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Memories of Sheffield Fiesta

Bob Mundy was Roy Orbison's drummer for six years from 1967 to 1974. They played at The Fiesta nightclub in Sheffield, where he later worked as a compÃ¨re. He's putting together a book about the nightclub and his experiences.

Roy Orbison (L) and Bob Mundy (R), 1970s

Peter Stringfellow's Pittsmoor nightclub The Mojo wasn't the only one to attract big names in swinging Sheffield.

The big, bold Fiesta nightclub opened in Sheffield in the 1970s and it was another venue which attracted big acts like The Jackson Five, The Beach Boys, Roy Orbison, Stevie Wonder, Ella Fitzgerald and The Four Tops all played there.

Michael Jackson in The Jackson Five

And there were many famous homegrown names too - Cilla Black, Bruce Forsyth, Les Dawson, Tommy Cooper and Sheffield's own Tony Christie - to name but a few.

Chrissy Clarke saw The Jackson Five at the Fiesta in 1977 or 1978:

"I met Michael Jackson at the Sheffield Fiesta - it was The Jackson Five - the place was packed. They were absolutely brilliant. They'd just performed Destiny. He was the most amazing dancer - he had this presence about him. He was 17 or 18 - my age. He smiled at me, I was on the front row and he came and sat with me. He kissed me and held my hand, he was just a really, really nice guy. He gave me a flower. I was just mute! The paparazzi hounded him completely. I think he was always trying to get approval from people - his fans did it for him when maybe his parents didn't."

:: Tell us your memories of nights at the Fiesta via the form at the bottom of the page ::

Anyone who knows Sheffield will know the big building on Arundel Gate which is now the Odeon cinema. Next door was the Top Rank nightclub (later known as the Roxy Disco and now is the O2 Academy.)

Bob at the Fiesta

The Fiesta was full of good old fashioned entertainment - stage, tinselly curtains, musical heroes, cabaret acts and hypnotists, chicken-in-a-basket served to your dimly-lit table, dancing girls and a compÃ¨re.

It was owned by Keith and Jim Lipthorpe who had already opened the Fiesta nightclub in Stockton-on-Tees â€“ previously a cinema.

One of the compÃ¨res who worked at the Fiesta was Bob Mundy who had been Roy Orbison's drummer for six years in the late 1960s and 1970s. Roy Orbison and his band started their tour of the north at Batley Variety Club, followed by Stockton Fiesta and then Sheffield Fiesta in the 1970s. They went on to tour the world together.

Bob Mundy and Roy Orbison's band on The Big O LP (1970)

Bob Mundy on The Big O LP (1970)

Bob came to Ö÷²¥´óÐã Radio Sheffield in May 2009 to talk to Gareth Evans about his memories of playing and compÃ¨ring at the Fiesta nightclub and about being The Big O's drummer and close friend. He now runs a recording studio in Leeds.

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Listen to the interview with Bob by clicking on the link, or read a synopsis of the interview below.

"Is anybody there?..."

Roy Orbison once said that the only two things he needed to go on stage were a drummer and a bass player - and Bob was one of those.

"He had these little signals to let me know if he wanted it louder or quieter - if he wanted it louder he'd pull his guitar forward, or for quieter he'd move it back," says Bob. So how did he come to be compÃ¨ring at the Fiesta?

"I went to the Fiesta while we were doing a few tours with the Dronfield singer Karen Young who had a hit single with Nobody's Child.

Tony Christie outside the former Fiesta

"They asked me what I thought of the compÃ¨re. I said, 'He's alright, I could do that job'. A couple of weeks later they sent me a contract, it scared the life out of me! Being in the background with Roy Orbison and then suddenly being plunged into making the show go on... Karen Young was on tour at the time I was compÃ¨ring. She lived in Dronfield and she let me use her place to stay.

"The Bachelors were playing at the Fiesta the first week I wasÌýcompÃ¨ring. We'd done several concerts with them but this was my first night as the compÃ¨re and I was dreading it.

"The Fiesta was packed out. I had a catchphrase that came by accident that night... Usually you walk on to the stage and the spotlight picks you up and you go to the microphone. But the spotlight never came on!

"I didn't know what to say... so I said, 'Is anybody there? Knock three times for yes and twice for no!'

Fiesta nightclub sign (1970s)

"Everybody started banging on the tables and then the lights came up! It broke the atmosphere - we decided to keep it as part of the act and it became a great catchphrase - people used to shout it out in the street when they saw me shopping in Sheffield!"

"It was a great crowd at the Fiesta - a real cross-section of people. They had some fantastic big names - The Beach Boys, The Bachelors... Kenny Rogers and The First Edition were on stage on my last night there. The drummer Mickey wanted to tour Sheffield's antique shops looking for war memorabilia, so me and him used to go out looking during the day. Rock 'n' roll!"

:: Bob Mundy is looking for people's memories and memorabilia from The Fiesta for a book. Contact him with your memories: robert@uptomidnightstudio.com

Bob Mundy, Roy Orbison's drummer (1967-1974)

Touring with The Big O

Roy Orbison's life was touched by tragedy. "Two of his children died in a fire at the end of the first year that we toured together," says Bob. "It was really hard for him. One child, Wesley, survived. His wife Claudette had been killed in a motorbike accident two years before. We became very close and it was like a shockwave when I found out he'd died in 1988.

"People said he always looks sad, but actually Roy picked up a lot of the English sense of humour. He liked Frankie Howard, The Goons and stuff - he was really funny at times, we had a real good laugh with him.

Orbison found love again, in Batley of all places. The band were in Peter Stringfellow's West Yorkshire nightclub when Roy's fellow band members introduced him to a German student called Barbara - and it went from there. Roy and Barbara went on to have two more sons.

Roy Orbison died of a massive heart attack in December 1988 â€“ a moment which shook his friends like Bob on the other side of the world. "It was so devastating, a shockwave. Elvis said Roy Orbison was the best singer he'd ever known. As his backing band we were very close to him. It was very sad."

:: Bob Mundy is looking for people's memories and memorabilia from the Fiesta nightclub. Contact him with your memories: robert@uptomidnightstudio.com

Click on the links below to read about the city of Sheffield in the 1970s, and about Peter Stringfellow's famous Mojo Club on Pittsmoor Road in the 1960s. Share your memories about the city's nightclub and disco scene through the years in the Have Your Say box below, and to relive the hits from the 70s and 80s, choose Phil Butler's show on the Ö÷²¥´óÐã iPlayer.

last updated: 26/06/2009 at 12:48
created: 12/05/2009

Have Your Say

Who did you see at the Fiesta? The Jackson Five, Roy Orbison, The Four Tops...? Tell us your memories of the nightclub.

Julie
I remember seeing the New Seekers in a matinee performance with my mum, they were great

Trevor
First of all message for Janet Harrison..........the club above the skating rink was The Heartbeat. I also visited The "fab" Fiesta, saw The Four Tops and also danced on stage while the band played. Enjoyed Dave Allen the Irish comic,( as opposed to the ex Sheffield Wednesday comic.lol)I was also dancing when i over-heard Michael Parkinson chatting up a young lady hehe.....good times to be had in those days at many clubs already mentioned.

Pat McClusky
Hi, I was Compere at the fiesta Fiesta in 78/79, after three years at the Wakefield Theatre Club. I remember the Jacsons well, especially michael. my recolection of him was being comforted by two minders, he had lost his vioice and was unable to finish the show. If you were compere in what year were you there? I also worked with Roy Orbison several times when he dit his tours of Ireland.All the best Pat McClusky.

STEVE in BRADWAY
Four tops...brilliantJimmy RuffinNookie Bear !!!!I went for a job there one day..it closed the next day..sorry!

Barbara T.
It was 1975 and I was a student at Sheffield City College (now Hallam Uni). I was asked out by a fellow student, Kevin, to see Jimmy Ruffin at the Fiesta. It seemed to me at the time to be the most sophisticated place I'd ever seen, far classier than the usual student 'dives' we frequented. It was a great show, and 34 years on Kevin and I are still together!

bernice coates
i went every weekend i was 15 then still at school part of the time i visited we all ways got free chicken /chips in a basket my boyfriend was a coach driver that was a perk they got in the times i visit i saw bob monkhouse /shawaddi waddi they shouted out names and if they said your name you went up on stage and they gave out a signed poster . tony christi many times / kenny rogers he had broken his leg put still did the show / suzzy quatrio/ the four tops wow everyone was stood on the tables / cannon and ball they were support acts then in early 70s/ far to many to mention for me but one comedian i saw 5 times in one year the brilliant freddy star march 11 1976 my hen night we had a mini coach of lasses after are chicken chasear and seeing freddy we went down stairs you could go round the back of the reception stars and knock on thedoor acts would come out for photoes and autographs freedy did this and asked me in his dressing room i while there to my embarrisment passed wind he heard me he said did you fart i felt so stoopid i said no it was my shoes that squeekt how i was so quick thinking i will never now what a amazing place i for one miss it

lesley
I remember it well it was thick in snow and i took my clothes to work just incase i could not get home to get changed. I was just about to see the best group in the world, the Jackson 5 and not even the weather was going to stop me. It was one of the BEST NIGHTS of my life and i feel honerd an priveliged to av seen micheal jackson live

Ros Winsor
I saw Michael Jackson there in the 70's after queuing in the snow outside to get in. He was mind blowing and I have always remembered that night with great fondness. We went to the Fiesta almost every week for a few years and had some great times, cut my "nightclubbing" teeth there. Also, saw the Four Tops in 75 when I was heavily pregnant and there was a heatwave on. They turned all the fans on the stage round for the fans that night, another fantastic memory. Wish it was still here!

Chrissy Clarke
I met Michael Jackson at the Sheffield Fiesta in 1977 or 1978. It was the Jackson Five - the place was packed on Arundel Gate. They were absolutely brilliant. They'd just performed Destiny- he was the most amazing dancer - he had this presence about him. He was 17 or 18 - my age. He smiled at me, I was on the front row and he came and sat with me! He kissed me and held my hand, he was just a really, really nice guy. He gave me a flower. I was just mute! The paparazzi hounded him completely. I think he was always trying to get approval from people - his fans did it for him when maybe his parents didn't. He had so much talent and where he needed the love he didnt get it in his childhood.

paul deeley
I grew up in Sheffield and was only young when it ,it is a well remembered landmark with lots of memories for my parents who met there and used to go regularly i definately remember them seeing bob monkhouse there .

janet harrison
Penny Farthing,down broadway,Fiesta,Shades,not forgetting The Marquis of Granby,Baileys and one on Queens Road above the skating ring can't remember the name and what is now the Leadmill !!!!Visited all of them with very happy memories, there was no trouble in those days.wish I could dance now like I did then !!!!regardsjanet

DAVE
Can remember actually being on stage being hypnotised by Martin St.James,acting out a chicken laying a square egg and shouting the Russians are coming !!The year apprx 1974

Wayne Bralsford
My mum used to be a waitress at The fiesta club in Sheffield. I am not 100% certain of the years she worked there. I can remember her telling me Leslie Crowther was one of the nicest people she met and gave her a Â£5 tip.

Josie Warburton Powell
I saw lots of acts there in the late 60' early 70's before i moved to Miami, i recall seeing the Dubliners, im almost sure i saw them there, we all went dancing later. also went to school with Pete Stringfellows brother, and we went to the MoJo club a couple of times but nothing like the Old Fiesta, what times I had in Sheffield. Great ones.

Kevan Smith
I lost my mother in January 1975 and as I was 18 in February I didn't really feel like having a party. In May 1075 my mates took me to see the Rockin Berries at the Fiesta where in the disco downstairs which I think may have been called the Sunset Room I met a girl called Gail Ibbotson. In March 1976 Gail and I had our Daughter Kerry Louise who is now 33 years old. The relationship lasted about 18 months after Kerry was born but had it not been for the Fiesta I probably would not have met Gail and Kerry would never have been born.

PAUL CROOKES
my father ronald crookes worked at fiesta night clubsheffield boxer.lots of memories for bob mundys book.big party with the fourtops at sheffields penny farthing. my father was father christmas for tony christie at is home. loads more stories joe cocker marti caine bobby knutt and all the big stars.living inbarbados now. best wishes to all your staff and everyone in sheffield take care.paul glo and albert the dog.

Shelagh
I worked there as a bar supervisor from 1972 to 1975 and saw all the big acts some of which we saw over and over but never tired of Tommy Cooper; The Four Tops; Shirley Bassey. Lesley Crowther once refereed a charity football match for our ladies football team the 'Fiesta Fillies'(I still have the photos) and we bought him a grand piano shaped cigarette box for a birthday he was celebrating whilst appearing one year. Some artists liked the bars closed whilst they were performing - one I remember was Jack Jones, this sometimes caused a rush for double orders which was hard work for waitresses and bar staff.I drank scotch and ate steak sandwiches with Frankie Valli of 'The Four Seasons' and kissed Jimmy Ruffin. A lot of acts came out to talk to staff and sit in the old lounge bar after hours.I also have vivid memories of the band 'Showaddy Waddy' doing matinees on a Saturday afternoon and having to work and extra shift to serve non alchoholic drinks to thousands of screaming kids. AWFUL!!

Donella Burrows
My mother worked at The Fiesta, I cant remember the year as she passed away 17 years ago, but Freddie Starr showed there and my mother found him an hotel and he gave her a signed pic of him saying 'thanks for the bed linda'. everyone wondered what he meant by it. i would love to be able to speak to anyone who knew my mum linda burrows she worked on reception.

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