WM Clubs in Sunderland area, long since gone!


Never been a big fan of wmcs, always smokey stinking places and then probably smelt worse when the ban came in. Used to work in loads all over the north east and there were lots of Brian potter type stewards 🤣

We've obviously lost a load, downhill, castletown,farringdon and now red House has fairly recently gone. Wonder if Newtown Aycliffe is still there, that was a huge club.
 
Never been a big fan of wmcs, always smokey stinking places and then probably smelt worse when the ban came in. Used to work in loads all over the north east and there were lots of Brian potter type stewards 🤣

We've obviously lost a load, downhill, castletown,farringdon and now red House has fairly recently gone. Wonder if Newtown Aycliffe is still there, that was a huge club.
I was never a fan but what a cracking cultural phenomenon it was.
 
Still play the old wmcs quite often. Some are still thriving.

The ones that refused to move with the times went the journey. You have to make your club welcoming to younger people. See the Mill View Club, pool rooms, live sport on all the time, live music every single week. Loads happening. Decent prices. Money spent to keep it looking good. They are reasonably friendly as well.

Reasonably because they are still a WMC and have their ways :lol:
 
People don’t tend to live in and around their workplace, they gave that community spirit that has been lost.
The modern world is pretty shit in comparison.
In some aspects I agree mate, the community aspect I completely agree, I still found the wmc and it's rules cringy mind.
 
I worked in a Working Mens Club about 20years ago, and me and one of the other barman where trying to get live bands (touring bands) booked in to the concert room (about 300 capacity), we where close to student digs and would have been able to fill it at the time, but the old farts in charge where not intrested as it was not the type of music they were in to.
 
My Gran and Granda would be round that club on Poole Road/Fordfield Road all the time when I was a nipper. It might have been called Pennywell Club but I'm not sure.

Remember my Granda's wake being in there, one of the first times I'd been allowed in the bigger room. I stood up to go for a piss and my head went up into a cloud of cigarette smoke. Was like when Patty and Selma off the Simpsons get going with their tabs.
 
Absolute thing of the past like, always found it cringy as fuck tbh like. I can see they served a purpose when heavy industry was about but they don't fit in with the modern world.
Have to agree having been on both sides, as a punter and also working on the equipment and dealing with the stewards etc, remember getting booted out of the 'boardroom' as there was a committee meeting on🤣, fuck sake I was only fixing their computer man, wouldn't disclose the top secret information
 
Played three times a week between 95 and 2000 throughout the North East in a band called Slipstream. It was amazing how badly the venues smelled after the ban came in. Although my lungs were very grateful. Played at Mill View, Ivy Leaf, Farringdon, Pennywell Comrades, South Hylton. Happy days 🙂

Ivy Leaf was a terrible carry, really tight staircase to get a full lighting rig and bass bins up. Never forget the graffiti half way up that said "Chris Bonnington was our roadie ... And he turned back" 🤣
 

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