james casner

 poster from:  Danny Rickaby

Simon Falla… That’s the poster I designed for our opening run in 1976 (mostly hand drawn – no PhotoShop in ’76)! Punters not allowed to go up to the bar in those days, hence waitress service. I joined the Queens Hotel mid-Dec ’75 after the management closed ‘Bonitas’ due too the high levels of violence. I got the amazing brief to create a new-look disco that’d be classy and less trouble…..mmm. Was given the services of the hotel carpenter and electrician and a budget of (I think) £2000 – seemed like a fortune at the time. Opened as Lazybones the following March after a big (but fairly amateur) makeover. This included stripping crappy carpets out of the then defunct Alexandria Hotel and laying them on the newly constructed raised seating tiers we made. We also made our own ‘sound to light’ setup – very jazzy in 1976! And we built the raided DJ enclosure with a commanding view over the 1930’s ballroom dance floor. The name was inspired by the font in the headline of the poster – lazybones. I can never hear Go Now by the Moody Blues without thinking of Jim Hobbs’ (James Casner) final track of the night and the cleaning lights going on. Blimey – brings back great memories. Who else remembers it? Anyone out there reading this work there with me in ’76/77?

Claire Triance… I have this poster was a gr8 club, they used to have go go dancers, used go there around 1976 to 77, was underage actually met my x husband there and he was there with you that night august 77 Danny Rickerby