When stars flocked to ‘Las Vegas of North’
HOW CLUB PLAYED HOST TO ACTS SUCH AS THE BEE GEES, THE DRIFTERS AND SHIRLEY BASSEY
THESE days the people of Batley are often forced to venture to neighbouring Leeds or Huddersfield for a decent night out on the town.
But that was far from the case in the late 1960s and early 70s when one club was singlehandedly earning Batley its title of the ‘Las Vegas of the North.’
Batley Variety Club opened in 1967 and was run during its heyday by James Corrigan, who built the club on the site of an old sewage works.
On opening night, The Bachelors are said to have played to a crowd of 2,000 people and its height, the variety club was drawing audiences of 2,500.
But that is perhaps no surprise considering superstars such as Louis Armstrong, Dame Shirley Bassey, The Bee Gees and Tom Jones all performed at the club.
Some of the world’s biggest names at the time also found love at the venue.
Maurice Gibb of The Bee Gees famously met his future wife Yvonne Spencely as she was working as a waitress on one of the nights he performed there.
But in spite of all its success in the late 60s and early 70s, Batley Variety Club closed later that decade to become Crumpets nightclub – which also closed soon after.
In the 80s the club became the Frontier nightclub, which was recently transformed into a JD Gym.
Now, looking back on its glory days, those closest to the Batley Variety Club have shared their fondest memories of the place and opened up on what the club still means to them to this day.
Philip Luderman, 76, worked for a talent agency during the height of the club’s success.
He was responsible for bringing huge acts from overseas to perform on Batley Variety’s stage such as The Drifters with Johnny Moore, Neil Sedaka, Del Shannon and Al Martino.
He described the club on Bradford Road as “one of the more popular cabaret venues on the circuit” and said he and his star-studded clients “all loved Batley.”
“The audiences were absolutely amazing and really appreciative to see major acts coming directly from the states to work this club in the middle of nowhere,” he said.
“The most popular (with audiences), without doubt, were The Drifters. I looked after them for over 30 years, travelled the world with them, and we all loved Batley.
“We worked the White House and lots of Royal Varieties but the audiences at Batley were second to none.”
Karen Clegg, from Dewsbury, is the daughter of the club’s former general manager, Allan
Keith Clegg. Allan was instrumental in running the club until his departure in 1977 and was even involved in the construction of the building.
He sadly passed away on September 1 at the age of 79.
“It was a massive part of his life and he never stopped telling us stories – we heard them thousands of times,” said Karen.
Some of the stories Allan passed on to Karen include enjoying fish and chips with Shirley Bassey in the back of her Rolls Royce, as well as taking Neil Sedaka for a sit-down meal in Ilkley.
But the club was also a massive part of Karen’s young life.
“On a Saturday night we (Karen and her brother) would go to bed early at home and be woken up by my mum at 9pm,” she said.
“We used to sit on the balcony at the club and watch all these amazing acts. Then we’d be taken downstairs to meet them backstage.”
But some of Karen’s more prominent memories are the massive New Year’s Eve parties her dad would host.
She said: “Whoever was on at the club at the time would come back to our house on New Year’s Eve. “I remember waking up and having Graham Walker from the Grumbleweeds on my brother’s drums underneath the stairs.
“And before Paul Daniels became really famous he came to our home after performing at the club and did a card trick in our lounge.”
Batley Variety Club also seemingly holds a special place in the hearts of people who were lucky enough to witness some big-name acts perform there.
Andrew Lodge recalled: “Chuck Berry without doubt was the best I ever saw there. He was fantastic.
“Asked people to get on stage and dance big mistake! Everyone got up and tried to get on the stage, bouncers had a job keeping them off. Fantastic night.”
Joy Wright said: “I saw Gene Pitney - he was amazing. You could hear a pin drop when he was singing his ballads.”
Eunice Taylor said she went to the club every week without fail.
“We had bookings near the front every Saturday night,” she said. “So many great stars and I saw loads of them. Super those 1960s.”
And Karen Taylor said: “I remember being a small child and seeing Shirley Bassey rehearsing on stage.
“I think my mum and dad had gone to buy tickets.”