Gold Coast night life: 10 best nightclubs of the past

The Gold Coast is famous for its legendary nightclubs and exciting night-life. The clubs of the 1970s, 80s and 90s saw some of the best times ever, plus famous bands. SEE THE LIST

THE Gold Coast is famous for its legendary nightclubs and exciting night-life. From the 1970s to the early 2000s the city saw some of its best-known venues operating, hosting world-famous bands and offering a great atmosphere.

Here are the top-10 Gold nightclubs we miss most.

CELEB SPOTTING: When stars visit Gold Coast nightclubs

VIEW GALLERY

Bombay Rock

The Bombay Rock in 1984. Picture courtesy Nicole Reading.

Owned by the George brothers, it became well known for its top-level entertainment and wild evenings in the 1980s.

Among the big names who played there through the 1980s were New Order, The Divinyls and Midnight Oil.

By 1984 the Bombay Rock was doing a booming trade and there was talk of a big expansion.

By the 1990s the Bombay Rock was gone.

Twains International

Inside Twains Nightclub, Surfers Paradise, Picture Carolyn Clark

Twains was the brainchild of Greek businessman Chris Xanthopoulos and was a feature of developer Bert Swift’s The Mark shopping centre. The Mark was Surfers Paradise’s major shopping centre during the late 1970s and early 1980s and Twains became a popular nightspot.

Twains Nightclub, Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast, 1980s Picture Carolyn Clark

Twains and the Penthouse engaged in what was known as the “disco wars’’ as each venue attempted to dominate the fledgling nightclub industry.

Twains closed in 1987 and was eventually replaced by the Search and Rescue (SAR) Club which closed in the late 2000s.

Twains Nightclub, Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast, 1980s Picture Steve Thomas

The Penthouse

Limbo at the Penthouse nightclub above The Avenue on Orchid Avenue Surfers Paradise

Owned by Bob Walder and Vince Russo, The Penthouse was one of the first major Surfers Paradise nightclubs.

It was in Cavill Ave and eventually grew into a four-storey complex, with seven bars, two discos, a dining room and four dance floors.

Its patrons sometimes included Bob Hawke, Bill and Sonya McMahon, Doug Anthony, Beatle George Harrison, Italian movie star Gina Lollobrigida, TV guru Mike Willesee, politicians of every ilk and some of the nation’s leading businessmen.

Melbas

Melbas Nightclub.

A survivor of the nightclub scene, the Cavill Ave venue opened in 1981 and finally closed earlier this year in the fallout of the COVID-19 crisis.

It grew from a restaurant and dining venue into a popular bar and nightclub through the 1990s under Paul Allen who operate it until 2008.

It survived the Global Financial Crisis but multiple makeovers failed to bring the patrons back and it finally closed earlier this year.

Chevron Skyline

The Chevron Hotel, Surfers Paradise. Supplied photo.

A legendary bar of the late 20th century. It opened in Stanley Korman’s Chevron Hotel in 1957 and became a go-to dining location.

It’s companion location, the Paradise Room opened within the hotel in 1958, followed in September 1960 by the main building in the hotel which featured a convention centre and 24-lane bowling alley.

The Chevron Hotel continued trading until the mid-1980s when it finally closed. It was demolished in 1987.

The Patch

The Patch, originally known as The Cabbage Patch, was part of the Queensland Hotel, not far from Greenmount Beach. The club was revamped in 1987 and reopened in May 1988.

It was a popular music venue and had a beer garden.

Rose and Crown

Nightclub signs in Surfers Paradise. Rose & Crown.

A popular venue in Surfers Paradise during the 1990s and 2000s, it was inside the Raptis Plaza which stood at the top of Cavill Ave Mall.

Gold Coast Glitter Strip VIP nightclub host Jimmy Ozturk at the Rose and Crown bar in Surfers Paradise

It proved so popular that its floorprint had dramatically expanded the end of the 90s and it remained a particular favourite of university students through until the mid-late 2000s.

It was demolished in 2007 to make way for the Soul development after a legal battle to save it.

The Drink

The Drink Nightclub logo.

One of the first popular nightclubs to open in the 21st century. It opened its doors in the Year 2000 and boasted a “new level of night life to Surfers Paradise.

The Orchid Ave club advertised itself as “combining the latest sound and lighting technology with a cool, relaxed atmosphere, it offers a new concept in entertainment”.

Inside The Drink Nightclub.

“With the Gold Coast’s most acclaimed DJs at the helm (MC Shaun, DJ Turhan, DJ Brent & Soul Tyron), the newest and funkiest sounds will keep you on the dance floor every night of the week,” advertising declared in 2000.

Molly Meldrum even performed a DJ set there in 2001.

It closed in 2010.

Shooters

Shooters nightclub

An icon of the Surfers Paradise scene, Shooters Saloon Bar was particularly popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Originally boasting a western theme, it once had lines out the door each weekend.

But as new clubs opened its popularity waned in the 2010s and several failed attempts were made at relaunching it.

The Asylum nightclub now operates in its former space.

Originally published as Gold Coast night life: 10 best nightclubs of the past