Recent photos have revealed the eerie inside of a former Nottingham nightclub on Huntingdon Street that was better known as the Voodoo Lounge, the Lost Weekend and Babels to generations of Nottingham clubbers. The club, which was most recently known as Breeze, has been closed since 2012.
It is unclear when the building was actually built as much of the area was redeveloped in the late 60s, including the adjacent Union Street of which the nightclub stretches on to the corner. The first mentions of the club are as Babels in 1971 when adverts appeared looking for waitresses and glass collectors due to "reorganisation" of the venue - although it doesn't elaborate on what that is.
Staff were offered "top wages" to come and work at the venue along with a lift home in the evenings. The club was run by Kurt and Zac Yadgar, who also ran a clothing boutique with the same name out of the premises. They described it as not just providing the clothes but a place to wear them.
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The club was advertised as having two dance floors, a restaurant and four bars while running dance competitions with cash prizes. Although we might feel a bit ill at the thought of going for a meal in a nightclub, it was a common way for venues in the 1970s and 1980s to work with licensing laws of the time.
The club was proudly listed as playing US and UK records with adverts stating 'you can do it through until two in the Babel One Discoteque'. It cost just 50p to enter but patrons were warned to dress smartly with strictly 'no jeans'. It also claimed to be 'the best thing since James Brown'.
The club tried literally everything to see what worked including Fiesta nights, fashion shows and even belly dancing which wasn't a common occurrence in Nottingham nightclubs at that time. In a bid to increase female attendance at the club, the owners introduced a "hen night" every Thursday night where groups of eight or more women would be given free bottles of bubbly.
In 1985, there were talks of renovating the club and renaming it Reflections although a year later it changed to Michael Isaacs after the owner's son was born. In a style suited to the decadent 1980s, it promised a restaurant, champagne bars and light shows with the creation of 35 new jobs.
The nightclub also ran some competitions which were a sign of the times such as Miss Bikini and Miss Great Britain in the mid-80s. But they were one of the first UK nightclubs to have a female bouncer on the door, although they appeared to still insist she wore heels.
"The night I joined Michele at the door of Michael Isaacs on Huntington Street in Nottingham, hundreds of nightclubbers filed passed with many doing double takes at the former hairdresser," wrote Val Evans, of the Evening Post, in an article on page six in 1987. "Immaculately dressed in winged collar and bow tie, she appeared even taller in high-heeled shoes."
There were mentions of the owners filing for bankruptcy although there are no records of whether this was successful or not. However, the club was renamed briefly as the Voodoo Lounge in the mid-90s. It attracted big-name performers such as Boy George who appeared as a DJ there.
Marie White remembers the gig: "I remember going to see Boy George at the Voodoo Lounge at the start of his DJing career in the mid-1990s. Great atmosphere, absolutely packed." Many visitors remember the club as being busy and recalled wearing UV body paint and furry leg warmers to dance.
The club changed again becoming the Lost Weekend. DJ Peter Martine remembers the legendary LGBT+ club nights he hosted there.
He said: "What I loved most about the Lost Weekend was when Love Zoo was there which I headlined on many occasions. The great thing about it was that it was a mixed crowd and everyone got on. There was quite a large gay contingent and it was really easy-going. You knew you could go out, and get a great atmosphere.
"Many of the gay scene went there because they felt safe there. They didn't want to go to NG1 but they came to Love Zoo and the House. We did a gay night at both and they were pretty successful as well as a night called Chocolate. We had big chocolate fountains where people could dip marshmallows and strawberries. It was a gimmick but it worked."
The nightspot closed in 2007 to the dismay of the club scene in Nottingham and it remained shut until 2012 when it was renamed Breeze following a £200,00 refurbishment. It was closed less than three months later after a massive fight saw clubbers break chairs and use bottles.
Police were quoted as "shocked" by the level of violence when they entered the club. Several clubbers were hurt in the disturbance including police officers. Bouncers lost control of the door as those who were kicked out simply re-entered unchallenged, according to newspaper reports.
The Evening Post reported in 2012: "The atmosphere on entering the premises was hostile. The club has been temporarily closed after police argued it was necessary to 'protect the public from further serious harm'."
The license for the nightclub was revoked and never regranted again. The building has remained closed ever since.
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