VIDEO: Night club 'reopening' after 40 years to launch Dirty Stop Out's Guide to 1970's Barnsley

A NIGHT club which closed 40 years ago is to 'reopen' again for one night only - to host the launch of new book The Dirty Stop Out's Guide to 1970's Barnsley.
Club Ba-Ba to reopen for one night only to launch Dirty Stop Out's Guide to 1970s Barnsley.Club Ba-Ba to reopen for one night only to launch Dirty Stop Out's Guide to 1970s Barnsley.
Club Ba-Ba to reopen for one night only to launch Dirty Stop Out's Guide to 1970s Barnsley.

And old regulars - most of them now pensioners - are being urged to turn up with retro fans to party like it's the 1970s all over again.

Club comedy act The Grumbleweeds will headline the night, with other local acts paying tribute to the 70s - including Club Ba-Ba's former resident dancer Maureen, back on stage, showing off her dancing pins once again.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Dave Cherry - local historian, author, singer and songwriter - will be returning to the stage too, playing the tunes he was touring around the town's pubs and clubs back in the 60s and 70s

There will also be a photo exhibition of previously unseen 70s images taken by the town's late great news and weddings photographer Stan Bulmer - whose family has documented town events and night life for the past five decades.

And, of course, chicken-in-a-basket plus other 70s night out specialities will be on the menu at New Lodge Working Men's Club on Wakefield Road, from 7.30pm.

The concert room has been transformed into the old Club Ba-Ba, which is now a disused building near the Jumble Lane crossing in Barnsley town centre. It closed its doors 40-years ago and later became Rebecca's night club, from 1976 to 1987.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

BUY TICKETS: Tickets for the book launch party at New Lodge WMC are £10 for the event/show, or £17.50 with the chicken-in-a-basket meal. Email [email protected] or call 07703 670610.

Club Ba-Ba to reopen for one night only to launch Dirty Stop Out's Guide to 1970s Barnsley.Club Ba-Ba to reopen for one night only to launch Dirty Stop Out's Guide to 1970s Barnsley.
Club Ba-Ba to reopen for one night only to launch Dirty Stop Out's Guide to 1970s Barnsley.

BUY THE BOOK: The era defined by glam rock and industrial action is immortalised in the new book The Dirty Stop Out’s Guide to 1970’s Barnsley - out November 6, but available to pre-order now, at dsobarnsley.co.uk

The Dirty Stop Out’s Guide to 1970’s Barnsley celebrates the era dominated by venues like Club Ba-Ba, The Londoner, The Birdcage and the heyday of Barnsley’s Civic Theatre.

The coffee table book, which is out on November 6, features hundreds of previously never-before-seen photographs, and dozens of stories and memories from the people who lived in the town during the decade of glam.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Barnsley author Nik Farah, who wasn't born until 1983, has found the research fascinating and began compiling the book, which is a spin-off of the popular Sheffield series, six months ago.

Stanley, Stanley give us a wave - Barnsley fans at Oakwell chanting the name of the town's well loved late great photographer Stan Bulmer whose photos feature in the new bookStanley, Stanley give us a wave - Barnsley fans at Oakwell chanting the name of the town's well loved late great photographer Stan Bulmer whose photos feature in the new book
Stanley, Stanley give us a wave - Barnsley fans at Oakwell chanting the name of the town's well loved late great photographer Stan Bulmer whose photos feature in the new book

She even discovered she was related to one of men she interviewed - a former manager of Club Ba-Ba who now lives in Spain. What started with achat about the book and ended up with swapping family photos and stories, as second-cousins.

Nik said of writing the book: “I have the most wonderful memories of my own glory years – out round town with my friends every weekend in my early twenties.

“I wanted this guide to truly represent 1970’s Barnsley; to be everybody’s scrapbook of a great time in their lives, and I’m so lucky that so many people came onboard to make that happen.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I’ve spent the last few months visiting as many people as I could, nattering over plenty of cups of good ol’ Yorkshire Tea, and digging through attics, lofts and old trunks for photographs that might otherwise have never been seen.

The book looks back at the people, places and how times have changedThe book looks back at the people, places and how times have changed
The book looks back at the people, places and how times have changed

“The 70s was a great time in Barnsley – with fabulous fashion, and go-go dancers galore - and the early 70s in particular was very prosperous. What’s more, it was a time of community, particularly in a town like Barnsley, where everyone knew everyone else.

“The sheer variety of venues on offer totally dwarfs what there is today – pubs, working mens clubs, nightclubs and bingo halls. The people I spoke with have the greatest memories of seeing some of the biggest variety acts of the century a mere stone’s throw from their homes, of meeting up at the Threepenny Bit in Barnsley bus station, and of heading to Old No 7, The Fitz, Stables and Changes.”