Memories of "The Limit" Nightclub

[gularscute]

At least you don't hear Gary Glitter at 70s nights any more...

[Grappler]

Great to see people still talking about the best ( and most legendary) club we ever had in Sheffield. It holds a very special place for me as I met my wife there and we have been together ever since, (24 years!!)

On the opening night, the club was virtually empty, because someone big was playing at the City Hall (like Deep Purple or someone similar) and so the owners (George and Kevin) asked a mate of mine called Ian Williams to go and stand outside the City Hall and hand out flyers as people came out of the gig. So Ian and another lad did this and by the time they got back to the Limit the place was packed. The owners were so pleased that they gave Ian a special pass called "Limit for Life pass" and he got in free anytime he wanted from that night on. Ian went on to start up the first Human League fan club, but sadly died when he was still a young man.

 

I first went in the Limit when I was 15, a few months after it opened, to see a band called "Bethnall" from Bethnall Green in London, I loved the place and was hooked from that night on. I went every Saturday night from 1978 to about 1983 and, as others have mentioned on this web site, went in the pubs around West Street before ending up in the Limit at about 10.30 as the queue was building up. Bands I saw there included the B52's, the Skids (the DJ stopped playing "Into the Valley" because it always nearly caused a riot), The Specials, The Beat (me and the singer, Dave Wakeling, ended up dancing on stage with the Selector), Secret Affair, The Mekons, Gang of Four, Madness, The Barracudas, The Revillos (who arrived in a big pink american car! and Fay Fife loved the "caterpiller" coin op arcade machine at the back of the club!) The Lurkers, and many more. I went from wearing a leather bike jacket in my early days to wearing a Mod suit, and then just normal stuff, and always used to hang around the stage area with my mates (at 6ft2" I was one of the smallest! so if you remember a group of very tall lads it will have been us) I remember Mick McLean on the door, and Andy Dunraven and Louis, plus some lad called Ivan and a really evil looking bloke called (I think) Mick Cricher who ended up in prison for manslaughter. The main thing was, of course, the music, and even today, if I hear a certain record I will think to myself "Limit record"....these would include "I Got you" by Split Enz, "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell, "About the Weather" by Magazine, "Transmission" by Joy Division, "Furniture Music" by Red Noise, "Life In Tokyo" by Japan, "Boys Cry" by Original Mirrors (aka the Lightening Seeds), "Into the Valley" by the Skids, anything by the Jam, "Love Song" by The Damned, the DJ (Paul "Legs" Unwin) used to play "Sunday Papers" by Joe Jackson and say into the microphone "if this isn't number one next week I want to know why"...he said it every week but it never got to number one! But the one record that above all others, to me, is THE Limit record of all time is "Quiet Life" by Japan......I only have to hear the opening keyboards and I am once again back in the sweaty, dark, but totally fantastic, Limit Club!!!!

 

I went to the Casbah on Friday a few times when they had "Limit Nights" and saw loads of old Limit faces, we all recognized each other to sort of nod to and smile at without knowing any names.

I had a VIP pass for the new Limit and went once but it wasn't the same of course.

 

I also remember running through town to get to the late night 934 bus for the laugh-a-minute journey home!

[Teabag]

Great to see people still talking about the best ( and most legendary) club we ever had in Sheffield. It holds a very special place for me as I met my wife there and we have been together ever since, (24 years!!)

On the opening night, the club was virtually empty, because someone big was playing at the City Hall (like Deep Purple or someone similar) and so the owners (George and Kevin) asked a mate of mine called Ian Williams to go and stand outside the City Hall and hand out flyers as people came out of the gig. So Ian and another lad did this and by the time they got back to the Limit the place was packed. The owners were so pleased that they gave Ian a special pass called "Limit for Life pass" and he got in free anytime he wanted from that night on. Ian went on to start up the first Human League fan club, but sadly died when he was still a young man.

 

I first went in the Limit when I was 15, a few months after it opened, to see a band called "Bethnall" from Bethnall Green in London, I loved the place and was hooked from that night on. I went every Saturday night from 1978 to about 1983 and, as others have mentioned on this web site, went in the pubs around West Street before ending up in the Limit at about 10.30 as the queue was building up. Bands I saw there included the B52's, the Skids (the DJ stopped playing "Into the Valley" because it always nearly caused a riot), The Specials, The Beat (me and the singer, Dave Wakeling, ended up dancing on stage with the Selector), Secret Affair, The Mekons, Gang of Four, Madness, The Barracudas, The Revillos (who arrived in a big pink american car! and Fay Fife loved the "caterpiller" coin op arcade machine at the back of the club!) The Lurkers, and many more. I went from wearing a leather bike jacket in my early days to wearing a Mod suit, and then just normal stuff, and always used to hang around the stage area with my mates (at 6ft2" I was one of the smallest! so if you remember a group of very tall lads it will have been us) I remember Mick McLean on the door, and Andy Dunraven and Louis, plus some lad called Ivan and a really evil looking bloke called (I think) Mick Cricher who ended up in prison for manslaughter. The main thing was, of course, the music, and even today, if I hear a certain record I will think to myself "Limit record"....these would include "I Got you" by Split Enz, "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell, "About the Weather" by Magazine, "Transmission" by Joy Division, "Furniture Music" by Red Noise, "Life In Tokyo" by Japan, "Boys Cry" by Original Mirrors (aka the Lightening Seeds), "Into the Valley" by the Skids, anything by the Jam, "Love Song" by The Damned, the DJ (Paul "Legs" Unwin) used to play "Sunday Papers" by Joe Jackson and say into the microphone "if this isn't number one next week I want to know why"...he said it every week but it never got to number one! But the one record that above all others, to me, is THE Limit record of all time is "Quiet Life" by Japan......I only have to hear the opening keyboards and I am once again back in the sweaty, dark, but totally fantastic, Limit Club!!!!

 

I went to the Casbah on Friday a few times when they had "Limit Nights" and saw loads of old Limit faces, we all recognized each other to sort of nod to and smile at without knowing any names.

I had a VIP pass for the new Limit and went once but it wasn't the same of course.

 

I also remember running through town to get to the late night 934 bus for the laugh-a-minute journey home!

 

Great post:thumbsup:

[radez]

where in sheff were u , grappler, my guess is gleadless

[radez]

did the 934 run up to graves park

[radez]

used to be in the limit every week/end

[Trouncer]

grappler ! You absolutley amaze me. I think your post is the one most important post on here. The reason is because I felt a lot of passion in there and I related to a lot of what you said. Not necessarily the same songs but it only needed me to substitiuste other songs to see what you meant. For me it was, Aztec Camera, The Smiths, lloydd Cole, The The, Japan, The pogues, B52's, Joy Div, The Jam, Iggy, Bowie, Roxy, ABC, Human League, Soft Cell, Skids, Killing Joke, New Order, Specials, Madness, X-Ray Specs, Pistols, Clash, The Slits, Psychodelic furs, Talking Heads, Devo, The Regent, etc.(anyone think of anymore ?)

 

To tell you the truth. Give me me any of those bands in that night club atmosphere and it would make current day indie (Oasis, Blur etc,) look like nothing to me. But then I suppose it's an age thing. Everyone has there own era.

 

Comments ? I dare you !!

[RED ALERT]

you aint allowed an atmosphere like limit no more it constitutes feeling as though you belong!i also went vip to the new limit hopin for a slight recreation at least but was treated to about five old songs an arctic monkeys which i didnt mind but most of our age must be pipe n slippered up cos only bout thirty or so faces there really.cant be recreated if the clientele aint there.they need to make a profit and if what they call music nowadays does it then as crap as it seems its gonna go that way

[algenon]

Great to see people still talking about the best ( and most legendary) club we ever had in Sheffield. It holds a very special place for me as I met my wife there and we have been together ever since, (24 years!!)

On the opening night, the club was virtually empty, because someone big was playing at the City Hall (like Deep Purple or someone similar) and so the owners (George and Kevin) asked a mate of mine called Ian Williams to go and stand outside the City Hall and hand out flyers as people came out of the gig. So Ian and another lad did this and by the time they got back to the Limit the place was packed. The owners were so pleased that they gave Ian a special pass called "Limit for Life pass" and he got in free anytime he wanted from that night on. Ian went on to start up the first Human League fan club, but sadly died when he was still a young man.

 

I first went in the Limit when I was 15, a few months after it opened, to see a band called "Bethnall" from Bethnall Green in London, I loved the place and was hooked from that night on. I went every Saturday night from 1978 to about 1983 and, as others have mentioned on this web site, went in the pubs around West Street before ending up in the Limit at about 10.30 as the queue was building up. Bands I saw there included the B52's, the Skids (the DJ stopped playing "Into the Valley" because it always nearly caused a riot), The Specials, The Beat (me and the singer, Dave Wakeling, ended up dancing on stage with the Selector), Secret Affair, The Mekons, Gang of Four, Madness, The Barracudas, The Revillos (who arrived in a big pink american car! and Fay Fife loved the "caterpiller" coin op arcade machine at the back of the club!) The Lurkers, and many more. I went from wearing a leather bike jacket in my early days to wearing a Mod suit, and then just normal stuff, and always used to hang around the stage area with my mates (at 6ft2" I was one of the smallest! so if you remember a group of very tall lads it will have been us) I remember Mick McLean on the door, and Andy Dunraven and Louis, plus some lad called Ivan and a really evil looking bloke called (I think) Mick Cricher who ended up in prison for manslaughter. The main thing was, of course, the music, and even today, if I hear a certain record I will think to myself "Limit record"....these would include "I Got you" by Split Enz, "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell, "About the Weather" by Magazine, "Transmission" by Joy Division, "Furniture Music" by Red Noise, "Life In Tokyo" by Japan, "Boys Cry" by Original Mirrors (aka the Lightening Seeds), "Into the Valley" by the Skids, anything by the Jam, "Love Song" by The Damned, the DJ (Paul "Legs" Unwin) used to play "Sunday Papers" by Joe Jackson and say into the microphone "if this isn't number one next week I want to know why"...he said it every week but it never got to number one! But the one record that above all others, to me, is THE Limit record of all time is "Quiet Life" by Japan......I only have to hear the opening keyboards and I am once again back in the sweaty, dark, but totally fantastic, Limit Club!!!!

 

I went to the Casbah on Friday a few times when they had "Limit Nights" and saw loads of old Limit faces, we all recognized each other to sort of nod to and smile at without knowing any names.

I had a VIP pass for the new Limit and went once but it wasn't the same of course.

 

I also remember running through town to get to the late night 934 bus for the laugh-a-minute journey home!

 

Yes top post and did bring back the memories

[dropout]

Great to see people still talking about the best ( and most legendary) club we ever had in Sheffield. It holds a very special place for me as I met my wife there and we have been together ever since, (24 years!!)

On the opening night, the club was virtually empty, because someone big was playing at the City Hall (like Deep Purple or someone similar) and so the owners (George and Kevin) asked a mate of mine called Ian Williams to go and stand outside the City Hall and hand out flyers as people came out of the gig. So Ian and another lad did this and by the time they got back to the Limit the place was packed. The owners were so pleased that they gave Ian a special pass called "Limit for Life pass" and he got in free anytime he wanted from that night on. Ian went on to start up the first Human League fan club, but sadly died when he was still a young man

Edited May 3, 2013 by dropout
Have realised, on reflection, that some people might NOT want their names and info posted on forum sites. Withdrawn, apols.