Vancouver night clubs from the 60's 70's and 80's

[RollerGirl]

Hmm yeah we know of the Biltmore, and our store was indeed a Legion hall before we took it over (the Bingo hall is next door on Main and it's still active) but apparently before that it was some sort of an occasional venue. We've had customers telling us they saw Ike and Tina Turner here, or even Nirvana... I can't find any records of either of these two artists playing anywhere but well known venues in Vancouver but our customers seem quite convinced... The building has a stage and apparently a sprung dance floor so it must have been a venue at some point.

Thanks for the help!

[omisimaw]

Hmm yeah we know of the Biltmore, and our store was indeed a Legion hall before we took it over (the Bingo hall is next door on Main and it's still active) but apparently before that it was some sort of an occasional venue. We've had customers telling us they saw Ike and Tina Turner here, or even Nirvana... I can't find any records of either of these two artists playing anywhere but well known venues in Vancouver but our customers seem quite convinced... The building has a stage and apparently a sprung dance floor so it must have been a venue at some point.

Thanks for the help!

Bet I know some of those customers LOL....

I sent you a PM and will keep you updated on what I hear back

[omisimaw]

XXX sent this to me since I used to live in Mt. Pleasant and have maintained the connection. I think that you have unified two buildings which are adjacent, so not a surprise. The Cinderella Ballroom is the older structure, at 185 East 11th. An assembly hall on the lower level. A ballroom on the upper level. It is now a roller blade store. The big red brick building on the same block of Main is the Legion building, It indeed had an ice rink, now abandoned. Bingo continues.
There used to be a night club at Broadway/Scotia. Last time I noticed it Starbucks ruled.

I think this ballroom was gone by the 50's or at least I do not remember it... do remember and did visit many of the other ones like Commodore, Danceland, Quadra Club to name a few....

The day and age of live music! What a fantastic time it was!

[omisimaw]

Barney Potts - CJOR/CKWX 1940s; actor Burns Chuckwagon from the Stampede Corral 1954; host children's program Barney's Gang CBC-TV Vancouver 1958; performer Some of Those Days CBC-TV Vancouver 1961-65 and host/narrator 1966; member B.C. Entertainment Hall of Fame - theatre category Starwalk at the Orpheum. Died in Vancouver February 6, 1993 at age 82

He was born April 25, 1910 in Harrogate, Eng. He led bands in the 1930s in Vancouver nightspots like the Alma Academy, Happyland, Cinderella Ballroom, the Quadra Club, Mandarin Gardens, Odyssey Room and The Narrows. He performed in musicals in the 1940s, and spent 12 years with Theatre Under the Stars. Accompanied by his wife, singer Thora Anders (b. Sept. 12, 1913, Victoria), he played radio and TV (such as a Juliette special with Robert Goulet), nightclubs and concert halls. He was with us for a long time. From Page One of the Ubyssey of November 22, 1932: “Wednesday afternoon the Pep Club under Gordie Hilker and Lyle Stewart will ring the bell once again when they present for the entertainment of the students Barney Potts and his orchestra, undoubtedly the peppiest aggregation of rhythm-dispensers in British Columbia.” In 1955, he was the MC of "Hotel Downbeat" on CBC Radio with Lance Harrison and Don Franks. He hosted a CBC television children's show in 1958 called "Barney's Gang". In 1980, at the age of 70, he released an album titled Barney Potts, Live—Just Barely.

[Gangusb]

I remember seeing Ike & Tina at the Grooveyard in New West. also can remember seeing Heart performing at a number of clubs around town; The Happy Dolphin, The Birdcage, and Starvin' Marvins. Next saw them at a big outdoor concert at Empire Stadium with a number of other acts. Then they hit the big time.

[Vancouverboy]

It is rather sad to read these posts. Vancouver was a great place to be from the 1960s to the 1980s but on my return visits now, it seems dead or in a coma. I had a comfortable childhood and adolescence and most of my memories were positive.
I remember Oil Can Harry's and used to go there before I was legal. Saw some great music, like Stan Getz and a lot I cant remember now. They had a habit of sitting women at your table in those days and I have some humorous memories of young women who were 4 or 5 years older than me asking me a lot of questions, trying to strike up a conversation and me replying with fear struck monosyllabic responses. I think I was about 16 then and tall and never left with any of them.
Other clubs I remember were a jazz club called the Nautilus, the Retinal Circus, Club Copenhagen, which had strippers and a jazz band.
On the comments on the Disco era, I thought the music was great for the first 6 months and used to frequent most of the downtown clubs but it got boring really quickly. I stopped going to clubs after that for a long time. I remember Annabelle's in the 4 seasons. I preferred the lounge upstairs where I had a lot of talks with Linton Garner.
Vancouver used to have a vibrant music scene but it seems dead there now or maybe I just outgrew that. I knew about drugs in the 1960s and 70s but never had much experience with them. Some of the stories on this forum are eye openers. Thanks for all the memories. Now I spend more time in the States or Europe where the music scenes are as varied and rich as Vancouver was for a while. It would be nice if a few entrepreneurs got together and opened some really interesting live music venues. And the person from Bellingham, we used to party there. I have some really good memories of a bar that used to host jazz groups in the 1970s. It had brick walls and was pretty basic. Thanks to everyone here, your stories are great.

[tricycle_warrior]

This was great to read!
Really had to clear the cobwebs in my memory bank for my list, which includes approx dates I was there =)
(note: I loved to dance, so these are mostly dance clubs)

Kego Club - didn't go there; elementary school friend's dad was Mgr there
Kubla Khan - my older cousins went there a lot
Pharoah's - my very 1st club experience, at age 16
Misty's - 2nd experience, under-age, circa '81
Polo Club - under Hyatt Hotel, '81
Luv Affair - '81
Hippopotamus Club (NVan?) - mid 80s
Graceland - '88
Amnesia - in Gastown, '88-'90
Gandy Dancer - 1 time in '90
Pelican Bay - in Granville Island Hotel, '90-'91
Systems - '91-'92
Purple Onion - Gastown, early 90s
Mardi Gras - under Century Plaza Hotel, early to mid 90s
Richards on Richards - early to mid 90s
Big Bam Boo - early to mid 90s
Sneaky Pete's - mid 90s
Mars - '96

I'm probably just missing a handful now. Have a brain-fart on the following:
- nightclub at the Coast Plaza near Stanley Park, '89-'90
- one along Kingsway, north side, between Metrotown and New West, mid 90s
- under the Arthur Lange bridge, north end, '07 or so

[nikonfan]

Has the Ivanhoe been mentioned. (It was next to the train station)

[omisimaw]

Ivanhoe, American and the one across the street.... LOL and then there was the restaurant across Terminal on Main where you used to cook your own steak...

[blondewithbrains]

Then there was Goofy's (or as we called it Stupids) in N. Van on 1st between Lonsdale and Chesterfield...used to go there regularly in the early 80's and walk home afterwards at 2 am stopping at the Orange Door chinese take out to pick up Lemon Chicken...great memories...

[gordon_as]

Slightly off topic , but what the heck. I used to love heading out to a club and seeing a good rock band. Wasn't a big party animal , and only danced when I had consumed a bit too much. Used to be able to do that here in Vernon , then eventualy had to go down to Kelowna because Vernon died. Spent many evenings at Flashbacks when they had bands. A little later , Kelowna seemed to die too. I believe my last night out listening to a house band ( who's on bass ) was around 2000 in front of the Capri where the beer store was recently. In the 80's and 90's used to do road trips down to Vancouver specifically to catch bands at some of the less well known spots , like the Cariboo Pub , or the Newton. Wasn't realy a "night club" person , just loved live rock and roll. Must admit that , no visit to Gastown was complete without a stop at the Marble Arch. After 2000 , it seemed like all the clubs started catering to the 20 year olds. You could walk to all 3 of the places in downtown Vernon and all were playing the same top 40 radio garbage. 2 are closed down now ( go figure ) and I wouldn't set foot in the 3rd.
I have a kid in his 20's who head off to raves and "music" festivals , and tries to tell me about the "awesome DJ" who "performed" . He can't understand why I don't share his enthuthiasm for dedmau5 , and I can't convince him that people actualy playing the music instead of playing a recording was better. I am sure my father thought the Glen Milar band was real music and couldn't understand why I would want to go to a Rush concert , and I see that young people enjoy what they have now , but can't help but think that they are really missing out.

[blondewithbrains]

Slightly off topic , but what the heck. I used to love heading out to a club and seeing a good rock band. Wasn't a big party animal , and only danced when I had consumed a bit too much. Used to be able to do that here in Vernon , then eventualy had to go down to Kelowna because Vernon died. Spent many evenings at Flashbacks when they had bands. A little later , Kelowna seemed to die too. I believe my last night out listening to a house band ( who's on bass ) was around 2000 in front of the Capri where the beer store was recently. In the 80's and 90's used to do road trips down to Vancouver specifically to catch bands at some of the less well known spots , like the Cariboo Pub , or the Newton. Wasn't realy a "night club" person , just loved live rock and roll. Must admit that , no visit to Gastown was complete without a stop at the Marble Arch. After 2000 , it seemed like all the clubs started catering to the 20 year olds. You could walk to all 3 of the places in downtown Vernon and all were playing the same top 40 radio garbage. 2 are closed down now ( go figure ) and I wouldn't set foot in the 3rd.
I have a kid in his 20's who head off to raves and "music" festivals , and tries to tell me about the "awesome DJ" who "performed" . He can't understand why I don't share his enthuthiasm for dedmau5 , and I can't convince him that people actualy playing the music instead of playing a recording was better. I am sure my father thought the Glen Milar band was real music and couldn't understand why I would want to go to a Rush concert , and I see that young people enjoy what they have now , but can't help but think that they are really missing out.

Yep..I agree...used to be so much fun seeing these bands in small venues then to see them make it big later, like Heart, Loverboy etc...we had a friend who was in a bar band and we used to drive all over the Lower Mainland to spend a night watching them play...I dont get these DJ concerts either, what is it about watching someone spin records paying an exorbitant amount of money just to say you saw them...Maybe the internet has done a lot of damage to the bar band scene being so many can now just post their videos and they get seen and signed by record companies that way...My daughter still goes to concerts in small venues for indie bands, she refuses to pay money for anything mainstream radio...actually she used to see Hedley that way before they really became popular...

[Pauls 1]

Back in the mid seventies Hornby st was the hot spot
Sneaky Petes
Misty's Show lounge
Gary Taylors
The Cave
Commodore
Oil Can Harry's
Pelican Bay
Richards
The Ritz Pub

On Monday night Severens in Burnaby was tequila night...The good old days..

[omisimaw]

Had a few friends that owned some of those establishments!
Having a brain burp but we used to go for the best steaks ever across the street from the Cave and once stuffed with food and wine we would stroll across the street and catch some fantastic real music!

[omisimaw]

Contacted a friend who reminded me it was Hy's Steakhouse across from the Cave that had the best food ever and the ambiance was so special too.