Parramatta nightclubs: Kicks, Traders, the Roxy part of history
From $1 drinks at Parra Leagues to hitting the dance floor at Traders, we hit the rewind button and look at Parramatta‘s favourite haunts when the sun went down.
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On a Friday arvo in the 1990s, the queue outside Parra Leagues would spill on to O’Connell St with punters keen to secure their tickets to Kicks nightclub.
“A lot of people used to come in after 5 o’clock straight after work or uni and get their tickets and the queue would go along what was Grose St, now called Eels Place, and around the corner into O’Connell St,’’ former Parramatta Leagues Club chief executive officer Denis Fitzgerald said.
“That’s how popular it was, otherwise you might miss out on getting tickets, especially Friday night, which was always big.
“It was loud, alcohol was cheap, it was probably equally balanced between male and female which helps; you don’t want to be seen to have a lot more blokes.
“We didn’t have all that much trouble and of course with Kicks we ended up having $1 drinks which were extremely popular, which you couldn’t have now with the liquor laws …’’
Fitzgerald said 1 million clubbers went through Kicks between July 27, 1990 and New Year’s Eve in 1997.
He was inspired to give Parramatta another place to party after a trip to a Reno in Nevada and Las Vegas, and Kicks later became Huuj nightclub.
“I think it had a reputation of being quality as far as the room was concerned and service. It was pretty much a younger crowd, the 18 to 25s and so I’d say people a lot of people commenced relationships at Kicks and even a lot more ended at Kicks,’’ he said.
Fitzgerald, who now works in the field of selling facial recognition systems at clubs, said the club hosted top Australian artists in the 1970s and ‘80s.
“Besides the nightclub or disco scene, which was hugely popular, we also had band nights where we’d have the top bands like INXS and Cold Chisel, then Jimmy Barnes after Cold Chisel broke up, (they were) just extremely popular,” he said.
Before Kicks, locals got their fix of ’80s hits at the Eelectriques disco, which was originally called the Macquarie Bar and the “men’s bar’’ before drinking areas at licensed venues became mixed.
Northmead comedian Rob Shehadie only went clubbing at Kicks once but recalls the venue vividly.
“It was smelly and stinky and there were spiral stairs,’’ he said.
“It was the only way you could get up and down.
“Everyone was jamming to go from downstairs to get up to the club. It was a fight.
“It was one of the night spots of Parra. Parra Leagues has struggled ever since (it closed). Also they got rid of the auditorium (which is now a bowling alley). From the stories I’ve heard they had the Radiators there, they had The Angels and even Chisel.’’
For Shehadie, Patrick’s at Pennant Hills was a regular haunt.
“I just remember it was packed. The line would go forever. Lucky there was a Lebanese man working at the door,” he said.
“There would be R’n’B … C+C Music Factory, Black Box, all those up-tempo songs but it was just a good vibe.
“I don’t think I ever saw fights, trouble when I used to go out. Everyone was just in a good mood.
“I think it was just drinking back then and now I think there’s different substances going around maybe.
“It was always about music and feeling good, and going to concerts.’’
Back at Parramatta, Traders got pumping at the Parkroyal hotel in the ‘90s.
“I went there once,’’ Shehadie said.
“I think all the Lebs went there. I just remember we ended up at City Extra at Parramatta after. Whatever we did, that’s where we ended up and I’d have a crusty breadroll with pumpkin soup.
“That was my go-to at 4am and you’d see the sun coming up at City Extra. What a way to finish your night.
“It was open 24 hours and that was the place you went. It was nice, it was good to go out and have a drink but there were options everywhere.’’
Shehadie says young people were “more conditioned to go out’’ than the current generation.
“You’d go all the way to Maroubra Seals. you’d go all the way up to Patrick’s, you’d go to Key Largo at Terrigal, Club Troppo at Gosford,” he said.
“There was always somewhere to go. Then you’d have your diehard Parra people that never wanted to leave the area, like (those that went to) Studebakers.’’
Above City Extra, Studebakers at Church St was the former Stallions nightclub which kept Church St buzzing. It later became known as Stomp.
At the raucous War and Peace, near the corner of Church and Ross streets, headline acts included Midnight Oil in the 1970s when it was a notorious night spot.
In 2015, the Parramatta Advertiser reported how staff would keep buckets of ice behind the bar to plunge their hands into because of the frequent fist fights.
The club is now a block of apartments.
Other heavyweight Aussie rock acts who played War and Peace included the Radiators, AC/DC. In the ’70s and ’80s, night owls would go out closer to home and there were more than 20 nightclubs to choose from over those decades.
Many gen Xers would remember a night out at the Argyle Street Hotel opposite Parramatta train station.
Lucky Lil’s, formerly Bogart’s at Station St, would be a club to visit if you liked playing poker and snooker.
Other clubbers would head to SIN at the Collector Tavern.
In more recent times, the iconic Roxy Theatre was converted from a cinemas to a nightclub in the early 2000s but quickly became a troubled spot before it closed in 2014.
The 138-year-old Albion Hotel is still a popular night spot but its days are numbered and it will be demolished to make way for double-tower development, including a 51-storey. 405-apartment block towering over a wine bar, restaurant and function venue.
“When you walk past the Albion on a Sunday night, on a Saturday night, the music is happening, it’s a happening place to be, it’s a popular place, it’s a destination,’’ Parramatta councillor Donna Davis said in March.
“Now the people that are building this new, fandangled apartment block on this site are saying that they are going to build another pub but we know it’s not going to be the same.’’
So should Parramatta host another nightclub?
Shehadie and Fitzgerald say yes.
“I was thinking about this not long ago,’’ Shehadie said.
“The young people have nothing to do. They go to the casino and strut around and they sit around restaurants.
“I thought the (Kings) Cross was good because everyone was contained in one area. In the old days there were clubs everywhere.’’
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