[Brighton] Shades (Royal Pav Tav) closing down

[BUTTERBALL]

Didn't someone say it was going to be converted into apartments? Little chance of it reopening if that happens!

Only the upper floors apparently.

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

Only the upper floors apparently.

Ahhh okey-dokey then.

 

[Taybha]

Hated it, while you lot were getting pissed up I was working my fingers to the bone behind the bar or down in the dungeon creating Gammon egg and chips, there were some nice advantages though, like you could keep a cash equivalent drink someone had got you, usually female German students and hardly anyone ever counted their change.

 

[Paris]

I worked behind the bar of the Pav Tav too with a mate one summer, as a second job. Had been a semi-regular customer in there and Mad For It before that.

Had a Welsh manager to start with. Was quite a character. Used to wax lyrical about the Wales football team of the nineties after hours - 'We had Southall, Rush...!'. Also used to repeatedly remind us that 'Bass owns the fvckin pub!!!'.

Unfortunately he had a breakdown running the place. I turned up to work one Saturday evening and the front doors were locked. Staff were ringing him in his office. He answered each phone call with a 'no comment!' before hanging up. Never saw him again. The couple that took over weren't the same and rather bland, so I left.

Lots of good memories of the place though. Never really had much money spent on it over the years. Another boozer on the way out

 

[Is it PotG?]

Clientele has changed a bit since my day.....

 

[darkwolf666]

Mmmm....fun times, but I was mostly working (in the bar).

When I got a spare moment I was in the Basement (poly) Buccaneer and Alhambra.

By the time you were cruising, I'd moved to London then to Vancouver (82).

I still feel like my yoof was stolen from me by leaving Brighton...and my Brighton roots, but mustn't complain...things worked out

Not wishing to derail the thread, but the Alhambra was another haunt of mine. Played there in a band several times and were even supported by Sigue Sigue Sputnik there, before they became SSS!

 

[Is it PotG?]

Not wishing to derail the thread, but the Alhambra was another haunt of mine. Played there in a band several times and were even supported by Sigue Sigue Sputnik there, before they became SSS!

Someone mention The Alhambra?

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Not wishing to derail the thread, but the Alhambra was another haunt of mine. Played there in a band several times and were even supported by Sigue Sigue Sputnik there, before they became SSS!

I seem to recall ypu mentioning this, but I'm not sure I ever saw your band (I'm a 77-80 Alhambra man).

These were great:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opEBZbYzGBA

 

[BLOCK F]

First went there in 1966 or 1967, can't remember; anyway, it was a long time ago.
Took a girlfriend there at lunchtime and a fellow sitting nearby drew a picture of us young attractive people.
Lovely picture, especially of my companion in a lime green mini skirt.
Happy days, but I should have bought that picture!

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Only the upper floors apparently.

It used to be a hotel for travelling salesmen. When I worked there, the manager, Mr Dawson ('Mr D') let me buy one of the beds. I got to wander around upstairs in the dusty old hotel rooms that hadn't been used for what looked like dacades. Got a decent bed for peanuts. It was massive upstairs, and the hotel rooms may have spread over the top of some of the neighbouring shops.

The assistant manage was a bloke called Tony who lived in Sherlock Apartments. He was quite amusing and kind, despite being a predatory homosexual ('fancy a gobble?') and a Thatcherite tory activist We sometimes piled back to his gaff after hours for a camomile tea and a little chamber music.

The main wine bar bar tender was a ginger lad called Robin. Despite other reports on this thread, the wine bar was actually quite swish in my day. Mind you, back then a glass of liebfrau was the height of sophistication....

Another good memory was a Saturday lunch time in 1979; I had been quietly slicing lemon in the front bar that was devoid of customers (apart from the dapper manager of the suit-you-sir shop round the corner). With my back to the room, I became aware of a sort of whispering....I turned round and there were 50 Man U supporters who, to a man, all started calling for pints of lager, lager top, etc. I did my best Charlie Hawtrey impersonation (hand to mouth, muttering 'Heavens' or somesuch) and they all burst out laughing. It was a fun lunchtime after that, proper Mancunians and very friendly (unlike your cockney red wankers). No doubt it all kicked off later when they came across Das Fart and his shaven headed firm outside the Sad B'stard's Arms.

'Mrs D', now......

I seem to recall on another thread I mentioned the ritual of the sackings. At the end of an evening one of the boys (all barstaff were male) might be called to Mr D's office. Three minutes later, while the rest of us were enjoying our one free after hours drink, said fella would reappear and say 'sorry lads, I've just been sacked'. This would be normally for getting pissed on duty. The trick was to drink steadily from a half pint pot under the bar that you kept topping up. Ostentatiously serving yourself from the optic was asking for trouble. Mr D was a yorkshireman and could spot ostentation at 200 yards.

Happy days.

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

Too many pints of Harvey's knocked back in Shades back in the day. My unreliable memory tells me it was always packed, Our glory years were 74-79. Happy days.

 

[Easy 10]

Went there a couple of times for lunch while I was on jury service last year (claimed on expenses). It was looking very tired and a bit grotty, but the dirty burgers weren't bad.

 

[MattBackHome]

I watched the FA Cup game (where Giggs scored that overrated goal and whirled his top round his head) in the Pav Tav.

Easy pulling, I seem to remember, if you weren't too choosy about quality.

 

[Arthur]

Gave up looking at the Argus website a long while back as it is completely unusable (its even worse now!). However someone pointed this out to me in the pub last night.

Guess no one moderates the comments section...

Cinderfuxxingrella 24th September 2:29 pm
Such a shame it's closing, had some fantastic times there as a younger women in the early nineties.
We used to regularly go there on a Friday night, and this one time, at band camp, I got so drunk, my legs didn't work and I remember getting finger blasted over a speaker while drinking a bottle of 20-20 and wearing a loadsamoney T-shirt.
Last Updated: 24th September 5:13 pm

 

[darkwolf666]

I seem to recall ypu mentioning this, but I'm not sure I ever saw your band (I'm a 77-80 Alhambra man).

These were great:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opEBZbYzGBA

Sigue Sigue were obviously so embarrassed about it they have expunged any mention of this gig from their history. I can find no mention of it anywhere online, as if it didn’t happen... but I know differently

Would have been slightly after your time, early 80s I believe.

 

[Weststander]

Many a good night started at Shades when we arrived by bus from Peacehaven, usually slept under the bandstand Saturday summer nights probably the best times of my life

Same here. The 712, bus fare 12p.

But we used to get a taxi home at a rip off £5, sometimes walked the 7 miles home, or (sorry) one of us would drink drive.