Jump to content

Rebels


Sheffield History

Recommended Posts

In the 1980's and early 1990's, people who followed rock music were at home in Rebels. The place was Heavy Metal heaven, long haireds from pillar to post, denim and leather, head bangers and moshers - the lot. You entered a dark doorway on Dixon Lane and walked up seven short flights of stairs, whereupon you'd pay for your ticket in a small hatch, turn left to the door and be relieved of it by a doorman who would thread it onto a string. No one ever read what it said on the tickets maybe it was a message from Tommy Vance!

You then progressed through the main doors into the club, the toilets were left, and the main room right, but in the wall in front of you was a window containing a display of leather jackets and stuff and an advert for Pippy's alternative clothing shop.

It was a fairly small place with an official maximum capacity of only 600, the main room measuring 2697 square feet.

The floor was always a mess of slop, which was basically spilled beer with loads of boots, shoes, trainers and baseball boots jumping up and down on it. When it got on the bottom of your jeans, it was like tar in the morning. There were TV sets, on brackets high up the wall, often playing repeats of the power hour rock show, or a feature film.

The furniture, such as it was, was a right state, any colour long faded to black. In the 1980s, the seating around the outside was bare wood, but apparently painted black. In addition there were a number of loudspeaker cabinets, actually positioned within the seating, as if part of an MFI do-it-yourself nightclub. This had the effect of causing the seats to vibrate and resonate with the music as they were physically joined.

Information sourced from: http://www.dom-bescoby.com/ch01.htm

Link to comment
Share on other sites

REBELS TYPICAL PLAYLIST

Jump - Van Halen

Unchained - Van Halen

Dance the Night Away - Van Halen

Turn me Loose - Loverboy

Working for the Weekend - Loverboy (I think)

Runaway - Bon Jovi

Photograph - Def Leppard

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - Black Sabbath (not forgetting the "What do you think of the glass collectors?" question just before the "You B*st*rd" line)

Smokin' in the Boys Room - Motley Crue

Up around the Bend - Hanoi Rocks

More than a feeling - Boston

Rescue Me - Y&T

Cherry Pie - Warrant

Summer of 69 - Bryan Adams

Whole Lotta Rosie - AC/DC

Nellie the Elephant - Toy Dolls

New York, New York - (End of the Night)

Bomber - Motorhead

Overkill - Motorhead

Ace of Spades - Motorhead

Silver Machine - Hawkwind

Too Fast For Love - Motley Crue

Talk Dirty to me - Poison

Tyketto - Forever Young

Firehouse - Don't Treat Me Bad

Xentrix - Ghostbusters

David Lee Roth - Shy Boy

Jane's Addiction - Been Caught Stealin'

Faith No More - Epic

Queensryche - Eyes Of A Stranger

Tygers Of Ping Pong - Love Potion Number 9

Alice Cooper - Poison

Vain - Beat The Bullet

RATT - You're In Love

Bon Jovi - Shot Through The Heart

Motley Crue - Smokin' In The Boys Room

Van Halen - Runnin' With The Devil

Thunder - Dirty Love

Ozzy Osbourne - Crazy Train

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest codeyes

Been there stacks of times....I mainly remember Red Stripe in cans and plastic wobbly glasses and of course the often (nearly always) over the top bouncers who liked nothing more than to see how long it took for a hairy to reach the bottom of the stairs when thrown!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest wisewoodowl

After my time, I went there when it was The Penthouse. 1972ish was the first time I went in there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest owl capone

REBELS TYPICAL PLAYLIST

Jump - Van Halen

Unchained - Van Halen

Dance the Night Away - Van Halen

Turn me Loose - Loverboy

Working for the Weekend - Loverboy (I think)

Runaway - Bon Jovi

Photograph - Def Leppard

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - Black Sabbath (not forgetting the "What do you think of the glass collectors?" question just before the "You B*st*rd" line)

Smokin' in the Boys Room - Motley Crue

Up around the Bend - Hanoi Rocks

More than a feeling - Boston

Rescue Me - Y&T

Cherry Pie - Warrant

Summer of 69 - Bryan Adams

Whole Lotta Rosie - AC/DC

Nellie the Elephant - Toy Dolls

New York, New York - (End of the Night)

Bomber - Motorhead

Overkill - Motorhead

Ace of Spades - Motorhead

Silver Machine - Hawkwind

Too Fast For Love - Motley Crue

Talk Dirty to me - Poison

Tyketto - Forever Young

Firehouse - Don't Treat Me Bad

Xentrix - Ghostbusters

David Lee Roth - Shy Boy

Jane's Addiction - Been Caught Stealin'

Faith No More - Epic

Queensryche - Eyes Of A Stranger

Tygers Of Ping Pong - Love Potion Number 9

Alice Cooper - Poison

Vain - Beat The Bullet

RATT - You're In Love

Bon Jovi - Shot Through The Heart

Motley Crue - Smokin' In The Boys Room

Van Halen - Runnin' With The Devil

Thunder - Dirty Love

Ozzy Osbourne - Crazy Train

Best era for me was 85-88

White Sister-Promises.Straight from the Heart, Cant say no

Orion the Hunter- Dreaming- So You Ran

Dokken- In My Dreams, Its not Love

Coney Hatch- Fantasy

This was also the era that Michael Bolton released 2 classicc AOR/Melodic Rock albums co-written with Mark Mangold. He later tried to distance himself from his rocker days, the Ponce.

Monday night was free admission and 40p for a bottle of Newcastle Brown before 10. so the plan was to get there at 9.45 buy 8 bottles at 40p and line them up on a shelf next to a pillar. happy days

Link to comment
Share on other sites

REBELS TYPICAL PLAYLIST

Jump - Van Halen

Unchained - Van Halen

Dance the Night Away - Van Halen

Turn me Loose - Loverboy

Working for the Weekend - Loverboy (I think)

Runaway - Bon Jovi

Photograph - Def Leppard

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - Black Sabbath (not forgetting the "What do you think of the glass collectors?" question just before the "You B*st*rd" line)

Smokin' in the Boys Room - Motley Crue

Up around the Bend - Hanoi Rocks

More than a feeling - Boston

Rescue Me - Y&T

Cherry Pie - Warrant

Summer of 69 - Bryan Adams

Whole Lotta Rosie - AC/DC

Nellie the Elephant - Toy Dolls

New York, New York - (End of the Night)

Bomber - Motorhead

Overkill - Motorhead

Ace of Spades - Motorhead

Silver Machine - Hawkwind

Too Fast For Love - Motley Crue

Talk Dirty to me - Poison

Tyketto - Forever Young

Firehouse - Don't Treat Me Bad

Xentrix - Ghostbusters

David Lee Roth - Shy Boy

Jane's Addiction - Been Caught Stealin'

Faith No More - Epic

Queensryche - Eyes Of A Stranger

Tygers Of Ping Pong - Love Potion Number 9

Alice Cooper - Poison

Vain - Beat The Bullet

RATT - You're In Love

Bon Jovi - Shot Through The Heart

Motley Crue - Smokin' In The Boys Room

Van Halen - Runnin' With The Devil

Thunder - Dirty Love

Ozzy Osbourne - Crazy Train

Ah see now, you forgot Journey - Don't Stop Believin, XRay Spec - Identity and some other Y & T stuff Maltby used to play

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Horrorbelle

Sounds like it was ace! There's a new rock club/pub opening in the building which was Empire bar, and it's called Rebels - I wonder if there's any connection......

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest thinlizzy

1989 til it closed was my era. Still got my stylish blue, red and black Rebels - Yorkshire's no 1 Rock Club Tshirt and come to think of it still got my last night at the Limit Tshirt too!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was an absolutely great club.

First nightclub I ever went to (aged 15 - 1988). Went nearly every weekend for the next three years, and some week nights - would cycle into town with my mate midweek sometimes: free entrance, quid or so for a half of lager and leave at about 12.30am, so I'd be able to get up for school in the morning. Would still go when I was back from Uni. The place slowly lost it's mojo as rock splintered post-grunge

Les nearly always on the wheels of steel.

Lots of familiar faces always there, often in little clans: Trish the matriarch and Jamie the tranny and the other "ladies" who'd stand by a pillar and barely move all night; the lovely Helen "the Melon" and her cute little sister Debbie; gorgeous stick-thin Laura and her crazy goth sister Eve; Russell with his skategear, always striking a pose; bunch of lads in cowboy hats and eyeliner looking very pale but not so interesting; Louise and Heidi in their cycling shorts (kapow!); John Barlow and his carefully tuned air guitar; "Black Ben" and his grin.

Happy days.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

blimey Penthouse/Rebels

me and my sister used to go in there every friday night without fail

in there all through the 70s.

got in there before 11pm I Think it was and you only paid 50p

we used to do the wicker walk, then run back up to get in before the price went up.

had some fantastic times in Penthouse,

the ladies toilets was something to be desired though always flooded out lol

come out of the toilets and through the 2 glass swinging doors.seating area to the right,

plastic beer pots.

we used to walk passed the stage /dance floor on the right where the D.J Was. and stand under the very big speaker at the end of the stage

I always wore A leather bikers jacket jeans and monkey boots.

when they literally chucked us out. about 2am after trying to get down the many stairs without falling

we walked down the lane and over the bridge up to hyde park flats

where I Lived then.

Loved the rock music in there.

Bring back the 70s

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Tigeratplay

Remeber Rebels well - those stairs - never ending! Like climbing the Helter Skelter in Skegness! Sticky floors - don't fall down! Plastic beer glasses - smoking, coats on pool table, ultra violet lighting - end of night flood lighting!! Just what you needed when the wee hours called and you KNEW the hangover from Hell was just around the corner! Loved it! Many happy nights in Rebels - same crowd - like a family. Christmas and New Year's Eve was brill - Nelly The Elephant song blasting out, all them boots n shoes jumping up and down on that dance floor - wonder we didn't end up in the Burton's shop below!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest blondewytch

 

Rebels was so crazy & I loved it . Went in with my brother lots of times , in fact he is pictured in a book written about the club.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 Just seen this about rebels, yes it was a great venue and some of the names mentioned in earlier comments bring back years (and tears) of joy! I frequented from 81 to 92. Bob spinning the discs was as ever brill..anyone remember the Bailey Brothers on the discs?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've read today in the star that Steve Baxendale the owner of rebels has sadly passed away.

 

Thanks for the memories steve, RIP fella.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Screenshot 2020-03-27 at 15.14.57.jpg

 

The old entrance to Rebels

What a nightclub that was!

Sheffield was lucky to have so many great nightclubs to choose from back then

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...