• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team

Birmingham Nightclubs of the Past - Memories

  • Thread starter Thread starter mazbeth
  • Start date Start date
I used to go there round about 1963 and I saw loads of fights. There was a singer turned comedien called Johny something or other who we met a few years back. Anyone remember the name of his group or anyone who used to go there?. Jean.
 
Hi Judy,

Whatever ran on a Sunday night! I don't recollect it having a name, but being a musician, I used to get in for free anyway. And drifting off topic for a minute, I see you're researching BELLAMY. If Timothy BELLAMY (c1806-1855) who married a Mary Ann TAYLOR in 1829 is in your tree, please PM me.

Whilst you good people are about, do any of you remember the following musicians from that era - Jim Barker (trumpet), Brian Finch who used to like to spell his name "ffinch" (alto & baritone saxes), Johnny Beck - real name Smith (Charlie Parker style alto sax), Pat Sweetman (drums), Sleepy ????? (bass player with Andy Hamilton), and Vince ???? (another bass player)?

Regards,

Maurice (not Mossy, though most of my pals used to call me that when I was young!)
 
Hi Maurice (Sospiri)

I have been trying to find out where the Ronnie Scotts Club (Midlands Section) was held in 1961 without any luck, but here is the newspaper cutting dated 1962 (I believe) which shows a connection with the Mermaid on Stratford Road - as mentioned in the IM.


Judy
 
Hi Bobbygee: Thanks so much for the information on the Colin Jones band at the Locarno. They were very good and I believe the band won an award placing as one of the top ballroom dance bands in Britain in the early l960's. I do remember being told that the female singer had died in a car crash and that is very sad. She was a very good singer. She was very popular.

Thanks also for the info on the Roy Green Trio. I still remember just about all the music they played when the band took a break. Autumn in Rome, Love is Just Around the Corner, The House of Bamboo, When Will you be Mine among them. All played with great expertise and expression. It was a very good deal for all that entertainment and a chance to meet someone nice.

I have been trying to find someone who remembered them for years. Thanks again.
 
Hi everyone !

Yes, I know, I'm new to this forum.
I was positively impressed by your different posts about the 60's and 70's !
And I was especially interested by that specific thread here.


I'm working as a private Queen archivist, collecting information about the band (especially live) during the first tours. I now deal with their tour, and in 1974 they met Birmingham, on 02th April, when they played at the Barbarellas, with the band Nutz as an opener.

So I wanted to know if you could help the Queen community out there and bring us all the information you can : what songs they played, how they were dressed, how many people wer ein the attendance, what happened before/during/after the show (power failure, fight, ...), your reviews, comments, all you can bring to help us complete the information available. Your information will be used after that in a fabulous website www.queenlive.ca which gathers most of the information available, check it out if you like Queen. Some other websites could use it too. Of course your name will be quoted, or not if you prefer not.
So bring all information, recollection, or help me get in touch with people who could help ! Even the slightest information can be important, we don't have little information so far ! What I can say is that the encore was special that night, it seems that the leader of Nutz and some crew members ran naked on the stage during the encore, as Queen's drummer bet a bottle of champagne they would not do it !
Maybe pictures, or even recorded audio tapes or videos exist too !

And if you have recollection of other Queen concerts, just contact me too !

Many thanks everyone for your participation to that thread !


Regards,

Olivier,
Belgium.
 
In John Pearson's book "The profession of violence" he comments that during their ascendancy, the Kray twins took over two night clubs in Birmingham. This would have been in the early 1960's. Does anyone know which clubs they were and was the Kray's involvement obvious in any way?
 
I think it was Eddie Frewtrells, The Cedars? they tried to muscle in but Eddie had them muscled out. Len.
 
Re the Kray twins: CONTROVERSIAL nightclub king Eddie Fewtrell was today stopped from launching his new book at a Birmingham store amid security fears for his safety and that of staff.
It follows claims that workers at Waterstones, in High Street, have received hostile comments from people suggesting they have old scores to settle with him.
Eddie, famous for sending the Kray twins packing back to London when they tried to muscle in on the 1960s Birmingham club scene, today dismissed fears of trouble as "ridiculous."
He added: "I've been quite capable of looking after myself for years, but the shop has said it is worried about the customers, so that's it." Len
 
Folklore. I too have heard the stories and guess if you want free publicity in order to sell ones book then what better way.

I cannot go into the details but my partner and I had to deal with the 'emmissarys' of the Krays when they came up to Birmingham, in those days, testing the water. Agreed we had information supplied to us by a certain club owner but Eddie did not make any contact with us. If he had any contact with the Krays, then we who had our finger on that particular pulse, did not get to hear of it until much later.

The emmissarys got the message that we had enough with those we had in the Midlands at the time and did not want imported problems. Two of them got life and one got seven years for also being naughty. End of Krays interest, if any, up here.
Will.
 
I worked as a bouncer all through the sixties from the late fifties. I worked mainly for Mothers Club, but did the satalite venues. I also worked at The Gay Tower Ballroom for a couple of years. I remember we were offered £25 to sit in a Major Birmingham club and have a coffee and a chat because the Krays were expected to pay a visit. As I understood it, this visit was for the purpose of getting into the Birmingham gambling scene. I did it because I got £12 per week driving a lorry full time and £25 for drinking coffee seemed easy. Some men did turn up and there was a fight but I could not swear that these men were the Krays, although we were told they were from London. I do know that it was talked about for quite some time after. I do believe the terrible twins never tried again. Non of the Fewtrells clubs were involved with my experience.
 
When I worked at the Rum Runner in the 60's, it was spoke about a lot that the Krays had been in.

Ann
 
lydfordcastle said:
In John Pearson's book "The profession of violence" he comments that during their ascendancy, the Kray twins took over two night clubs in Birmingham. This would have been in the early 1960's. Does anyone know which clubs they were and was the Kray's involvement obvious in any way?
Click to expand...

I think that lencop is right. I remember a story at the time that the Krays tried to move in, but the Fewtrell's repelled them. There were about five or six Fewtrells brothers. All of them fairly tough characters. They also had a collection of 'assistants' that gave them support when needed. If there was ever any trouble at the Cedar, it didn't last very long. Any troublemakers were escorted to a little side room by the entrance (later to become a disco room) and 'taught' a lesson in how to behave. I don't know if anyone remembers the Planet. It was a local newspaper that only lasted a couple of years. It was in colour, and one of the iconic front pages was a full spread of a red E Type Jag with four of the brothers leaning on the wings. This was pre Barbarellas/Rebeccas when the Cedar was one of the top clubs in town.
 
My friend who now lives in New Zealand was top doorman at the Cedar for a few years and he knows nothing about the Krays trying it on with the Fewtrels. Pat Roach who you will all have heard of, or knew personally was a regular at the Rum Runner and when we discussed this years ago he said it was news to him. As I understood it at the time it was the Gambling scene they were interested in and it was a casino who paid us for the help. As I said previously, I did not recoignise any of them as the Krays, but we were told it was their team.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
And me Stitch.. I had the pleasure ?:rolleyes: of meeting Pat when i worked in an antique shop in Hurst Street:D
 
To my knowledge the Krays never came to Birmingham.
The so called 'emmisaries' I referred to in my earlier post were what may be romantically called three of their lieutentants. I believe I know how the mistaken story went that the Krays came to Brum originated.

The three who came up here, away I may add from the heat in London, were brothers. Of these two were twins. So their family makeup closely resembled that of the Krays. All three were name droppers and used the Krays name as a sort of passport to all things. The name of the Krays only became national names following the demise of the Richardson group, in London, and the national involvement by Lord Boothby on the defence of the Krays on a criminal matter.

The twins, who I had dealings with, naturally frequented the clubs in the city and would have boasted of their being twins themselves and their association to the Krays. Hence a story would have been illfounded that it was the Krays and not these 'runners' had been in town.

Further name dropping I had known Pat Roach for most of my career and that distant friendship began in his mothers outhouse, at the end of the fifties. I had gone to arrest a Pat Roach and the conversation between us, to an overseer, would have been commical. I asked to see Pat Roach and he told me I was speaking to him. I told him that I was not for the bloke I had been to arrest was not him. Cut a long story short it happened that I had stopped one of his cousins for a motoring offence and they had used Pat's name. Remember well being given a cuppa and getting to know Pat. Over the years we bumped into each other and recalled our initial meeting with amusement. He is a man well missed.
 
Maggie, you were taking a chance working in an antique shop, did anyone try to buy you? HHaaHaa
 
A Willoughby, nice to read about your experiences. Not to everyone taste I know but I always found Roachy to be pleasant and unassuming. He would always wait to be allowed into whever I worked and he never took liberties. He was always courteous to women and polite to everyone.
 
Stitcher,

I couldn't agree more with your description of Pat Roach. In fact I think I used the word 'unassuming' relating to Pat on another thread. I served him many times at the Rum, and he never stood at the most popular end of the bar, he preferred the back end of the bar, quite often on his own. Calling someone a gentleman is sometimes over used, but not in Pat's case.

Ann
 
Ann B, thank you for those words. I have heard talk about what a bighead he was and other things. I would quite honestly say the people who said such things never knew him and probably never met him. It is a very real pity that more people today are not like Roachy.
 
There you go again do you see? Ganging up on a man because he had the downright audacity to speak the truth as he sees it.
 
Another tale of Pat - sorry about diverting from the subject topic.

Worked for sometime with a county officer and one evening there was a bit of do at one of the Warwickshire County Police Clubs. At these events they had a room called either the blue or green room (forget now which one) In this room were all the senior officers plus guests. Pat was one of the guests on this occasion. My partner and I were relegated to the normal bar where one paid for ones own drinks.
Pat caught my eye from out of 'his room' and called me in. When told I would be personna non gratis in there, he left and joined us in the paying bar for the rest of the evening. That was the Pat Roach I knew. Non pretentious and a lovely character.
Will.
 
Pat Roach was brought up by his nan and lived over the road from us in Shakespeare Road Ladywood his mom lived in Garbett St which was at the bottom of our road,i have some storys to tell but it would take to long:)Mau-reece RIP Pat
 
We met Pat Roach at a couple of parties and at the 'Runner' the last time we saw him was at one of the garages Michael was in charge of in New John St. He was driving an old Range Rover. I always hated going there because they had a couple of shootings the usual drug people. Michael also drove someone to Pat's funeral.
 
Hello Ethan,

Having checked out your site re. The Rum Runner, I hope you do not mind me correcting you on the 'founding members'. Paul and Michael were not the founding members, but the sons of Ray Berrow, who was, along with brother Don, their sister Tissy and another brother who's name escapes me for the moment, the original owners of the Rum. Paul Berrow started at the club washing glasses, as did his younger brother, Michael, at a later date. Ray and Don Berrow were all bookmakers.
Ray's sons, Paul and Michael, reopened the club, and then managed Duran Duran.

Ann
 
Ann B said:
Hello Ethan,

Having checked out your site re. The Rum Runner, I hope you do not mind me correcting you on the 'founding members'. Paul and Michael were not the founding members, but the sons of Ray Berrow, who was, along with brother Don, their sister Tissy and another brother who's name escapes me for the moment, the original owners of the Rum. Paul Berrow started at the club washing glasses, as did his younger brother, Michael, at a later date. Ray and Don Berrow were all bookmakers.
Ray's sons, Paul and Michael, reopened the club, and then managed Duran Duran.

Ann
Click to expand...
Thanks Ann, your post is greatly appeciated,
It is very difficult 40 years down the line,
to obtain all the facts.
The information we have is
off the internet, and of course my own personal re-collections.

Our forum however,
doesn't say they founded the club,
but does say this:-
Paul and Michael Berrow,
relaunched the club with an eclectic power playlist
borrowed from Studio 54 in New York.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the extra inforomation
and I will edit my forum accordingly,
and thanks for you help and time.
Perhaps you would like to join us there,
and be active on our board.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top