Bushbaby   11 #1 Posted March 31, 2004 I wonder who like me, remembers a delightful little 70s pub called The Bucaneer  Hidden beneath the sprawling acres of the Grand Hotel in Barkers Pool, the doorway, like the entrance to a secret little Aladdins cave, was tucked away on Leopold Street, in an area now occupied by a trendy wine bar.  The source of many magic moments, it was responsible for introducing much of Sheffield to Progressive Rock and some of the more extraneous bands of the day. Long will I remember a bespectacled, lank haired DJ, hiding inside a plexiglass booth, raving about Rick Wakemanâs keyboard solo on âRoundaboutâ, or extolling the virtues of Carlos Santanaâs âSamba Pa Tiâ. He seemed to favour longer tracks, and is still the only DJ I know who has played the full version of âIn A Gadda Da Vidaâ in public. (Come to think of it, hes the only one I know who has played it in private)  The clientele were a mixed bunch, varying between ageing hippies, who called for the Grateful Dead to be played at every opportunity, and those Art School sophisticates for whom a Steely Dan âE minor seventh sharp fifth â was the ultimate chord. Boys outnumbered girls about 5 to 1, but it wasnât a place for meeting the opposite sex. Its sole itinerary was music. Loud, wall-throbbing, ear-splitting music. Not humble but heavy. The kind of music that came back and haunted you in your dreams. It was John Peelâs Perfumed Garden incarnate â and we lapped it up.  Most wore denim, although later the fashionable townies, in their Ben Shermans and two-tone Sta Prest, started to wander in, just as Bowie began blurring the boundaries between rock and pop. Mein-host would pander to these occasionally, by slipping âAll The Young Dudesâ in between âCommunication Breakdownâ and âFaith Healerâ. However these lapses were rare, and regulars could normally guarantee hearing at least one Velvet Underground track during the course of an evening. Certain records gained a notorious popularity, and there was always a cheer when The Archangel started singing about his wardrobe, or The Oxâs base fed us his arachnic fears. And riots took place whenever those crimson boys told their stories about going to court.  The predominant smell was âBrutâ for the guys and âCharlieâ for the girls, although both genders could get away with Hai Karate on a Friday night, so dense was the ambiance. The sticky carpet was a deposit for any form of detritus, and was Iâm sure, the inspiration for the motto âIf the floor is full, please use the ashtraysâ. Unusually for a Sheffield pub, the beer was of little or no import. It was a generic âRed Barrelâ type brew, and came in plastic glasses. Getting served was a life changing experience, as most groups bought three or four rounds in one go, to save having to brave the fourteen deep crowd at the bar more than once. The bar staff comprised students, and fans of âStone the Crowsâ. It was compulsory for them to smoke and serve pretty girls first, and they always complained that they didnât play enough Vinegar Joe.  If the atmosphere got too heavy, and occasionally it did, we would carry our beers down Pinstone Street to the wide open spaces of The Nelson and put âSee Emily Playâ on the juke box - then we'd go back three days later to hear it, such was the backlog. There was a deep groove in the pavement between the two pubs, and on some evenings it was possible to meet the same people three or four times without ever being in the same building.  For me, it was the first place in the town centre where I felt like a local, and it changed my musical tastes for life. I shed a genuine tear the night it closed, and wore a black armband for weeks after it was pulled down. For those of us of a certain age, I truly believe that we never saw its like, before or since. The one consolation is that I can revisit The Buc at will, simply by digging out my âAqualungâ vinyl, or âMusic from a Dollâs Houseâ CD.  Do others have similar memories or did I dream all this? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
kath   10 #2 Posted March 31, 2004 you didnt dream it at all every word is true!I had just to be remindered memories,ta! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
dragonsoup   10 #3 Posted April 1, 2004 Wasnt old enough to get in there, but years later went to Stoke Hall at Grindleford for my birthday (why) and someone told me the furniture and tables with compasses on and some mermaids fastened to the wall had come from the Buccaneer. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Bushbaby   11 #4 Posted April 5, 2004 Dragonsoup  I can honestly say that, although I went in the Buc regularly for two years, it was never light enough to see the furniture. "Compasses and Mermaids?" Wow, I really missed something didn't I? I don't even remember them having tables Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Plain Talker   11 #5 Posted April 5, 2004 The Buccaneer, on it's sad passing, had a poem written about it.  there is a slight bad language warning....  the opening lines are:-  "There's many a night I've spent in the buck, Drunk as a F*rt and couldn't care a F***!"  sadly I cannot remember the rest of it. can anyone help?  as I understand it, the Buck's crowd sort of migrated round the corner, to the Wapentake.  PT Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
mojoworking   10 #6 Posted April 5, 2004 Nicely written Bushbaby.  Not only do I still have my original LPs by Yes, Family, Iron Butterfly, Alex Harvey, Mott The Hoople, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull etc, but in many cases have upgraded them to CD as well.  Speaking of Iron Butterfly, when you say the "full version In A Gadda Da Vida", I presume you mean the mammoth live version which runs for the whole of side one of the LP, and not the ten minute studio version which is strictly for lightweights and weekend hippies? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Tony   10 #7 Posted April 5, 2004 The long winter evenings must just fly by. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
mojoworking   10 #8 Posted April 5, 2004 Originally posted by Tony The long winter evenings must just fly by.  Yes, you must pop 'round sometime. We can listen to all four sides of Tales From Topographic Oceans, before we get stuck into the King Crimson box set.  BYO sandalwood incense and 6 pack of Strongbow Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Bushbaby   11 #9 Posted April 5, 2004 From Mojoworking: "Speaking of Iron Butterfly, when you say the "full version In A Gadda Da Vida", I presume you mean the mammoth live version"  From Bushbayby: Yes of course I do. I recently found out that the title is a bastardisation of the phrase "In the Garden of Eden". How innocent we all were back then. I saw "Yes" playing "Topographic Oceans" live at the City Hall. Wow, that was heavy. I loved "Roundabout", "Your's is no Disgrace", and "And You and I", but a musical tribute to the Shastric Scriptures was asking a bit much of even the most devoted hippy. Made the "Mahavishnu Orchestra" seem mainstream by comparison Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
coddy   10 #10 Posted April 5, 2004 Am I wrong or was I hallucinating but I seem to remember there being a parrot in the Bucc. A very large one in a cage somewhere near the bar. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
PHILIP Â Â 10 #11 Posted April 29, 2004 Thanks for the memories,time spent there was unforgettable. I remember some of the furniture ending up at Stoke Hall where I was also a regular. it also found it's way to the Wapentake as did the legendary landlady, Olga Marshall. Â Great times -sadly missed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Ned Ludd   10 #12 Posted April 30, 2004 Originally posted by PHILIP Thanks for the memories,time spent there was unforgettable. I remember some of the furniture ending up at Stoke Hall where I was also a regular. it also found it's way to the Wapentake as did the legendary landlady, Olga Marshall I have to say that the ale in The Bucaneer was 'orrible and indescribable in The Wapentake....how can it taste that bad? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...