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Kings Night Club Hamstead

Barr_Beacon

The Prodigal Brummie
Photograph dates from the 1970s / 1980s.

22552397_10214660857740922_1048562838142493272_n.jpg
 
gosh that takes me back....had some good nights in there with our mom and dad during the 70s

lyn
 
Anyone know when Joe Longthorne was on at Kings?
According to his wiki stuff he was born in 1955 but my wife
and I are sure that we saw him there in the early 70's which would have put him at 15 to 25. A little unlikely I fear!
 
Coming from Great Barr we were lucky to have the kings just down the road, they attracted some great act's down there, act's who were on prime time TV at the time, proper caberet nights. Also went to the West Brom supporters Club nights aswel. It was a great venue it's just a pity like most things now all we have are the memories. The only other club I could remember that done the caberet nights like this was the Night Out on the Bristol road
 
The wife and myself plus a few friends also used to frequent Kings in the mid 70's but only when there was somebody special appearing because it was a bit of a trek from Solihull and also usually entailed one of the party not drinking for the evening or paying for a very expensive taxi which weren't very reliable around the time the show finished probably because there were less taxis back then and at the time of night they could make more money in the town. I have had these photos for some time now and I have no recollection where they came from, they may even be the ones missing from this thread.

Great Barr Hamstead Kings Nightclub.jpgHamstead Kings Cabret Bar.PNGHamstead Kings Nightclub 1977.jpg
 
Saw George Best in a chat show there. Rodney Marsh should have accompanied him but he was replaced by?? I cant remember
 
I remember seeing Bucks Fizz there must be early 80's I think and with the family.Remember the frontage as per the pic above.Scampi in a basket.Happy days.
 
I recall seeing a comedian called Mike Stand Douglas and another Welsh comedian called Bernie Phillips. I did enjoy Kings as a venue, the Night Out was to me very pretentious.
 
Can anybody remember when Kings Cabaret Theatre/Club operated years from/to? Kings was on Hampstead Road, Great Barr.
I was born 1971 and left Great Barr 1994 (age 23). I remember going regularly with my parents to see many many cabaret acts..... Rocking Berries, Canon & Ball, Joe Longthorne, Little & Large, The Drifters and more......
I'm sure I used to go as teenager, probably 12/13 to 16/17 does that sound about right? (that would be around 1983-1988) When i turned 18+ (1989) I started working in the Birmingham nightclubs like Millionaires, and The Dome sadly both gone now. The good old days.
 
Fantastic venue not enough places like this anymore. I went to a place similar to this in Blackpool called Viva Blackpool to see an Elvis tribute artist called Chris Connor... it really reminded me of Kings..... good times
Great photo. Thank you x
 
A few ads from. newspapers. They certainly did host some well-known performers.

Viv

Source: British Newspaper Archive
 

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A query a while ago by Chippy Chapman. Joe Longthorne seems to have been a frequent performer at Kings. And was very popular, still appearing there in the 1990s. Can't find anything listed in the 1970s. Viv
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our dad rated joe longthorne and saw him a few times..dad always said that as an impressionist joe sounded more like tom jones than tom jones did :D and as an avid tom jones fan i found it hard to tell who was who...joe longthorne died in 2019 aged 64..a very talented man

lyn
 
Think it was the Golden Throstle Club before Kings (Throstle clubs being local West Brom Albion supporters clubs). The Golden Throstle, Great Barr started up in 1969 - don't know if it was on this site in 1969, but it certainly was by December 1970 according to the newspaper report below.

The Throstle Club was on former National Coal Board land where the mine canteen and baths once stood. The NCB sold off part of the land (c1965) after the mine closure and West Bromwich Albion in subsequent years developed the Golden Throstle Club on the site.

The Golden Throstles Club probably closed in the 1980s (?). Significant advertising for the Kings Cabaret Theatre Club seems to start appearing in newspapers in the 1980s.

Viv
Screenshot_20230722_164904_Chrome.jpgScreenshot_20230722_164917_Chrome.jpgSource: British Newspaper Archive
 
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Kings closed in 1982 for nine months due to the death of its new owner, property developer, William Powell. His wife April Powell carried through their plans to refurbish and reopen the club in 1983. Viv

Screenshot_20230722_163445_Chrome.jpgSource: British Newspaper Archive
 
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