Can anyone recall ever going into the PENTHOUSE club before it became Rebels in 82. trying to remember if it looked different to REBELS or not, was it painted bright purple???

I used to go in there every Saturday night...happy memories.

Was it in fact purple inside then or black???

Black as I remember but then I wasn't usually in that fit a state by the time I reached the Penthouse :D

Inside, it was the darkest club I ever saw. Black walls and floors, and very subdued lighting.
I remember once being one of the last out, and just before I left, one of the staff turned the main lights on. It was the shabbiest hovel you ever saw. No wonder they kept it dark.
On the plus side, the DJ was quite imaginative, and you could often hear records which came from outside the mainstream. "Roxette" by Dr Feelgood is one that springs to mind.
They weren't too bothered about customers being maybe a little under eighteen either.

Thanks folks, for ages I've been trying to remember the name of it. the steps were killers, funny how they always seemed to be slippery on the way out and not as many as when you went in...must admit it was a dirty hole though, but we used to go down there most weeks

A friend of mine who is blind tried to go in there on a night out with his "sighted mates, when it became rebels (or was it dollars ? -it's another place, like baileys/ the cavendish/romeo and juliets, which has had more names than a royal baby!)

The bouncer there refused him entry saying

"You can't come in, you're a fire hazard!"

To which my friend replied

"You what? Are you serious? Do you think that I will spontaneously combust, or something? Don't you think that with my senses, the first whiff of smoke, I would be the first out of that door?"

(I heard a legend that the bouncers there were reknowned for being fond of controlling unruly folk by throwing them down the stairs, with no regard for the potential for spinal cord injury.
Mr PT can verify the truth in this urban legend, as he endured this treatment at their hands as a result of a case of mistaken identity, in fact. I heard that there was one bloke whom they did this to, who did actually suffer a spinal cord injury and was paralysed, ending up as a wheelchair-dependent paraplegic)

PT

I seem to remember the bouncers standing out on the street throwing people in

Hi, I celebrated my 18 th birthday in the Penthouse and went in there on several occasions. Similar layout to Rebels but with fewer lights. Condensation would drip from the ceiling and in the gloom you could make out large ominous looking bikers, hair,beards and an awful lot of leather[who turned out to be a friendly crowd]
The guy's toilets often had no working lights at all and so you either had to have the night vision of a cat or be incredibly careful where you aimed.
There were several long bench like seats comimg out at right angles to the side walls and the ones in the furthest corner were so dimly lit that's were couples often sat!!
Never ever be in the place when the main lights came on, it was a tad scruffy!!!!

You should see it now.......condensation cant drip from the ceiling any more......fragments of masonry and concrete instead now.

Was PENTHOUSE painted purple just b4 Rebels, or was it black at that time. Underneath the black paint is purple so just curious when it was painted out.

I recall going to the Penthouse shortly before it became Rebels in the early 80's. It was the first and last visit. I remember an extremely dark "dive" of a place with a mixed clientelle of alternative music types in long macs, regular types and skinheads. When I asked for two pints, the huge, surly barman reached under the bar to present me with two warm drinks that had been already pulled and left to go stale. What a charming establishment.

If my aging memory is correct then it was painted black, I'm sure all the bench seating was covered in padded black plastic though it had so many rips and holes in it most of the padding had long since disappeared.
The beer [get them under the trades description act] the warm gnats wee was revolting and so I usually stuck to vodka although I'm pretty certain that was watered down somewhat.
I also have a hazy recollection of the place being called 'Dollars' but can't for the life of me remember whether that was after Rebels or before. If it was before maybe that explains the purple paint.Maybe I'll have to contact Bob the old DJ to put my mind at rest

Ye used to go in penthouse from about 1972 onwards met a few of my early girl friends there , there was big wide sofas at back, dj was on the right as you walked in, bar at the front. I remember frank white used to workbehind the bar sometimes, beer in plastic glasses. Music they played back then was stones, status quo, black sabbath etc

Happy days

I am sure it used a STAGE at the back in front of the boarded up windows.....this remained until around 1983 when it vanished to be replaced by more bench seating. Any one recall the stage? It was about 4 feet high and extended along most of the back wall. In the early days of Rebels it was just used as an extended seating area, but the bouncers use to come over and kick us all off. I wonder if this was the same stage that YES played on in 1969!!!

Anyone got any pre 1982 pix taken in the PENTHOUSE, pre rebels days, or indeed very early 1982 Rebels pictures. Seen the web site with all the pix of rebels but trying to see some earlier stuff. Any snaps lying in the attic anyone?

Originally posted by robbieb
Ye used to go in penthouse from about 1972 onwards met a few of my early girl friends there , there was big wide sofas at back, dj was on the right as you walked in, bar at the front. I remember frank white used to workbehind the bar sometimes, beer in plastic glasses. Music they played back then was stones, status quo, black sabbath etc

Happy days


You may well remember the so called "diner"area that is mentioned.....where exactly was this food area with tables and chairs, would it have been the area that became the pool table section in Rebels days? I didnt know it was actually a rock club in 1972 or did it just have weekly rock nights?

Originally posted by goldenfleece
Can anyone recall ever going into the PENTHOUSE club before it became Rebels in 82. trying to remember if it looked different to REBELS or not, was it painted bright purple???

Met my wife in there in 1973, still together. Lots of fond memories and some not so fond - Vomit covered floors and overly aggresive bouncers and me trying to dance to Maggie May while trying to look cool. Still only dance when i'm p****d.

I worked at the Penthouse on the cloakroom in 1970-71, then it was a very "in" place to go, Steve Hackett and his brother used to own/run/manage it (not sure which)they took over from Pete Stringfellow.

I remember the inside being dark with a few sofa's and the usual seating around few tables, there was a small stage area as the club did have a few band play there ,and their was always a D.J...........can't remember if one wasn't Ray Stuart,I remember he played at George 1V on Infirmary Road and The Black Swan,could be getting mixed up.

can't remember what colour it was, sorry- remember that every time we walked in - it was always smoke on the water or paranoid playing - followed by a bowie set and more rock - well this was the mid 70's - watching those bbc seven ages of rock progs reminded me and made me feel v old....

Ye used to go in penthouse from about 1972 onwards met a few of my early girl friends there , there was big wide sofas at back, dj was on the right as you walked in, bar at the front. I remember frank white used to workbehind the bar sometimes, beer in plastic glasses. Music they played back then was stones, status quo, black sabbath etc

Happy days

Yep, a few of you may even remember Joe Cocker stood at the bar drinking whisky on occasions.

God I used to go to the Penthouse but Im damned if I can remember what it was like inside. I can remember queuing up to get in but the interior... I cant remember much about it at all.

I can only ever remember the stairwell walls of the Penthouse being painted black. Great days though and Wednesday Nights, 10p drinks and Nurses:love: :love:
Led Zeppelin tracks always seemed to be accompanied by the damn strobe light, so if you weren`t p****d before, you were after!
My legs always went very rubbery coming back down the stairs in the wee small hours, but I would not have missed it for the world. Happy Memories.

Used to go in the penthouse a lot in the 70s. I can remember cleraly the layout, the frequent smell of vomit in the in the mens bogs, crap beer in plastic glasses, but most of all the brilliant music and atmosphere! The song I associate most with the place is Bad Company's "Feel like makin love".

LOL I recall being around 18 circa 1972 and going there. There was always mention that it was so dark because it never really got cleaned. There again these days a blur as I can always remember drinking but never getting home.
Michael

There was indeed a stage we saw Def Leppard play on it once they were pretty crap as i remember.

Where was this club? it sounds familiar

(I heard a legend that the bouncers there were reknowned for being fond of controlling unruly folk by throwing them down the stairs, with no regard for the potential for spinal cord injury. )

PT

Considering how little trouble Rebels had - the bouncers werent too nice.. I recall lots of tales from the day about people assisted down the stairs, gruesumness with scalding hot water (which led to a runnng joke amongst my mates of "it'll be the shoeers for you sunshine) and other such like.. I do recall a few people trying to prosecute - but the club always claimed the people who loitered at the door (taking tickets and being security) were nothing to do with them...

Hurray for badged security these days...

It was at the top of Dixon Lane I know as my OH is Bob the DJ he worked there when it was Penthouse later Rebels.

Yes I remember the old Penthouse, seem to remember purple lights amidst a lot of darkness, and plenty of Led Zepplin, 10p pint nights, great times but would be to small a club to cater for todays rock scene, like there needs to be at least two rooms to cater the old and new rock, Rebels closed about 3 years to early before a club would need to cater both.

Led Zeppelin should I say.

Brilliant club. Went there regularly in the early 70s. There was an eating area on the right as you came up the stairs, it was separated from the rest of the club by cane/bamboo screens. There was a small stage & dance floor also to the right. The decor was black/purple & they played mainly prog rock. Really started to go down hill mid to late 70s & then became Rebels. Best club in town, Penny Farthing was runner up!

I remember the Penthouse when Stringfellow owned it. The DJ was a guy called Pat Sweetwater who had the full 'Afro' hairstyle and the music was mainly soul, tamla and some reggae. Good club at the time but is was fairly new (1970)

I remember the Penthouse back around 1970. I particularly remember being there one New Years Eve. People were pushing up the stairs to get in and people were pushing down to get out - it was absolute chaos, we were stuck there for a hour - God knows what would have happened in a fire :(

It was a hovel inside, everything was painted black and the lights were kept dim - I don't know how Stringy got away with it :gag:

We did enjoy some good nights there though, I still remember seeing my favourite band, at the time, the "Bitter Suite", formerly known as the "Jigsaw" - they were tremendous.

Bitter Suite !! OMG They were a great band. What happened to them, I don't imagime they're still playing?