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Cairo Jax Nightclub Sheffield


Sheffield History

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Guest goldenfleece

In its final 3 months as CAIROS I did a 70's and 80's night in the back room friday and Sat nights........great times, and great people....was quite upset to lose those 2 nights as they were really picking up.........but thats progress

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sheffsteel 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.

Absolutely spot on assessment of those clubs.

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Guest RODDERS

May I first congratulate you on a fantastic site - I love anything nostalgic about my birthplace.

Ive been away from Sheffield for many years and miss it like mad (Im in my mid thirties now) and have the fondest memories of nights out in my teens.

I spent 2 years working at Cairos on the bar and can picture most of the staff in my mind even now after all these years - I was there 1987 - 1989.

I remember a DJ called Gary B in Cairos and Ashley in Jax (Ashley moved on to KiKis upstairs room) then it was Nigel and Tim Barron with the lighting Jock called Dave I think (Looked Like Chesney).

The bars were all named.......the long main bar in Cairos was the "Star Bar" and then the "centre bar was at the back of the lighting jock and "wine bar" on the far side of the dance floor. - I remember a door and passageway that led from wine bar through to Jax club - the bar in the corner was called "Poseurs" bar then a crcular bar on two levels at side of dance floor called "Round bar" and a big bar called "Long bar" at the side if Jax diner..........I even remember the uniforms we had to wear - heavy white cotton shirts witha pink Cairo Jax logo on the back - then there was a refurb which gave the club an Egytian theme and uniforms changed to gold and black silky shirts.

I remember the Food and Beverage manager - Dave French that had to go round cashing up all the tills.

One of the floor managers was called Tristran that used to wear one of them short suit jackets that waiters wear (was the fashion about then)...........there was a pretty blonde that worked on the box office / reception called Joanne (Looked like Kylie) - I was engaged to her for about 3 months !! I was made to propose to her on a packed friday night - down on one knee in the Cairos DJ box by DJ Gary B (I think I heard he may have passed away).

There was a General Manager called Adrian that used to do illusions and magic tricks to entertain the staff after we had closed on saturday nights when we were all sat having staff drinks.

I also remember some of the door staff - mostly head doorman Big Louis on the front door - no one under age got past louis !! and there was Fitz whose girl friend ran and supervised the afore mentioned Star Bar.

There was also sisters Marie and Val Harding in Jax Diner (I went to school with their sons) and Carol on the cloak room and her daughter worked there for a short while ticketing and promoting the club.

Just after the refurb in 1989 Cairos started a wednesday night student night called " The Curious Orange club" which went down a storm cos all the madchester stuff was coming in, Stone roses and Happy Mondays, Etc.

I could go on for hours about times at Cairos and all the staff trips we went on to other First Leisure venues.

Would be good to hear any one else memories of the club around the late eighties.

They were good times !!!

Hats off to a first rate site !!!!!!!

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Great memories - you've named people there that I'd forgotten about !

Thanks for the info - definitely post more if you remember any

And most of all WELCOME TO THE SITE !

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Guest DJBrenton

For anyone who's interested I worked with Paul Baron through the 90's and just into the 2000's.

Early 90's he was the DJ at Zoots in Leicester. Married the General Manager ( Kay ). She left to work for Rank and Paul left Luminar to join First Leisure in charge of entertainment at the Superbowl chain. That didn't last long and he re-joined Luminar as a national DJ and promotions consultant helping clubs improve their nights. He then joined Northern Leisure about 1998 and designed the first of their Beach Bars in Wolverhampton. When his area manager wouldn't honour the agreement Paul had made with his DJ he left on principle. He then joined Springwood managing Zanzibar in Leicester but fell foul of some pretty dirty politics at the top. I lost regular contact with him after that but think he may have opened a bar in Turkey? although a few years ago I did hear a rumour that he was back in Leicester as Lionel Vinyl at Yates's. I still have a contact number for his best friend so maybe I'll see what the latest is.

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Guest Slimsid2000

What were the main differences between Cairo Jax and Issabella's? I went a few times to both clubs in around 1993. There were more obvious differences with, say, Roxy's or Josephines but what seperated out Cairo's and Issabella's?

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For anyone who's interested I worked with Paul Baron through the 90's and just into the 2000's.

Early 90's he was the DJ at Zoots in Leicester. Married the General Manager ( Kay ). She left to work for Rank and Paul left Luminar to join First Leisure in charge of entertainment at the Superbowl chain. That didn't last long and he re-joined Luminar as a national DJ and promotions consultant helping clubs improve their nights. He then joined Northern Leisure about 1998 and designed the first of their Beach Bars in Wolverhampton. When his area manager wouldn't honour the agreement Paul had made with his DJ he left on principle. He then joined Springwood managing Zanzibar in Leicester but fell foul of some pretty dirty politics at the top. I lost regular contact with him after that but think he may have opened a bar in Turkey? although a few years ago I did hear a rumour that he was back in Leicester as Lionel Vinyl at Yates's. I still have a contact number for his best friend so maybe I'll see what the latest is.

Great stuff - let us know - it's great to hear what people have done since the 'good old days' !

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Guest GuyForshaw

Yes, well it's renovation was a good one but not as good as the Romeo and Juliets one in Doncaster about the same time. It moved from a luxury design to a black and retro design which was more disco lighting orientated and if my memory serves me right, which it should because I was Lighting Technician at Doncaster from 1977 to 1985!! everyone at Cairo's was jelious! Really!!

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I can only add one thing to this thread. Stannington College nights out. Excellent. lol

oh yes...............!!!!

and the best looking group were the lasses from pittman shorthand ;-) :rolleyes:

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Guest darren687

Isabellas was probably the only other club during this period worth a mention. We tended to go there if we fancied a change from Cairos but it was only on the odd occasion as Cairos was THE place.

My first post but here goes, i loved cairo's it was awesome, i can honestly say i went there fro 8 years 2/3 times every week, great place, great music, great era for dance music i thought. My favourate was Jax, i was into dance/house music and cairo's was there in the right place at the right time.

There was always a gang of us approx 6 trendies (or so we thought), loved it, would go back tomrow if cud, anyhow great site , great topic, cairo's will always a great memory in my life time "out down town in sheff"

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Guest darren687

Welcome to the site mate

Can I ask what years you went into Cairos ?

I was a regular from 87-93 ish, loved it, went onto kee-kee's when cairo's was loosing it's appeal, wasn't the same class, it was a great place for me, you cud go out any night of the week, on your own sometimes and would see lots of regulars, miss them times, anyhow keep up the good work old chap!!!

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Guest knighty59

Great stuff - let us know - it's great to hear what people have done since the 'good old days' !

WOW!! I've always wondered what Paul Baron (real name Giuseppe Scapeletti or Scopaletti....the spelling may be incorrect but that is roughly right) got up to after he left Cairo's. I worked with him as DJ in Cairos from 1984-1988 and knew him for several years before that.

He always used to say to me that he would never get married again after his first marriage, so that was a bit of a shock.

I had also heard that he went abroad as a DJ but maybe he later opened that bar in Turkey.

One of my memories of Paul was that he used to have this awful Pink Volvo car that i would drive round for him in the centre of Sheffield to advertise Christmas events at Cairos. The car was a right novelty. Heads would automatically turn when they saw the Pink colour and of course they would then see the Cairos adverts on the roof.....Stroke of genius!!

It was a bugger to drive though because the steering wheel wasn't alligned properly, so if you were driving straight ahead you would have to hold the wheel at an angle to the right........But i would do anything for Cairos at that time!!! (and still would if it were still open today)

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Guest mgblade

oh my god what memorys are flooding back!!!

first post so here goes-

my first ever night down town was the night cairos opened couldn't get in then though, but went loads after for years to come.

remember paul baron, got quite chatty with him as we went in that much.

the dancing guy ha ha

the body building comps

wasn't it there they played "i saw a mouse, where? there on the stair" song

and oops up side ya head, when you all sat on the floor

a afternoon session before christmas, the place was dead but got a phone number off a barmaid,

went like this- "excuse me have you got some paper and a pen"

barmaid "yes here you are"

me "whats your number then?"

ha ha worked though..

the good times eh !!!

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i used to be a lighting jock in cairos i worked with and got drunk with neil james and raggy tash my names paul but i was called slick most of the time and i worked up to the end of cairos.

id love to get in touch with neil again so if anybody knows where he is let us know or is that u mister admin???????

and wheres my name on the radio 1 tour i was the lighting jock then lol!! and i did some djaying too neil in silks and in the club!!! i never get any recognition lol!!!!!!

if thats is you neil get in touch mate and i think u 4got the other djays didnt ya.....lee curtis... paul jay... and ray camanche remember them....

cheers paul

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Guest lennonman

Just joined this site today and what a great trip down memory lane it is, well done. This thread had brought back great memories of friday nights down at cairo jax in the mid eighties. it was a superb place with two dance floors to choose from, seem to remember sticking to the 'party'dance floor because there was more chance of picking up girls! My favourite memory is the time that Steve Wright from Radio 1 at the time, did a promo night at cairo jax. he wanted to get someone on stage with him and i was at the front so he picked me with the line 'what about this guy with the light perm', got to laugh now, had a curly mullet at the time! He asked me if i would like a bucket of sludge pouring over me and i replied that yes, indeed, i would like that, so he poured this porridge like substance over my head, leaving the bucket there. it was great, took me about a week to get the stuff out of my hair and clothes!!

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Guest lingus

Thank god for this site, Cairos was my first ever nightclub experience, i think i was 14 :rolleyes: but i did look older, my cousin who was much older tokk me most fri and sat nights, i remember sitting on the big padded seats drinking malibu n coke...lol

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ye mate got some of ray,marie,simon and one of the dancers cant remember her name one of me on the decks lol!!!

il try and dig em out and upload em..

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Guest dawnwearsrebina

cairo jax was ace, you went through a doorway and the music just changed. If you stood sideways you could have rick astley in one ear and soul to soul in the other. Does anyone remember going into Silks next door before Cairos?

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cairo jax was ace, you went through a doorway and the music just changed. If you stood sideways you could have rick astley in one ear and soul to soul in the other. Does anyone remember going into Silks next door before Cairos?

Silks was fab

One of the DJ's in there was GORGEOUS

;-)

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