Glyn, do you also remember the other nightclubs around at the same time? The Bird's Nest was popular with anyone who loved James Brown and other soul artists. I also remember a club in Montpelier Road called The Montpelier Rooms. It was in a large house and was only open for a short while, before being knocked down and flats built in its place. The dancing was in the basement. The other club we used to frequent was in West Street (near the top) called The VIP Club, which also had a 2am licence.

I remember Sherries in the 70s, so I probably saw you Glyn. My mum used to go to Sherries when she was young, although I am not sure that it was called Sherries then, but she said that a lot of lads from London would come down and there were razor fights with the Brighton boys. I used to go to Sherries on a Friday and Saturday evening, I loved it. Visited the Birds Nest a couple of times - wasn't that in Queens Road? Does anyone remember the name of the place that all the 'hairies' used to go to next to a cinema right by the Clock Tower in Brighton? You would be in the cinema watching a film and all you could hear was the heavy metal in the next door converted church. It was by the arcade that used to be in Western Road near M&S.

I was a regular at 'Toms' (Tom & Jerry's) in the 70's. Friday and saturdays were the dress up nights when guys needed to wear a tie and you also had to eat the free meal provided. It was only a cheap burger and chips but it was all in the licensing laws. Sunday was a free night, in fact all nights were free apart from Fri/Sat. I found all the staff (including dancers!) very friendly. There were a few times when I was the worse for wear but never any trouble and always welcomed back. Can't remember all the names but Martin Peters was one of the DJ's. It was not unusual in summer, to dash straight from Sherrys for a dip in the sea. I met my Mrs on a NYE in Sherrys and one of my lads worked there when it was Creation.

To Jacqui Woollven: Yo're right. I was in the Montpelier Rooms too in the summer of 1969. That was - besides the Top Rank - the place to go. The disco was in the basement, black walls painted with day-glo colours. The 'Pop In' - another great place - was (as far as I know) closed down in 1968, so I was late for this. The Montpelier Rooms were - as someone told me - closed down in September 1972. Would be great if some had photographs of these places!

Montpelier rooms... Remember them well, no alcohol was served but what a great place to go in the late 60s, the most amazing live bands playing soul music. Sherries, Martin Peters, who could forget Kenny Lyn!  I will not divulge what went on in our dressing room.. only to hint at what underwear he used to put on under that ridiculous white all in one cat suit. Jacqui ... Kenny went on to run the Birds Nest, other clubs at the time ... Kings club, if you were allowed entry, Seven Stars, VIP.

To Jo Williams: The name of that place were the hairies used to go - Sloopys - I was one of them. The best disco was the Montpelier Discotheque - much larger, and they used to hand out a leaflet at the Clock Tower, and if you used it before 9.30 it would only cost you 25p to get in. Dance floor in the basement and the coffee bar upstairs was the best place to meet international students. Great times with my mates.

Does anyone remember a coffee bar at the top of West Street called the Sombrero? I used to go with my friends on Saturday afternoons, not being allowed out at night in the early 60s as naive early teenagers. We preferred it to the Montpelier Rooms where the patrons were older and quite a lot of drug use happening. The Sombrero had a day club in the basement and to all intents and purposes you wouldn't know it was daytime. Lots of disco lights, smoky atmosphere, great music, no alchol but hordes of international exchange students to dance and flirt with!! I turned down my first marriage proposal at the age of 14, a lovely Spanish boy called Felipe who wanted to whisk me off to his father's horse stud in Andalusia!! OK, I know it was a wind-up, but I fell for it at the time! It's a shame there are none of those places for the kids to go these days.

Anyone remember Jenk's bar pre nightclub bar or club venue, the Queen Anne, and the Hungry Years for the rockers.

I remember Sherries very well; my friends and I had many a good night in there. I remember the go-go dancers and their stacked sole thigh high boots and the DJ Kenny Lyn. Sherries dress code was strict Collar and tie, trousers and shoes. One night my friend without a tie took off his sock, tied a large knot in it and hung it over his collar and got in. The food was served in a fake plastic basket which consisted of a few chips with questionable sausages and burgers; this was purely for the late licence. The entrance used to be at the rear on Middle Street, the queue used to reach up to The Spotted Dog pub (now The Hop Poles) which I’m sure was a gay pub then. Talking of The Birds Nest, I remember it used have telephones on the tables so you could talk to people on other tables. During the Saturday Night Fever craze Kenny Lyn took over the Birds Nest (then called Dalrymples) and turned it into Mr K’s, it had Brighton’s first lit up dance floor. Going back to West Street, who remembers The Zodiac, it used to be on the right about half way up?

Does anyone remember a barman called Douglas Neame from around 1979? Trying to track him down. Thanks.

I was a student nurse in the early 70s and Sherry's was our regular haunt. Remember the competitions they had back then? I won the "Best Legs In Sherrys" on Christmas Eve 1972! We used to pretend we were French students when we didn't fancy a boy who asked us to dance, sorry boys!

Does anybody remember the "Cheeka" coffee bar at the top of West Street in the 60s?

Wow, Sloopys, how did they cram a band in on Saturday nights? I remember everything, even the poster in the DJ booth and wondered why Brighton born DJs put on a mid Atlantic accent? Yup I used to give out leaflets for The Montpelier rooms, and yes the owner sold the land in late 72 then opened Pop Inn near Sherrys. I also remember him showing me his five litre  Capri and explaining how the birds flew from the continent and nested in his trees. I loved the Montpelier rooms, in fact my facebook picture is from there. I have a few pictures, anyone else have some? It's due to that place that I now speak Finnish. The girl in the pic with me was Norwegian and called Trina Underdal, wonder where she is now?

This is so odd, I used to be a bouncer at Sherry's, with my frilly shirt, bow tie, and platform boots because I was too short. I remember seeing lads go over the top of the balcony, and land on the tables below, then straight back upstairs for more. This was the place to be in the mid 70s, next door was the Queen Anne pub, and down stairs was the beer Keller, I remember that was always full of skinheads, playing reggae, getting drunk, looking for a fight, but a good place to go anyway. The dancers in Sherry's were good fun, rubbish dancers, but good fun, one of them drives a Streamline cab now, and was on the Benny Hill show. Sloopy's was the best place to get watered down beer, but you could get in if you were underage, no one cared, you could lick the entrance print on your hand, and press it on to your mates hand, and then he or she could go in for free. They really were the good old days. :) Johnny Kidd.

Hi Johnny. Wasn't Mr Winters the big boss and there was another senior manager, who looked too old and out of place, who was short & with glasses (Mr Brown?) I think Barry McKenzie was the head doorman and think I bumped into him at the Amex the other week, he remembered me! I was also good mates with a bouncer called Terry and we shared a window cleaning round (and maybe a girlfriend!) I really felt at home there.

Wow ...... Love the memories, especially Sherrys which I believe at one time had the longest bar in the UK. Kenny Lyn was great, 2 songs that stick in my mind were 'Pa pa was a Rolling Stone' and the go go dancers used to flaunt their wares on the stage, and 'Feel the Need in Me'. 2 great numbers. Carpeted throughout. I met my wife down there in the mid 70s, after cruising the dance floor chatting to girls and just generally having a good time. All your mates were there. It had a balcony all the way around on the first floor overlooking down below. Other places to frequent were the Revolution (in the Top Rank Suite?), and who remembers the Abinger in the early 70s? Foreign students, disco downstairs, rum and black drinks, steakhouse upstairs, excellent place. And afterwards across to the Salisbury Hotel disco next door down the stairs where Mud, Showaddywaddy, Gary Glitter, would be in full swing. And then there was Jenkinsons (Oh my god) this was a great place for the slightly older clientele. It normally had a cabaret act or someone like Jim Davidson come on at around 11.00pm, while you had the obligatory soup in a basket, interspersed with a few songs from the resident band whose front man was Bobby Sansom who was the epitome of the medallion man with the perm, rug on the chest, tight trousers and you can imagine the ladies were like putty. Not forgetting the discos at the Sussex Uni. Happy days guys.

Hi Dave, some great memories there, we must have been going to the same places at the same time. It's funny my mates and I used to go out and meet in a pub, usually Shades in Castle Square at about 7.30 to 8.00pm and everybody used to go to the same pubs leading to West Street. The discos used to close at 1.00am in the early 70's and 2.00am in the late 70's so you always had time for a bite to eat before making your way home. Nowadays the youngsters don't go out until 10.30 - 11.00pm because some clubs are open until 6.00am, no wonder you don't see them until late afternoon at weekends. Talking of Bobby Sansom; Bobby is still performing in California USA, his website http://americanmobilemusic.com/ He was also in the 60's Brighton band 'The Giants'. There is some information here about the 60's local music scene http://www.brightonbeat.com/

After reading the comments about Sherrys I thought I would add one of my own. My memories of Sherrys go back to the 50s. In those days it was known as Sherrys Long Bar and was run by Mr and Mrs Lyons. They were known for their generousity at Christmas time by locking the bar counter and throwing a party for under-privileged kids.

Hi Michael. I seem to be chasing you all around this site at the moment. Sherrys. Ah everybody must have been there some time in their life. Me and my mates used to stand by that bar where they used to serve food to get over some licensing law. Well I think it was food ? There was many a good punch up in there. I remember one night, I had split with my girl friend at the time (my wife now), I was dancing with a girl where we used to stand. Towards the later time of the evening the floor used to be awash with drink. Apparently my wife came running over to me to give us what for. She slipped and skidded on her backside right through everybody. Got up the other side of us and walked away wet and embarrassed. My mates said to me 'did you just see Janet?'. My reply 'I didn't see a thing!' We often laugh about it now. Still I met her down the Top Rank Suite. I remember seeing Gary Glitter down there on his come back tour, with all the punks jumping up and down spitting at him. Perhaps they knew something that we all know now.

I was a student in Brighton 1969-70. Used to go to Sloopy's. Anyone who remembers Sloopy's and the DJ Chris Jones?

...I remembered all these clubs .. what has happened to Brighton..?

Does anyone remember a tiny disco that was open for just one summer in 1973 called 'The Pop Inn'?  It was next door (on the right) to the Crystal Rooms in West Street which backed on to Sherrys. It was the year I left school and I was in there most nights as they played some great music (not just disco!). I remember it was about 30p admission and as they didn't sell any alcohol they stamped your hand so you could come and go as you pleased. We used to go to the Queen Anne just up West Street (I was only 16 but seemed to always get served). I remember that when the music was being played they would show cartoons on the wall, it was quite effective.

I remember the Cheeka Coffee, my friend and I spent a lot of our time there when we were teenagers. You had to go along a passage way and it was down stairs. There was a couple who ran it the, lady's name I think was Reene, can't remember her husband's name. They had a juke box and you had to put money in and you could choose what record you wanted.

Hi Paul, I remember the 'Pop In Disco' in West Street in the early 70's. I only went in there a few times; but as you rightly said, there was no alcohol on sale. Here is a photo of the Pop Inn from the James Grey Collection http://regencysociety-jamesgray.com/volume7/source/jg_7_031.html

Sherry's, great memories. My mates and I would meet in the Sea House just down the road on a Saturday night for a few pints as it was just about the only place we would get served in before going in. Had some fantastic nights in there in the early 70s. I've moved away from Brighton but when I do go back on the odd occassion it still feels like I'm going home.

Wow! Thank you Michael, it's fab to see it again after all these years. I think it probably closed due to the foreign students going home in October of 1973 and the business just dried up I guess. The students used to depart around October time in those days and there weren't many of us locals that used to go there. We had to go to our other fave place which was 'The Revolution' around the corner on the seafront, that was a great disco but a bit dearer at around 50p to go in. I remember buying tickets for Christmas Eve 1973 and they were about 75p! I met my wife (Pam) there and we have great memories of it.

Ah .. the club was actually called Sherry's, not Sherries, and it was awesome in the early 70s. The Montpelier Rooms was also amazing, totally black inside - and right at the peak of glam rock too. Happy days stomping around to Glitter and Cooper. Yes, there was also a club at the back of the Alhambra - I even DJ'd there for a while in 76. Next door, the Salisbury Hotel had a club called the Pallette Bar which I used to frequent. Possibly the best club of all was the Afro Club at the Aquarium - nothing but reggae. Superb.

Ahh memories!! Have just read through all the comments on this page. Me and my friend Tyna used to frequent Sherrys during the '70s nearly every night! It used to be free to get in on a Mon, Tues, Weds and 30p Sun & Thurs! I remember the go-go dancers: Glynis, Janet and Marianne. The DJ's: Kenny Lyn, Martin Peters, Tony Burton, Paul Moon and another who I can't remember his name. I remember a group called Beano who played there a lot. The manager was Dudley Winters and yes Ken, a Mr. Brown in the office. Tyna and I used to sit on the table near the DJ stand; we were avid Barry White fans. I met my now husband there. We dated for a while in the Sherrys days then met up again at the Top Rank Suite in the '80s and have been together ever since. Those were the days...........

I met my Mrs there too, in NYE 1976 and still together so, Sherry's really played a big part in my life. Sad to hear of the passing of Donna Summer. 'I Feel Love' was never better than the full version played loud at Sherry's!