When it was opened by Keith and Jim Lipthorpe in August 1970, the Fiesta nightclub in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

was reputed to be the largest in Europe. The Lipthorpes had originally opened a Fiesta nightclub in Stockton five years earlier in Stockton on Tees. The Sheffield Fiesta was situated on Arundel Gate in Sheffield, it cost £500,000 to purchase and had a 1,300 seat amphitheatre. Many celebrities of the 1960s and 1970s performed there, generally for a week at a time, with the opening act being

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. Other major music stars performing there included

Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons The Four Seasons are an American rock and pop band formed in 1960 in Newark, New Jersey. Since 1970, they have also been known at times as Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. The band evolved out of a previous band called The Four Lovers, with ...

Matt Monro Matt Monro (born Terence Edward Parsons, 1 December 1930 – 7 February 1985) was an English singer. Known as "The Man with the Golden Voice", he performed internationally during his 30-year career. AllMusic has described Monro as "one of the m ...

Sandie Shaw Sandie may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Sandie Clair (born 1988), French professional racing cyclist * Sandie Fitzgibbon, Irish former camogie player * Sandie Jones (1950/1951–2019), Irish singer * Sandie Lindsay, 1st Baron Lindsay of Birker (1879 ...

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Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as ...

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

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Cilla Black Priscilla Maria Veronica White (27 May 1943 – 1 August 2015), better known as Cilla Black, was an English singer, actress and television presenter. Championed by her friends the Beatles, Black began her career as a singer in 1963. Her ...

, Lynsey de Paul,

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, The Stylists and the

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, but also comedians such as

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and

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, as well as the entertainer,

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. The building now houses the Sheffield Odeon cinema which opened in 1992.

Closure

The club closed in 1976 following a 17-day

strike Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

by the workers who attempted to join the

Transport & General Workers Union The Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU or T&G) was one of the largest general trade unions in the United Kingdom and Ireland – where it was known as the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU) to differentiate its ...

. It reopened under new management shortly afterwards before permanently closing in 1980. It is said the history of the Fiesta mirrored that of Sheffield itself. When it opened in 1970, Sheffield was a city with a booming industrial economy and high employment, but by 1980s, the steel and coal industries were in steep decline. The story of the venue is told in the ''No Siesta 'Til Club Fiesta'' book by Neil Anderson. A full listing of the artists that appeared the Fiesta Nightclub are provided in Anderson's second book entitled ‘Dirty Stop Out’s Guide to 1970s Sheffield – The Fiesta Edition’, by Neil Anderson in 2020.Neil Anderson, Dirty Stop Out’s Guide to 1970s Sheffield – The Fiesta Edition, 2020, Publisher: ACM Retro,

References

External links

*
The Fiesta’s star burned bright - News - The Star

Tributes to Sheffield’s ‘Mr Entertainment’ - Community - The Star
Defunct companies based in Sheffield Nightclubs in Sheffield {{England-company-stub

Closure

See also

References

External links