Rockgarden/Bongo Memories Wanted

Does anybody remember Big Les (Allen) he was MC at the R G and booked Adam and the Ants , Bad Manners amongst a lot of others
 
Sunday 20 August - 12.30-15.30

Over The Border. A deep dive into the history of Teesside's oldest nightclub and first Reggae venue The Bongo Club and its lasting impact on the region. Dub and Reggae music and memories.

( A Man Called Adam will be playing a reggae playlist and there will be a history time line around the Bongo and founder
Abdillahi Warsama).
 
Massive thanks to all here at FMTTM for your contributions and to all who turned up yesterday. It was a joyful experience :) Me and Steve have loved diving into the music and archives - such an amazing, creative time. We gathered lots of emails so we'll let you know if we manage to pull anything else together. It's a story that deserves it's own exhibition or permanent archive at the very least. I'll post some pics soon, and really thanks again! x
 
Sally R said:
Aw that's a story we should have included yesterday... next time. It's funny how certain individuals help shape whole cultures. RIP Big Les and thank you for the music.
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I've told this story before, but my father in law actually owned the Rock Garden and until a few years ago had kept a lot of contracts etc in another one of his business properties. He threw them in the skip as he didn't / still doesn't realise the impact the club had on many peoples lives nor the music culture of the north east.

My mother in law worked the door / /cloakroom when heavily pregnant with my wife, and Mrs Jumpers still remembers going to visit her dad in the club after school.
 
Sally R said:
Aw that's a story we should have included yesterday... next time. It's funny how certain individuals help shape whole cultures. RIP Big Les and thank you for the music.
Click to expand...

Ian Lister took over as manager and booker of bands after that. I worked there on fridays and saturdays, both behind the bar and later letting the bands in and looking after them on the afternoons. That was a great job. There was a filing cabinet in the office upstairs full of contracts and riders that made amusing reading. Mostly the riders were crossed out completely. Great to see the photos and videos of the event and some old friends. I even noticed that there was an image of one of the posters that I still have popped up ... presumably taken from the fb group.
 
The_Lizards_Jumpers said:
I've told this story before, but my father in law actually owned the Rock Garden and until a few years ago had kept a lot of contracts etc in another one of his business properties. He threw them in the skip as he didn't / still doesn't realise the impact the club had on many peoples lives nor the music culture of the north east.

My mother in law worked the door / /cloakroom when heavily pregnant with my wife, and Mrs Jumpers still remembers going to visit her dad in the club after school.
Click to expand...

You a relative of Jimmy H?
 
borolad259 said:
Ian Lister took over as manager and booker of bands after that. I worked there on fridays and saturdays, both behind the bar and later letting the bands in and looking after them on the afternoons. That was a great job. There was a filing cabinet in the office upstairs full of contracts and riders that made amusing reading. Mostly the riders were crossed out completely. Great to see the photos and videos of the event and some old friends. I even noticed that there was an image of one of the posters that I still have popped up ... presumably taken from the fb group.
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I hope your name popped up on the film yesterday? Steve Harland sent me images from the FB group members and had asked for permission to use them, he sent me all the names of all who should be credited and they appeared at the end of the film.
 
The_Lizards_Jumpers said:
I am (by marriage obvioously), but he wasn't the owner - his brother (my FIL) was actually the owner.
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I thought it was Jimmy's uncle that owned it ... I was at school with him. Unless I'm getting confused ... not unlikely. He went to Hustler in the late 70s. Used to walk home the same way as me, heading off down Roman Rd.
 
Sally R said:
I hope your name popped up on the film yesterday? Steve Harland sent me images from the FB group members and had asked for permission to use them, he sent me all the names of all who should be credited and they appeared at the end of the film.
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Possibly, I didn't see the full film. I don't mind anyway. If something more permanent happens I may have other stuff that could be used .... I kept a page a day diary during that whole period and made an extensive list of every band that I saw there.
 
borolad259 said:
Possibly, I didn't see the full film. I don't mind anyway. If something more permanent happens I may have other stuff that could be used .... I kept a page a day diary during that whole period and made an extensive list of every band that I saw there.
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Amazing, thank you. I think there's so much more to be said and shared :)
 
borolad259 said:
I thought it was Jimmy's uncle that owned it ... I was at school with him. Unless I'm getting confused ... not unlikely. He went to Hustler in the late 70s. Used to walk home the same way as me, heading off down Roman Rd.
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In which case we're talking about two different Jimmy's, although the Uncle is my FIIL.

I know my FIL has a brother called Jimmy who would be far too old to have been at school in the 70's (my FIL is in his 80's now) he probably has a son called Jimmy, although I dont think I've ever met him (it's a big family).
 
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