John Bell: The Beloved Brisbane nightclub legend who helped ‘everyone and anyone’

A Brisbane nightclub legend, who threw people out of a burning Whiskey Au Go Go, has been remembered for his generous nature ahead of what would’ve been his 80th birthday.

When it comes to Brisbane legend John Bell, it seems everyone has a story to share about the well-known nightclub identity better known as “Belly”.

The “funny, loving” John Bell was a jack of all trades who worked as a butcher, a bouncer and a nightclub manager but for Kathryn Hancock he was just dad.

The 59-year-old has paid tribute to her father ahead of what would’ve been his 80th birthday on December 3.

Mr Bell passed in 1999 following a massive heart attack and stroke, the news causing an outpouring of grief for the beloved larrikin.

Ms Hancock recounted how he was the manager at the Whiskey Au Go Go when it was firebombed on March 8, 1973.

She remembers hearing about how her father, with no shirt on, threw people out of the burning building to try and help them escape.

A total of 15 people died that night and James Richard Finch and John Andrew Stuart were later charged and convicted.

The 59-year-old says it was his life outside of the nightclub scene that also made him such a legend, renowned for helping “anyone who needed it”.

Mr Bell was the middle child who grew up in Newmarket, he married his high school sweetheart, Ms Hancock’s mother at just 17 years old.

“But he was always a playboy, he always had a girlfriend and another girlfriend and another,” she said with a laugh.

“He was married to my mum for six years he remarried again in 1965 and had three children.

“He was just a lovely man, everybody loved him – he was so friendly, helpful.”

Mr Bell’s love of football was evident as he juggled a busy schedule to lend a hand.

“He was very involved in metropolitan rugby league, the cities rugby league club … we used to do raffles all the time at Bonaparte’s or at the nightclub and a lot of the footballers that played for him worked at the club for a bit of extra money,” Ms Hancock said.

“He lived at Wilston and he would get up at 9-9.30am in the day do raffles for the football club, do the banking and then he’d go home and sleep from 3 til 6 and go to the nightclub and work there all night.

“He’d come home at 3.00am and sleep til 6 or 7am and then he’d go up to his mum’s place and make sure she was OK.

“This went on every year around the clock, he just loved the club.”

The mother of five remembered her father building the club an amenities block fondly.

“The footy club didn’t have any toilet or showers, so he built that by flogging bricks off other peoples properties,” she said as she laughed.

“If someone had a building site, he’d take two or so and he built the toilet and shower blocks so they could keep playing there.”

Good friend Kathy Potter says she still remembers the first time she met Mr Bell in the late 1960s at Cloudland.

“I didn’t think for one minute all those years down the track that I would run into him again,” she said.

Their paths crossing again in 1971 at Checkers nightclub and from then on the pair were firm friends.

“We were all like a big group and we used to go out and have fun,” Ms Potter said

“We went to his family barbecues and everything.

“1979 was the last time I saw him and I only found out recently he had passed and I was very sad.”

Ms Potter said he was just “the best person”.

“I christened him my overgrown teddy bear,” she said.

“He would give you the shirt off his back, if you needed money and it was another week until payday he would lend you money but not expect it back.

“He would walk up to anyone and extend his hand and say ‘g’day mate, I’m John Bell’.

“He would do anything for his mates and his family.

“He was the most loveliest, kindest and compassionate man you could find.”

Ms Hancock said he was well loved and everybody seemed to know him.

“He had a big belly so everybody called him ‘Belly’,” she said.

“He just loved the nightclub scene and he helped so many people.

“Johnny O’Keefe would call in the middle of the night and he would go around to his house and help him out.

“He was good friends with Jamie Dunn, he help Normie Rowe out a lot

“He’d give anybody a job – people who’d just gotten out of jail, he looked after them.”

Aside from night-life and footy, Mr Bell also wrote his own magazine distributed throughout Brisbane.

He was also a father of five and a grandfather of eight.

“He was a very funny, happy guy,” Ms Hancock said.