Supplied by John Busbridge
1975 advert
John Busbridge… Who remembers the Sundowners Club? Great place to go on a Friday night back in the day. Can anyone date this?
Alan Esdaile… Sundowners was great. Thanks for posting John.
Kevin Sherwood… I saw Showaddywaddy over there before they were in the charts so it was around 1973.
Robert Searle… Nice to see my old group there, Haze, for two nights too. Great days. It was their first gig,although unofficial, at the Sundowners, comprised of two groups, Choise and Golden Hammers, great night. I was there too.
Chris Chantler… Guess this was 73 …. great place, saw Showaddy there several times (and Mud) and met my husband there too!
Pete Millington… We (SPYKE) used to zip over to The Sundowners every Friday night after playing at the Alexandra Hotel in Hastings. So many good groups played there. Dating the programme is tough but Showaddewaddy we’re formed from two different groups who played there, can’t remember their names. So I would guess this programme is from 1971/2
Willie Wicking… Remember seeing Showaddwaddy there must have been one of their 1st gigs
Peter Thomson… I’ve always been convinced we saw Karl (Carl?) Douglas there but without a band. Don’t remember it being advertised and we were surprised when he appeared on stage. Whoever it was either mimed or sang along to backing tapes, quite early on in the evening. No, not everyone was Kung Fu Fighting.
Tony court-Holmes… went there often
Sheila Maile… Used to drive over in our mates Robin Reliant after the local pub shut in 1977
Keith Veness… Great place to go car full of people good times
Leigh Mitchell… Went there a lot in the 70s
Dennis Torrance… I went to Sundowners a few times and enjoyed it there
Colin Bell… DJ’d there in the 70’s, always a good gig i enjoyed doing.
Alan Esdaile… Martin Casson Agency used to book out Luvaduc a lot. They were a great band.
Nigel Ford… took Cathy there after calling in at the Star, Norman’s Bay on our first date, Nov 11th ( I think?) ’77. A mild blowy evening I seem to remember.
Dave Nattress… Saw loads of bands there including Mud just as they were breaking through and a London band “Bethnal” who did at least one quite rocky album. Got it on vinyl. A bit different to the normal Sundowners bands. I think they may have played Hastings Pier also. The full show was the 2 separate “pop” or covers bands “Choise” and “Golden Hammers” wearing normal clobber who did a set each and who then combined as 9/10 piece “Showaddywaddy Rock and Roll Show” in drapes and crepes!
Alan Esdaile… I remember seeing Mud at the Sundowners Dave and they put on a great show. I also got this memory of a poster advertising the gig with a warning sign saying ‘Mud On The Road’ and details of the date!
Paul Fixter… Interesting leaflet! The dates in question appear to be all weekends, and looking at a 1973 calendar these are all Fridays and Saturdays, so if these gigs were all Fri/Sat nights rather than Sat/Sun nights, then it’s 1973 for sure. Choise and Golden Hammers were the two bands that formed Showaddywaddy – so each support band and the main band were the same musicians!
Jon McCallion… Great place.
Keith Veness… Had some great nights there
Leigh Mitchell… Saw Mud & Showaddywaddy there on more than one occasion in the 70s! Never liked the drive back to Hastings in the wee hours of the morning though
Paul Fixter…I sent a screen grab of this programme to both Dave Bartram and Romeo Challenger of Showaddywaddy, and they were most interested! Romeo recalled that it was one of the first gigs that Showaddywaddy did away from the Fosse Way and “the reaction was tremendous”. (NB the Fosse Way was a pub in Leicester which was Showaddywaddy’s birth place). Dave Bartram recalled that the Sundowners was the birth place of the three-band show they put on the road and that it was smart business getting paid as the support bands and the headline musicians!
Dave Robinson… Used to go most weeks, we would quite often go from Newhaven to Brighton for a few drinks and then leave there about 10 o’clock and drive to the Sundowners. We saw Mud a few times and also a group called Skye who were pretty good. I am not sure but I think we also saw Marmalade, but I wouldn’t swear to it. Was a great night out whoever was on but the drive back to Newhaven was sometimes a bit hairy, good job there was no breathalyser then. If you felt a bit posh you could always try and get into Kings club just down the road, but it was never as good a night as the Sundowners. Those were the days!!
took Cathy there after calling in at the Star, Norman’s Bay on our first date, Nov 11th ( I think?) ’77. A mild blowy evening I seem to remember.
The full show was the 2 separate “pop” or covers bands “Choise” and “Golden Hammers” wearing normal clobber who did a set each and who then combined as 9/10 piece “Showaddywaddy Rock and Roll Show” in drapes and crepes!
Saw loads of bands there including Mud just as they were breaking through and a London band “Bethnal” who did at least one quite rocky album. Got it on vinyl. A bit different to the normal Sundowners bands. I think they may have played Hastings Pier also.
Interesting leaflet! The dates in question appear to be all weekends, and looking at a 1973 calendar these are all Fridays and Saturdays, so if these gigs were all Fri/Sat nights rather than Sat/Sun nights, then it’s 1973 for sure. Choise and Golden Hammers were the two bands that formed Showaddywaddy – so each support band and the main band were the same musicians!
I sent a screen grab of this programme to both Dave Bartram and Romeo Challenger of Showaddywaddy, and they were most interested! Romeo recalled that it was one of the first gigs that Showaddywaddy did away from the Fosse Way and “the reaction was tremendous”. (NB the Fosse Way was a pub in Leicester which was Showaddywaddy’s birth place).
Dave Bartram recalled that the Sundowners was the birth place of the three-band show they put on the road and that it was smart business getting paid as the support bands and the headline musicians!
Dave Robinson, Used to go most weeks, we would quite often go from Newhaven to Brighton for a few drinks and then leave there about 10 o’clock and drive to the Sundowners. We saw Mud a few times and also a group called Skye who were pretty good. I am not sure but I think we also saw Marmalade, but I wouldn’t swear to it. Was a great night out whoever was on but the drive back to Newhaven was sometimes a bit hairy, good job there was no breathalyser then. If you felt a bit posh you could always try and get into Kings club just down the road, but it was never as good a night as the Sundowners. Those were the days!!