Boccaccio (nightclub)
Boccaccio was a nightclub in Destelbergen, near Ghent, Belgium.
The club is known as the breeding ground of New Beat. In its heyday, the diamond shaped venue was crowded with people from all over Europe wanting to hear the new kinds of music playing. Some popular formations that played in Boccaccio are Lords of Acid (with members Praga Khan and Jade 4U), and the Confetti's. Legend has it that Belgian New Beat was born there when one of the "bocca" Djs (often credited to Marc Grouls) played an EBM record on 33rpm instead of 45rpm with the pitch control set to +8. The club was forced to close after a long series of drug problems. The name was sold, and the club was re-opened in Diest. Recently, the name was used for a club in Ostend, too. Famous Djs at the club were Olivier Pieters, Marc Grouls and Henk.
Robert De Maesschalck founded Balmoral and Boccaccio Life in 1963, as a dance and party hall. One year later a jukebox was added and the first dancing was born. On the opening night, two cars and a hundred bicycles were parked in front of the venue. In a continuous quest for better music experience, turntables, mixing panels and better sound were integrated. Driven by success in the late sixties Robert continued his path by opening several other bars and dancing facilities.
A few examples were The Number One (Ghent), Tiffany's (Knokke), The Twenty-seven (Ghent) and of course the legendary dance temple formerly known as BOCCACCIO since 1972.
The owner of the club in Ostend (Benny Strouven) is the same person as the owner of Boccaccio Life in Halen (Diest).
The Boccaccio Life in Halen (Diest) stopped in 2012.