Local HistoryYou are in: South Yorkshire > History > Local History > Memories of Sheffield Fiesta Memories of Sheffield FiestaBob Mundy was Roy Orbison's drummer for six years from 1967 to 1974. They played at The Fiesta nightclub in Sheffield, where he later worked as a compère. He's putting together a book about the nightclub and his experiences. Roy Orbison (L) and Bob Mundy (R), 1970s Peter Stringfellow's Pittsmoor nightclub The Mojo wasn't the only one to attract big names in swinging Sheffield. The big, bold Fiesta nightclub opened in Sheffield in the 1970s and it was another venue which attracted big acts like The Jackson Five, The Beach Boys, Roy Orbison, Stevie Wonder, Ella Fitzgerald and The Four Tops all played there. Michael Jackson in The Jackson Five And there were many famous homegrown names too - Cilla Black, Bruce Forsyth, Les Dawson, Tommy Cooper and Sheffield's own Tony Christie - to name but a few. Chrissy Clarke saw The Jackson Five at the Fiesta in 1977 or 1978: "I met Michael Jackson at the Sheffield Fiesta - it was The Jackson Five - the place was packed. They were absolutely brilliant. They'd just performed Destiny. He was the most amazing dancer - he had this presence about him. He was 17 or 18 - my age. He smiled at me, I was on the front row and he came and sat with me. He kissed me and held my hand, he was just a really, really nice guy. He gave me a flower. I was just mute! The paparazzi hounded him completely. I think he was always trying to get approval from people - his fans did it for him when maybe his parents didn't." :: Tell us your memories of nights at the Fiesta via the form at the bottom of the page ::Anyone who knows Sheffield will know the big building on Arundel Gate which is now the Odeon cinema. Next door was the Top Rank nightclub (later known as the Roxy Disco and now is the O2 Academy.) Bob at the FiestaThe Fiesta was full of good old fashioned entertainment - stage, tinselly curtains, musical heroes, cabaret acts and hypnotists, chicken-in-a-basket served to your dimly-lit table, dancing girls and a compère. It was owned by Keith and Jim Lipthorpe who had already opened the Fiesta nightclub in Stockton-on-Tees – previously a cinema. One of the compères who worked at the Fiesta was Bob Mundy who had been Roy Orbison's drummer for six years in the late 1960s and 1970s. Roy Orbison and his band started their tour of the north at Batley Variety Club, followed by Stockton Fiesta and then Sheffield Fiesta in the 1970s. They went on to tour the world together. Bob Mundy on The Big O LP (1970) Bob came to 91Èȱ¬ Radio Sheffield in May 2009 to talk to Gareth Evans about his memories of playing and compèring at the Fiesta nightclub and about being The Big O's drummer and close friend. He now runs a recording studio in Leeds.
Help playing audio/video Listen to the interview with Bob by clicking on the link, or read a synopsis of the interview below. "Is anybody there?..."Roy Orbison once said that the only two things he needed to go on stage were a drummer and a bass player - and Bob was one of those. "He had these little signals to let me know if he wanted it louder or quieter - if he wanted it louder he'd pull his guitar forward, or for quieter he'd move it back," says Bob. So how did he come to be compèring at the Fiesta? "I went to the Fiesta while we were doing a few tours with the Dronfield singer Karen Young who had a hit single with Nobody's Child. Tony Christie outside the former Fiesta "They asked me what I thought of the compère. I said, 'He's alright, I could do that job'. A couple of weeks later they sent me a contract, it scared the life out of me! Being in the background with Roy Orbison and then suddenly being plunged into making the show go on... Karen Young was on tour at the time I was compèring. She lived in Dronfield and she let me use her place to stay. "The Bachelors were playing at the Fiesta the first week I was compèring. We'd done several concerts with them but this was my first night as the compère and I was dreading it. "The Fiesta was packed out. I had a catchphrase that came by accident that night... Usually you walk on to the stage and the spotlight picks you up and you go to the microphone. But the spotlight never came on! "I didn't know what to say... so I said, 'Is anybody there? Knock three times for yes and twice for no!' Fiesta nightclub sign (1970s) "Everybody started banging on the tables and then the lights came up! It broke the atmosphere - we decided to keep it as part of the act and it became a great catchphrase - people used to shout it out in the street when they saw me shopping in Sheffield!" "It was a great crowd at the Fiesta - a real cross-section of people. They had some fantastic big names - The Beach Boys, The Bachelors... Kenny Rogers and The First Edition were on stage on my last night there. The drummer Mickey wanted to tour Sheffield's antique shops looking for war memorabilia, so me and him used to go out looking during the day. Rock 'n' roll!" :: Bob Mundy is looking for people's memories and memorabilia from The Fiesta for a book. Contact him with your memories: robert@uptomidnightstudio.com Bob Mundy, Roy Orbison's drummer (1967-1974) Touring with The Big ORoy Orbison's life was touched by tragedy. "Two of his children died in a fire at the end of the first year that we toured together," says Bob. "It was really hard for him. One child, Wesley, survived. His wife Claudette had been killed in a motorbike accident two years before. We became very close and it was like a shockwave when I found out he'd died in 1988. "People said he always looks sad, but actually Roy picked up a lot of the English sense of humour. He liked Frankie Howard, The Goons and stuff - he was really funny at times, we had a real good laugh with him. Orbison found love again, in Batley of all places. The band were in Peter Stringfellow's West Yorkshire nightclub when Roy's fellow band members introduced him to a German student called Barbara - and it went from there. Roy and Barbara went on to have two more sons. Roy Orbison died of a massive heart attack in December 1988 – a moment which shook his friends like Bob on the other side of the world. "It was so devastating, a shockwave. Elvis said Roy Orbison was the best singer he'd ever known. As his backing band we were very close to him. It was very sad." :: Bob Mundy is looking for people's memories and memorabilia from the Fiesta nightclub. Contact him with your memories: robert@uptomidnightstudio.comClick on the links below to read about the city of Sheffield in the 1970s, and about Peter Stringfellow's famous Mojo Club on Pittsmoor Road in the 1960s. Share your memories about the city's nightclub and disco scene through the years in the Have Your Say box below, and to relive the hits from the 70s and 80s, choose Phil Butler's show on the 91Èȱ¬ iPlayer. last updated: 26/06/2009 at 12:48 Have Your SayWho did you see at the Fiesta? The Jackson Five, Roy Orbison, The Four Tops...? Tell us your memories of the nightclub.
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