Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
A club where the stars sparkled brightly
Some magical memories of legendary city venue
PERTH’S York House was a hugely popular nightclub during its heyday.
Over the years, especially when Jimmy Stewart was running the show, it played host to a variety of top names and became the place to be in the 1980s.
Yorky’s Nightclub, later to be known as Shenanigans, was full on weekend nights with revellers coming from all over Perthshire and beyond to hit the dancefloor.
The club hosted top musical acts and soap stars visited along with one of the greatest footballers of all time.
These were heady days in the Fair City and capturing all the news was my former DC Thomson colleague James Masson, who interviewed many a celebrity at the venue.
On top of that, freelance photographer Lawrence McNamara was there to capture the action in pictures and has shown off some of his snaps.
“These were great nights,” Lawrence said.
“It was packed on a Friday and Saturday.
“Being a Perth lad and snapping a lot of stars was magical.”
James was right at the heart of the action for the Tele and I asked him to share a few stories of his time with the celebs there.
James recalled: “Being a Perth lad, I was always keen to keep the Fair City in the spotlight and, as far as evening entertainment was concerned, Yorky’s was a place not to be missed.
“However, one of the stars I interviewed was a somewhat reluctant celeb.
“Yorky’s had booked actor Chris Quinten to make a personal appearance.
“He played Brian Tilsley in Coronation Street.
“However, when I turned up to speak to him, he wasn’t there.
“Then owner, Jimmy Stewart, informed me that Chris didn’t fancy the accommodation he was staying in and had decanted to the Station Hotel.
“We went to the Station Hotel, where Chris had booked in and found him having a right strop.
“He told us he really wasn’t pleased with the place he had been booked into and, after hearing him going on about it, we eventually persuaded him to come over to Yorky’s where he would be, and was, well looked after.
“He wasn’t going to come but we told him hundreds of fans would be disappointed if he didn’t show, so he agreed.”
Australian, as well as British soap stars, also turned up at the nightclub, including Stefan Dennis from Neighbours, who played Paul Robinson.
Yorky’s was again very busy for his visit but a near disaster happened the following day.
James went on: “Stefan had agreed to open a shop and a big crowd turned up
and they were pressing against the window.
“It was in danger of caving in and the police had to come and restore order.”
Yorky’s was in the hands of the Stewart family for many years before being sold.
The name and ownership had changed by the time Stefan Dennis appeared and his Neighbours co-stars Guy Pearce and Craig McLachlan were there in the 1990s.
McLachlan played heartthrob Henry Ramsay in Neighbours and launched a career as a pop star and achieved a Top Ten hit with the song Mona. They belted it out and other tunes to a
packed audience.
Page 3 favourite Maria Whittaker was another who graced the venue.
She even judged a Mr Puniverse contest.
Among the Shenanigans regulars for a year was Australian cricket great Adam Gilchrist.
Before he became a top international, Adam was the Perthshire professional.
James recalled: “He fairly enjoyed his Shenanigans nights out. Adam loved a party and he was a cracking cricketer for Perthshire but nobody knew then what a star he would become.”
However, there is one night that James remembers more than most – the night the great George Best silenced a packed disco hall.
His career on the field may
have been over, but, making personal appearances on the nightclub circuit, it was in full flow.
It was while with Bestie that James spotted first-hand a football masterclass that has lived with him from that day to this.
“George challenged those in the place to a keepie-uppie competition” said James.
“He was a retired footballer by then but there was still magic in his feet. George did 100 keepieuppies no bother.”
The beat finally stopped pumping in 1999.
The former Shenanigans nightclub became a snooker and pool club.
“Peter Powell did a DJ set one night at Yorky’s,” said James
“He was a musical institution. “So was Yorky’s.”