly be more fitting.

If you grew up in Glasgow in the eighties and nineties you'll know all about it, and even the word 'Bonkers' may provoke a rueful shake of the head or a sense of dread.

This self-proclaimed 'show bar' was known by many as a gathering place for post work drinks on a Friday. It was also a nightclub, open until the early hours of the morning. And a battleground for every bam, roaster and certified maniac living within screaming distance of the town.

For years Bonkers seemed to be the epicentre of trouble in Glasgow. It was a place where madness would break out and spread to taxis queues, bus stops, basically anywhere within staggering distance of the premises.

Put it this way, if you saw a guy in a pair of smart shoes and trousers, with no shirt on, soaked in sweat and with his jaw pulling wheelies, screaming at passers by - you knew exactly where he'd just been. The place had that kind of effect on you.

Now my own memories of the venue are admittedly hazy. My first experience there was as a teenager. It was one of the first clubs I went to when I was around 17 years of age, wearing my Dad's clothes, clutching a fake ID and desperately trying to pass myself off as a 24-year-old student from Glasgow's College of Building and Printing.

A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then and I have . However, if people really want to get a flavour of the club, or an idea of why it was shut down by licensing bosses in late 2002, you really need a look at the charge sheet.

Presenting to the licensing board in October 2002, Divisional Police Commander John Wilson began by saying that young people attending were ''taking their lives in their hands'' just walking in the front door.

Can you spot a friend - or yourself - in our Bonkers picture gallery?

He then went on to list the offences that took place between April 2001 and May 2002. There were two attempted murders, 20 serious assaults, 30 criminal assaults, 51 breaches of the peace, two robberies, two thefts and 43 drug offences. And that didn't include the offences that took place outside the club when every team from every scheme spilled out onto the streets.

Every part of Glasgow seemed to have its own corner in the club and when I first walked in I was given the following sage advice: "See over there wee man, that's all Maryhill. Over there is the Drum and that's Castlemilk. Over there is Easterhouse and that's Possil. Just watch where you are going."

So sharp were the divisional lines that I couldn't work out how to get to the bar and the lavvy without breaching a peace treaty.

Now this situation was volatile enough but then you had two other factors thrown into the mix like propane on a bonfire: the cheapest of cheap bevvy and a non-stop bombardment of happy hardcore.

Keep in mind Bonkers opened at 5pm for the city workers. And right from the off they were selling bottles of Bud for 50p a go. This offer only lasted until 9pm though and at around 8.30pm the bar would be eight deep with people trying to buy a night's worth of booze in one go. You literally could not move for bottles, all of which were carefully guarded by packs of feral looking wee guys.

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In many ways the choice of music was the perfect soundtrack to the madness, with sped up vocals, thumping bass, all the while accompanied by an MC who sounded like one of those 'scream if you want to go faster' folk at the carnival. For some reason they all seemed to have this booming English accent, then when you actually spoke to them they turned out to be some wee man from The Milton.

As for actually talking to other punters, you were taking your life in your hands. Even if the conversation began with those immortal lines: 'Do you want to nip ma pal?'

Now you are probably sitting here wondering just why they closed this magical place. Let's just say the aforementioned licensing board hearing didn't go well. Particularly when Commander Wilson revealed that when the club closed for a spell in 2002 for a refurbishment crime dropped in the area by 36%.

What are your memories of Bonkers? Let us know in the comments.