The Buccaneer, Leopold Street

[Bushbaby]

Originally posted by stevie1957

It got me thinking about "The Buccaneer"

I’ve head some cracking stories about the place. I suspect some stories were *spiced up a bit”. But they still made good listening.

 

Actually Stevie they were all true....

[Lostrider]

Originally posted by Bushbaby

Actually Stevie they were all true....

 

Find out the truth behind the myth:

Edited December 10, 2009 by Lostrider

[Bottleneck]

A big thanks to Briggsey who sent me the Sheffield Forum link and to Bushbaby, AndyMan, LostRider, Mojo et al for bringing back some very good memories.

 

I remember the Buc as if it was yesterday and particularly remember being ****** as a fart in there the night before I was due to sit one of my A-level papers. There were some good barmaids in there and if you knew them, they would give you 19p change out of the 20p you gave them for a pint of the gnats that they used to sell (thanks Claire). I don’t remember guys outnumbering girls by such a large amount though, in fact it was a pretty good place to ‘connect with chicks man’ (where are you now Mary Roberts?). I remember the placcy glasses, the compass tables, Brut, the sweet aroma of ‘pacouli and sour aroma of wet afghans. What about loon pants, headbands, let-ins on your Levis, baseball boots and army surplus jackets and greatcoats? We were the young dudes huh??

 

The other pubs as well: the Wapentake and Nelson (where I first heard Roadhouse Blues) were mentioned, but what about the one across from the City Hall that had a good juke box? Was it the Albert?

 

The local bands: Shape of the Rain, McCluskey’s and Vinegar Joe at t’ Mucky Duck, there were so many in those days. I was back in the UK a few years ago and my bro in law who is 10-years younger than me told me of a good band playing at the pub at Sheffield Lane Top. He took me along and lo and behold it was Frank White, another Sheffield icon.

 

The Highcliffe; full of sincere folksey types who sang with one finger stuck in their lug. Saw a guy called Mike Cooper there who was a bluesy sort of acoustic artist and only recently managed to get a couple of CDs of his.

 

continued on the next post ......

[Bottleneck]

... continuation of last post (hey, there's a good name for a trumpet tune)

 

The Weston Park concerts: I was there for the Peter Green gig ( I think Fleetwood Mac had been playing the uni the night before) and he still ranks in my book as one of the most tasteful guitarists ever. I think I even remember the guy who Andyman mentioned who was a regular at most of these places. Dunno how Andyman managed to get to see gigs at the Uni, ‘cause the snotty student types would never let us in.

 

Concerts at the City Hall (‘put that cigarette out!’) and getting busted for under age drinking in the bar at a Pink Floyd gig by a copper who’s name, (and I kid you not) was Arthur Ball. Saw Floyd, the Who, Led Zep, Savoy Brown, The Nice, Blodwyn Pig, Family, Steeleye Span, Yes. Humble Pie and many others.

 

I am in the process of collecting lots of 1970’s music for my iPod (in fact, as I type this, Frank Zappa’s Hot Rats has just shuffled into play). Again thanks for the memories. I had almost forgotten about such bands as Family and King Crimson, so they are now on the list.

 

Lostrider mentioned another club called Down Broadway which was under a shoe shop near the Telegraph and Star building and I think it was owned by none other than Peter Stringfellow. It did not have a booze licence and we used to go there on Saturday afternoons before we were old enough to get into pubs, so I guess that would have been in about 1969 or so. The DJ, as I remember was called Pete (maybe Pat) Sweetwater. Because we were poor school kids and could not get into pubs, we did not have many opportunities to hear alternative music and this place was my introduction to music which formed musical tastes that last until this day.

 

Once again, thanks for the memories.

[Ivan]

Originally posted by Lostrider

What about Mcluskies Apocalypse at the Broadfield, what happened to them. I have some photos somewhere of them, I took at a concert in Weston Park when Peter Green turned up un-anounced and played a set.

 

Hmm..

I was on my way to see McC at the Broadfield when I popped into the wap, first after work. That's when I first met da wife ( just had 26th anniversary)

 

D'ya have any photos of the Weston Park gig posted anywhere ( or e-mailable) ?

I was playing on the "B" stage with a young local blues band (Menagerie) the afternoon Peter Green was there. Everybody rather reality-adjusted and paisley-foliage indulgent, as I almost recall.

 

I'd love to see any pics of the day, if anything is available.. ?? TIA

 

DJs at Bucc mainly George Webster and Dave Bates, I think, with a few apprentices doing stuff. There may have been loads more but the Bucc was an alternate dimension type thing, and instead of hanging your coat up inside, you kinda hung up your everyday reality as you went in and collected (most of) it on the way out. The long track stunt was dead handy for the DJ to go out, have a ****, get a pint and a grope before getting back to work. Try THAT in a early 70s soul club playing three-minute singles.

 

 

The groove between the Bucc and Nelson actually went via The Albert and the Wapp.

 

Bucc for the general ambience and meeting the ladies (and The Man,) T'Nelson for _choice_ music - it had a juke box full of custom-made singles of album-only tracks - The Albert for a cheap pint or two and the Wap to get your ears working again. Many of us did the circuit continually several times a night, avoiding the Barleycorn (somebody else explain, ;-p )

If The Man hadn't showed up, some people wanderd off to The Raven where he was always in residence, mainlining Brasso or snorting Ajax or somesuch. (The Raven crowd was a bit more hardcore.)

 

The Bucc cross-section was more all-week weekend hippies ???? and album-heads.

Bucc closed in '73, the year Margaret Thatcher, an up and coming education secretary @£$%^&*( decided to eliminate school milk and sow the seeds for the dismantling of the welfare state...

 

Lost Youth.

[Bushbaby]

Originally posted by Ivan

 

Many of us did the circuit continually several times a night, avoiding the Barleycorn (somebody else explain, ;-p )

 

 

A bit too much Judy Garland and Kathy Kirby on the Juke Box?

[owdlad]

Originally posted by Bushbaby

A bit too much Judy Garland and Kathy Kirby on the Juke Box?

 

EErr not quite Bushbaby, more likely the Judies and Kathies outside and round the back (wink wink) that were worrying Ivan;)

[Billy24]

Yes i remember the Buccaneer! .... was only talking about it a few months ago at work with a workmate but neither of us could remember the name of it until my mate asked his wife.

 

I wasn't what you could call a regular, (hence sadly forgetting the name) .. but i did go there a good few times in the very early seventies.

The main things i remember about the place ...

 

The horrible plastic glasses.

The beer wasn't too good. (understatement).

There were no tables and chairs in the place, (is that right?)

The music was played full blast.

Large fishing nets were hung on the walls.

You went down loads of stairs to get in.

 

Don't get me wrong ... i loved the place, .... it was the place to be in those days in Sheffield.

 

 

HAPPY MEMORIES ... THANKS FOR BRINGING THEM BACK AGAIN.

[Lostrider]

Originally posted by Ivan

Hmm..

 

D'ya have any photos of the Weston Park gig posted anywhere ( or e-mailable) ?

I was playing on the "B" stage with a young local blues band (Menagerie) the afternoon Peter Green was there. Everybody rather reality-adjusted and paisley-foliage indulgent, as I almost recall.

 

I'd love to see any pics of the day, if anything is available.. ?? TIA

 

 

Just uploaded these photos!

 

Western Park Photos etc

[Bushbaby]

Just recently I got hold of a DVD of The Sensational Alex Harvey Band on EBay

Wow! What a great band they were.

It contained most of their UK TV footage (OGWT, TOTP etc) and some concert stuff from the US.

It was always a delight for me when they played "Next" by SAHB, in the Bucc, and I have since discovered it's a French (actually Belgian) song about doing national service in Algiers in the late 50s.

The great thing about the band was that they always seemed to really enjoy themselves, and "Delilah" was the epitome of that, with the two dancing guitarists.

Aren't DVDs great!!