Complete...ish
Confirmed events are indicated by a ♫Date | Valid | Event | Comments | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Jan | 03 | Nothing in papers | ||
10 | ♫ | Devils Den with Dave Holland | Adm. 50p | |
17 | ♫ | Donald & the Blackbyrds | Adm. £3 | |
19 | James Brown | Blues and Soul magazine lists James Brown, the Luton News says Rosko
Adm. 50p B&S states that this was arranged at short notice and took place on a Monday. The 19th was a Monday. Looks like Rosko was cancelled. Chrissie Venables remembers going to this gig, her boyfriend picked her up from school. |
||
24 | ♫ | People's Choice | Adm. £1.50 | |
31 | ♫ | Trammps | Adm. £1.50 | |
Feb | 07 | ♫ | Chairmen of the Board | Adm. £1.50 |
12 | ♫ | John Glenn and the Mainliners - Ireland's newest Sensation plus The Moonshine Ramblers |
Adm. £1 | |
13 | ♫ | Nostalgia of the Forties Night | Couples in 40s dress Adm. free otherwise 50p | |
14 | Nothing in papers | |||
21 | ♫ | Fatback Band & Muscles | Adm. £2.50p | |
27 | ♫ | Disco | With Dave Holland in the main Ballroom Adm. 50p | |
28 | Al Matthews | Blues & Soul lists this the Luton News doesn't | ||
♫ | 3 into 1 Equals | Dave Holland in the main Ballroom, Vista Bar with Paul Gray and the usual Pool Bar facilities Adm. 50p | ||
29 | ♫ | Sunday Soul | In the Devils Den for solid funk with Brother Louie Adm. 40p | |
Mar | 04 | ♫ | Colonel Condor The Airtight Lids |
In the Devils Den with Brother Louie Adm. 50p |
06 | ♫ | 3 into 1 Equals no group this week |
Instead Dave Holland - Devils Den Paul Gray - Vista Bar Disco |
|
13 | ♫ | Nostalgia of the Forties with the Millionaires Orchestra | Adm £1.50 | |
18 | ♫ | Schlitz Night The beer that made Milwaukee famous |
In the Pool Bar. Bottles of Schlitz for 10p! Adm. free | |
13 | ♫ | Nostalgia of the Forties with the Million Airs Orchestra | Adm £1.50 | |
20 | ♫ | Bobby Womack making his debut at the California |
Blues & Soul lists this as the 10th which was a Wednesday. Adm. £1.50p | |
27 | ♫ | The Miracles making their Debut at the California |
Adm. £2 | |
Apr | 03 | Brass Construction | Listed in Blues & Soul but nothing in Luton News | |
10 | Nothing in papers | |||
15 | ♫ | Disco | With Dave Holland, Paul Gray and Brother Louie Adm. 50p | |
16 | ♫ | California Ballroom Dunstable regretfully announce that on Friday 16th April there will be NO DISCO as this is Good Friday and it is against the law to enjoy yourselves. Anybody found laughing - singing or enjoying yourselves in ANY WAY 'WILL BE SENTENCED TO DEATH' (under section 69 of the happiness act) BUT SERIOUSLY FOLKS..... Don't forget the Pool Bar will be open on Friday 16th April |
||
17 | ♫ | The Drifters making their ONLY appearance in Dunstable in 1976 |
Adm. £1.50 | |
24 | ♫ | Sheer Elegance with Dave Holland and Paul Gray | Brother Louie in the Devils Den Adm. £1 | |
30 | ♫ | Manhattan Transfer with the 21 piece Passadena Roof Orchestra one of only two appearances in the UK |
with Dave Holland & Paul Gray Adm. £2 | |
May | 01 | ♫ | Jimmy Ruffin | Blues & Soul lists Al Green Adm. £1.50 |
08 | ♫ | Main Ballroom closed for private function | Pool Bar open | |
09 | ♫ | Sunday Soul | With the latest American Funk sounds, Brother Louie in the Devils Den Adm. 40p | |
12 | ♫ | Attention! Soul Import Recordings situated at the California Ballroom Proudly announce their American Record Shop is NOW OPEN |
This was run by Louie Martin. The shop was underneath Mick Ilka's flat at the top end by the car park. | |
15 | ♫ | Junior Walker & the Allstars | Adm. £2 | |
22 | ♫ | Jimmy James & the Vagabonds | Adm. £1 | |
29 | ♫ | Nothing in papers | ||
31 | ♫ | Dunstable Round Table present..... Soul Carnival Party Night featuring The Detroit Emeralds featuring James Carl & Ivy |
Of course we all know that it was James, Carl and IVORY don't we. Don't we? Adm. ? | |
Jun | 06 | ♫ | Greg Edwards direct from Capital Radio |
Adm. £1 |
07 | ♫ | Nothing in papers | ||
12 | ♫ | War | Only listed in Blues & Soul, nothing in the papers however, in a photograph on the 'Pictures of You' page, there are posters on the wall with these dates | |
19 | ♫ | Ohio Players | ||
Jul | 03 | KC & the Sunshine Band | Only listed in Blues & Soul | |
The summer of 1976 seems to have been very quiet. Danny McGarry, a close friend of Mick Ilka says not much was happening in the Ballroom apart from Pool - all the tables had been moved in there. We suspect that the conversion of the Devils Den into Didoz was taking place and it may be that the building work made it unsafe for people to use the entrances. Certainly, by September 11th the Devils Den had been moved up into the Vista Bar. Danny remembers pulling up the dance floor and re-laying it upstairs. Didoz opened on Dec 1st. One thing that did catch our attention was an advert in the paper on the 12th July. John Jones was selling his entire record collection of around 1000 singles for the huge sum of £120. | ||||
Sep | 4 | ♫ | Fatback Band | Adm. £3 |
11 | ♫ | The New Devil's Den Opens | In the old Vista Bar | |
18 | ♫ | Real Thing | Adm. £1.50 | |
25 | ♫ | Kool & the Gang | Adm. £3 | |
30 | ♫ | The Smitty Disco Roadshow | In the Devils Den with Paul Gray Adm. 25p For those of you unaware, Smitty was one of those atrociously smelly teenage perfumes. |
|
Oct | 12 | ♫ | Don't forget The California Pool Hall with 20 full size American Pool tables and the Pool bar with 10 tables |
Open Monday to Thursday Adm. Free |
22 | ♫ | The Big One is Back! | Friday night disco in the main Ballroom with Brother Louie and Paul Gray. Smoking Robbie in the Devils Den Adm. 50p | |
23 | ♫ | Osibisa | Adm. £2 | |
Nov | 6 | ♫ | Chi-Lites | Adm. £3.50 |
12 | ♫ | Kojak comes to the California John Kojak Harvey |
with Paul Gray and Brother Louie Adm. 50p | |
13 | ♫ | Johnny Guitar Watson one of only 6 UK appearances |
with Paul Gray Adm. £2 | |
26 | ♫ | Brass Construction Promotion Night | To celebrate the release of their 2nd album. Free B.C.LPs, T-Shirts, stickers etc. With Brother Louie & Paul Gray | |
Dec | 01 | ♫ | Opening night of Didoz | Your own exclusive nightclub-restaurant is now opening its doors for membership. £40 per annum. Membership covers husband and wife plus two guests at £1 per head. |
11 | ♫ | Jimmy Helms | Adm. £1 | |
18 | ♫ | F.B.I | You may have seen them on tour with the Fatback Band. With Paul Gray & Brother Louie Adm. £1 | |
24 | ♫ | Heatwave | Adm. £3 | |
26 | ♫ | Sunday Night Soul | In the Devils Den with Brother Louie Adm. 50p | |
27 | ♫ | Last of the funk in 76 | with Brother Louie in the Devils Den Adm. 80p | |
31 | ♫ | Real Thing | Ballroom Adm. £4 | |
Bruce Guest. International all round entertainer. Plus festivities and dancing to our 4 piece combo | Didoz - Members only |
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