[ADMIN]

JOSEPHINES NIGHTCLUB SHEFFIELD

LOCATION
Barkers Pool - Sheffield City Centre
 josephines.jpg (101.63K)
Number of downloads: 122


Owner - A&S Leisure (Dave Allen)

Working Director - Rod Johnson

Managers - Alex Beverley (mid 70's - scottish chap), Maggie, Dave Growns, , Bob Bacon, Robbie Kingsman (previously a doorman)

Doormen - Alan Kilby (professional wrestler), Chris Salt, Terry, Tim, Big Nige

DJ's - Mitch, Chris Cross (ex watch repairer)

Restaurant Managers - Ted The Italian, Jean

PICTURES
 jos.JPG (12.25K)
Number of downloads: 246  josephines.jpg (109.46K)
Number of downloads: 186
We need pictures - can you help ? If you have any email them to pics@sheffieldhistory.co.uk


TRIVIA
The first track ever played @josies was stevie wonder "isnt she lovely"

[ADMIN]

I went to Josephines a few times - usually went in the wine bar section though.

I thought it never recovered from the shooting outside a few years before it closed.

Plus it had a strange reputation for being the hang out of rich blokes and prostitutes ?

[docmel]

ADMIN, on Mar 8 2007, 08:18 PM, said:

I went to Josephines a few times - usually went in the wine bar section though.

I thought it never recovered from the shooting outside a few years before it closed.

Plus it had a strange reputation for being the hang out of rich blokes and prostitutes ?

Never went - but one of my mates at the time went down there 'on the pull' He saw a girl dancing so wandered over, started the chat and was getting along fine until she asked him what he did for a living. He told her he was a mechanic, at which point she said "Oh, thats no good for me" and walked off.

Had she had the manners to stay and finish the dance with him she may have learned that he actually owned a couple of garages and drove a brand new jag, but from what I gather that summed up the sort of place it was at the time.

[ADMIN]

Classic story !

Would have loved to have seen his face when that happened to him..

:: ::

[flyingpig]

This just caught my eye while looking through some old magazines this Ad is from 1984.


 Josephines_Ad_1984.jpg (112.04K)
Number of downloads: 132

[ADMIN]

Great stuff and thanks for posting

I might have to get the old scanner out myself this weekend !

[sheffsteel]

Plus it had a strange reputation for being the hang out of rich blokes and prostitutes ?

That comment made me laugh because I know exactly what you mean.
Josephines did have a clientale that hasnt been replicated since.

It was mainly for older very rich men (with their Porsche key rings, Gucci wallets, fake tan, medalion man style hairy chest and designer suits) and trendy younger wannabee's men wearin their designer clothes (oops that probably describes me at the time) etc. Many of the women were like footballers wives. They tended to be very attractive, full of make-up and wearin cocktail dresses etc.

I used to go quite alot and there were some people that used to go religiously every single week 52 weeks out of the year.

I used to often go to the Monday R n B night too.
It was a bit surreal as it was full of black men and pretty blondes not wearing much.

The music was great and it had quite a chilled atmosphere, but it felt a bit like going into a gentlemans club.
I half expected some of the women to start pole dancing etc.

[ADMIN]

I think that's a bang on description

[sheffsteel]

Yeh there was some weird stuff going on there.

You'd often see some Hugh Hefner type guy (obviously pensioner age) and he'd be in the cocktail bar surrounded by all these page 3 models.
They'd be several buckets of chilled champaigne and the women would be all over this guy (must admit I was envious).

I would be lurking around to see if I could get chattin to some of these beauties but they were oblivious and didn't even notice I was there.
Maybe I should have bought a Porsche key ring, it did cross my mind, .

Some of my friends used to love Josephines as there were alot of posh model types that use to go.
For us men there were lots and lots of eye candy.

But it was all very superficial and people used to just stand there posing, funny when you think about it.

[ADMIN]

I have to say that I was guilty of being in the wine bar with champers and listening to the pianist whilst in the company of famous folk and fit women



My motivation wasn't to pose, to pull or to be with the 'in crowd' - I just went along there with my boss (big joe - used to own Gossips bar) after work each night and got spoilt rotten by him.

[sheffsteel]

My brother has just given a quick summary of the Sheffield niteclub scene.
Its a bit of a generalisation but theres a element of truth behind it, thats why its funny.

He's says in the late 80's there was only THREE main niteclubs in Sheffield.

Josephines was for the unemployed whom have their own trust funds financed by daddy.
It was a club for the Dore and Totley crew, old rich men and very attractive blonde bimbo types looking
for a sugar daddy. Josephines was the smallest club and they could afford to be quite select.
You were never 100% sure if the bouncers would let you in.
If you were refused here then you'd go down market and move on to Cairo's

Cairo's was a good high standard niteclub for the employed "normal people".
It was a fairly large club and you had a good chance of getting in.
If you were refused here then you'd go further down market and move on to Roxy's.

Roxy's was basically for the unemployed from council estates.
It was a massive club (easily the largest in Sheffield) and they would let anyone in.
Even if you were unbelievably drunk, under age or over age you could easily blend in.

If you were refused on the door at Roxy's then you knew you'd hit rock bottom.
IT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE ULTIMATE INSULT.

[ADMIN]

Quite accurate

I wonder how many folk are reading this now and remembering the time they were knocked back at Roxy's door

[Sandroulla]

My friends and I were regulars at Josephines during the early 80's. We always aspired to joining the wine bar crowd, and would usually go up there for a while during the evening, but were never quite accepted into the click - just not blonde or bimbo-ish enough I'm afraid.

There was a HUGE guy working the door (his name may have been Joe). He was about 7 feet tall, had a massive head and hands like shovels - nobody EVER messed with him. The other doorman was deaf - Alan - he was a wrestler I believe. They always greeted us with a smile and wished us a good evening.

The restaurant was very good and we celebrated birthdays etc there many times.

I went overseas in 1985 and didn't return to Sheffield until 1994. My friends and I headed down to Josephines for old times sake.

Oh dear - what a disappointment. Although the interior hadn't changed much, the clientelle certainly had! Fat girls with tatoo's, women in cardigans, guys who looked like they'd just closed up their kebab shop and popped in for a drink. Call me a snob if you like, but even though we never quite made it into the clique, it was much nicer being surrounded by the beautiful people of the past.

On my final visit, a guy I was talking to complained to me that he had no time for "ten bob millionaires" who posed around pretending to be something that they weren't. Later in the conversation he told me that he had an "apartment in the city centre". When I pressed him for the exact location of this luxury pad of his, he stated that it was opposite the BMW dealership - turned out it was one of those grotty little flats on Hawley Street! Oh how the mighty have fallen!

[mackyD]

I used to go to Josephines on a Monday night in the middle 90's. That was when they held the soul/R & B night. Suppose you got a different crowd in that night to say a Saturday night. Always had a great time in there and lots of laughs - so it holds some great memories for me. Only stopped going because I became a mum and had to grow up! ! All changed in there not long after though, so I heard, so guess I wasn't missing anything.

[Blade68]

The 'Aan' you mention might've been Alan Kilby - quite a famous deaf wrestler! The only other bouncer I remember was Calvin, who also used to work on the door at The Geisha/Legends when I was there. Calvin was spot on, and though his name may be more associated with black men, he was as white as they come...

Sandroulla, on Apr 2 2007, 05:07 AM, said:

My friends and I were regulars at Josephines during the early 80's. We always aspired to joining the wine bar crowd, and would usually go up there for a while during the evening, but were never quite accepted into the click - just not blonde or bimbo-ish enough I'm afraid.

There was a HUGE guy working the door (his name may have been Joe). He was about 7 feet tall, had a massive head and hands like shovels - nobody EVER messed with him. The other doorman was deaf - Alan - he was a wrestler I believe. They always greeted us with a smile and wished us a good evening.

The restaurant was very good and we celebrated birthdays etc there many times.

I went overseas in 1985 and didn't return to Sheffield until 1994. My friends and I headed down to Josephines for old times sake.

Oh dear - what a disappointment. Although the interior hadn't changed much, the clientelle certainly had! Fat girls with tatoo's, women in cardigans, guys who looked like they'd just closed up their kebab shop and popped in for a drink. Call me a snob if you like, but even though we never quite made it into the clique, it was much nicer being surrounded by the beautiful people of the past.

On my final visit, a guy I was talking to complained to me that he had no time for "ten bob millionaires" who posed around pretending to be something that they weren't. Later in the conversation he told me that he had an "apartment in the city centre". When I pressed him for the exact location of this luxury pad of his, he stated that it was opposite the BMW dealership - turned out it was one of those grotty little flats on Hawley Street! Oh how the mighty have fallen!

[Blade68]

I remember Josie's as being the first place I spent a ton on a night out! Me and my mate went in and ended up on black russians all night.... I woke up the next morning absolutely convinced that I'd lost some money somewhere, but on talking to my mate, he'd spent roughly the same so it must've been right!
I was about 19/20 at the time, and the place was full of gorgeous girls.... I don't remember the rich sugar daddy types though? But hey - you only see what you want to through beer goggles!

I liked Josie's..... used to go to Romeo's quite a bit..... and only really went to The Roxy when a) I was 16, or when I was out with a gang of lads (cos we could get in!).... Gangs always struggled to get in other clubs, we'd spread out in 2's along the line....

[phil06]

I REMEMBER JOSIES COS OF WHEN ME N MATES USED TO GO AT LETS SAY WHEN WE WAS 18 THEY USED TO SERVE PINTS OF LAGER IN PROPER BIG GLASS TANKERS,NOW U WUDNT GET THAT ANYWHERE I THINK NOW IN ANYTOWN.I THINK YOU WOULD HAVE MORE CHANCE SURVIVING THE SHOOTING THAN IF ONE OF THEM CAME AT YOU,WE COULD HARDLY LIFT EM !!! ITS HARD TO THINK THAT WHAT DAMAGED COULD HAVE BEEN DONE WE THEM IN THE WRONG HANDS

[ROSIE]

sheffsteel, on Mar 31 2007, 04:23 PM, said:

My brother has just given a quick summary of the Sheffield niteclub scene.
Its a bit of a generalisation but theres a element of truth behind it, thats why its funny.

He's says in the late 80's there was only THREE main niteclubs in Sheffield.

Josephines was for the unemployed whom have their own trust funds financed by daddy.
It was a club for the Dore and Totley crew, old rich men and very attractive blonde bimbo types looking
for a sugar daddy. Josephines was the smallest club and they could afford to be quite select.
You were never 100% sure if the bouncers would let you in.
If you were refused here then you'd go down market and move on to Cairo's

Cairo's was a good high standard niteclub for the employed "normal people".
It was a fairly large club and you had a good chance of getting in.
If you were refused here then you'd go further down market and move on to Roxy's.

Roxy's was basically for the unemployed from council estates.
It was a massive club (easily the largest in Sheffield) and they would let anyone in.
Even if you were unbelievably drunk, under age or over age you could easily blend in.

If you were refused on the door at Roxy's then you knew you'd hit rock bottom.
IT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE ULTIMATE INSULT.

I was a regular at "Josies" 1984/87, I wasn't blonde, I wasn't from Dore or Totley and I had a job(no trust fund from daddy) It was just the best place to be, although it started to go a bit down hill late 1987/88 so we stopped going.

[Slimsid2000]

How prevelent was prostitution in Josephines? I only ever went two or three times in 1993/4 and had no idea there were prostitutes there.

Were they a regular feature of the club or were they just one offs?

[ADMIN]

*note*

Nobody is suggesting for a second that there was ANY prostitution or illegal activity in Josephines whatsoever on this site and under no circumstances would Sheffield History endorse or agree with that view

[Libnet]

Hi folks, I'm new here! I found this topic both familiar and interesting!

The following post is strictly my own personal opinion, and not necessarily the view of this or any other affiliated website or production!!

I worked at this small, pretencious and in many ways often seedy and nasty 'nightclub' for 18 lonnnnnnng months in the late 1980's, and (if prostitution was solicited there! )

If prostitution had been solicited there, I could still name a couple of the - in my own personal view- alledged but still-menacing-looking 'pimps' that always went there and loitered at the back near bar2 and the back entrance near the kitchen, alledgedly- usually more regularly on cheap-drink Monday nights (RnB night) which were packed with hedonistic people of all ages and backgrounds...and some 'ladies'... or not (many of the rest of the women in there those Mondays were either fun-loving women, stuck-up old women dressed like a Ferrero-Rocher advert or simply rough and ill-mannered t4rts.)

The alledged prostitutes (if prostitution was solicited there! ) targetted the stuck-up 2-bit millionairres and ageing, ugly 'playboys' or Z-grade 'celebs' in the Wine bar and restaurant, but perhaps even a couple of barmaids (one really well-educated and intelligent girl from a lower-middle class background) had other professions too...(if prostitution was solicited there! )

Robbie, the under-manager (or something?) was a great guy (compassionate and funny), as were nearly all of the hardworking-underpaid-skimpily-dressed barmaids, the glass collectors and last but not least the doormen Jim (Huuuuuuge ex-boxer/pro-wrestler), little-but-rock-hard ex-pro-boxer Mick, and also Richard (deaf blonde-haired guy) !

This is all if prostitution had been solicited there! And of course, it may well not have been......................................

[seanylove]

the rock hard ex pro boxer wouldnt have been mick mills by any chance would it ?????????

[ROSIE]

Libnet, on Jan 7 2008, 06:48 PM, said:

Hi folks, I'm new here! I found this topic both familiar and interesting!

The following post is strictly my own personal opinion, and not necessarily the view of this or any other affiliated website or production!!

I worked at this small, pretencious and in many ways often seedy and nasty 'nightclub' for 18 lonnnnnnng months in the late 1980's, and (if prostitution was solicited there! )

If prostitution had been solicited there, I could still name a couple of the - in my own personal view- alledged but still-menacing-looking 'pimps' that always went there and loitered at the back near bar2 and the back entrance near the kitchen, alledgedly- usually more regularly on cheap-drink Monday nights (RnB night) which were packed with hedonistic people of all ages and backgrounds...and some 'ladies'... or not (many of the rest of the women in there those Mondays were either fun-loving women, stuck-up old women dressed like a Ferrero-Rocher advert or simply rough and ill-mannered t4rts.)

The alledged prostitutes (if prostitution was solicited there! ) targetted the stuck-up 2-bit millionairres and ageing, ugly 'playboys' or Z-grade 'celebs' in the Wine bar and restaurant, but perhaps even a couple of barmaids (one really well-educated and intelligent girl from a lower-middle class background) had other professions too...(if prostitution was solicited there! )

Robbie, the under-manager (or something?) was a great guy (compassionate and funny), as were nearly all of the hardworking-underpaid-skimpily-dressed barmaids, the glass collectors and last but not least the doormen Jim (Huuuuuuge ex-boxer/pro-wrestler), little-but-rock-hard ex-pro-boxer Mick, and also Richard (deaf blonde-haired guy) !

This is all if prostitution had been solicited there! And of course, it may well not have been......................................

Just thought I would mention I saw Robbie today in town.

[Libnet]

seanylove, on Feb 5 2008, 12:28 AM, said:

the rock hard ex pro boxer wouldnt have been mick mills by any chance would it ?????????

Indeed it was!!

No hookers in Josie's though at all...ever............................................(t.u.m.b.l.e.w.e.e.d).....
.....................................

[JohnEBoy]

I frequented Josie's (having to dress 'smartly' and be 'good' to be allowed in!!) and usually enjoyed it, retro as it was musically and socially, though on Mondays- busy as a weekend- there were plenty of tarts and pimps there (factually, not vernacular), some were prostitutes.

It was the best of a [largely] bad bunch though?

[Leonr2z]

I went to Josie's for quite a while between 84 and 87 and even worked therefor a few months to earn some extra cash. Robbie was a top bloke and all the staff were very friendly. I think Bomber Graham must have had the hots for one of the girls because he was always in the Kitchens chatting to them!

It was a good nightclub and whilst the 2 bob millionaires frequented the wine bar and restaurant, there were plenty of normal people in the rest of the club. Of course all the footballers (both Wednesday and United, but particularly Wednesday) frequented the place. Monday nights and Saturday nights were the ones for the footballers (Mick Lyons, Martin Hodge, Mel Sterland and various others were regulars), but Thursday nights were always good because of the Hen Nights.

[JohnEBoy]

Leonr2z, on 08 August 2010 - 11:04 PM, said:

I went to Josie's for quite a while between 84 and 87 and even worked therefor a few months to earn some extra cash. Robbie was a top bloke and all the staff were very friendly. I think Bomber Graham must have had the hots for one of the girls because he was always in the Kitchens chatting to them!

It was a good nightclub and whilst the 2 bob millionaires frequented the wine bar and restaurant, there were plenty of normal people in the rest of the club. Of course all the footballers (both Wednesday and United, but particularly Wednesday) frequented the place. Monday nights and Saturday nights were the ones for the footballers (Mick Lyons, Martin Hodge, Mel Sterland and various others were regulars), but Thursday nights were always good because of the Hen Nights.

Totally agree with all of the above, Leon. There were plenty of jerks there, but mostly good folks.

Bob Bacon (RIP) was a tad straight-faced as Manager, but approachable enough, as was club co-owner Rod Johnson (Light grey suit and stood rigidly in one spot all night) and biz partner Dave Allen, but Robbie was/is a great guy, friendly and always willing to muck in with even the glass collectors.

Big Jim the 90ft tall ex-boxing/wrestling doorman usually swept a huge crowd up in his massive hands and moved them further in/outside of the club- even if he'd scooped up staff by mistake he couldn't hear our protests!

Some of the barmaids- some very respectable there, btw- copped off with the same snooker players on an annual basis and there were some seedy, rum goings on at the back of the club by bar 1 at the other side of the dance floor and DJ stand (as there was in the wine bar with the ''rich'' set and gangsters).

Good memories in retrospect though.

[Leonr2z]

JohnEBoy, on 12 August 2010 - 08:46 PM, said:

Totally agree with all of the above, Leon. There were plenty of jerks there, but mostly good folks.

Bob Bacon (RIP) was a tad straight-faced as Manager, but approachable enough, as was club co-owner Rod Johnson (Light grey suit and stood rigidly in one spot all night) and biz partner Dave Allen, but Robbie was/is a great guy, friendly and always willing to muck in with even the glass collectors.

Big Jim the 90ft tall ex-boxing/wrestling doorman usually swept a huge crowd up in his massive hands and moved them further in/outside of the club- even if he'd scooped up staff by mistake he couldn't hear our protests!

Some of the barmaids- some very respectable there, btw- copped off with the same snooker players on an annual basis and there were some seedy, rum goings on at the back of the club by bar 1 at the other side of the dance floor and DJ stand (as there was in the wine bar with the ''rich'' set and gangsters).

Good memories in retrospect though.

Yeah I remember Alex Higgins making a nuisance of himself in there one night, giving it the "Do you know who I am" treatment to a girl he was trying to chat up. He was absolutely plastered and could hardly stand. He was having a bad tournament and needless to say went out the very next morning (must have been 84 or 85).

Also forgot to mention the excellent Kebab wagon across the road by the Gaumont (at least they seemed excellent after a good night out!).