At the centre of the Northern Soul scene, Tiffany’s nightclub was the place to be seen
The variety of DJ skills available to the club helped to establish its reputation.
The name Tiffany’s was written across the top of the flier, followed by the words, “Open every night except Mondays.”
The Crystal Buildings on Brunswick Street in Newcastle have hosted a range of entertainment over the last 100 years or so, including dancing and snooker.
The expansive three-story arena, formerly the Crystal Ballroom, was demolished in 2004 and renamed Zanzibar.
At one point, nevertheless, the door was emblazoned with the word Tiffany’s.
The club became a fixture of the Northern Soul scene in the late 1970s and early 1980s thanks to the diversity of DJ talent it offered.
Last year in 2017, Colin Curtis, the club’s most famous DJ and now 65 years old, celebrated his 50th birthday.
Colin, a Newcastle native whose real name was Colin Diamond, was present from the beginning:
He said, “I began when it was still the Crystal Ballroom.” I was still a student at Wolstanton Grammar School when I developed an interest.
“I used the name Colin Curtis because I would have been expelled from school if they had discovered it.”
“I remember DJ-ing there during the 1970 World Cup. As you went in the original building a spiral staircase led up
to where the football was being projected on a big screen. I was giving updates on the England versus West Germany
score. It was all going very well at 2-0, until Peter Bonetti got involved.”
With fierce competition on the clubbing scene from the likes of The Place, Top Rank, Golden Torch and Jolles,
management at Tiffany’s saw the need to carve out their own identity.
Sundays were big at Tiffany’s, as music lovers from across the city descended upon the dance floors of the Crystal
Building.
In charge of promotions for the forthcoming Tiffany’s reunion, Jan Crowe, 61 and from Crewe, recalls clearly how
weekends panned-out back then.
She said: “We would go to other places on a Saturday and finish the weekend at Tiffany’s on a Sunday.
“The music was like nothing I had ever heard before, the dance floor was filled. It was a gathering place. Everyone
went on a Sunday.”
Although all types of music were played by Colin and his fellow DJs, as the club settled it began to find its identity,
building a reputation for the quality of its soul music.
Today the Potteries and North Staffordshire are well known as a hub for Northern Soul but in the late 1970s and 80s
Tiffany’s was one of the premier places to take it in.
Revellers would dance the night away to the likes of Edwin Starr, Bobby Hebb and the great Jackie Wilson – who
Colin remembers as being one of the greats of the soul scene.
Colin said: “Jackie Wilson was probably one of the best soul singers ever and we had him on at Tiffany’s.
“I had been sacked the week before, I had to sneak in. If you were sacked, you were banned from going in the club.”
Confident that he would be rehired by manager Ernie Shaw, who he had a good relationship with, Colin would go on
to DJ at the venue throughout the rest of the 1980s.
In Stoke-on-Trent, the Northern Soul movement gained its “hardcore” fan base as it continued to grow throughout
the North West.
Tiffany’s maintained its position as the industry leader by providing the finest sound available.
When there were so many different kinds of music available at the time, Jan Crowe recalls how the sound started to
shift, making Northern Soul the sound that defined her and other people’s era.
And that sound has endured, with a loyal following nearly fifty years later.
“There’s a reason Stoke-on-Trent got the nickname ‘Soul-on-Trent,'” Jan continued.
Jan recalls Sunday nights becoming “all-dayers” due to the high demand for this sound.
“They began doing ‘all dayers’ on Sundays at 2:00 p.m. We would arrive at 4 p.m. and spend the entire night there,”
she remarked.
Keith Minshull, John Murphy, “Pep,” Dave Evison, Nige Brown, and Tim Ashibende were present with Colin. These
guys were all involved in making this amazing music available to us.
Thus, the annual Tiffany’s reunion, which takes place at the North Stafford Hotel on August 26 starting at 4 p.m.,
continues the long and distinguished legacy of Northern Soul and Tiffany’s.
Jan, who has spent the last 40 years working and knowing Colin and the others, is happy that the reunion they began
last year has turned into a yearly event.
“After the amazing celebrations for Colin’s 50th anniversary last year, we’re thrilled Colin and the gang are back for
another year,” she said. Colin is still able to rock a crowd, as he always has.
“Keep going—”Northern Soul comes from Trent. We sincerely hope that Tiffany’s and Northern soul fans will be able
to attend what promises to be yet another amazing event.
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