Rebels nightclub was a place where friendships were made for life
Few people are aware that Peter Stringfellow played a significant role in the eventual establishment of the
In 1969, he opened the Penthouse in the area that would later become the Rebels.
His passion for the location, which was located several stories above Dixon Lane, didn’t last long. There
might not have been a rock club at all if it had.
Their King Mojo adolescent club in Burngreave drew celebrities including Tina Turner, Ike, and Jimi Hendix. Some
of their very first recorded performances took place at the venue. Furthermore, Peter Stringfellow had previously
served as a Beatles comperé and a presenter on the renowned Ready Steady Go! television program.His first
establishment with an alcohol licence was the Penthouse, and things didn’t work out.
Peter Stringfellow ended up selling the Penthouse business within months of opening and moved his business
interests to Leeds.
It was, in his eyes, a disaster. Fighting became a consistent problem.Rebels was the brainchild of former Limit
bouncer Steve Baxendale.
“I thought no one had come on opening night,” he added. There were only four individuals standing
outside when I came down the street. I was devastated.
“However, when I opened the bottom doors, more than 1,000 people were on all seven flights of stairs.”
After the rockers concluded playing venues like the Wapentake, Rebels gave them access to an exclusive
nightclub.
The discs were first spun by Bob Maltby. Also on deck was Ken Hall, who gained notoriety for his years at
the Wapentake.
Following the success of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal genre a few years earlier, the rock scene
expanded in the mid-1980s with the development of spandex-charged hair metal, making Rebels’
opening opportune.
Rebels was a real institution in Sheffield. It was a haze of rock ‘n’ roll, bleached hair, Red Stripe, and
innumerable flights of stairs.
Following the success of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal genre a few years earlier, the rock scene
expanded in the mid-1980s with the development of spandex-charged hair metal, making Rebels’
opening opportune.
Rebels was a true Sheffield institution. It was a blur of endless flights of stairs, Red Stripe, bleached hair
and rock ‘n’roll.
In subsequent years, DJ Lez Wright, whose roots can be traced back to the Buccaneer, took over the disc-
spinning duties. By the end of the 1980s, Rebels had become one of the most well-known rock clubs in
the entire nation.Phil Staniland, a Rebels regular, recalls: “You entered the club on the top floor and paid
through some sort of hole in the wall after climbing up the multi-story and extremely steep staircase.”
Then you entered a pitch-black, dark chamber with loud music that was turned up to eleven! It was a
fantastic club that was not merely well-liked by rock stars.
There are always a few “stray” townies or hen party gals who, at that point in the evening, wanted
something a little different from the “norm.” The “unsurpassable Lez” was in charge of the controls in the
DJ’s box, giving the public exactly what they want. Together with Lez’s iconic one-liners over the
microphone, such “Come on Rebels F**kin’ Rock ‘n’ Roll!!!!!,” this is every rock classic ever presented in a
deluge of sound that assaults the senses.
“I remember standing at the back, close to Lez’s DJ box, with the rest of the thrashers, complaining about
the music but still getting up and headbanging to it,” recalls Philip Cuffy Cuthbertson with fondness.
When that place closed, it was one of the worst days for Sheffield rock. So many wonderful memories!
Even though I would now appear very elderly there, I would still like it to reopen!
“I fell down them a few times as I remember – they seemed to go on forever,” Chris Twiby said of the
steps.
Friendships were made at Rebels that still carry on decades after the last tune was played in the mid-
1990s.
Do you have some great stories or photographs relating to your nights out at Rebels? Want to share them
for a forthcoming book?
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