Mother's Club Carlton Club Ballroom Erdington

[Vivienne14]

Re Mothers - don't know the date of this one but obviously post Dale Forty. No idea what Stop Press was. I expect the former Mothers first floor area was let separately to the shops beneath. Viv.

 

[Bob Davis]

Re Mothers - don't know the date of this one but obviously post Dale Forty. No idea what Stop Press was. I expect the former Mothers first floor area was let separately to the shops beneath. Viv.



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That's the Carlton I knew, when it first opened it was quite poorly supported, everybody still went to the Palace, eventually we pointed out it wasn't such a long walk from the Roebuck....well you have to meet somewhere. As we grew older we found the Plaza much more cosmopolitan, the girls came from different parts of Birmingham
Bob

 

[Frothblower]

The shop is now a Polish supermarket.

 

[Frothblower]

This is going to take a very very long time. I'm in the process of recording a track from every band that played at mothers. I'm up to Blonde on Blonde.

 

[Vivienne14]

That'll keep you off the streets Froth. It's a very long list. Viv.

 

[nickcc101]

I remember another pub somewhere in Erdington with a large function room that put on dances/groups, but i can`t remember where or the name of the pub. I do remember a rather nice young lady asking me to take her home, and being the gentleman that i am ( randy sod who thought his luck was in ). It turned out she was just doing this to make her boyfriend jealous :-{

Queens head, friend of mine was a bouncer there who I helped out a couple of times.

 

[Smudger]

Queens head, friend of mine was a bouncer there who I helped out a couple of times.

Sounds familiar, whereabouts was it?

 

[nickcc101]

End of Reservoir rd near where Tesco is now.

 

[Vivienne14]

Mothers had great aspirations by 1969. But as we know, it didn't happen. I think it kept it special by not having opened in London. Viv.

 

[David Quick]

Often went to Mothers. Saw many bands - do they still call them bands? Did a lot of sitting on the sticky, floor, especially in the bar. Frank Zappa's "Peaches en regalia " takes me right back there. Draught, rough cider on tap, disgusting really but it did the job. Wearing clothes bought from Oasis, Bus Stop and Crowthers. I often wore a suede waistcoat with fringes which I thought was 'gorgeous'. Wore various velvet hot pants, had a beautiful purple crushed velvet midi coat with a large pan collar and a full length black velvet coat too (definitely had a velvet thing going on). Also had several pairs of knee length suede boots (worn in summer too) bought from the stall under the ramp in the Bullring outdoor market. I also 'afro'd' my hair every week with setting lotion and small rollers. Took hours but I had a magnificent head of curls with a wide radius about my head. All this effort to sit in, what was really, a pretty grubby club. But it was FAB! Let's face it, we invented the now popular festival season and the art of chilling. Groovy ....... Viv.

 

[A Sparks]

Account Suspended

There is a Mothers reunion in May - £20 ( £15 concession ) though.

 

[David Quick]

Amazing. You're the only one I ever heard refer to Frank Zappa's 'Peaches...' This was the track that started my love affair with rock music which I still have to this day. I was in London by then but that music was captivating. Back to the Carlton, as it was when I used to go, I think there was 2 stages, main one down the side and a little one at the end, rarely used. I recall the regular yard of ale contest, I never competed, but saw it done in 9 seconds. I think it was mainly DJ then, before Mothers, but Spencer Davis Group were on regularly. Mods danced on the spot, shuffling side to side looking cool, sometimes in a circle, no touching unless is was a slow one. David Q

 

[Bob Davis]

The Carlton, Erdington remember it opening the Plaza Handsworth more mature at the time it opened and it had a bar.
Bob

 

[Vivienne14]

I had several of those programmes at one time. They were folded up and I always kept one at the bottom of my bag. They eventually disintegrated from frequent opening and re-folding. Seeing some of the listings brings back names I'd completely forgotten. Some seem to be listed week after week.

I remember a Muddy Waters appearance being cancelled due to ill health but think that was a year after the programme in post #75.

Funny how you took for granted many of the names that regularly appeared.

Cha - that book sounds amazing. Viv.

There are 3 programmes for sale on eBay. There’s a red one (must be what I thought was pink, perhaps faded after keeping it so long in my bag!). The red one is for sale for £45 - wow, that’s incredible for a piece of typewriter typed up sheet of paper ! Mine were folded so many times that they’d be in shreds now and worth nowt. Viv.

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[mikejee]

Memories of mothers from 1999 in Carl Chinn's Old Brum no 2

 

[Vivienne14]

Glad to say that not all 40,000 members went to Mothers at the same time! I remember it as small, hot and claustrophobic on some summer nights. Didn’t realise it had so many members.

Remember John Peel RIP. No other like him - still remember fondly his calm, unflustered voice.

Viv.

 

[alan bartlett]

Hi Lyn,

yes, easy to forget that it didn't last long. I've got a feeling that the Carlton Club which was Mother's predecessor on the premises was going for longer. I still remember the long queues and the limited choice of drinkies at the bar. Oh, and the noise.....

G

Cert were long queues down the side ally. If you did'nt get there early enough you could not get in, full up. You needed ear defenders when you walked through he doors at the top of the stairs. Great days.

 

[A Sparks]

Cert were long queues down the side ally. If you did'nt get there early enough you could not get in, full up. You needed ear defenders when you walked through he doors at the top of the stairs. Great days.

I'm going to make a confession here - a couple or so times when there was a long queue down the passageway my friend and I walked confidently down to the door and we were never challenged by anyone, guess they thought we worked there or were friends of the management!

 

[alan bartlett]

I'm going to make a confession here - a couple or so times when there was a long queue down the passageway my friend and I walked confidently down to the door and we were never challenged by anyone, guess they thought we worked there or were friends of the management!

Ha Ha. Good on you for doing that. Do'nt think it would have worked with some of us, we had a job to stand up straight. The bouncers would not let you in if you were bladdered, and we were as a rule. Someone mentioned the cider, I had forgotten about that. Stella of it's day.

 

[Vivienne14]

The cider was terrible. In fact I think it was referred to as rough cider, like the strong stuff you get from Hereford and thereabouts. But I doubt it was Hereford cider. It was really very acidic, couldn’t drink it today. Must have been a high proof too. Viv.

 

[mikejee]

Sounds like good stuff Viv

 

[A Sparks]

Ah yes, the cider!
It was cheap too if I remember rightly - I couldn't drink it now either.

 

[Vivienne14]

And always served in those dimpled half-pint glasses for ladies. No exceptions made for women. Viv.

 

[Moor End Lad]

Prior to being openend and called 'Mothers' the venue was 'The Carlton Ballroom' and that is the reason for the new owner calling the agency for up and coming groups Carlton Johns Agency.

Hate to sound like an anorak, but prior to Mothers I remember it being called the Carlton Club, and even before that it was called the Carlton Dene. My mate's father used to play drums there for the Bob (or was it Dave) Pegg Seven.

 

[Moor End Lad]

I loved it there although it was a bit scruffy,there were mattresses on the floor to sit on. The bands I saw in their early career's were amazing Led Zep,Black Sabbath, Jethro Tull, Stepping Wolf...so many John Peel was the resident DJ.

I remember John Peel as a much loved guest DJ, but I think that the resident DJ was Dave Erskine who ran the Diskery off Bristol Street in Town.

 

[A Sparks]

I first went there when it was still the Carlton.
Erskine T was a legend, very nice man. RIP

 

[alan bartlett]

The cider was terrible. In fact I think it was referred to as rough cider, like the strong stuff you get from Hereford and thereabouts. But I doubt it was Hereford cider. It was really very acidic, couldn’t drink it today. Must have been a high proof too. Viv.

Yes it was indeed rough. We drank similar in Torquay on our many weekend visits. Very strong stuff, you could not drink too much of it, fire water. Do you remember the Aussie White wine from Yates Wine Lodge in Corporation street. That was a good primer before going to Rebecas.

 

[Dave M]

21st Feb 2015 there was a display in the Church

 

[Vivienne14]

Remember sitting on the bar floor next to the wall dividing the bar and the ‘main hall’ and the first meeting of my first husband. The carpeted floor was sticky with cider spillage, you couldn’t hear yourself think and the heat, well, not exactly romantic but memorable ! Feels like a lifetime ago. Viv.

 

[howkthepowk]

I used to go to The Carlton, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Sunday afternoons was spent there too while The Moody Blues 5 jammed. They later dropped the 5. I lived on "The Village" above a shoe shop so The Carlton was my second home. I saw John Mayall and his bluesbreakers there along with a host of others. God if those walls could talk. Anyone remeber Barmy Barry?

Was Barmy Barry a bouncer? If it was him, he was a nasty piece of work He only the little fellas out!