Ye Olde Birmingham of Yore

[It's Your Round]

7 hours ago, Xela said:

Thanks to @It's Your Round, i've spent most of the morning watching videos of people walking around abandoned nightclubs in Brum  

You’re welcome! 

I was stuck in a hotel on my own with work and spent the whole evening doing the same the other week. Found some interesting footage of clubs like Gatecrasher and Sundissential from the early 00’s, cyber kids and swinging jaws aplenty. Found the Clubavision YouTube channel, the 90’s was some decade for debauchery. 
 

 

[Xela]

Article from Yahoo, from a couple of months back. 

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/dome-34-other-birmingham-nightclubs-151338997.html

Quote

So, we asked BirminghamWorld readers about the nightclubs they miss and here are the most popular ones that they remember (you can see what they said in our link at the bottom of our story):

So, we asked BirminghamWorld readers about the nightclubs they miss and here are the most popular ones that they remember (you can see what they said in our link at the bottom of our story):

1. Barbella’s, 41 Cumberland Street (off Broad Street): This is now part of the Brindleyplace development of offices and banks. In the 1970s, the was famous for being a regular venue on the Punk Rock circuit. Famed bands like The Clash, Sex Pistols, The Jam, The Ramones have all played there. It used to be known as the place to play for up and coming Birmingham bands.

2. Subway city, under railway arches in Livery Street: This nightclub shut down due to noise complaints and later Tunnel Club showed up there. It was formerly known as Holy City Zoo, known for its Bowie and Roxy Music type of audience. It was owned by ex-Aston Villa player and TV commentator Andy Gray amongst others. Duran Duran played in 1980 and The Eurythmics in 1981.

3. Rum Runner, Broad Street: Duran Duran initially worked, rehearsed and partied here in 1979 and 1980. It shut down in 1987 to make way for the Hyatt Hotel. The club opened in 1964 and it has had some famous clientele like Black Sabbath, Dexy’s Midnight Runners and UB40. The Beat filmed their video for Mirror In The Bathroom at the club.

4. Zanzibar, Hurst Street: This venue has been the Powerhouse, the Pulse and the Zanzibar. It faced demolition in 2021 as owners of Ringway House, Commercial Estates Group wanted to turn it into apartments. It was known as Ritzy in 1990.

5. Elbow Room, Aston: This place was frequented by Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath, and even George Best. One of the co-founders passed away in 2014 but he had passed it on to other owners by then. The club shut in 2012 over licensing issues.

6. Bogarts, 68 New Street: This was a three floor club popular in the 1970s and it has now been turned into offices and banks. Most bands that performed here were Heavy metal or Hard Rock. Some of the famous bands that played include UFO, Quartz, Diamond Head and the Sex Pistols.

7. The Costermonger, Dalton Way: This iconic rock and metal bar in the heart of Birmingham shut down and reopened and shut again. It used to be called the Costers by regulars. People had loved it since the 1990s and sadly, a shopping centre stands at the site since 2009.

8. Mother’s Rock Club, Erdington: This club ran from 1968-71 and some very famous acts have played here. Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Marc Bolan, Free, The Who, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin - all of these greats have performened here.

9. 49ers, Smallbrook Queensway: This used to be a pub and the site is now part of the Bull Ring Shopping Centre.

10. The Night Out, Horsefair: It was a cabaret venue from the 1970s to 1980s. It had a 1400-seat auditorium and hosted some famous acts in its time.

11. The Garryowen, Small Heath: This used to be a 24-hour open venue that was shut down. It started just after World War II and in the 1960s many Brummie bands performed here. It was important to the Irish community in Small Heath.

12. Tower Ballroom, Edgbaston: This venue goes as far back as the 1870s. This was known as a great nightspot but shut down in 2005 to make way for family homes and cafes but that never happened either.

13. XL’s, Five Ways Shopping Centre: It started in 1992 but was demolished to make way for the Park Regis Hotel development. The place was owned by Tom Lennon Eddie Fewtrell who had a nightclub empire in the 1980s.

14. The Powerhouse, 1 Hurst Street: This opened in the late 1980s and played host to well known acts. It later was turned into a nighclub called Oceana which closed in 2011. The Powerhouse was a late 1980s venue that played host to well known touring acts. It later became a nightclub called Oceana but closed in 2011. It was at the same site as Zanzibar.

15. Top rank/ The Birmingham Ballroom, Dale End: It started as the Top Rank and hosted some major names through the 1960s and 1970s. In the 1980s, it was called the The Hummingbird Club and then was bought by the Academy group of venues.

From 2000 to 2009 it was called the Academy, Carling Academy and the O2 Academy. The venue had to move and the Academy found a new home in the old Done nightclub. However, it moved back to the old venue eventually and was called The Birmingham Ballroom, which shut down in January 2013.

16. The Dome, Housefair: It opened at the same spot where The Night Out used to be. It used to be a massive nightclub that could fit more than 2,000 people. Later, the O2 Academy moved into the spot.

17. Rebecca’s, John Bright Street: It opened in 1966 and was named after the owner’s daughter. There was a nighclub and a brasserie at the venue where people went to boogie. The venue was partially demolished years later after it went through a couple of facelifts. In late 1970s, it was named Boogies.

18. The Romulus, Hagley Road: This was a fun nightclub which got turned into Liberty’s, which too was an iconic nightclub. Later, the place was turned into a restaurant and it stands there. The Indian restaurant, Akbar’s, is a chain restaurant that serves good curry.

19. Pagoda Park, Smallbrook Queensway: In the 1980s was a popular nightclub with three floors and the DJ going up and down in a glass lift. The venue used to host themed events as well.

20. Kings, Great Barr: This venue initially opened in 1937 as a pithead bath for miners and was later redeveloped as the nightclub - Kings. It was demolished, and as of 2023, the site is occupied by a petrol station.

21. Bakers Dance Club for the Millennium, Broad Street: It was located at Five Ways and closed in 2007.

22. The Q Club, Corporation Street: The Q Club opened the site of The Methodist Central Hall in Corporation Street 1991. Carl Cox, David Holmes, Grooverider, Paul Oakenfold, Underworld, Massive Attack, Pete Tong and Andrew Weatherall all played here, and Daft Punk’s first live album, Alive 1997, was recorded here. It closed permanently in 2017.

23. Branstons nightclub, Hockley: Wobble and Crunch were nights dance nights in Hockley. In 1992, it brought Birmingham to the nation’s awareness as the place to be.

24. Godskitchen at The Sanctuary, Digbeth: Godskitchen was a club at The Sanctuary in Digbeth in the 1990s. The building is now the O2 Institute.

25. The Steering Wheel Club, Chinatown: It was located in Wrottesley Street around the late 1980s and early 1990s and you could hear some great house music here.

26. Tin Tins, Bullring Shopping centre: This was an all-night dance club which opened in Spring 1990 as a gay club. The brainchild of Brian Wigley and Martin Healey, the club staged music acts, including Lonnie Gordon, Hazell Dean, Sharon Redd, and pop group Take That before they became famous. The venue was demolished in 1997 as part of the Bullring development.

27. Locarno, Hurst Street: Locarno Dance Hall opened in 1961 and remained one of the popular clubs in the 60s and 70s. The club was closed permanently in 2015 and is adorned with graffiti. One person wrote: “Lacarno loved it there.”

28. Bobby Browns, Canalside: The canalside club used to be called The Opposite Lock as well. It was a celebrity hotspot in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s but the venue closed in 2003.

29. Hummingbird, Dale End: The Hummingbird club has hosted the likes of Bob Marley, Nirvana and Amy Winehouse among others reopened as Forum Birmingham. The Hummingbird gave Brummies the taste of House music in the late 1980s.

30. Edward’s No. 8, John Bright Street: According to Birmingham City Council website, it began as a club in 1987 but become a heavy metal and hard rock club hosting national and international acts. Known as Eddies, it was sold in 1989 to the local brewery Ansells and changed to a nightclub. The building was gutted after a fire in 2006 and since then has become an office space.

31. Sloopys nightclub, Corporation Street: This club was popular in the 1970s and 1980s. It was closed in 1982 after its license was not renewed.

32. The Stage Door Cafe & Club, Carrs Lane: Popular in the early 1960s, the Stage Door Cafe and Club hosted many famous musicians in its time.

33. The Click Club at Burberries, Broad Street: Burberries Club was at 220 Broad Street, next to Lee Longlands. The Click Club at Burberries ran from 1986 to 1990 before moving to The Institute. The club hosted some of the biggest names like Primal Scream, James, Pop Will Eat Itself, The Wonder Stuff, Bhundu Boys, The Wedding Present, The Sugarcubes, My Bloody Valentine, Blur, Loop, The Pixies, Frank Sidebottom, Suicide, Jane’s Addiction, Inspiral Carpets, Ocean Colour Scene, Ned’s Atomic Dustbin, Ride and Terry and Gerry.

34. Faces, Five Ways: This club was famous in the 1980s and 1990s. It was later renamed to XL’s.

35. The Millionaire or Millionaires, corner of Hurst St and Smallbrook Queensway: This club was popular in the 1980s and 1990s and has hosted some famous faces over the years.

 

[sidcow]

Could be one for @mjmooney or some of our more mature posters.

Another site I'm on is trying to identify this sign which has been uncovered in the units next to The Alex Theatre. 

As I said there I would say it's earlier than late 80s.

It must be pre 95 with the 021 number.

Certainly in the late 80's to early 90's it was Spritzers Wine Bar. I know this because the directors of my company used to spend most afternoons in there. If I could only find an old phone list I might even find that 643 6706 number on it because in pre mobile phone days the wine bar number was on our office phone list so we could contact them

I certainly don't remember what it became after Spritzers closed, I've a funny feeling the actual Theatre took it over for a while but certainly Island Bar is the next thing I could say for sure.

Don't know when it became Spritzers but as a wine bar I would say early to mid 80s.

Certainly that sign kind of looks 70s to me I would say?

 

[mjmooney]

16 hours ago, sidcow said:

Could be one for @mjmooney or some of our more mature posters.

Another site I'm on is trying to identify this sign which has been uncovered in the units next to The Alex Theatre. 

Sorry, doesn't ring any bells at the moment. Although if it was a pub in the early 70s, I'll almost certainly have been in it at least once. 

[Xela]

 

[fruitvilla]

On 28/11/2023 at 14:15, sidcow said:

Could be one for @mjmooney or some of our more mature posters.

Another site I'm on is trying to identify this sign which has been uncovered in the units next to The Alex Theatre. 

As I said there I would say it's earlier than late 80s.

It must be pre 95 with the 021 number.

Certainly in the late 80's to early 90's it was Spritzers Wine Bar. I know this because the directors of my company used to spend most afternoons in there. If I could only find an old phone list I might even find that 643 6706 number on it because in pre mobile phone days the wine bar number was on our office phone list so we could contact them

I certainly don't remember what it became after Spritzers closed, I've a funny feeling the actual Theatre took it over for a while but certainly Island Bar is the next thing I could say for sure.

Don't know when it became Spritzers but as a wine bar I would say early to mid 80s.

Certainly that sign kind of looks 70s to me I would say?

 

I can see where the inspiration for our new logo may have come from.

[bickster]

11 hours ago, Xela said:

 

I'll never understand the logic of people that just come out to gawp at politicians, protest yes but those people are just there to stare and wave

[Xela]

14 hours ago, bickster said:

I'll never understand the logic of people that just come out to gawp at politicians, protest yes but those people are just there to stare and wave

It just seemed a happier time, from my memory. In the 80s I'm sure people would have protested. Same if it was today. The late 90s though, felt different to me. Optimistic. 

[Xela]

Just googling old Brum bars/clubs as I do sometimes, and I suddenly remembered Bushwackers. What surprised me more, is that I think its still open! Although looking at recent reviews, I'm not sure how!

[chrisp65]

On 22/12/2023 at 23:47, Xela said:

It just seemed a happier time, from my memory. In the 80s I'm sure people would have protested. Same if it was today. The late 90s though, felt different to me. Optimistic. 

The 80’s were divisive and aggressive.

The 90’s felt less so.

Currently, it all feels a bit divisive and aggressive.

 

I just can’t quite put my finger on it, but there must be something, some link.

[LondonLax]

8 hours ago, chrisp65 said:

The 80’s were divisive and aggressive.

The 90’s felt less so.

Currently, it all feels a bit divisive and aggressive.

 

I just can’t quite put my finger on it, but there must be something, some link.

It’s global so perhaps it’s cyclical in the west?

[Xela]

18 hours ago, chrisp65 said:

The 80’s were divisive and aggressive.

The 90’s felt less so.

Currently, it all feels a bit divisive and aggressive.

 

I just can’t quite put my finger on it, but there must be something, some link.

Started around '94, the good times... only one man to praise.

[chrisvilla4]

I remember the 90's as a good decade, was 14/15 in 1990 so that could have something to do with it! Music was great and my 1st time voting which heralded a change in government. I moved to Devon in 96, missed Brum and moved back late 99' felt a more aggressive place on my return so I moved further up north. I've had no connection (barring Villa) and some friends with Brum since. 

[Chindie]

One for the pub people, this has driven me mad for years.

There was a pub in the city centre that, around 2004ish, had model trains in display cabinets in the walls and around the bar and such. I can't for the life of me remember what this place was. I think it was really close to Eddie's No.8, but that may be a complete misremembrance. Ring any bells with anyone?

[sidcow]

2 hours ago, Chindie said:

One for the pub people, this has driven me mad for years.

There was a pub in the city centre that, around 2004ish, had model trains in display cabinets in the walls and around the bar and such. I can't for the life of me remember what this place was. I think it was really close to Eddie's No.8, but that may be a complete misremembrance. Ring any bells with anyone?

Bizzie Lizzies. 

 

[sidcow]

2 hours ago, Chindie said:

One for the pub people, this has driven me mad for years.

There was a pub in the city centre that, around 2004ish, had model trains in display cabinets in the walls and around the bar and such. I can't for the life of me remember what this place was. I think it was really close to Eddie's No.8, but that may be a complete misremembrance. Ring any bells with anyone?

And all the mannequins in the windows. A very strange theme the whole place really. 

[Chindie]

17 minutes ago, sidcow said:

Bizzie Lizzies. 

 

15 minutes ago, sidcow said:

And all the mannequins in the windows. A very strange theme the whole place really. 

I don't remember mannequins, I just distinctly remember it having like, display cabinets built into the walls with model trains in which I thought was **** weird. I can't seem to find any pictures of the place so I'll have to take your word for it, but thanks, solved an age old mystery.

I only wanted to know where it was as it was the first place I had a drink at in town, we went into town there on a random night when we all 16 odd and I just recall it being weird. Was also the first place I listened to Parabola by Tool, one of my all time favourite songs, it was playing on some TVs around the place playing MTV2 or something while a few of my mates played pool. Strangely formative evening, but I couldn't tell you what the place was till now. Thanks.

[sidcow]

18 minutes ago, Chindie said:

I don't remember mannequins, I just distinctly remember it having like, display cabinets built into the walls with model trains in which I thought was **** weird. I can't seem to find any pictures of the place so I'll have to take your word for it, but thanks, solved an age old mystery.

I only wanted to know where it was as it was the first place I had a drink at in town, we went into town there on a random night when we all 16 odd and I just recall it being weird. Was also the first place I listened to Parabola by Tool, one of my all time favourite songs, it was playing on some TVs around the place playing MTV2 or something while a few of my mates played pool. Strangely formative evening, but I couldn't tell you what the place was till now. Thanks.

I've a feeling they took the mannequins away in the late 90s in a refurb. 

It was where Turtle Bay in John Bright Street is now. 

Prior to being Bizzie Lizzies it was Edwards Number 7.

[Xela]

I knew @sidcow aka the 'King of Clubs' would know the answer to @Chindie's query  

It can be frustrating when you can't remember a place. I was in a similar pickle recently. I remembered going to this heavy rock bar/pub one night with an ex work colleague. She was into her heavy/thrash metal. It was around 2004 - 2005 from memory. It was by Hill Street and John Bright Street area. 

I remember it was proper gothic like... black painted walls, pictures of the occult on the walls, and nooses hanging from the ceiling (out of reach for health and safety!). Yet, I'd looked online and couldn't find any reference of such a place. Had I imagined it? Were those patrons resembling Slipknot and Marilyn Manson merely a figment of my alcohol and ibuprofen addled mind? 

Fear not... on a deep dive internet search, I found reference to a rock place called called The Gallows, which was next to Edwards No 8. No pictures seem to exist online, but with a name like that, it must be the place! Does anyone remember it?!

Edited December 29, 2023 by Xela

[Xela]

Talking of John Bright Street, thats where my folks met in the early 70s. My Mom asked my Dad for a dance in Rebeccas nightclub, One of the great Brum clubs of the 70s.

They celebrate their 50th anniversary next year