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Birmingham Nightclubs of the Past - Memories

I dimly remember a basement club below a pub on Stephensons Place. On the left going towards the station. It was a tiled vaulted basement and entertained young blues bands circa 1965.

Anyone else remember it was there, and what it was called?


cheers
 
not actually a night club, but dose anyone remember a drinking club(den) in Newtown Row just past the picture house?
 
I thought the forum members would enjoy these photos of my mate Kenny Copson old 60's night club cards.
If you blow the frame up its amazing how many clubs we have not remembered, see for yourself.
Kenny used to go to Waverly Grammar School and played center forward for his school team that won the schools "Villa Cup" in 1962/63 season.
I had never seen a Whiskey a go go members card and told him that the regular Dudes/Townes of the 60's did not need cards to get into clubs. (Or words to that affect, :coolcheesy:!!?)

Where,s your Night Club cards? go on post it on site!!
 
A nice selection there, Judy - I like the pic too! :)

The Firebird was owned by Chris Padan, a Hispanic American, who knew all the visiting American jazz musicians and they would make a beeline for his place when on tour. I got to meet Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Milt Jackson, John Lewis, Dave Brubeck and a host of others through Chris when they dropped in for a bite to eat during the day. For contractual reasons they weren't allowed to perform there. Amongst the many musicians who performed downstairs were Johnny Patrick, Acker Bilk and the late Roy Castle. Chris moved to Richmond-upon-Thames just before I moved to Dorset in January 1961 as I remember, but I lost contact with him after that.

The MJC was not a regular haunt of mine, but I knew a few of the musicians who played there including pianist Pete Vicary.

Regards,

Maurice
 
Judy39 said:
Bob, just found some of my old club cards from Brum from late 1950s/early 1960s.

Judy
Click to expand...

Judy you look fab in your photo at the Tudor Club inside the Lacarno. I am pretty sure you gave me the knock-back and preferred to dance around your handbag, broke my heart!

What a great collection of cards. Haven't found mine yet to post.





 
Judy your a women after my own heart liking Jazz i also like the Blues.....Chris Barber springs to mind:cool:Mau-reece and your photo you look a smasher
 
Judy looks like you went to the Tudor Club the same time as my husband.:D
 
Thanks Bob and Maureece - I did enjoy Trad Jazz but then progressed to Modern. Still like both though! I went to lots of other clubs as well in those days but these are the only cards I now have.

Wendy - Yes Michael does look young - how old was he in that photo? I would have been 23 when mine was taken (with the beehive)!

Judy
 
sylviasayers said:
Wendy, how young Michael looks on that photo - about 16.
Click to expand...

Sylvia
you had to be 18 minimum to be a member of the Tudor Club, and you had to prove it and supply your own photograph.
I know when I was old enough I really thought I'd arrived into manhood and all those lovely females upstairs at the Lacarno, always seemed better and more sophisticated than the Girls down stairs on the big dance floor. Happy days! :p:p
 
Bob, I seem to remember there was a bar in the Tudor Club, and that is probably why you had to be 18 to get in. Judy
 
EthanEdwards: Not by any chance a Mel Torme fan, are you? :)

Mossy: I saw Chris Barber in concert in Swindon about four years ago - playing well, nice arrangements (no dots!), and looking well into the bargain! :)

Judy: Glad to hear that you progressed to modern! My old friend Mike Burney is still playing in Brum regularly I see - well worth a listen if you fancy a night out! :)

Regards,

Maurice
 
I was a member of the Tudor Club at the Locarno. This would be in the early l960's. I can remember the bar very well. It was off to the left hand side in those days. There was a small dance floor on the right....postage stamp size comes to mind!
 
Michael was 18 when the photo was taken. The Tudor Club was on the ground floor at the back of the Lacarno across to the left of the dance floor through some double doors, so im in doors tells me. I was to young to remember this but I do remember the Bali High Club which was upstairs.
 
Wendy - The Tudor Bar was upstairs in the Locarno as I remember it, but it was a long time ago. There was no Bali Hi when I used to go to the Locarno, so perhaps the Tudor became the Bali Hi. Judy
 
ethanedwards said:
Interesting that on the card it is spelt Whiskie!!
Click to expand...

Ethan your right! you know I never noticed!!

Oh cobblers whe will have to change all the previous spelling's.

I have a cunning plan! By decree all spellings of WHISKEY, from this time forward will be WHISKIE!

Ps; every one make sure you add to your spell checker!





 
Maurice i also know Mike Burney,do you remember when Ch aka Khan invited Mike to go on tour with her,he told me what a time he had in Hong Kong

He at the time was playing with the late great Johnny Burnett and the Jazz Bandits

Maurice
 
Hi Mossy,

I know that Mike toured with Chaka Khan and, of course, he was with Syd Lawrence for years, long after his earlier ventures with Roy Wood, etc. I last met up with him at the Brum Jazz Festival three or four years ago. John Gibson was on drums, another friend of many years standing. You probably also know trombonist Brian Newton from that period, who I gather still runs a big band up in Kings Norton somewhere. Brian and my brother-in-law Rex Dorman (also a trombonist then, but now a bass player) were both in the Norman Dovey Orchestra way back in the late 1950s.

Did you also frequent the Golden Cross at that period - Ronnie Scott, Tubby Hayes & the Jazz Couriers were there on several occasions?

Regards,

Maurice
 
I too remember the Tudor Club being upstairs at the Locarno and that there was no Bali Hi Club back then. This would have been 1962-l963.

I am always trying to find out if anyone remembers the Colin James or Jones Band that played at the Locarno in those years. It was a full dance band
and had a male singer that sounded a lot like Frank Sinatra and there was a girl singer who was also very good. The jazz band was a trio who played in the intervals. I can still remember so much of the music that both groups played.
 
Judy39 said:
Wendy - The Tudor Bar was upstairs in the Locarno as I remember it, but it was a long time ago. There was no Bali Hi when I used to go to the Locarno, so perhaps the Tudor became the Bali Hi. Judy
Click to expand...

The Tudor Club had four bars in total. The first was on the ground floor, on the left-hand side before going upstairs to the main room. There was another smaller cocktail bar adjoining this first bar. The main Tudor bars were upstairs. There was a long bar facing the main entrance, and another smaller one on the right-hand side. Access to the club was tightly controlled by a lady called Maria. If she didn't think that you were eighteen, then you wouldn't get in.
 
jennyann said:
I too remember the Tudor Club being upstairs at the Locarno and that there was no Bali Hi Club back then. This would have been 1962-l963.

I am always trying to find out if anyone remembers the Colin James or Jones Band that played at the Locarno in those years. It was a full dance band
and had a male singer that sounded a lot like Frank Sinatra and there was a girl singer who was also very good. The jazz band was a trio who played in the intervals. I can still remember so much of the music that both groups played.
Click to expand...

It was the Colin Jones band that played the main ballroom. The act that played in the intervals was the Roy Green Trio. Roy was a very large bloke who could play any type of music. His kilted performance on New Years Eve was a major event. He was a consumate performer. Unfortunately the girl singer with the CJ band died in a car crash. The band was later replaced with the Andy Ross band (later to be the main 'Come Dancing' TV band). Their main male singer is the brother of one of the Fortunes.
 
Maurice - I used to go regularly to the Golden Cross, to both the Modern Jazz nights and the Cha Cha nights (1959/1960). One of my cards that I posted shows both Jazz Studio 1 and The Americana. These clubs were held at the Golden Cross weekly, on different nights.

Judy
 
Judy which Golden Cross the Aston Cross or Perry Common?. I loved trad jaz and still have my favourite record Dave Brubeck Take five. My brother bought it for me. Jean.
 
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