queens road

More of The Monkees – The Record Shop Hastings April 1967

Number one album in the UK 15th April 1967

Pauline Richards… Loved them. Used to rush home from school to watch their tv programme!

Dave Nattress… I did buy this – also the first – not played for many years. Gonna dust it off and it’ll be interesting to see how I feel about it. Of course, The Monkees as a product of Americana and a bugeoning TV and music industry were much hyped, but a situation sort of, of it’s time, lots of that going on with some UK pop bands also, but, lets be serious, some bands and albums needed promotion by one means or another. It is what it is – it was what it was!

Astral Club Queens Road Hastings 1975

Surprised they put opposite the cinema, when it was opposite The Disc Jockey record shop.

Dizz Corinne Ryder… Was it above Chelsea Girl?

Barry Upton… I think it was once Toffs night club ?

Dizz Corinne Ryder… that rings a bell, was just a bit too young to go though!

Maureen Fuller… The Astrel Club was where the Pamdor Club originally was above Chelsea girl entrance at the back. My ex husband Les Martin used to work their

Yvonne Cleland… I used to love the Astral Club! Late late nights and a free meal hahaha

Maureen Fuller… Can you remember the name of the lovely lady who cooked the late night suppers loved her curries?

Yvonne Cleland… I can’t, I’m sorry, but her spag bols and chicken in a basket were to die for! xx

Leigh Wieland-Boys… Yep – there regularly, always had the whitebait

Sam Rosewell… Was this Flamingo’s in the 80’s? (Not that I went in there, slightly too young!) Was a better scene back in the day….

Alan Esdaile… Yes, Sam.

Neal Hunter…It was great being a DJ there. Broke my leg falling down the stairs between the bar and disco at 1am on 22 Oct 1974 which was the day my son was born. Great days.

Tony Davis… was great Djing there with Merlins Music Box. Was it Betty that did the food?

Maureen Fuller… don’t think that was her name she was a Greek lady l think

Tony Court-holmes… used work behind the bar there

Ian Quinnell… AAHHHH good (but slightly vague) memories of those days

 

 

Pam Dor Coffee Bar – Early 60’s Hastings

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supplied by Peter Millington

Peter Millington….Eric behind the counter at the Pam Dor Early 1960’s.

Mick Knights….That’s the ever popular Eric, the owner, serving. I, along with just about every teenage lad, was banned by him at one time or another!! The Pam Dor had the first Discotec in Hastings, which was on the second floor, a place I never entered, nor did very many, as it soon closed. its second incarnation was the Astral club, which morfed into Toff’s.

Peter Pursglove….i did the door up there for a few years until it closed Alan ,Mollly Russell ran it ,busy little club

Tom Boyer….Great times, we loved it, a fabulous place to meet. Tom & Lin Boyer (nee White)

Sue Bartholomew (Nee Finch)… I remember the Pam Dor, it was the best place to go, we paid a shilling entrance and that also got you a coffee or a frothy hot chocolate, and sit in there for as long as you wanted, it was always busy and behind in Middle Street was a long line of Lambrettas or Vespas belonging to some young lad who was in the Pam Dor.

Colin Bell… Love this photo Pete, met my first ‘proper’ girlfriend there…happy days…

Mick Mepham… Who were your ‘improper’ ones Colin and are you still in touch with them?

Nicola Dobson… Spent a lot of time in there…I remember that seating area..they should have coffee bars again Im sure they would be popular!

Read morePam Dor Coffee Bar – Early 60’s Hastings

Pam Dor to Astral to Toffs Club 1976

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Andre Palfrey-Martin Collection

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Andre Palfrey-Martin Collection

Mick Knights…..Seem to recall it was the Astral first, which morfed into Toffs, which was an attempt to go up market, one question on the membership application form was “what car do you drive” I seem to remember putting Thomsons Taxis down!!!

Phil Gill….Toffs run by Margarite “Molly” Russell, the members only den of iniquity where I spent many happy late night hours in the late ’70s? Oooh, the stories I could tell…

Chris Meachen….. I remember ‘Toffs’ used to provide a ‘meal’ as a condition of their licence;- usually consisted of a kind of curried goo mostly filled with baked beans…

Andre Palfrey-martin…..Pamdor closed and the whole market changed it became Toffs in 1976

Danielle de Rijk….Does anyone know a dj who was working there sometimes with the name Bruce Furber? He must be about 54 years old now and he used to live on the Sedlescombe Road in St. Leonards. I’m a researcher for a Dutch television program who reunites friends all over the world, so please contact me if you have information about Bruce. mail: danielle.derijk@kro.nl

Flamingos Discotheque Queens Road Hastings – 1984

Who remembers Flamingo’s?

Matt Thomas…  remember of it but was too young to go in. Was thinking about this place recently and thought that it couldn’t have been very big inside

Peter Thomson… I remember it being there but never went in.

Dennis Torrance… Was it called something else before flamingos

Tony Davis… Amongst other things it was the Astral Club

Karen Sweatman… Remember where it was but was a wee whipper snapper and too young

Harry Randall… The Pamdor springs to mind that was opposite the Disc Jockey

Terry Hardwick… Toffs

Max Marriott… Yep, remember it well, my cousin worked behind the bar! Sarah Marriott remember this? Blast from the past or what! I remember tottering up those bloody stairs in my stilettos!

Sarah Marriott… Oh my goodness yes. God those stairs were lethal in heels

Kev Perry… Went there a few times

Pauline Richards… Was that the Pam dor then? Before

David Edwards… The Pamdor was at the bottom end of Queens Road about where Thomas Cooks is but the Disc Jockey of Big Al fame was half way up Queens Road on the right hand side. Remember the name of the Astral club but not where it was.

Alan Esdaile… Both right. Yes Pauline it was the Pam Dor and the Astral. and David, Disc Jockey was further up Queens Road at one stage and moved to the bottom of Queens Road

Martin Richter… used to go there on Monday nights

Read moreFlamingos Discotheque Queens Road Hastings – 1984

The Deep Purple – Queens Road, Hastings and Battle photo around 1967

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1st photo supplied by Janine Anne Hemsley, 2nd photo with Graham Bradley supplied by Len Benton.

Janine Anne Hemsley…..The girls are Carol Guyatt and Linda Upton.

Mick O’Dowd….Looks like  early Whisky Mac. Think that is Pete Horton poking in right hand, Len Benton, Ian “Mac” McGilvary, Tich Turner,Tony “Tweet Tweet” Bird & Pete Horton.+ Girls.

John Wilde…..Wow this is a great photo……but where?

Robert Searle…Another great photo. I see Mac there with Tony Bird

Joe Knight….omg!!! tony LOL

Ian McGilvray….Yeah that’s me (Mac ) with Lenny Benton on My right hand side. I’m the one with the magazine and Tich is the one with the Birds as usual.

Andre Martin…..The reflection in this is the Fine Food Supermarket at the end of Queens Pde, you can tell that by the backward spelling of the name Minimarket and the design of the brickwork. Interesting the ” I’m Backing Britain ” posters can be clearly seen on the windows of the shop in Queens Road roughly where Gamleys or Helfords used to be located. Looks as if the group were on the east side of Queens Road, and the photographer on the West side..

Mick O’Dowd….Confirmation from Pete Horton that this is in fact Deep Purple. He reckons it was taken in Canterbury where they used to play at The Beehive Club.

Tich Turner….Hi All, this photo was taken in Queen’s Rd. We had a bunch of photos taken that day, but I’m only aware of three that have surfaced. One is a great pic of us all in a line, hunched up against the cold, in front of some glass doors somewhere. The other one, is of us standing on the steps of the public toilets that used to be in the town centre, near the Carlisle and we’re poking our heads over the wall. This is definitely Deep Purple. we didn’t actually become Whisky Mac after Pete Horton left and Graham joined, as I wrote. It was later than that. It was directly after Len Benton, our Bass player left and we recruited Tim Duke on Bass. Happy Days, Tich.

Ian McGilvray….I agree Tich

Pete Horton…..Hi from Pete Horton. Sorry about thinking that the pic was taken in Canterbury. I seem to be the odd one out. I cannot remember this being taken in Queens Road, but we were all in the nearby cricket ground with a Hastings Observer photographer on Sunday 4th February, 1968.

Ken Copsey… Great picture.

The Disc Jockey Press Ads – from Andre Palfrey-Martin Collection

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Andre Palfrey-martin collection

Phil Gill….My grandfather bought me my first electric guitar from the Disc Jockey in 1969 – a Vox Super Ac, 27 guineas…wish I still had it.

Pete Fisher….bought my first singles here, later albums, sheet music, and my first decent acoustc, a 12-string, which was pretty hard to play.

Alan Esdaile ….I used to ring up all the time and see if any jobs were going but was unsuccessful, as Alan mainly wanted girls working in the shop. Mind you thinking about it now I was also turned down by Woolworth and The Green Shield Stamp shop!

Jim Breeds….Some of my vinyl LPs still have their plastic zip lock sleeves with “The Disc Jockey” printed on them.

Pete Fairless….I used to go to Woolies record dept. to buy singles from Louise (Illman?) but with the Disc Jockey, Stylus, Record Shop, Smiths aand Boots all selling records, there was usually never a problem getting a new release. For albums, The Disc Jockey and Stylus were best but with the back up that Jack would always be able to track down anything obscure. Remember this guy?

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 Andre Martin…..Having looked back in archive – I think this Big Al character did not appear until 1974, that’s the earliest record that I have, round about Christmas that year. I am sure if I had come across [him] it before I would have saved.

Jim Breeds… I was at school with Tony Harris. I used to ask him in the shop what he thought I should buy this week 🙂

Dave Luck… Us oldies certainly remember the Disc Jockey, a proper record shop, and always packed on a Saturday.

Philip Meston… I  used to work with Tony Harris, not seen him for ages!

Andre Martin…  It would be good to he a Blue Plaque on the site of the Disc Jockey shop at the Memorial end of Queens Road to remember Alan and all that he did for young people in the 1960s & 1970s. I know he was a business man, but a very generous man as I am sure we have all experienced.

Mick O’Dowd…. Totally agree

John Storer… Remember going in there and asking for “Sticky Fingers” and everyone bursting out laughing! Also remember buying “New Rose” by The Damned in late 76 … Alan had heard of “punk” but had decided to keep the 3 or 4 punk singles he had in a tupperware box behind the counter for some reason. However, once he realised there was a market for this stuff, he would get in just about any single you wanted, even though most were being released on obscure indie labels. Most Saturdays I would leave with 3-4 singles and bought classics from Slaughter & The Dogs, Ed Banger & The Nosebleeds as well as the more “established” punk bands. Bought “Anarchy In The UK” there the day it came out (I do hope my sister still has it … an acquaintance recently sold his copy for an astonishing£12,000) and remember playing the Buzzcocks “Spiral Scratch EP” pretty much non-stop for 48 hours 🙂 Tony Harris became a good mate around that time. Last heard, he was living in Cambridge.

Peter Gladwish… As well as going to the Disc Jockey on a regular basis, to listen to all the latest records, I bought my first 12-string guitar from Big Al (c.1968) and I’ve still got it. Yes, he started selling a few musical instruments to supplement the lack of income from record sales!!!