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Memories by John Jeffries aka jinks

Digbeth Police object to Thorp Street Gale, 1981

During the process of moving from Witton Lane, Aston to Thorp Street in the City we, the Committee, were advised that Digbeth police would be objecting to our 'Special Hours Certificate' on the grounds of 'parking provision was not going to be provid...

Cruising at the Jaycee

jinks and his friends used to go to the Jaycee Cinema. “It played ‘funnies, cartoons and news reels’.  It was used by a large part of the gay community at that time and people would make ‘grand entrances’”. One particular patron, known as ‘The D...

Noelle was totally domineering

"Noelle Gordon was the principle boy, a thigh slapping lad who used to dress in tight costumes like Aladdin for example.” “She was totally domineering…but she mellowed towards me…she became a wonderful person.” ...

remembering the Gale at Camp Hill

The Nightingale started life at Camp Hill (in 1969). “It was a terraced property, which basically consisted of two rooms plus a backyard that was built upon. A long thin tunnel…the restaurant kitchen was on the back; the Manager’s office and the to...

Moving to Witton Lane

“In 1974 they bought a new bar that was a wonderful piece of carpentry and wanted to move it into the new premises in Witton Lane, Aston. The builders told them that they couldn’t do it, that the measurements did not work out. So, a group of members ...

Homophobic locals in Aston

As the venue was adjacent to Aston Villa FC, there were a few problems with homophobic locals and jink’s taxi was vandalised.“One example of such prejudice was experienced by Michael Patrick George Dunn, aka ‘Miles Per Gallon Dunn’. One day when he ...

Peter Scott-Fleeman and Campania

“Peter Scott-Fleeman was Chairman of the Members’ Committee. He was a tall, a proper gentleman; he was loved by everyone who knew him.”jinks talked about ‘The Royal Court of Campania.’ “Peter drew the coat of arms for everyone, everyone had a differ...

Mad Mondays at Witton Lane

After a while at Witton Lane the club began to lose business; they needed to find a way to stay open but cut down on staffing costs. The licence stated that they had to provide entertainment and dancing.  So they rented a jukebox and commissione...

Moving to Thorpe Street

The Nightingale committee looked at Birmingham Anglers Club which was on the market for £60,000 freehold. The club had £50,000 in the bank and approached their bank, Lloyds at Five Ways, for the rest. They said ‘No’ point blank.Graham Beardshaw, the...

Quentin Crisp opens Thorp Street

“At the official opening of Thorp Street, they had invited Quentin Crisp to do the honours. He sat on a big, oval backed, wicker chair on the stage and held court and talked about his favourite subject…himself! He spoke at a barely audible level as ...

Danny La Rue visits the club

At Christmas 1985 or 1986, Danny La Rue was performing at the Hippodrome next door and the club sent him an invite along with a bottle of champagne. It was the same treatment as any star from the theatre would have received. Danny wrote back saying ...

The best sound and light in Birmingham

The club was the first to have a laser show in Birmingham, and also had a glitter ball, mirrors and smoke machines. Greg James helped the Nightingale to get their sound system when it first opened in Thorp Street. “He was a New Yorker and he was rash...

Countess Bula

“Patrick Scott was known as Contessa Bula and started off as a cloakroom girl, then a barman; she was a good friend.” (Later to be known as Patrick Edwards)...

Running the club

The Nightingale Club was a committee run club and jinks often made some unpopular decisions. He believes this was because he worked almost full time at the club and the secretary and chairman worked part time. Eventually he was voted out. As the new...

Party Nights

They began to have theme parties; the first one was a Beach Party. “We covered the dance floor in tiny polystyrene beads, parked a sailing dinghy on the side of the beach, on the stage area in the concert room they put a three hundred weight of sand ...

The gay scene collaborated for the first time

For Five Days of Fun, local businesses all co-operated, including the Nightingale, The Windmill, The Grosvenor, The Jester and The Victoria.  They all agreed to mutually promote each other.  The pubs would have the business early on in the ...

A different crowd at the Grosvenor

The Grosvenor was out of the city, on Hagley Road, after Meadow Road.  Nowadays if you go past four or five demolished buildings, the last one standing is the old Grosvenor.  It had a very long beautiful lawn at the back of the hotel, with ...

The Windmill to Partners

The Windmill became a gay bar. Near there was a couple of places that were notorious. “The roof of the car park opposite was a rabid place for queens. The rent boys would hang on the steps of the car park. They could see Queensway behind them, the ...

Opening M&Ms

Stanley S Sheringham and Mark ‘Madge’ both worked at The Nightingale and later at Partners. They then got offered their own bar, The Wandering Minstrel. They opened it as ‘M and M’s’ which had a little bar downstairs and a bigger bar upstairs, and ...

Beautiful Barmen

“The Jester had some beautiful barmen; it was a happy hunting ground for me.” jinks said that in those days “We weren’t restricted by the fear of AIDS - nowadays it is so slow…the lube…the shower.”...

Cruising in the Bull Ring

“In the late 1960s and 70s, the scene was in the Bull Ring in the day time; there was lots of cruising in the Bullring. Men would go up and down on the escalators, you could spot a young man by his body language and eye contact. They would sit in th...

Jean McKinnon took over in 1980

"In 1980 it was taken over by Jean McKinnon as sole licensee, after she and her husband had left the Victoria in John Bright St. The bar was mixed, gay friendly with a few rent boys working there.She was an ex-thespian being the last "Betty" in the s...