Massive thanks to the hundreds that voted in our recent poll to decide Sheffield’s best club of the 1970s - we were truly bowled over by the interest!
There really was only ever going to be one winner - the Fiesta.
Like it or loath it, Sheffield had seen nothing like the palatial cabaret club when it opened in the summer of 1970.
It truly set the standard for everything that followed in the era.
The purpose-built venue cost £500,000. The equilvant investment today would run into tens of millions.
The Fiesta had over 100 staff and attracted the biggest artists on the planet - from the Beach Boys to Stevie Wonder.
It was the biggest nightclub in the whole of Europe.
Employment at the Fiesta became some of the most sought after jobs anywhere.
One former member of staff said: “I absolutely loved working there. It was how I imagined London or Las Vegas to be at the time.
“I saw so many acts perform. Tommy Cooper was always a big hit with the audiences. But he could be a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde character depending on whether he’d had a drink or not – and he really liked a drink. He’d regular turn up with an entire holdall of it.
“I remember Alvin Stardust being the epitomy of charm to everyone. In fact before his show he’s regularly give all of the bar staff a single red rose!”
The Fiesta opened with massive fanfare and helped make household names of local stars like Marti Caine and Bobby Knutt that both headlined the venue.
The venue’s opulence was inkeeping with the confidence in the city at the time.
The Fiesta boasted tiered seating, waitress service, lamps on the table – no expense was spared at the glitzy venue.
In fact Frankie Valli of the Four Seasons described it as: “The best club I have ever worked in”.
We’re producing just 150 copies of our 10th anniverary edition of the ‘Dirty Stop Out’s Guide to 1970s Sheffield’. Each one is individually signed by the author and numbered. It will be a true collector's item. The first 50 copies will also come with our souvineer list acts that performed at the venue. You'll see it features the Fiesta on the front - but not to be outdone we've also included the names of other key venues of the era.