Boogying in the 1970s

Remembering the good days of the 70s at Sherries nightclub! I used to be a go-go dancer at this club from 1972 to 1976.

There was disco during the week; live bands and disco at the weekends. Dress code was collar and tie for the guys; long dresses for the girls (as was the fashion). Bouncers did a good trade in hiring ties for a couple of quid, to have them returned after entry and rehired. We had a 2 am licence, fights, football fans, bomb scares..and dodgy djs! I wouldn’t have changed a thing.

Clubbing in Brighton started here. After many name changes, the club is now Creations, but still holds a certain atmosphere. It always was, and always will be, a meeting place.

Boogie on….!

Comments about this page

  • Glyn, do you also remember the other nightclubs around at the same time? The Bird’s Nest was popular with anyone who loved James Brown and other soul artists. I also remember a club in Montpelier Road called The Montpelier Rooms. It was in a large house and was only open for a short while, before being knocked down and flats built in its place. The dancing was in the basement. The other club we used to frequent was in West Street (near the top) called The VIP Club, which also had a 2am licence.

    By Jacqui Woollven (18/05/2008)
  • I remember Sherries in the 70s, so I probably saw you Glyn. My mum used to go to Sherries when she was young, although I am not sure that it was called Sherries then, but she said that a lot of lads from London would come down and there were razor fights with the Brighton boys. I used to go to Sherries on a Friday and Saturday evening, I loved it. Visited the Birds Nest a couple of times – wasn’t that in Queens Road? Does anyone remember the name of the place that all the ‘hairies’ used to go to next to a cinema right by the Clock Tower in Brighton? You would be in the cinema watching a film and all you could hear was the heavy metal in the next door converted church. It was by the arcade that used to be in Western Road near M&S.

    By Jo Williams (nee Legg) (06/09/2008)
  • I was a regular at ‘Toms’ (Tom & Jerry’s) in the 70’s. Friday and saturdays were the dress up nights when guys needed to wear a tie and you also had to eat the free meal provided. It was only a cheap burger and chips but it was all in the licensing laws. Sunday was a free night, in fact all nights were free apart from Fri/Sat. I found all the staff (including dancers!) very friendly. There were a few times when I was the worse for wear but never any trouble and always welcomed back. Can’t remember all the names but Martin Peters was one of the DJ’s. It was not unusual in summer, to dash straight from Sherrys for a dip in the sea. I met my Mrs on a NYE in Sherrys and one of my lads worked there when it was Creation.

    By Ken Valder (08/09/2008)
  • To Jacqui Woollven: You’re right. I was in the Montpelier Rooms too in the summer of 1969. That was, besides the Top Rank, the place to go. The disco was in the basement, black walls painted with day-glo colours. The ‘Pop In’ – another great place, was (as far as I know) closed down in 1968, so I was late for this. The Montpelier Rooms were, someone told me, closed down in September 1972. Would be great if some had photographs of these places!

    By Dieter Petzold, Düsseldorf (01/04/2009)
  • Montpelier rooms… Remember them well, no alcohol was served but what a great place to go in the late 60s, the most amazing live bands playing soul music. Sherries, Martin Peters, who could forget Kenny Lyn!  I will not divulge what went on in our dressing room.. only to hint at what underwear he used to put on under that ridiculous white all in one cat suit. Jacqui … Kenny went on to run the Birds Nest, other clubs at the time … Kings club, if you were allowed entry, Seven Stars, VIP.

    By Glyn Daughtery (07/06/2009)
  • To Jo Williams: The name of that place were the hairies used to go – Sloopys – I was one of them. The best disco was the Montpelier Discotheque – much larger, and they used to hand out a leaflet at the Clock Tower, and if you used it before 9.30 it would only cost you 25p to get in. Dance floor in the basement and the coffee bar upstairs was the best place to meet international students. Great times with my mates.

    By Andrew Page (26/07/2010)
  • Does anyone remember a coffee bar at the top of West Street called the Sombrero? I used to go with my friends on Saturday afternoons, not being allowed out at night in the early 60s as naive early teenagers. We preferred it to the Montpelier Rooms where the patrons were older and quite a lot of drug use happening. The Sombrero had a day club in the basement and to all intents and purposes you wouldn’t know it was daytime. Lots of disco lights, smoky atmosphere, great music, no alchol but hordes of international exchange students to dance and flirt with!! I turned down my first marriage proposal at the age of 14, a lovely Spanish boy called Felipe who wanted to whisk me off to his father’s horse stud in Andalusia!! OK, I know it was a wind-up, but I fell for it at the time! It’s a shame there are none of those places for the kids to go these days.

    By Patricia Silsby (02/09/2010)
  • Anyone remember Jenk’s bar pre nightclub bar or club venue, the Queen Anne, and the Hungry Years for the rockers.

    By Doug Inwards (21/01/2011)
  • I remember Sherries very well; my friends and I had many a good night in there. I remember the go-go dancers and their stacked sole thigh high boots and the DJ Kenny Lyn. Sherries dress code was strict Collar and tie, trousers and shoes. One night my friend without a tie took off his sock, tied a large knot in it and hung it over his collar and got in. The food was served in a fake plastic basket which consisted of a few chips with questionable sausages and burgers; this was purely for the late licence. The entrance used to be at the rear on Middle Street, the queue used to reach up to The Spotted Dog pub (now The Hop Poles) which I’m sure was a gay pub then. Talking of The Birds Nest, I remember it used have telephones on the tables so you could talk to people on other tables. During the Saturday Night Fever craze Kenny Lyn took over the Birds Nest (then called Dalrymples) and turned it into Mr K’s, it had Brighton’s first lit up dance floor. Going back to West Street, who remembers The Zodiac, it used to be on the right about half way up?

    By Michael Brittain (06/03/2011)
  • Does anyone remember a barman called Douglas Neame from around 1979? Trying to track him down. Thanks.

    By Ellie (09/04/2011)
  • I was a student nurse in the early 70s and Sherry’s was our regular haunt. Remember the competitions they had back then? I won the “Best Legs In Sherrys” on Christmas Eve 1972! We used to pretend we were French students when we didn’t fancy a boy who asked us to dance, sorry boys!

    By Katherine Ramsay (21/04/2011)
  • Does anybody remember the “Cheeka” coffee bar at the top of West Street in the 60s?

    By Alan Read (30/05/2011)
  • Wow, Sloopys, how did they cram a band in on Saturday nights? I remember everything, even the poster in the DJ booth and wondered why Brighton born DJs put on a mid Atlantic accent? Yup I used to give out leaflets for The Montpelier rooms, and yes the owner sold the land in late 72 then opened Pop Inn near Sherrys. I also remember him showing me his five litre  Capri and explaining how the birds flew from the continent and nested in his trees. I loved the Montpelier rooms, in fact my facebook picture is from there. I have a few pictures, anyone else have some? It’s due to that place that I now speak Finnish. The girl in the pic with me was Norwegian and called Trina Underdal, wonder where she is now?

    By Van Martin (21/08/2011)
  • This is so odd, I used to be a bouncer at Sherry’s, with my frilly shirt, bow tie, and platform boots because I was too short. I remember seeing lads go over the top of the balcony, and land on the tables below, then straight back upstairs for more. This was the place to be in the mid 70s, next door was the Queen Anne pub, and down stairs was the beer Keller, I remember that was always full of skinheads, playing reggae, getting drunk, looking for a fight, but a good place to go anyway. The dancers in Sherry’s were good fun, rubbish dancers, but good fun, one of them drives a Streamline cab now, and was on the Benny Hill show. Sloopy’s was the best place to get watered down beer, but you could get in if you were underage, no one cared, you could lick the entrance print on your hand, and press it on to your mates hand, and then he or she could go in for free. They really were the good old days. 🙂 Johnny Kidd.

    By Johnny Kidd (02/09/2011)
  • Hi Johnny. Wasn’t Mr Winters the big boss and there was another senior manager, who looked too old and out of place, who was short & with glasses (Mr Brown?) I think Barry McKenzie was the head doorman and think I bumped into him at the Amex the other week, he remembered me! I was also good mates with a bouncer called Terry and we shared a window cleaning round (and maybe a girlfriend!) I really felt at home there.

    By Ken Valder (03/09/2011)
  • Wow …… Love the memories, especially Sherrys which I believe at one time had the longest bar in the UK. Kenny Lyn was great, 2 songs that stick in my mind were ‘Pa pa was a Rolling Stone’ and the go go dancers used to flaunt their wares on the stage, and ‘Feel the Need in Me’. 2 great numbers. Carpeted throughout. I met my wife down there in the mid 70s, after cruising the dance floor chatting to girls and just generally having a good time. All your mates were there. It had a balcony all the way around on the first floor overlooking down below. Other places to frequent were the Revolution (in the Top Rank Suite?), and who remembers the Abinger in the early 70s? Foreign students, disco downstairs, rum and black drinks, steakhouse upstairs, excellent place. And afterwards across to the Salisbury Hotel disco next door down the stairs where Mud, Showaddywaddy, Gary Glitter, would be in full swing. And then there was Jenkinsons (Oh my god) this was a great place for the slightly older clientele. It normally had a cabaret act or someone like Jim Davidson come on at around 11.00pm, while you had the obligatory soup in a basket, interspersed with a few songs from the resident band whose front man was Bobby Sansom who was the epitome of the medallion man with the perm, rug on the chest, tight trousers and you can imagine the ladies were like putty. Not forgetting the discos at the Sussex Uni. Happy days guys.

    By Dave Sanders (09/11/2011)
  • Hi Dave, some great memories there, we must have been going to the same places at the same time. It’s funny my mates and I used to go out and meet in a pub, usually Shades in Castle Square at about 7.30 to 8.00pm and everybody used to go to the same pubs leading to West Street. The discos used to close at 1.00am in the early 70’s and 2.00am in the late 70’s so you always had time for a bite to eat before making your way home. Nowadays the youngsters don’t go out until 10.30 – 11.00pm because some clubs are open until 6.00am, no wonder you don’t see them until late afternoon at weekends. Talking of Bobby Sansom; Bobby is still performing in California USA, his website http://americanmobilemusic.com/ He was also in the 60’s Brighton band ‘The Giants’. There is some information here about the 60’s local music scene http://www.brightonbeat.com/

    By Michael Brittain (11/11/2011)
  • After reading the comments about Sherrys I thought I would add one of my own. My memories of Sherrys go back to the 50s. In those days it was known as Sherrys Long Bar and was run by Mr and Mrs Lyons. They were known for their generousity at Christmas time by locking the bar counter and throwing a party for under-privileged kids.

    By John Wignall (13/11/2011)
  • Hi Michael. I seem to be chasing you all around this site at the moment. Sherrys. Ah everybody must have been there some time in their life. Me and my mates used to stand by that bar where they used to serve food to get over some licensing law. Well I think it was food ? There was many a good punch up in there. I remember one night, I had split with my girl friend at the time (my wife now), I was dancing with a girl where we used to stand. Towards the later time of the evening the floor used to be awash with drink. Apparently my wife came running over to me to give us what for. She slipped and skidded on her backside right through everybody. Got up the other side of us and walked away wet and embarrassed. My mates said to me ‘did you just see Janet?’. My reply ‘I didn’t see a thing!’ We often laugh about it now. Still I met her down the Top Rank Suite. I remember seeing Gary Glitter down there on his come back tour, with all the punks jumping up and down spitting at him. Perhaps they knew something that we all know now.

    By Andy Gumbrill (13/11/2011)
  • I was a student in Brighton 1969-70. Used to go to Sloopy’s. Anyone who remembers Sloopy’s and the DJ Chris Jones?

    By Monica (15/12/2011)
  • …I remembered all these clubs .. what has happened to Brighton..?

    By Lee Rolf (16/12/2011)
  • Does anyone remember a tiny disco that was open for just one summer in 1973 called ‘The Pop Inn’?  It was next door (on the right) to the Crystal Rooms in West Street which backed on to Sherrys. It was the year I left school and I was in there most nights as they played some great music (not just disco!). I remember it was about 30p admission and as they didn’t sell any alcohol they stamped your hand so you could come and go as you pleased. We used to go to the Queen Anne just up West Street (I was only 16 but seemed to always get served). I remember that when the music was being played they would show cartoons on the wall, it was quite effective.

    By Paul Clarkson (08/02/2012)
  • I remember the Cheeka Coffee, my friend and I spent a lot of our time there when we were teenagers. You had to go along a passage way and it was down stairs. There was a couple who ran it the, lady’s name I think was Reene, can’t remember her husband’s name. They had a juke box and you had to put money in and you could choose what record you wanted.

    By Kathleen Catt (09/02/2012)
  • Hi Paul, I remember the ‘Pop In Disco’ in West Street in the early 70’s. I only went in there a few times; but as you rightly said, there was no alcohol on sale. Here is a photo of the Pop Inn from the James Grey Collection http://regencysociety-jamesgray.com/volume7/source/jg_7_031.html

    By Michael Brittain (09/02/2012)
  • Sherry’s, great memories. My mates and I would meet in the Sea House just down the road on a Saturday night for a few pints as it was just about the only place we would get served in before going in. Had some fantastic nights in there in the early 70s. I’ve moved away from Brighton but when I do go back on the odd occassion it still feels like I’m going home.

    By Phil Lambert (10/02/2012)
  • Wow! Thank you Michael, it’s fab to see it again after all these years. I think it probably closed due to the foreign students going home in October of 1973 and the business just dried up I guess. The students used to depart around October time in those days and there weren’t many of us locals that used to go there. We had to go to our other fave place which was ‘The Revolution’ around the corner on the seafront, that was a great disco but a bit dearer at around 50p to go in. I remember buying tickets for Christmas Eve 1973 and they were about 75p! I met my wife (Pam) there and we have great memories of it.

    By Paul Clarkson (10/02/2012)
  • Ah .. the club was actually called Sherry’s, not Sherries, and it was awesome in the early 70s. The Montpelier Rooms was also amazing, totally black inside – and right at the peak of glam rock too. Happy days stomping around to Glitter and Cooper. Yes, there was also a club at the back of the Alhambra – I even DJ’d there for a while in 76. Next door, the Salisbury Hotel had a club called the Pallette Bar which I used to frequent. Possibly the best club of all was the Afro Club at the Aquarium – nothing but reggae. Superb.

    By Murkredi (20/02/2012)
  • Ahh memories!! Have just read through all the comments on this page. Me and my friend Tyna used to frequent Sherrys during the ’70s nearly every night! It used to be free to get in on a Mon, Tues, Weds and 30p Sun & Thurs! I remember the go-go dancers: Glynis, Janet and Marianne. The DJ’s: Kenny Lyn, Martin Peters, Tony Burton, Paul Moon and another who I can’t remember his name. I remember a group called Beano who played there a lot. The manager was Dudley Winters and yes Ken, a Mr. Brown in the office. Tyna and I used to sit on the table near the DJ stand; we were avid Barry White fans. I met my now husband there. We dated for a while in the Sherrys days then met up again at the Top Rank Suite in the ’80s and have been together ever since. Those were the days………..

    By Bev Cornwell (18/05/2012)
  • I met my Mrs there too, in NYE 1976 and still together so, Sherry’s really played a big part in my life. Sad to hear of the passing of Donna Summer. ‘I Feel Love’ was never better than the full version played loud at Sherry’s!

    By Ken Valder (19/05/2012)
  • Can anybody remember the last song that was played at Sherrys in the late 70’s?  ’Goodnight? My boyfriend ( now husband) and I loved Sherrys- Happy Days.

    By Deb Fill (04/07/2012)
  • I have fond memories of Sherries back in those days.

    By Linda Franz (nee Potter ) (07/07/2012)
  • I remember Sherry’s long before any of you! My sister, myself and my cousins used to go there dancing; it wasn’t a night club then, just a dance hall. Open Sundays (also daytime) for people to go upstairs and watch people dancing downstairs, from the balcony. We went there during World War II, it was great - so was the Regent Dance Hall – I don’t know if that still exists?

    By Anita (09/07/2012)
  • What a blast from the past reading this has been! I used to frequent Sherry’s in the late ’70s early ’80s. I remember Kenny Lynn as a DJ and as the owner of the record shop in York Place. There was also a lovely lady called Sheila who used to run the cloakroom during the week, she was always there to listen to our woes and give motherly advice! I also remember a girl called Chrissy who would dance on the practically empty dance floor to Donna Summer ‘I Feel Love’ and spin like a dervish in a full circle skirt, she looked like a Goddess and made us mere mortals feel very dowdy as we danced around our handbags! And then there was the gorgeous staircase and the beautiful huge red lights, and of course not forgetting the chips in a plastic basket… those were the days!

    By Teri M (09/07/2012)
  • I worked with Sheila in the cloakroom at the weekends for a while in the early 1980s – she was great fun! Sunday night was gay night – ‘Bolts’ – and when we were clocking off at the end of the night one Sunday, Sheila picked up one of the little brown bottles that always littered the floor to see what it was – she took one sniff and nearly passed out not realising it was poppers! Me and my friends went to the alternative ‘New Romantic’ nights on Mondays 1981/82 when they had guest appearances from bands like ABC, Shock, Landscape, Modern Romance, Blue Rondo A La Turk, Fad Gadget. It was such a great venue with that fabulous staircase and the balcony.

    By Michele Allardyce (13/11/2012)
  • In response to Johnny Kidd. I used to run Sloopy’s from its inception. In the early years we didn’t have a drinks license and served Carlsberg Consort 2% lager. It was not watered down beer! You didn’t need to be 18 to be admitted and that’s why the place was so popular with the overseas students every summer.

    By Nick Casson (26/01/2013)
  • I spent several holiday in Brighton (coming from Germany). I was there with a language school (SIS). The first time Brighton, 4 weeks, I’ll never forget. It was GREAT, GREAT, GREAT – best time in my twenties. I remember the Revolution in Kingswest (no longer existing?). That was a superb disco. I listened to ‘Life on Mars’ by David Bowie (still my favourite singer). There was a guy called Colin, with eye-shadow, long hair like those SWEET group, and he played the song for me. Cloud No. 7 when I fell in love. Also I remember King & Queen, 7 Stars, a lot more…

    By Kirsten (05/02/2013)
  • There were three great Discos in the early ’70s in my opinion: Sherry’s, The Revolution and The Pop Inn. All slightly different in their own way but you always had a good time. That era (I’m talking around ’72-’75) was fabulous as there was music for everyone. If you went to any disco then you could expect Soul, Chart and a bit of Rock as well, but now it is really different. I was dragged into a club on a work night out a couple of years ago and it was pretty awful and I lasted about 10 minutes (never again!). It was louder and it all sounded the same to me but then my parents said that about our generation! I used to go to Sherrys on a sunday night when I was about 16/17 years old and I remember it well, especially in 1973 (the year I left school). We always had a great night and if you bought the DJ a drink (usually it was a half of Watneys Red, costing about 9p!) he would always play your fave song of the time. The Revolution was always a good place on a Saturday, it had a fabulous atmosphere with it’s low ceiling and circular dance floor. It was special for me as I met my wife-to-be there and whenever we go along by the Kingswest we always find the door to it and talk about those times. The music in The Rev, as everyone called, it was great, you would always get more Soul/Tamla than anything else but then all of a sudden they would play ‘Caroline’ by Status Quo or ‘Johnny B Goode’ by Johnny Winter which would clear the dance floor leaving us lads with long hair ‘air guitaring’, which was great fun. I shudder to think how daft we must have looked! The one song I remember more than any other from all three discos was ‘Love’s Theme’ by ‘The Love Unlimited Orchestra’ it still sounds great when I hear it now. The Pop Inn’was next to the Crystal Rooms in West Street and really catered for the foreign students ,but it only lasted for the one summer in 1973; a bit of a shame as it was a fab little disco.

    By Paul Clarkson (06/02/2013)
  • My aunt loathed Sloopys because of the noise, and the trouble that came out of the joint – she lived close by!

    By Stefan Bremner-Morris (06/02/2013)
  • To Nick Casson, please get a life, my memory is not that good, but it was 1972, and you should have told your staff it was not over 18, and we used to buy whisky in there, so you should have known about that if it was your place. We went there for five years, and it was always the same.

    By Johnny (08/03/2013)
  • I used to be the youngest dancer at Sherrys in 1975. I would like to get in touch with any of the other dancers who used to work there for a dance reunion. Thanks  carolineboyes74@gmail.com

    By Caroline Boyes (18/04/2013)
  • Does anyone remember either The Sting behind the Shades Bar at the bottom of North Street and the fight which closed it? Shame cos the music was brill. This would have been about 1976. And how about the Inn Place along the seafront? Again, great music but didn’t t last long. It was down some steps from the pavement, always crowded on a Friday night. And what was that weird green drink they served in there? And anyone remember Markwell’s? I think it was where the Queen’s Hotel is now. The best in my opinion was the Sting, loved it in there.

    By Cheryl (05/06/2013)
  • Sorry, but have to agree with Nick. I worked at Sloopy’s and it did not sell alcohol until it became Charlies.

    By Terry (21/08/2013)
  • Yes, Sloopy’s was always considered a “kids disco” because of the lack of booze. I never went there myself, so can’t confirm it – just saying what was common knowledge in the day.

    By Marc Turner (26/08/2013)
  • Sherrys, The Suite and the Rev were great places in their day.There was the Gloucester too which was a bit classier and worth a walk from West Street. All went wrong in the mid-late 1980s.

    By Paul Hubbard (08/09/2013)
  • The Revolution with its Go Go dancers – used to go there in the ’70s on Sat night and get free tickets for the Sunday. Jenkinsons with The Barron Knights and free chicken in a basket. The Sevens Stars, small but great.

    By Chris117 D (15/02/2014)
  • My favourite disco was the Birds Nest in the Gloucester. I practically lived there circa 1971/2. And then there was the Abinger in Kings Road. Great place. Afterwards, my husband-to-be and I would walk round the corner to Brighton’s first Uncle Sams in Montpelier Road. Fantastic burgers. Does anyone else remember going to Cinderellas at Stroods Motel up the A23 somewhere near Albourne?  

    By Janet Beal (16/02/2014)
  • Glad someone explained that the Birds Nest was inside the Gloucester. My wife and I met there in Nov ’71 and this year tried to find it again but were fixated on the Birds Nest name. As a Northerner I remember my accent was a hindrance to local girls but invisible to the hordes of language students that filled Brighton in the summer, wonderful days! 

    By Terry Madden (19/02/2014)
  • It has now had a make-over and is The North Laine, brews its own beer etc, and very busy mostly!

    By Peter Groves (21/02/2014)
  • I had great time down at Sherry’s late 70s to early1981. My brothers Gary and Mark Marsh also went to Sherry’s. Gary no longer with us sadly. I remember meeting a girlfriend at the time, Adelle Lloyd, wonder how she is. I also remember Dave Marsden – what happened to him? Great time at Sherry’s. Anyone remember any of us?

    By Wayne Marsh (05/03/2014)
  • Does anybody remember a bikers club called The Hideaway – at the back of London Road – an old warehouse – around 1971?

    By Helen George (07/03/2014)
  • I was too young to go to Sherry’s, but reading this page it brought back so many memories when I was growing up. My father Harry Dunkerton was the bar manager there and worked with Mr Brown and Dudley Winters. I used to help my dad out Saturday and Sunday mornings clearing up after the night before all for 50p pocket money to get the place ready for the next night. I do remember the band Beano playing there although I never saw them play. They seemed to be the resident band. There was also the big net that hung over the dance floor which used to get filled with balloons – many of which I used to blow up, all for Christmas and New Year Eve.

    By Andrew Dunkerton (13/03/2014)
  • It’s so great to read all the blogs about Birdsnest, Sherry’s & Revolution. I was one of the DJs at the Birdsnest in 1970 /1971. I remember the booths with phones you could talk to another table or call the DJ with a request. Songs I remember playing most there were Chairman of the Board, Band of Gold and Ride a White Swan. I Left there with Chris Sang to open Revolution (the old top rank bowling alley) in 1972. I worked there Mon to Fri every week for 2 years before going to Copenhagen. What a place – 1500 capacity, the best sound system for its time, the song I played with passion was Feel the need in me by the Detroit Emeralds. Anyone remember? Sadly now DJ’s only mix and scratch! Thanks for starting this blog, it’s great to read all the comments. Robin

    By Robin Winter (10/05/2014)
  • I remember Sloopy’s – have many memories – happy ones!

    By Anne Cohen (24/05/2014)
  • Wayne Marsh I’m sure I remember, and I went to junior school with your brother Gary. Did you live in Sandhurst Avenue, Woodingdean?

    By Anthony Woolmer (24/02/2015)
  • Yes, I remember Cinderella’s. Used to go there in the late 70’s. One of my favourite clubs. Also liked Bentley’s which was across the road from Sherry’s.
    I also remember seeing Shalimar and Sylvester at Sherry’s. Also saw a lot of dance groups at the Top Rank in the 70’s.

    By Diana Meredith (26/02/2015)
  • I happened upon this thread while idly googling The Birds Nest. I worked behind the bar circa 1971 to 1974. I remember Leo Sayer coming in loads and a lot of very well known characters from shops in The Laines. I used to go to Sherrys with all my friends once a month and the Abinger every Friday night. We used to laugh how the blokes would come in with obvious key rings flaunting what type of car they had. I got a lift home once in a tiny Lotus and had to curl up on the back shelf! My absolute favourite was The King and Queen. That was the must go to pub for everyone in my crowd (hairies!!). Fantastic memories of drinks there before and after amazing concerts at The Dome. Later, in 1977, I started going to Cinderellas because I could drive by then! I would then come back when it closed and have pancakes in a cafe that stayed open until the early hours in Market Square in The Laines. Wonderful memories.

    By Jenny TI (10/03/2015)
  • Does anybody remember the pool bar down West Street? My friend owned it, his name was Lefty. The Top Rank on a Saturday morning, disco and the ice skating rink, Fagan’s cocktail bar. 

    By Trevor Crookes (23/03/2015)
  • Hi Trevor. Used to go to Saturday morning at Top Rank, a lady DJ in lurex ski pants! I also went skating on a Friday morning, our primary school let us go – 1s 6d. Slush Puppies (although not called that then) and rather horrid red laced skates. Clubbing started at Sloopy’s and Seven Stars, then as we got older: Birds Nest, Sherry’s, VIP, and Bonsoir. Who remembers the late buses to Cinderellas?

    By Sabine Watts (04/07/2015)
  • I have fantastic memories of Sherry’s, I used to get in when I was about 15 and I was never asked for any identification. I would go on a Sunday night and it would cost me 50p.  I met my husband there and have been married for 34 years and have never been happier. Before spending a night at Sherry’s we would go for drinks at Shades and the Druids situated in the Lanes.  Does anyone remember Pizza Palace? Wonderful pizzas! Would sometimes go before dancing and get a whole pizza for 50p and would smoke ourselves silly.  Happy days.

    By Cheryl Boseley (13/07/2015)
  • Ah, nostalgic memories of Sherry’s. I was bar/cellarman there for a few years and remember Harry, George, and Dudley. Also Mike Walters who went down to Bournemouth with Dudley to set up a disco. Barry Page was the DJ during my term there. I remember the disco competitions and posted one on a local archive http://www.photosbrightonandhove.org.uk/curators-choice/what-a-performance/sherrys-disco-dancing-competition.html I also met my wife there when she was working as a barmaid. Indeed it was once the longest bar in the UK and I recall it was my job to thoroughly mop it every day after we had finished stocking the bars. Who remembers Tom Brown, Crown Heights Affair & Blue Rondo A La Turk playing there? I have photos somewhere.

    By Barry Pitman (16/07/2015)
  • Barry Pitman, did you know a Douglas Name? (Dougie). He lived in a bedsit at Seven Dials next door to a guy with snakes and was artistic with a mural on his wall? Odd thing to remember I know!!

    By Ellie (09/12/2015)
  • I remember Glynis very well – Law of the Land was her best dance. Mind you Extra Big Jim on the door drove me mad – always banning Karen and I, then letting us in. Still see him by Waitrose. The good old days – sounds like my mum!

    By Lainey Dickens (19/12/2015)
  • Sherry’s blast from the past i used to go there in the mid 70s always had a fun night. I remember one girl always dressed in 40s/50s fashion dancing all by herself she was really good.

    I remember the Marsh family lived at 35 Sandhurst Road, I lived just up from them.

    By Jackie Pennock (29/01/2016)
  • I was living in Brighton as an Au Pair between 1970-1971. Abinger, Montpelier and Seven Stars – great places.

    By Tuula (22/03/2016)
  • This page is memory madness. Did all the clubs: Saturday morning Suite as a school kid (that was lively!), Suite as an ‘adult’, Sherrys, Mr K’s, Bonsoir, Papillon, Kings 1, but my all time favourite was getting the Pool Valley nightbus (11.15!) to go to Cinderellas. What a laugh and what a club in 78/79. It was literally like Saturday Night Fever. So dark but so good. 

    By DJ (02/05/2016)
  • Sherrys was my favorite place. I think it was the decor and layout that made it special. I was 15yrs on my first visit. So nervous walking in as I had to pretend to be over 18. No id in those days thank god. I remember wearing a blue pencil skirt, weird granny sandals and a Simon tee shirt. Flicked back blond hair and lots of eye make up to make me look older. Just loved it. The chandeliers. Big red balls all down the centre of the room, red flock wallpaper, a huge dance floor, a long long bar and the balcony. We would go on a mission to search out the best looking boys by traveling around the balcony, occasionally stopping to look over. When we spotted what we were looking for we would fly down and casually dance near by or cruise up to the bar next to them. Such fun times. Burger and chips on a Friday and Saturday night included in the 90p admission. I do remember some really scary fights though where all the girls would get ushered to the toilets and kept there until things calmed down. One night one broke out on the balcony. I watched someone go flying over the top and land on the dance floor. I later heard that he’d survived with only a few broken bones. Most of the time it was just fun. I was so upset when they turned it into the Pink Coconut. Since then I’ve been to top clubs all over the world and London but nothing has ever really matched up to those first memories. Also loved the Rev. Remember pre drinks in The Pickwick. Later we moved onto Busbys and then the Kings club. I also went through fazes of enjoying The Escape and The inn Place, happy days

    By Baz (31/07/2016)
  • I remember most of the clubs, great times. We saw Dusty Springfield in Jenkinsons the week a new single was released. My grandparents and mum and dad used to go to Sherrys when it was a ballroom. Along with Sabine Watts on here I went to Varndean and can remember sewing sequins and tassels on bras and bikinis for the girls who did the gogo dancing.

    By Yvie Bish (Yvonne) (02/08/2016)
  • I remember Sherrys in the mid/late 70s, it was an impressively large space with plenty of dancing room – and you got a meal thrown in, all for less than a couple of quid. I remember the drive down the A23 and the amazing pizzas you could get on the way at the pizza place at Bolney, and then the cold drive home.  And was gogo dancer Caroline Boyes the very same Caroline Boyes that did that Madonna dance on BGT? 

    By Michael Decker (03/08/2016)
  • I was aware of this page, but passed it by as I didn’t have much to contribute, but having started to chase out some of my history, I lay claim to being the resident DJ at the Abinger and later, after being sacked, next door in the Salisbury Hotel. It’s nice to see that the place is remembered. 

    By Steve Green (08/10/2016)
  • Do you remember the Office Club in Middle Street?

    By Shazzy (01/11/2016)
  • I was a dancer at Sherry’s in the late 70s. I went under the name of Opium, Ihad a great time dancing at Sherry’s as a go go dancer back in the day. The bouncers were great.

    By Opium (15/01/2017)
  • I was named after this place and my middle name is Deanna after the actress Deana Durbin. Clearly, from all the comments, it was not a far cry from the West Street clubs today and just as memorable.

    By Sherry Hicks was Ali (25/01/2017)
  • Great times at Sherrys I saw the Tom Brown gig there and Bob James. I used to go to a club under Fagins, I can’t recall the name, also the box next door to Sherrys. Mick Fuller was the dj there. I  had a mate from Hove called Spike Reynolds, so I’d crash out at his place at weekends. His mum would make me feel well at home. Getting back to Haywards Heath was always a problem, so a late night scran up at the aqua club diner was a must at three in the morning. I remember UB40’s first gig in Brighton at the Top Rank in 79 was top drawer, then a few years later the jazz bops by Russ Dewbury brought down some top jazz/funk artistes. Great times folks. Cinderellas was a regular haunt up at Hickstead.

    By Tim Awcock (07/05/2017)
  • Don’t suppose anyone remembers a couple of guys who used to go to Sherry’s in the late 70s / early 80s called Alan and Dougie?  They would’ve been late teens or early 20s at the time.  Think one had a Scottish accent?

    By Amy (08/06/2017)
  • Sloopy’s was my teenage hangout from 1974-1976 and no alcohol was served. Not to say that people were never drunk there, the drinking was done at the bars prior to going to Sloopy’s! For a short time I worked the bar and the front box for Joan Casson. Always had fun and I have many great memories! 

    By Nicola Leach (09/08/2017)
  • Does anyone remember the Palace Club under the Palace Pier Hotel on Brighton seafront?

    By Darrel (12/08/2017)
  • Does anyone know if Sherry’s was the venue for the scene in Quarophenia where Phil Daniels “Jimmy” jumped off the balcony into the crowd? I used to stop on the nearby lorry park and go to the club, a great place in the 70s. 

    By Rob Richards (09/09/2017)
  • That scene was almost certainly at the Florida at the Aquarium.

    By Geoffrey Mead (10/09/2017)
  • The scene in Quadrophenia was supposed to be the old Florida Rooms at The Aquarium, but was actually filmed in London at The Royalty Ballroom, (now an LA Fitness), Winchmore Hill Road, at the end of Dennis Parade, opposite Southgate tube station.

    By Ian Bryden (23/09/2017)
  • Ah Sherry’s, many a Saturday night(and occasional Sundays if you pulled) spent there in 1973 and early 1974, as other people have said collar and tie,free food out of a basket.This was a different world for someone only 6 months or so out of school,wondering every time at the door if you were going to be asked your age(never were though).Great music and atmosphere,girls roaming the balconies as well as the boys.The times of proper music (Stevie Wonder,Spinners,O’Jays etc etc).Always having a bit too much to drink and trying to avoid trouble with the locals at the end,fish and chips on the front,Sunday recovering,then back to work to earn the money for the next weekend.I met my first real girlfriend there in early 74 and never went back for around 18 months,although in mid 75 something had changed,some of the music was ok (KC etc)but the atmosphere was different,perhaps because I was old enough to drink legally the excitement wasn’t there. A great time in my life and I would not change a thing.Very sad to see the state of the place now.Went to the Revolution a couple of times as well but really Sherry’s was the place to go.

    By Peter Mansfield (26/12/2017)
  • I played the organ with a 7 piece soul band at Sloopy’s back in 1969; three dates – August 23rd, October 11th & December 20th.  I still have a tank top t-shirt from that club.  Does anybody remember us? 

    By Bobby Morris (13/01/2018)
  • In the 1970s, the days when the pubs used to shut at 11:00 o’clock, it was possible to carry on drinking at Sherry’s, until one in the morning I think. It was necessary to eat to do so though and no drink was served until you produced your proof of having purchased food. Ice cream was the cheapest item on the menu and counted as food. Our table always had lots of melted ice cream, still in the containers.

     

    By Alan Phillips (15/01/2018)
  • Hi Glyn. I remember you as a Go-Go dancer down at Sherry’s. I believe you went out with a friend of mine, Colin.

    By Jim Lewis (28/01/2018)
  • My parents used to go to the Bird’s Nest. My dad, Ian Atkins (who had a burgundy velour suit) and my mom, Felicity  Howard. 

    By Timothy Jan Atkins (07/03/2018)
  • The night clubs in Brighton in 1974 were great. You had Sherrys, Top Rank Suite, the Reveolution in the town centre and  you had the Birds Nest by St Peters Church. They were great days and memories are great.

    By Christine Therin (11/03/2018)
  • The clubs I remember were Sherrys for Fridays and Sundays also so cheap.The Revolution ,The Pallete Rooms  under the Salisbury Hotel. the Bonsior,The Inn Place.Then in later years Mr Ks,The Pink Coconut   Cinderellas at the Strood Hotel at Hurstpierpoint where you got the bus from pool Valley. busbys was my fav as alo had quite a few friends working there. Great D.Js including Andy King, Paul Clark,and Mick Fuller. great music. Great company. And all for under £20.00 which included your taxi home and the must have breakfast at either the New Market Diner  for a gut buster shared with by about 5 of us or The Aqua.with it’s mismatched and very often chipped cups and plates. Maybe it’s the rose tinted specs we all look through as we get older but life really was so much simpler then.

    By ChrissIeP (29/04/2018)
  • I worked as a bar cellar man at Sherrys 1977 -79, and behind the bar two or three evenings per week. I remember it getting pretty hairy on a few occasions; one night there was a massive fight when a bunch of Southampton supporters kicked off. This page has brought back so many great memories, great days.

    By Jerry Pinner (24/05/2018)
  • Thought I’d have my say too! I used to sing at Sherries bar back in the seventies. My band had a regular Saturday night gig there! Great fun!

    By Jennifer Mason (02/06/2018)
  • My memories of Sherry’s Bar was as just bar in the early 50’s, when I was six or seven. My mother and grandmother knew the owner, and followed the normal practice of the time of leaving me in the side alley, among the empties, with a packet of crisps for what seemed like hours, while they were at the bar. I was told later that the owner (Tony?) had wanted to adopt me, but this was probably blarney. My happy memories were the motorboat pond, and the chicken rotisserie just up the road, which seemed very exotic.

    By Mike baker (04/10/2018)
  • Wait, is this the Kenny Lynn like from Techmoan? 

    By Jackson Hall (06/10/2018)
  • This page is crazy! I remember Sherry’s, the Top Rank, Jenk’s etc! The thing is does anyone remember (a bit more out of town) the Bathing Machine up at Black Rock swimming pool which is now the Marina? I worked as a barmaid along with Debbie and Pat. Mike was the manager and we had live music during the week. Of course all of that is gone now. I moved away when I met my second husband but now I’m living back in Sussex close to family. Would love to hear from you if you remember that time in the early 70’s

    By Linda (Lyn) (30/06/2019)
  • Oh my goodness I remember Sloopy’s and Sherry’s and the Top Rank suite where I met my first husband. He was a bouncer there. I also went to the Montpellier and I remember all the music being played. I used to go with my friends and met my boyfriend at that time, Pat Dunn.
    Happy times.

    By Nicola (24/08/2019)
  • In 1976 I remember the Robinson’s club in the new ( then ) big building where the Odeon cinemas where and also towards the sea front , in the same building was a very small disco named ”Trumps ” .
    But the main dancing hall at that time in Brighton was the Sherry’s disco.

    By Dimitris Trivellas (17/09/2019)
  • I think you will find that the disco was then called Tramps. It originally opened in 1972 as the Revolution. It went through many changes. Firstly Tramps, Metro and finally Busbys!

    By Richard J. Szypulski (20/09/2019)
  • It’s great reading all the comments about Sherry’s, the Top Rank Suite, The Revolution, Montpelier Rooms and Sloopys!! I frequented them all with my friends and we always had a great time. Met a wonderful guy at The Revolution and then met him 35 years later, both of us as grey as rats, but so delighted to meet again! It was as if nothing had changed. Sadly that lovely guy passed away through illness. Never let a person go if you love them! Anyway super comments about everything! Brought back great memories thanks!

    By Cathy (15/01/2020)
  • Please! Someone must remember Mr K’s when it used to open Saturday mornings for kids/teens. Loved it, especially the lit-up floor!! I am 50 now so must of been very early ’80s. Also, Summertime Special came to the Level. Everyone was singing Day-oh!

    By Dawn Hulse (25/06/2020)
  • 1970s – We used to live around Queens Park and a group of friends (a bunch from Varndean) used to walk into town via Islingword (and the London Unity) and London Road as we picked up friends along the way. Then it used to be Shades, maybe the William IV, The Pump Room, Deryck Carvers, Queen Anne, ending up in Sherries – and then walking back via Wimpy’s at the Steine, dropping the friends off on the way.
    Saturdays, we met up again the QA and then headed to the Seven Stars – if any of us had any money left, we sometimes managed Tuesdays down the Suite.
    I think I recall one of the dancers at Sherries lived around by the Xaverian Gate at Queens Park….maybe I dreamt that.
    Great times, great friends..

    By steveT (08/09/2020)
  • Did anyone see Krakatoa at Sherry’s/Sherries, the night they had a fight on stage? Apparently Maggie Ryder threw her shoes into the crowd and Dave Poxon hurled his bass guitar at her. This would be ’78/’79.

    By David Burnand (18/10/2020)
  • Yes, I remember Krakatoa well. Maggie Ryder played keyboards, and Dave Poxon on bass guitar, namely a Rickenbacker. Can’t remember drums or guitar though. Anybody remember Woodbine who used to play every Sunday at the Northern pub.

    By Nicholas Jenner (04/01/2021)
  • It is sad to see the building demolished! I had many happy times in there during the seventies! I remember Glyn and a few other go-go dancers. I wonder what happened to all the go-go dancers?

    By Richard Szypulski (20/02/2021)
  • This brings back happy memories. My brother Lester Hall played drums with a band called Jenny’s House in the 70’s and they played Sherry’s quite regularly.
    This was just before disco and DJ’s came on the scene and took over from live music. Anyone remember them?

    By Janine King (01/03/2021)
  • Great memories. Sherrys Showbar,The Birds Nest, Revolution, the Top Rank Suite. Anybody remember the Inn Place down the seafront?

    By Steve Tyas (24/04/2021)
  • From 1975 to 1980 (between 15 and 20 years old)I spent my summer holidays in Brighton coming from Italy. The first years I went to Sloopys and moved to Top Rank starting summer 1978. About Sloopys I remember a cemetery very close by where we the guys used to bring the girls to get some privacy. At Top Rank we became very friendly with one of the bouncers, a black guy called Alex. He was a Kung fu master and many of us on Sunday night attended with him a cinema that starting at midnight or something like that showed Kung fu movies in original Chinese.
    I remember great burgers at a place called Uncle Sams and a cafeteria called Vasso that stayed open till late late night with two very cute waitresses from Portugal.
    I haven’t returned to Brighton since 1980 but those were the best summers of my life; great places and great people.

    By Aldo G Mendoza (09/05/2021)
  • Oh yes; I saw The Sweet at Sherry’s and regularly went on a Saturday night. I also saw Humble Pie at Top Rank but also Yes and Deep Purple at the Big Apple, I think. I ended up playing gigs at the King and Queen and other Brighton venues. Great memories.

    By Jonathan Wood (24/09/2021)
  • Great times at Sherry’s! I used to work as a Bartender there for 2 years at the same time with Mr Winters and Mr Brown!

    By Steave the Gr (01/04/2022)
  • I remember Sherry’s and the go-go dancers! The revolution was my favourite place, then there was The Birds Nest with its lit up floor when Saturday night fever was popular with its disco competitions. Then the curtain club, Papillon… I started going when I was well under age 14! Then later on we had the New Romantics.. after the punk era! So many gigs so many bars so many drugs! It’s now all a blur… A DJ called Paul Clark!? Who was also a hairdresser!

    By Jacqui Edginton (08/07/2022)
  • So sad to see the demise of Sherrys!
    I worked there for seven years as the Head Doorman, along with Andy Wallis, Stuart Thomson, Eddie Akehurst, Tony Wilson, and Alex McCord who were the main guys who worked with me on the door!
    Dudley Winter was the manager, Mr Brown his deputy, and Harry Dunkerton was the bar manager. I remember Kenny Lynn and Barry Page as two of the DJs and Sandra who worked in the cash desk.
    The place had such a great atmosphere, especially at Christmas and New year!
    I moved from Sherrys to become Head Doorman at Jenkinsons Cabaret Bar in 1978.
    Great memories from both places!

    By Barry McKenzie (13/07/2022)
  • I was also a regular at Sherrys with our crowd in the Kenny Lynn Disco Show days. Like other posts I’ve seen we always started without fail in Shades, then to either The Sussex, The Market Inn, (although I think it was The Golden Goose in those days or did I imagine that?) Druids or Pump House – then the Deryk Carver &

    ending up in the Queen Anne either upstairs or the Spanish Bar & went in smaller groups to either Sherrys, The Suite, Jenkinsons or the Revolution. Would always be a great night apart from walking home in just a sweaty shirt & either flares or oxford bags with platform shoes in the early hours!

    Also did the Birds Nest sometimes & a Tuesday night would often be a trip to Cinderellas at Sayers Common.

    Always remember one of us had the job each year of queuing up to get Christmas Eve / NYE tickets for Sherrys & who could forget the plastic basket with a dodgy sausage & chips to get your hand rubber stamped – those were the days (apparently).

    By Rob T (17/07/2022)
  • Ps: correcting my last post it was The Golden Fleece, I was trying to remember ! Just came to me 🙂

    By Rob T (17/07/2022)
  • Ah yes – the regular route that we took to get to Sherry’s. For my group it was nearly always a start at The Druids, then a few games of pool or table tennis at The Bath Arms, a quick one in The Cricketers (or maybe The Victory, if the Cricketers was full) and then onto the main event of the evening. And oh yes – the barely cooked chips and limp lettuce in a plastic basket – such fun!

    There were so many great watering holes in and around The Lanes in those days – I remember The Wine Bar, The Posada, Hennekeys The Shades, Full Moon& Seven Stars, The Bosun … and so many more. You could have a full pub crawl and not walk more than 200 metres.

    By Marc Turner (21/07/2022)
  • I used to work as a receptionist at Stroods Motel, Sayers Common. It was about 1973 -1974. I met and married a local lad by the name of Alan. If anyone knows of a Carol Francis who also worked there I would love to get in touch with her again.

    By Janice Wood (01/10/2022)
  • All of the amazing comments and memories that people have had over all the years that Sherrys existed is a such an outstanding testament to what it meant to so many. I only lived in Brighton for a short time in 1974 and 75 but most of my happy memories were made at Sherrys. It’s sad that all things eventually must end. Sherrys meant a lot to so many people but memories last a life time.

    By Debby Howard (26/11/2023)
  • Such great memories.
    I went to Sherrys on the odd occasion but preferred the more intimate club at top of West Street called Bentleys.
    I worked as a DJ at The Ship Inn in Lewes Road in the mid 70’s which was run by Fed Wilson who also Co owned Bentleys.
    I spent several nights a week there with my great mate Mark Beaver (sadly deceased) and his partner Carol. They were amazing times.

    By Des Parker (29/11/2023)

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