A DJ recalled how Roy Keane once visited Manchester’s iconic Boardwalk club - but had enough after just a single pint of Guinness.
Dave Haslam DJ’d at a whole host of venues in the 1990s, including his ‘Yellow’ night at the Boardwalk every Friday from 1992 to 1999. And his magical spell at the venue unsurprisingly attracted a range of high-profile stars in the city.
But none would have expected Keane, who joined Manchester United in 1993 to be one of them. And according to Haslam’s memoir ‘Sonic Youth Slept On My Floor’, the Irishman had a hilarious reaction after experimenting with the ‘deep funk’ scene, reports The Daily Star.
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He wrote: “I’m not sure what had led him [Keane] to come to the club. He never showed a sign of being interested in deep funk, abstract soul or original disco up until then or, indeed, subsequently.
“My theory is that he had been keeping himself to himself in the dressing room, but overheard [Ryan] Giggs and [Paul] Ince talking about a Friday night out at the Boardwalk, and, undeterred by not having a friend to accompany him, decided to explore the club for himself.”
Haslam added: “It was one of the doormen, Charlie, who alerted me to Roy Keane’s presence in the queue. Charlie, a passionate supporter of Manchester City, spent pre-match hours on the door of the Parkside pub close to Maine Road and he didn’t think Roy needed inviting to the front of the queue.
“In fact, ‘let him wait’ was the general consensus. Roy Keane got in eventually, after paying the £5 admission.
“He then queued at the bar behind Chris Eccleston, bought himself a Guinness and took up a spot on the edge of the dancefloor, just watching what was going on, no expression on his face.”
Keane has admitted to visiting the odd club during his early years at United, even claiming to have met his wife on a drunken night out. But there was no danger of the Red Devils captain actually enjoying his Boardwalk adventure.
Haslam continued: “Every minute or so he took a sip from his pint. When Jason dropped a great remix of the Bomb the Bass tune ‘Bug Powder Dust’, he didn’t respond, but continued to slowly survey the club in full swing in front of him.
“When he finished his drink, he turned, put the empty pint glass on the side of the bar, walked past the Moss Side guys in their massive coats and the Gorton girls belting out the chorus to ‘I’m Every Woman’, went down the stairs, exited the club and never came back.”
The story backs up comments made during his recent interview with Tommy Tiernan when he revealed he was never really a nightclub person.
Keane explained: "The Hacienda nightclub was the famous nightclub, but I wasn't really a nightclub type of guy. I was more of a pub drinker so that kind of bright lights of Manchester never kind of appealed to me.
"I wasn't really a dancer. Obviously I'd throw a few shapes but I wouldn't be out there for hours. I'd be at the bar. I would want to be at the bar but obviously the football was key for me."
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