Mardi Gras Nightclub Skegness
Now some of you MUST remember the Mardi Gras nightclub in Skegness! The club occupied the same premises as Flirtz Lap Dancing Club does today. It was my favourite disco when I first came to Skegness in 1976. It was always packed with revellers and was THE place to be. I remember they used to have mini beauty competitions where all the girls would parade round in a circle to the music of “Isn’t She Lovely” and the winner got a bottle of plonk!
Even in the mid 1980s, the Mardi Gras on Lumley Road was ever popular with the young and lively. The music in 1985 was almost pure funk with DJ Ricky Ryan delighted in playing import and other lesser known tracks. Many of Skegness’ best break dancers were regularly seen there.
I’m not sure as yet when it actually closed down (anybody help here?) but lets have a look at what the papers had to say when the Mardi Gras Nightclub first opened its doors in May 1973…
May 1973 (news story appeared in March 1973)
TICKETS are selling fast for the two opening nights at Skegness’s latest nightspot, the Mardi Gras Club in Lumley Road.
Topping the bill will be comedian Charlie Williams, who started his stage career singing for £1 a night in the Skegness area.
The television show “The Comedians,” made him a nationally known figure and he has since had one of the longest ever runs at the London Palladium.
Charlie lived in Skegness for a number of years working as a window cleaner and captaining the Skegness Town Football Club. He was a former Doncaster Rovers player.
FULLY BOOKED
The Mardi Gras Club’s proprietor, Mr John Bennett, said last week that tickets were going very fast and there would soon be none left. The restaurant was already fully booked.
He promised that if any tickets were not sold people would be able to buy them on the door on the opening night.
Other cabaret lined up for this new nightspot for the over-20s are Bob Monkhouse, Terry Lightfoot and his orchestra, and singer Billy Fury.
The cabaret immediately following Charlie Williams will be Treble Chance, a three-piece harmony group, and Tony Downing, another of the comics from “The Comedians” show.
TOP COMEDY
Appearing for a week starting from 13 May will be Chris Barie and Rickie Duval, two of the country’s top comedy female impersonators.
The resident band at the club will be The Nocturnals, a fully professional fourplece band, with organ, drums, two guitars and harmony backing. They come from Newcastle and are well known for their cabaret work in the north.
As well as providing top class cabaret the Mardi Gras club will also have dancing and a high class cuisine.
On the menu there is a choice of 17 main courses, ranging from 25p for a green salad to £3.25 for a
“Chateaubriand” fillet steak dish for two.
Mr Bennett is employing a highly qualified chef with experience of top West End restaurants.
Below are the ads which appeared in the 1973 local newspaper announcing the opening of the new Mardi Gras nightclub in Skegness.
THE MARDI GRAS was the first plush nite club in skegness i was made a member the first nite of opening and got to meet charlie and shake his hand he was a down to earth bloke,didnt let fame go to his head and always had time for people,i got to know john bennett the owner as well,the cabarets didnt last long as younger people started to join, john bennett realised that he could fill the MARDI GRAS without the expense of artists so turned it around to a disco-tec nite club and able to win customers from the goodfoot club,i spent many a happy nite in the MARDI for some years but the same fate became the MARDI as the GOODFOOT when brian bell opened the STIKES nite club and numbers started to dwindle, then john bennett realised it was time to get out and sell while the going was still good ,it tried a couple of times to come back,john bonner bought it then sam carter even john bennett bought it back a few years later, but it didnt have the same atmosphere,and the youth was a diffrent breed plus the compition was now greater with more venues to choose from so he let it go again.but in its hayday the mardi was a great asset for the youth of skegness and will be fondly remembered by everybody that used to freqent its dancefloor and two bars.it is still going stong its now a lapdancing club called FLIRTZ but it dosnt have the same amount of punters as when it was the MARDI.yes great times, a great era, and fondest memories.( THE MARDI GRAS CLUB.)
My husband and I were part of the mardi gras good days and altho from scotland we lived and worked in skegness from 1979 /1985 they are what we term as some of the best yrs of our lives..I origonaly started work in the derbyshire miners holliday camp then joined my husband to work at the richmond holliday complex we lived on rutland road skegness ..then moved out to ingoldmells to take over the running of the anchor hotel I dont even know if its still there so much seems to have changed over the yrs sinse we left ..we have lived back here in scotland sinse 1985 .but travel all over with out caravan and will be making a stop down skegness next april for a wk we are looking forward to seeing it again and also to see if any old friends are still around..some of our other drinking places were the hildreds the lion hotel loved the disco’s on a thursday night..also the lumley hotel .a place called the 30 club dont know if its still there..we also used the variety bar on the sea front ..but getting back to the mardi gras well it was the best by far always jam packed with great music ..those were the days x
Hii use to go in the mardi a bit, but now its a pole dancing club,yes skegness has chanced abit, shame in a way, i also went in the hildreds, thats no longer there its a shopping centre,the lion is now weatherspoons,and the 30 club is now a block of flats,the variety bar has gone too, i use to go in there a bit, i also liked the sands showbar fave place thats gone, such a shame, not the same anymore yes those were the days, bring them back lol
lids