A Kent nightspot that once hosted Fleetwood Mac and The Who is being given a new lease of life as a music cafe and bar.

Marceline Powell and Christopher Udenze are transforming the former Tofts Jazz Club in Folkestone and plan to build on its colourful past.

But the couple, who are newcomers to the town, have already had to allay fears the venue will be a magnet for violence and “drunken noise”.

They say they have no plans to resurrect the club’s heyday of the 1960s and 70s, when Black Sabbath and Little Richard were among the star-studded list of performers to take to the stage.

The pair instead want to attract a “mature” crowd of music and food lovers who can enjoy live tunes and a varied menu.

“It’s a music cafe bar,” explained Ms Powell.

“People will be able to have something to eat, but we’ve kept the music scene.

“What we’re really trying to do is attract a mature crowd, a slightly older community, that have a love for music and want to try something a little different with food.

“On Saturdays we’re looking to do surf and turf food with live soul music, and on Sunday we’re calling the theme ‘reggae rave’, with a live DJ doing ska and vinyl with a Caribbean-inspired menu.”

Despite the Nottingham native’s intentions, when a licensing application was filed with the council to allow live music and alcohol sales at the Grace Hill site, alarmed local residents soon raised concerns.

Neighbours’ pre-emptive complaints of the cafe included “drunken noise”, “serious road traffic accidents” and “violence with non-stop police intervention”, with one even predicting that morale in the area would reach an “all-time low” if the plans went ahead.

But a casual soft launch of the new Tofts Bar last Saturday provided the owners the opportunity to ease the concerns of locals with soul music and a cheese platter.

“There was a misunderstanding that it was going to be a nightclub again - we have no intention or interest in a nightclub,” affirmed Ms Powell.

“So we sent out invitations to neighbours in the area, as well as other local people who have supported us with the project.

“On Saturday we had a live DJ who came down from London and played a set of classic soul and funk.

“One of the neighbours who had concerns before actually came along and brought a friend and thoroughly enjoyed himself - turns out he’s a vinyl junkie.”

A former musician herself, Ms Powell moved to Folkestone a year and a half ago after her partner got a job as a GP in the area.

The 49-year-old now works as a marketing consultant, but says her love for music was what inspired her to take on the Toft’s project.

The first floor of the building - originally part of the nightclub - now serves as a flat for the couple, but the downstairs area also came with the deal when they moved in.

“Originally we were approached by a bar who wanted to take over the ground level, but after visiting one of their locations we were put off the idea,” explained Ms Powell.

“As we’ve gotten to know Folkestone, we’ve met a lot of musicians.

“We thought ‘we both love music, rather than having something downstairs that we can’t control, let’s do something ourselves and open something a bit more sophisticated’.”

For close to a year, Ms Powell and Dr Udenze worked to do the place up as a relaxed music cafe bar, with the history of the iconic nightclub in mind.

Following what they hope will be a green light from Folkestone and Hythe District Council’s licensing sub-committee on Monday (August 14), the couple plan to host an exhibition in October to show off the former venue’s story.

Online records show it played host to some of the biggest names in music before it closed in 1974.

Little Richard took to the stage in 1966, with Cream and The Who playing the following year.

Keith Moon, of the latter, reportedly kicked over his kit at the end of My Generation and trapped a female audience member.

In 1969 Fleetwood Mac performed, followed by Black Sabbath in 1970 and Thin Lizzy the year after.

“It doesn’t have the fame it deserves,” added Ms Powell.

“Lots of big bands played here early in their careers - The Who, Black Sabbath, Fleetwood Mac, Little Richard, Cream.

“There’s even a local rumour that Jimi Hendrix used to hang out here.”

After its closure, the nightclub went on to reopen as The Toby House, before various spells under the names Heroes, The Cartoon Club and Tom Brown’s.

Ms Powell and her partner have installed in the cafe the original cedar floorboards from the former club.

Yesterday they invited locals to come by the cafe for afternoon tea, offering reassurances that while they do hope to add another musical chapter to Tofts' history, late-night raves is hardly what they have in mind.