Coast After Dark Part 1: Party boom from Beach House with Billy James

How one venue, one man and one group made Surfers Paradise a global success. READ PART ONE OF OUR SPECIAL FOUR-PART SERIES >>>

THE Gold Coast is known for its nightclubs – for both good and bad reasons.

In our special four-part Coast After Dark series, learn the truth about the history of Surfers Paradise from the major players who transformed the suburb into a world renowned party precinct.

By looking back, this in-depth series hopes to find how Surfers Paradise can return to its glory days.

THE RISE OF SURFERS

During the mid-1980s the Gold Coast was starting to grow its name as the place to let your hair down.

The sleepy city was known as a go-to destination for touring rock n’ roll bands with Paul Kelly, Iggy Pop and a then-rising INXS some of the many names hitting the coastline.

The choice of The Patch in Coolangatta, Surfers Paradise’s Bombay Rock and the famous Playroom in Palm Beach gave music enthusiasts plenty of options.

Surfers Paradise was building its party precinct with venues including Paul Allen’s nightclub Melbas and Vince and Michael Russo’s four-storey venue The Penthouse.

By the early 1990s the strip from Cavill Ave to Orchid Ave was the go-to place for a night out but a venue a block away was about to change the suburb’s scene.

Billy's Beach House Tavern at Surfers Paradise on the gold Coast in 1998.

BIRTH OF THE BEACH HOUSE

In the early 1990s surf lifesaving figure Billy James entered the real estate game, but little did he know what it would mean for Surfers Paradise for the next decade.

Mr James bought the management rights of more than 21 units in Surfers Paradise’s Iluka building.

He used his new investment on the corner of the Esplanade and Hanlan streets to kickstart his career as a hospitality operator.

“In those days there were only two hotel licenses. There was the Chevron Hotel and the Surfers Paradise Hotel,” Mr James said.

“You couldn’t get another license. There were other venues like nightclubs but not hotels.”

Seeing a gap in the market Mr James said he bought a hotel license for the Iluka, leading to the birth of Billy’s Beach House in 1991.

“It (Iluka) had 100-plus rooms, so I got it under an international hotel ruling from the commissioner for only the third license here,” he said.

“It allowed me to build Billy’s Beach House hotel with bottle shops. Out of that it morphed into a nightclub as well.”

Former owner of Billy's Beach House, Bill James, looking over old records and photo albums of the good olds. The Beach House has now been demolished.

WHAT’S MY SCENE

Well known nightclub operator Paul Allen visited Mr James in the early days of the Beach House to give his friend some advice.

“I had no background in nightclubs. I had been to plenty but on the other side of the bar,” Mr James said.

“Paul loved the look of it and asked how I was going to theme it? And what’s your clientele?

“I always knew it was going to be aimed at surf lifesaving and be Australian-sport orientated.

“I also wanted it to be a cut above. That’s the secret to a good business, be a cut above the rest.”

Wanting to provide a venue for many walks of life, Mr James utilised his space and created five different areas, each providing their own scene from dining to dancing.

GALLERY: Billy’s Beach House through the years

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“There were two bars upstairs and three down,” Mr James said.

“The reason it worked so well was it was one street removed from the precinct, making it the early place to go to.

“At five o’clock it was packed. People who had finished work would go there and then it would change its face during the evening.

“It had something for everybody.”

Mr James had a way to ensure the venue matched the crowd’s atmosphere.

“I had automatic lighting and music that changed through the evening,” he said.

“The lights would go down, the music’s beats per minute would go up. Everything was specific.”

BRINGING IN THE BIG NAMES

The image to target a sports crowd helped the Beach House draw in athletes from across Australia.

Mr James recalled many well-known sports personalities passing through his venue’s doors during its duration.

“It became a place where at any time you could walk in and there would be an Australian rugby player or football identity or an Olympian,” he said.

“Andrew Symons was a regular when he was based here. He brought Shane Warne and all those blokes, who’d be running around the place.

“Blokes like that would just be in the bar and fit in with everyone else.”

It wasn’t only sports stars who were enjoying the hospitality of the Beach House.

CELEB SPOTTING: When stars visit Gold Coast nightclubs

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The venue being attached to Iluka’s accommodation made it ideal for the who’s who visiting the Gold Coast.

Mr James said he hosted many functions with lots of big names in the bars situated on the top floor of the Beach House.

“We had politicians to movie stars. We had all sorts come through,” he said.

“One time we had Billy Zane there for a function upstairs and Catherine Zeta-Jones there for another movie at the one time.

“Those wrap up parties would spend $20,000 upstairs.”

Former owner of Iluka Resorts and Billy's Beach House Billy James

END OF AN ERA

The founder of Billy’s Beach House sold the venue in the late 1990s and the venue continued without Mr James.

Although it remained for another decade, the Beach House couldn’t capture the magic of the 90s.

Mr James put the demise down to the growth of the Gold Coast and locals wanting their own drinking hole nearby.

“It changed to anyone being able to get a hotel license. Every place on the Gold Coast soon had a hotel to drink at,” he said.

“Pockets across the city were starting to grow and get their own scene. Burleigh was picking up and Broadbeach was growing.

“You look now and there’s these pockets all over the place from Palmy to how big Burleigh has become.

“The Gold Coast was designed to be that way. It was only a matter of time.”

The Beach House eventually ended when Iluka was bought by the Raptis Group in September 2007. They wanted to use the site for redevelopment.

Raptis Group was hit hard during the global financial crisis in 2008 and its plans to create a $750 million, 57-storey tower fell through.

“When the building was knocked down it took something out of the night-life. Not because I wasn’t there but because of how iconic the place had become,” Mr James said.

“That location meant a lot to Surfers Paradise. Looking back I wish it was kept.”

Originally published as Coast After Dark Part 1: Party boom from Beach House with Billy James