Mid 90s Ku club
- Thread starter Flea Market Trader
- Start date
Top ku club songs
Freak scene-dinosaur Jr
Sympathy for the devil-rolling stones
Can you dig it?-pop will eat itself
Starsky and hutch theme-james Taylor quartet
Take it-flowered up
Worst song was sit down by James when everyone would sit down on the pissy,sticky dance floor. Ugh.
Freak scene-dinosaur Jr
Sympathy for the devil-rolling stones
Can you dig it?-pop will eat itself
Starsky and hutch theme-james Taylor quartet
Take it-flowered up
Worst song was sit down by James when everyone would sit down on the pissy,sticky dance floor. Ugh.
tunstall birdman
Striker
occasional fri nights in there, early 91 when there was a v brief rave night (come to ku. come to ku and get arrested). a few of us used to either get the bus through or return taxi. some pals went to ku, some went to the monkey. usually met back up at the pizza shop which was opposite chambers, or hotline
had a few of those cheap tuesday nights in there, then some wednesday nights about 93.... one of my first dj gigs was in there, late 94
oh, to go back in time! there was something about the indie girls who frequented there in the early 90's!
I remember us doing that, after going to different clubs. Then off to a house party or pile back to a mates or something. One time in Ku, two break dancers came over from Newcastle and started busting moves, so I decided to battle them. Near the end of us wrapping up the battle, I did a move and my shoe came off my foot, flew over the crowd's head and disappeared? I went to find my shoe but it was nowhere to be seen, nightmare and it was snowing outside. I spent ages looking for it, asking staff but now't?
I waited an hour or so, feeling stupid as fuck wearing one shoe, for the end of the night, hoping I would find it when the crowd goes out, because it was ram packed. When it emptied, it was not to be seen, but in one last try I asked a barmaid, and she said 'So that was your shoe, it just missed my head as I was serving'.
And she got it from under the bar, where she put it. She thought a drunk had just lobbed it over, until I told her what really happened. She was the only staff member that I did not ask. Massive relief to get my shoe back for the snow and catch up with my mates with two shoes on.
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One time in Ku, two break dancers came over from Newcastle and started busting moves, so I decided to battle them. Near the end of us wrapping up the battle, I did a move and my shoe came off my foot, flew over the crowd's head and disappeared? I went to find my shoe but it was nowhere to be seen, nightmare and it was snowing outside. I spent ages looking for it, asking staff but now't?
I waited an hour or so, feeling stupid as fuck wearing one shoe, for the end of the night, hoping I would find it when the crowd goes out, because it was ram packed. When it emptied, it was not to be seen, but in one last try I asked a barmaid, and she said 'So that was your shoe, it just missed my head as I was serving'.
Areet wee Willie Winkie.
pablo casals
Winger
Paris Angels - Perfume
Happy Mondays - Wfl
The Breeders - Cannonball
Wedding Present - Kennedy
Cud - Rich and Strange
Smiths - How soon is now
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tunstall birdman
Striker
mini-x2
Striker
Two classics
Dave Herbal
Striker
I was there intermittently from 89 to 96, then every Saturday from 96 til the day it closed. It still rankles with me how quickly people gave up on it.
How could I forget perfume. One of my fave songs ever. Went to see them up wearmouth Hall but got hoyed out before they came on
Only love can break your heart or nothing can stop us now by St etienne n'all. Got all the nice lasses on the dance floor.
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td586
Winger
thought the finale of that story was you telling us you went back to her and bucked her aaaaaaaaaaaaaarl awa
One time in Ku, two break dancers came over from Newcastle and started busting moves, so I decided to battle them. Near the end of us wrapping up the battle, I did a move and my shoe came off my foot, flew over the crowd's head and disappeared? I went to find my shoe but it was nowhere to be seen, nightmare and it was snowing outside. I spent ages looking for it, asking staff but now't?
I waited an hour or so, feeling stupid as fuck wearing one shoe, for the end of the night, hoping I would find it when the crowd goes out, because it was ram packed. When it emptied, it was not to be seen, but in one last try I asked a barmaid, and she said 'So that was your shoe, it just missed my head as I was serving'.
archiesdad
Midfield
That's the fella, God that brings back memories.
It's a good tune.Sure Paul weller had something to do with it
Anthly
Central Defender
Blueberries became a Yates , Tex.I first heard about Ku Club late in the fifth form and started going with some regularity in the sixth form. It had previously been named Zhivagos where my late brother-in-law had been the DJ in the seventies. We had several of our semi-official school parties there (couldn’t be official as people were under-age in the first year of the sixth form!). The crowd was younger and more hip than the ‘weekend millionaires’ down the street in Annabel’s. We would go to either of the two clubs @Fletch depending on what we felt like and sometimes even went to both on the same night if the first choice turned out to be crap, but that could make for an expensive night paying two admission fees.
After a few jars around the town - Bluberries was a favourite near Mowbray Park, dunno what it’s called now - we’d make our way to the High Street via infamous Wee Alley which was the loading bays round the back of Jackie White’s Market. There was an eldless stream of lads - and sometimes lasses too - lined up along the wall relieving themselves, and an endless stream of piss leaking away from the building down the concrete.
The clientele seemed to move and grow with the times, so it was full of teenagers when I was a teenager and full of thirty-somethings during my last years attending. Originally it had airs of sophistication, being carpeted and having nicely upholstered seats and a cocktail bar aside from the regular beer and shorts bar, but over time that was all dispensed with and the decor became much more utilitarian. There was a burger bar down the far end near the filthy bogs where the fat was so hot it would sting your eyes as you walked through there. On packed nights you could bust out the fire door at the back and sit on the stone steps if you pulled a snog.
The draft beer was particularly rancid in there so we would be sure to already have our buzz on before entry and only top it up with cans of Breaker or Colt 45 malt liquor if necessary. The DJ booth was a space-age looking capsule of pipe work suspended over the centre of the figure-eight shaped dance floor. In order to drum up business. On Thursdays you could pay twenty pounds to have a batch of tickets printed allowing free entry for a party in there but it wasn’t exclusive to your group as there could be several parties along with regular paying customers all on the same night. I celebrated my eighteenth in this way combined with two other lads from school who had their birthdays the same week.
What evolved into ‘Student Night’ began as cheap night. Five quid to get in rather than the usual two quid, but shots were then 20p each which of course made for some interesting results. The music was eclectic but here are some of the regulars I recall:
The Whole of the Moon – Waterboys
Sex Machine – James Brown
Sunkissed – Friends Again
Space Age Love Song - A Flock of Seagulls
This Charming Man – The Smiths
Danny Wilson- Mary’s Prayer
Superfreak – Rick James
Perfect Skin – Lloyd Cole and the Commotions
Digging Your Scene – Blow Monkeys
Eyes Without A Face – Billy Idol
Dance Hall Days – Wang Chung
Pull Up To The Bumper – Grace Jones
Love Is The Drug – Bryan Ferry
Let’s Stick Together – Roxy Music
Theme From Starsky and Hutch – James Taylor Quartet
Tinseltown In The Rain – The Blue Nile
Driving Away From Home – It’s Immaterial
Happy Hour – Housemartins
Ed’s Funky Diner – Its Immaterial
The First Picture of You – The Lotus Eaters
Homo Sapien- Pete Shelley
Quiet Life – Japan
Lovely Day - Bill Withers
(Nige Murray was a mate of mine - lovely bloke who died last year. I have a memory of me and him lathered in there harmonizing the chorus of ‘Lovely Day’)
For a while Ku Club was the home base for what we’d call ‘sunshine boys’ – lads wearing beige cardigans, white polo shirts or denim shirts, loose fitting washed jeans, suede shoes, corduroy car coats, lots of beige, tan and taupe in their clothing and celebrating bands with jangly guitars like The Smiths, Aztec Camera, Housemartins and Orange Juice. That wasn’t really my scene at all but none of these lads were aggressive or troublemakers. The lasses dressed like a vicar’s daughter in floral print dresses, cardigans and Doc Martens @sadders. I believe Ku was host to the Britpop scene in Sunderland in the nineties but I didn’t witness this myself as I’d moved away by then.
The last few times I can remember being in Ku were during trips home in March 1999, August 2002 and finally in August 2005 with @Randle late of this parish and his mate (Hopkirk?). I think by then they’d opened up on the floor below too.
Used to hate the way the DJ used to play ‘Sex Machine’ - the single version of which is short anyway, but by the time you’d muscled your way onto the dance floor and elbowed a bit of room for yourself the useless ginger spenk would always cut it off early and play something completely different leaving you stuck out there ‘treading water’ to some crap maudlin song and hoping the next one would be more uptempo funky.
Most clubs have a ‘shelf life’ but Ku moved with the times and had a good run for the money. I remember being in there in my thirties with my best female friend. Some lad started cracking on to her so I withdrew to a discreet distance to let him run his game. When he was done I asked her the crack:
Oh he’s a canny lad I might go out with him
How old is he like?
He’s our age, why?
He looks old - he’s bald!
Have a look around man
… at which point I realized that my memory of Ku being a teen / early twenties club was no longer accurate and I was one of the few lads in there with a full head of hair!
Ku and Annabel’s were part of a fantastic tradition of being open on Christmas Eve afternoon. I went there one year but it was quiet - maybe word hadn’t got around yet? - but for the next several years went to Annabels. Not being much of a daytime drinker I loved the weird feeling of emerging into the daylight three sheets to the wind, blasting round the town for any last minute shopping then home for bait and the three S’s before returning to the town. Golden days!
I remember that burger van in the back lane over the road, lovely burgers and fit dark haired bird.
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burro nunn
Winger
Oh aye it felt like within a few months it went from busy to dead. Went one week and there was only us in
Chatty83
Midfield
One of the plans we used to have was finish work at Boulevard on a Saturday, have a couple of drinks in the lock in then head over Ku about 12.30.
We'd then do half hour off walking ground and just looking for cash on the floor. Most weeks we'd clean up about £100 each, was a nice little earner to add to our wages. Free drinks then back to Boulevard for a lock in. Taxi used to be paid for home as well so basically a free night and a 100 quid bonus for heading to Ku for a few hours.
We'd then do half hour off walking ground and just looking for cash on the floor. Most weeks we'd clean up about £100 each, was a nice little earner to add to our wages. Free drinks then back to Boulevard for a lock in. Taxi used to be paid for home as well so basically a free night and a 100 quid bonus for heading to Ku for a few hours.
tunstall birdman
Striker
thought the finale of that story was you telling us you went back to her and bucked her aaaaaaaaaaaaaarl awa
Father Jack Hackett
Striker
f***ing loved the place. Birds all ower n’all.
Dave Herbal
Striker
It didn’t even seem like months, more like weeks. Certainly on Saturdays, one week it seemed a bit quiet, the next there was half the number, then half again. On the last night there were 13 of us there.Oh aye it felt like within a few months it went from busy to dead. Went one week and there was only us in
I remember towards the end they had Cain Dingle off Emmerdale doing a DJ spot. Then a few weeks later, Naboo off the Mighty Boosh. Felt like only a couple of weeks after that, and it was gone.
we three kings
Midfield
It was née Finos mind !
Where the lads in their Farahs went
Where the lads in their Farahs went
