On John Bright Street and was formerly the Laura Dixon Dance Studio
Later called The Marquee and The Limelight
John Bright Street/Hill Street
The Whiskey a Go Go was above Chetwyns on the corner of John Bright Street and Hill Street.
The Whiskey was well known for live Mod bands, and for showing locals bands such as, King Bee’s, Modonaires, Jugs O’Henry, Moody Blues, Denny Lane, Spencer Davis and The Williamsons.
Amongst other UK who appeared were, The Faces, Long John Baldry & The Steam Packet, and Gary Farr and The Knockouts. Georgie Fame would play virtually all night.They couldn’t get him off the small stage until he collapsed with exhaustion, or lack of stimulation’s. It also starred American acts such as “Motown” & “R&B” greats like Sonny Boy Williamson, (see my note below) & Ike and Tina Turner.
The club put on all nighters on Fridays till 8am Saturday mornings and again on Saturday nights till Sunday morning.
The owners Chris & Steve Healey were two great guys who welcomed you in jazz striped coats. Great Brummie characters of the time also frequented The Whiskey, and it read a who’s-who’ of Birmingham club goers
They used to pack in nearly 250 townies and mods onto both floors in those days with no fire escapes only a small front door with narrow wooden steps up to the 1st and 2nd floor’s. Live bands on the 1st floor and DJ’s on the top floor.
On busy nights, many clubbers where turned away at the door if you weren’t part of the in-crowd!
People would fall asleep on the wooden floor after they tired from dancing at about 5pm, but the bands and DJ’s played on till about 8am the following morning. Money and stuff all over the floor, came out of peoples pockets, it was like an “Aladdin’s Den” The Whiskey attracted people from all over the midlands, including Coventry and London scene, to dance and hear live music of the era, that was very ahead of pop culture in England at that time!
My special thanks to bobsummers of the Birmingham History Forum, for the essence of this post.
Here is an article from Brum Beat
Brum Beat- Sonny Boy Williamson & John Mayal In The House
Friday, January 12, 2007
Sonny Boy Williamson & John Mayal In The House.
Greetings people,
I just wanted to revert back to the last blog with regard to Keith Law, something that came up again in conversation recently which I thought was definitely worth sharing with you all,Keith’s first band was a West Brom outfit called “The Williamsons”.
The Williamsons
Keith played in the band during the mid 1960’s and amongst their support slots they performed before the legendary blues artist “Sonny Boy Williamson”. Williamson had been been brought to play in the Golden Eagle in Hill Street by Georgio Gomelski while touring with the Yardbirds, another who played before Sonny Boy in Birmingham was Spencer Davis. “The Williamsons” band became a dedication to Sonny Boy.
Before he left the Industrial heartland, Sonny Boy gave Keith’s band a wonderful accolade by declaring the Williamsons “..a great young blues band.” true praise indeed from a man who started his own career playing alongside people such as blues hero’s Robert Johnson, Robert Nighthawk, Robert Jr. Lockwood and Elmore James.
Sonny soon returned to the U.S. after his European shows and continued to play until his untimely death on May 25, 1965. Sonny Boy Williamson left behind an array of truly inspired future Rock legends such as Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Robbie Robertson to name but a few, and talking of Eric Clapton… (taken from a recent email from Keith Law)
‘Someone mentioned Wolverhampton, and one night in the late 60’s I stood in a queue with Robert (Plant), outside Wolverhampton Town Hall. Top of the bill, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers. Bob and I went to the Gents, and were chatting, and then we were joined by two blokes, on Bob’s left hand side stood John Mayall, and on my right, stood Eric Clapton!!! ‘ – Keith Law
(Robert Plant later covered Sonny Boy Williamson’s ‘Bring It On Home’ while playing in Led Zeppelin)
And so, back to 2007. I think that the need for a small low key but well fitted out blues venue in central Brum today is quite apparent, Ronnie Scot ts fitted the bill until it turned into a lap dance bar, although the prices were a little steep (when it was Ronnie’s of course), anyone reading this with a love of Blues could do far worse than put their money into a low key Brum Blues joint, the performers are out there, they just need a stool, mike, amp, drinks and audience to entertain (I really don’t like large overpriced venues like the Alexandra), anyway I shall let Keith close this blog.. stay safe guys. BB
‘You don’t have to be famous, to make a living in the music business,
just give the folks, what they want’ – Keith Law
This fella wrote to me personally, and here’s a copy of his post on another site.
Good reading it brings back happy memories was a Mod in the 60s and went to all the usual places where the Mods frequented.
Nobody has mentioned Laura Dixons above Chetwins mens outfitters the corner of Navigation St when i used it was The Whisky A GO GO. Spencer Davis was more or less a resident group there,i saw some great groups at that place Georgie Fame,Yardbirds when Eric Clapton played with them The Yarbirds played one easter in the 60s and all my mates went to a Manchester club called Tiles on their scooters my scooter was out of action, the night the Yardbirds played there was about 30 people in the club it was great being able to have a chat with one of my favourite groups especially Clapo by the way he’s a Baggies fan.
On a nother ocassion i was going to the Whisky to see the late great harmonica player Sonny Boy Williamson
I was waiting by the bus stops in Navigation to meet a girl ”dolly in them days” of the 45 bus from Kings Norton she never got of the bus that she was supposed to,the buses were every half hour so i decieded to go for a pint in the Navigation Pub when i got in i could not believe my eyes there was Sonny Boy drinking whisky,he wanted to buy a full bottle the barman said he could’nt he turned to me and i tried to tell him the reason why he could’nt what a great feeling talking to one of my favourite harmonica players
Happy Days Mossy The Mod
Here is a piece posted on the Birmingham History Forum
I was the disk jockey on the second floor in 1965 /66……..I first went to the Whisky in a full length white leather coat….Nitso Ronny, the manager took me into his office told me I had arrived in Birmingham….he took the coat and locked it away until the club closed, then gave it me back! I loved Ronny…fat bloke with ginger hair, where is he nowThe second floor was where the bands played….the small corner stage had a single light bulb over it and nothing happened when the band wasnt playing. I suggested to Ronny that I played some records and put some lights over the stage….he agreed and paid me £2.10 shillings [£2.50] to work from 12 midnight till 7am….supply your own blues. The lights were baby milk tins with coloured bulbs in them!
I remember bands like The Small Faces, Georgie Fame [saw him recently and even he remembered getting his Hammond up those f’in stairs! and my favourite Graham Bond..with Ginger Baker [heh Ginger], Dick Heckstal Smith and Jack Bruce [later to become Cream]. The favourite record of all time was Shotgun Wedding by Roy C, the greatest LP The Sue Story The name changed to the “Crazy E” Chris and Steve started to go to the Isle of Wight during the week…I took them in the back of my van every Sunday….we put a settee in and they sat and drank vodka and bitter lemon all the way to Portsmouth….. They bought a club on The Isle of Wight called Chequers [Pete Van Buren joined us but that’s another story]. I moved over and we had a great couple of years running the place. We had weekly residences with Ten Years After, Skip Bifferty, etc. The Hippies had arrived though and everything changed. |
Thanks to BHF Member Skip Davies for this article
Compiled by Keith Law
There Are Currently 26 Comments for this Post
keep the good work up
tom
great to see a site that shows what fantastic Birmingham groups we had back then. keep it up
I was vocalist with the Orpheans when we had a season of Sturday nights at Laura Dixons. You could hear a disco on the floor above us and Irish singing on the floor below during the breaks.
I remember going outside into Navigation Street for a break with the band one hot evening and being moved on by the police; as the five of us constituted a riot!
Hi I used to go to the whiskey a go go every saturday night in the mid 60s. I remember Ronny and Jo Rubin on the door. Also Loz and big Colin and little Colin. We used to do the all nighter and keep warm in the laundrette until my bus came in the morning. Also I remember the surf side stop..does anyone remember these places?? Great memories.
Hi Norah I remember you and your great legs. Lots of fun…..
Hi Norah
Call or text me
07533922278
Hi Norah, l remember the Surfside stop Constitution Hill. I went there early 1967 one Saturday night l think it was,it was empty came out and it was raining l was starting to let my mind wander back to Jersey. I walked into the city centre with my girlfriend and thought things over and realised she could not come to Jersey with me. I took her home and asked her mother if she would let me marry her daughter. Her mother said she is only 16 but if you are still together when she is 18 I will think about it. We got married just after Marion’s 18th birthday. I never got back to Jersey but we are still married.
I know it was a long time ago, but can anyone tell me if a band called ‘Bluesology’ performed at the Whiskey in 1966?
Check out”Mods the new religion” by Paul Anderson. which is a great book and mentions the Birmingham scene( released April 2014)Details on Amazon UK.
Many great archive illustrations.An essentail read in the style of the now rare “Brum Rocked” books.
hi
I read your piece on the whisky with interest – I was DJ there in 1964 – 1965, I think it was called the Crazy E at the time – saw Sonny Boy, Buddy Guy, Champion Jack and lots of British bands there – the live room was on the 2nd floor and the DJ room on the 1st I think – I even organised an evening of Bob Dylan music there playing records by him that I didn’t even have…. when Subteraneean Homesick Blues came out as a single.
Dear Karel,
I am managing a research project on “Sonny Boy Williamson” (Alex “Rice” Miller 1913-65). Based on Googling the names of bands which opened for Miller during his two six-month stays in Europe in 1963-65, I found your comment at this site.
I’m hoping that you would be willing to speak to me about the “Sonny Boy” at the Whiskey a Go Go, Birmingham and the Golden Eagle, Birmingham. I’m also hoping that you had other first hand experiences with Miller in the UK back then.
We have a biography preparing for released in January 2018 and a number of other projects, based on our research, including a museum exhibit, a tribute show, a documentary and a screen play. I thank you sincerely for taking a look at this message.
Warm Regards,
Jim Basnight
BCD Entertainment
20736 NE Puget St.
Indianola, WA 98342
(206) 660-2471
[email protected]
jimbasnightmusic.com
sonnyboy.com
blogtalkradio.com/nwsportsradio
Facebook and Twitter
I can’t tell you much about Sonny Boy’s gig in Birmingham other than it was very entertaining, he played really well, wore a bowler hat, drank quite a lot of Whisky and looked like a wise old Jew.
In fact Andy Dunkley was supposed to bring his complete collection of Dylan tracks to the festivities, but he didn’t turn up.
I remember most of these bands. The Modernaires were a support band at the Ritz Kings Heath quite a lot. Now reading of some of the Mods around that time I never hear anyone mention Pretty Graham or Little Freddie or Declan Burn these were the early years of the Whisky 1963/1966.Jugs O,Henry were based in Lancaster Gate around 1964/65 as Colin Bates was a member of the band and we were good mates and used to go down a few weekends and crash out with them. Colin who was known as Bloggsy l ran into in 1977 on a number 24 bus. Duffy l know lives up Druids Heath way and l do have his home number having bumped into him in Northfields in 2005.
Now l used to go to the Whisky for the Saturday all nighters. Last time l went was April 1966. Most of the time with Declan Burn, Little Freddie and the legend Duffy. I was not aware it was still open in 1968 as some say. When l came back from Jersey the whole scene seemed to have changed.I think the Midnight City was open when l came back. I never saw pretty Graham, Chimpey or the rest of the crew when l came back until Bugsy was a shop steward and Nutter who also worked at what is now BT. I did bump into the legend Duffy in around 2003/5 in Northfields. What happened to everybody, does anyone know.Saturday used to go like this West End dinner time Kardoma and Piccadilly Arcade snooker hall in the afternoon, 10 French Blues around 10 ish to get you through the night at the Whisky.
i also went to Whisky, remember Little Freddie, Duncan ,Chimpey etc. I moved to Yorkshire mid 70s so haven’t seen anybody from the old days. Started going to Mojo Sheffield ,Twisted Wheel Manchester, and Night Owl
The Bell ,Northfield was a good venue
Does anyone remember a nurse from Wolverhampton called Carole, who used to go to the whisky
Dave Hunter l only ever see Duffy nowadays.I have not seen or heard of Chimpey since 1966.I believe Little Freddie is still with us.I do believe from what l have read Black H has passed away.RIP. So has Shaun Mahoney l am told.
Read all these comments with great interest though I was a student at Birmingham university at the time.I was never one of the ‘hard mod crowd’ as they regarded me as posh and ‘a puff’. But I did like and wear the clothes .used to go to London to get the latest stuff.however I did know all these people mentioned.I recall Shaun and `Paul Mahoney were always `O K as my brother worked for Bryant’s and gave out the wages.Duffy was a real Mod very stylish but usually ‘blocked up’ on pills.Such people as Leo ` Ryan sold knocked off clothes in the Kardoma after the West End sessions on Saturday mornings.Chimpy Harris, Noel Barnes,big Colin, were a tough lot.By Far the most stylish were Jimmy Hurst and his sister Terry they were actuallyour friends along with TommyHawksford,I also remember “H’, Billythe flower seller, and Alan ‘Fob’ Farbrother also a good friend.`We were’ I suppose ‘Art school Mods’ not interested in fighting our girl friends like Betty Jackson,Holly, Belinda, Vanda and heather .Stephanie Wood went on to be well known fashion designers .Betty still is!The hard Mods tended to be labourers, porters in the fruit market and the like but very stylish dressers.I still remember when the `Brummie Mods were on BBC 2’s the’Beat ROOM.i was interviewed we went down in a coach to the studios.Glad to know they are mostly still alive.
Bernie as we lived it, it is amazing any of us are still alive. Most of us must be in our seventies by now. I have Duffy,s phone number but have not spoken to him for a while. I also have a friend who went on holiday with him to Jersey in 1972. He caused a fight there and got them both arrested. The officer in St Helier police station knew Duffy from Digbeth as he had arrested him when in Brum.
Thanks for reply Terence, Great times 66 -68 ,did you ever get to Margate, we thumbed it to London ,on the Friday went to club in Wardor street then train to Margate sat morning ,got arrested on the Sunday ,went with Spencer ,he was top lad
Dave. Went to Margate on Lambretta GTI 200. It was us who put the greasers motor bikes in the sea over the end of the pier. We used to meet in the Tahiti by the clock on the green at the bottom of the sea front. Were you there when it kicked off with the McKinners from Ramsgate who did not like us Brummies as they said we had turned the local girls heads. They beat buggsy up a couple of times when he walked home from Ramsgate after taking a local girl home. The third time he was prepared and as the mini pulled up and they got out he produced an axe from under his overcoat. The McKinners ran away so he destroyed the mini he chopped the car up the lights windows and put a few holes in the roof.
Just seen this website. I was in Margate with Buggsy and Jersey with the Brummie crew and went to the Whisky, as well as the Kardomah, West End, Rum Runner, Twisted Wheel (Manchester). Being a Londoner I used to hitch hike up to Brum on a Friday night for the weekend and saw many great acts at the Whisky including Stevie Windwood, Georgie Fame and many others too numerous to mention. Big Colin, Noel Barnes, Billy Thompson , Johnnie Brain, Duffy, Bobbie Summers, Johnnie Hutton, Sean Mahoney became mates after somewhat of a tough start as Londoners were not exactly popular but as I was courting a Brummie girl I met in Margate this was deemed acceptable. How I ever kept down a job in London after spending all weekend in Brum on purple hearts and hitchhiking down on a Sunday is a miracle. Lots of stories and memories………….
I was there the year Spencer Davis played at Dreamland. Got nicked in Ramsgate fighting a squaddie outside Butlins ,good job really cos I was getting a right hammering. Was at the Whisky the night Ike and Tina Turner played there .last time I saw Chimpy was at Midnight city I had a Vespa ss
Rod Stewart and the Soul Agents with Buddy Guy
I often wonder what happened to the Crazy E Club after we gigged there 27 Feb 1965 with Rod and Buddy Guy on his first UK tour. It was a night to remember. When Buddy Guy came on the impressive Graham Bond joined us on alto sax. The gig was something special and will always stay with me.
and Rod was playing a Telecaster, I took a photo of him that night, long since lost. I didn’t know Rod played guitar. Buddy Guy played the guitar behind his back and with his feet – all in the name of entertainment.