Celebrate good times: 80s clubbers come out in force for McMahons Tonsley reunion
McMahons at Tonsley and Salisbury ruled 80s nightlife in the ’burbs. Now the legendary venue is back for a final reunion.
Lifestyle
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Tonsley Hotel patrons will time warp back to the 80s and early 90s next week when the pub revives its former McMahons nightclub for two reunion shows before the venue is demolished.
Outrageous original club DJ Steve “Hoops” Hooper will return from Darwin to man the turntables alongside fellow club regular James Ingram, who is now a producer in Sydney, with special “old school” lighting effects by Andy J.
“It was an electric atmosphere there – it used to pack the venue every Thursday night,” Hoops said from Darwin.
Do you remember Adelaide’s most legendary nightclubs?
“It was insane … you could get dollar drinks for the first hour or so. People used to just fill up their tables with dollar drinks.
“It was absolutely mega.”
Enthusiasm for the classic club, which ran from the mid 80s to the early 90s, hasn’t waned with tickets for Saturday, July 8, already sold out and a second reunion show added for the Friday, July 7.
In their 80s heyday, the McMahons venues catered for crowds in the northern and southern suburbs, rivalling the popularity of city venues until mega-clubs like Heaven and The Planet came along.
Thursday nights at McMahons Tonsley were also popular with uni students, particularly those from nearby Flinders University.
“We played a bit more edgy music there, they were really into the Techno,” Hoops said.
“Whenever we got a big celeb in, they would do one night at Salisbury and one night at Tonsley.”
Guest stars at McMahons included international artists like Belgian dance acts Technotronic and 2 Unlimited, singing sisters Kylie and Dannii Minogue, and actors Rik Mayall (from UK hit The Young Ones) and Magda Szubanski (from sketch comedy show Fast Forward).
Even Plucka Duck from TV’s Hey Hey It’s Saturday made an appearance.
Hoops, who also played weekends at McMahons in Salisbury, remembers French-Italian model and Black Box singer Katrin Quinol being “a bit of a diva” who took a liking to him and insisted he accompany her to other South Australian appearances and nightclubs.
“I remember being out until daylight … and she was dancing on the bar at Jules.”
Hoops was contacted by Hurley Hotel Group entertainment manager Jack “Jaki J” Jericho, who proposed the McMahons reunion night.
“He mentioned that they were going to rip the Tonsley down and make it a freeway tunnel.”
The Tonsley Hotel is among an estimated 524 full and partial compulsory property acquisitions by the state government, that will be cleared to make way for the final 10.5km stage of the Torrens to Darlington Project, completing the 78km north-south corridor between Gawler and Old Noarlunga.
The hotel site is earmarked to become a workshop area, with storage and loading bays for the South Road freeway and tunnel construction.
Hooper, who has lived for more than 20 years in Darwin where he now plays classic pop and dance tracks on Territory FM, said he and Ingram agreed to return for the Tonsley reunion on the condition that they both did it.
Tickets for the Friday reunion are still available at stickytickets.com.au
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