Bond Gate Social Club

Location: Bond Gate, Nuneaton

Date: 1973-1977

Time to introduce our friends from Nuneaton. The Bond Gate Social Club played a big part in the early days of northern soul in the area, possibly pre-dating any venue in Hinckley. The Bond Gate was a typical Working Men's Club venue, with a function room that had a stage at one end, a dance floor in front and then the regimental rows of tables that are a feature of these types of clubs everywhere. You queued at the door, paid your money for the rubber stamp on the back of your hand and went in, Oxford Bags flapping in the wind. Soul fans from Hinckley regularly traveled the whole 5 miles to get a fix of current northern, and I am glad to say that the support from Nuneaton was also there for the later Hinckley venues.

As far back in 1973, the Bond Gate was successfully holding a northern soul night, with big name DJs and locals playing current sounds of the time, mainly as played at the Golden Torch. Typically, sounds would include tracks such as "Satisfy Me Baby" - The Sweets, "R & B Time" - E. Rodney Jones, and "Crying Over You" - Duke Browner.

Trev "Eggo" Egginton has some great memories of Bond Gate... he told us:

My main recollection is meeting up with Tim Puffer (yeah, it's all his fault), I think it was in the Marquis although that is probably irrelevant, when he suggested that we should go to Nuneaton for a change. I was quite reluctant because it was very much "Enemy Territory" at the time. After a little persuading we dutifully jumped on a good old 658 bus and tootled off to Codder (the local nickname for Nuneaton).

After a few drinks we met up with some lads who knew Tim and were invited to go to Bond Gate Club. I remember the palpable tension as we walked up the stairs; 2 strangers walk in and the whole place just seemed to glare at us. Anyway as was our want at the time we went to the bar, realised that we did know a few people there so I relaxed a bit.

It was then I noticed that ALL the blokes in the place had really silly suits on, you know, big collars, flared trousers (not baggy but proper A line flares) and Tim and myself were in our typical Hinckley attire; me in Doc Martins, jeans and Fred Perry, Tim I think wore loafers and Levi's Stapress (don't quote me on this... I don't want people thinking I took a lot of interest in what Tim Puffer wore, we're not THAT close!).

Anyway, after a few sherbets, Mr. Puffer went and asked the D.J. if he had any Soul Music. I remember him staring sort of blankly at Tim as if to say "WHAT? HERE?". The best he could do was the Supremes, fine by us BUT what a shock to the people at Bond Gate... there we were 2 blokes and we were DANCING... not with girls or anything like that just DANCING. When we stopped we looked around to a sea of bemused blokes, some of who were glowering at us, and a mixed crowd male and female who actually applauded. The DJ (who by the way was THE VAMPIRE, he used to live near Hinckley fire station and do discos at St. Peters Club and places like that (Webmaster note: I think he means Johnny Adams later of Funky Parrot fame)) cottoned on to this and played stuff like James Brown, and then more and more Motown.

Then a very strange thing happened... a guy known as Big Dennis, who I knew was a friend of the Wheatcroft Brothers asked for some "proper soul", mainly from places like the Twisted Wheel or his then favourite The Catacombs. Other people started to dance, and we had loads of fun on that first night trying to teach the local girls (Olive and her mates) how to do this stange sort of dance.

Over the coming weeks more and more people from Hinckley came over instead of going to places like the Earl Shilton Albion, the local divs disappeared and the Soulful Bond Gate that you remember was born and progressed.

Even when the northern soul functions finished at the Bond Gate, northern soul always featured as a part of any commercial disco held there. The last time I went, The Exciters "Reaching For The Best" and Roger Collins "You Sexy Sugar Plum" were the tunes to dance to, and I did (and my trousers were even wider, now sporting holster pockets and an eight button waistband). Once a northern soul venue, always a northern soul venue.

Bond Gate Social Club has now closed, and where it stood is now a Chinese restaurant.