……BY BILLY SUTER……
IT WILL be back to the 1960s – with a bang! – at Durban’s Rhumbelow Theatre in Cunningham Road, Umbilo, at 7.30pm on Saturday, August 24, and 2pm on Sunday, August 25.
That is when local musicians will gather as a band to celebrate the 58th anniversary of the opening of one of Durban’s top clubs of the Swinging Sixties.
That highly popular venue was The Tiles Club, better known as Tiles, which ran in Hermitage Street from 1966. In 1973, the club was sold and renamed The Golden Nugget Cabaret Nite Club.
In its heyday, Tiles hosted both professional and local bands including, among others, 004s, The Etonians, John Sharpe & Squires, The Square Set, The Dream Merchants, The Gonks (featuring Craig Ross), The Mods (featuring Alan Reed and Mervin Gershnov), It’s a Secret (Ron Selby), Third Eye (Maurice Saul) and The Shyannes.
Mike Dorsey came up with the original concept for the club and had it built to his specifications.
To mark the 58th year since Tiles opened, the Rhumbelow Theatre will toast to the venue with a programme of top golden hits of the Sixties. Dawn Selby of The Reals (formerly of It’s a Secret and Third Eye, both of which often performed at Tiles) will lead the ad hoc Tiles Band as musical director.
Admission for each concert is R200 a head and booking is at Webtickets or by calling Roland Stansell at 082 499 8636. Rhumbelow Theatre manager Stansell can also be contacted at roland@stansell.co.za
The Tiles Band line-up for the reunion is scheduled to include Selby on keyboards and vocals, Glen Turrell (Howard Carpendale and The Kinsman; Dave Anthony Quartet) on bass guitar, Ian Webster (Bite, Circus) on drums and vocals, and Bruce Boome (4 Jacks & Jill and The Zombies) on guitar and vocals. Also expected are appearances by Mike Matthews (Ballyhoo, Hedgehoppers Anonymous), Pete Clifford (004s, The Bats) and Brian Gibson (004s), as well as a song or two from former Tiles stalwart George Polly.
While Selby is still compiling the concert programme, she says one can expect hits by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Joni Mitchell, Procol Harum, The Shadows, Bob Dylan, The Animals, Jethro Tull, Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond and Neil Young, among others.
The last Tiles reunion in Durban was in 2019. Then The Tiles Band also comprised musicians who had appeared at Tiles over the years – among them Billy Forrest (formerly of The Dream Merchants), Bruce Boome, Dawn Selby and the late Steve Fataar (ex-The Flames).
More than 200 people attended that big event, including friends from the US, UK, and Australia, recalls Durban-born George Polly, whose family owned Tiles in its latter years. The venue was originally the concept of Mike Dorsey, who had Tiles built to his specifications.
Polly, who is spearheading the latest anniversary event, says constant public demand for another reunion led to the planned Rhumbelow Theatre shows: “There has been a very positive response and we were getting requests for tickets even before they were available.”
So, what was Tiles like in its day (apologies, this writer was only nine years old when it opened)?
“The name came from the saying ‘out on the tiles’, referring to an evening out at a bar or club, dancing until early morning”, says Polly. He adds: “Catering mainly for older teenagers, and open from 7pm until 11pm – with an admission fee of only 60c – the venue was packed most weekends, and weekdays during holiday seasons, with lines to the bottom of Hermitage Street”.
Polly says, with a smile, that in those halcyon days pocket money stretched quite far: “With R1 per week pocket money, 60c was for admission, 20c for Cokes and 20c for bus fare home!”
The opening of Tiles was a major event in Durban which attracted large crowds to listen to The Ivy League from the UK which had a Top 10 hit called Tossing and Turning. Another Top 10 hit band, also from the UK, called Hedgehoppers Anonymous, was also a popular draw, recalls Polly.
Tiles was on the first floor at 250 Hermitage Street and offered an intimate Coffee Bar, Record Bar and a Mod Boutique called Blimey, run by Polly’s mother, Helen, and ‘Charlie from Carnaby Street’ who, according to Polly, once shared a flat with actor Michael Caine.
An alumnus of Kearsney College, Polly has always had a penchant for music in all forms and was a beacon on the Durban entertainment scene – from promoting and managing local talent, to hosting regular Battle of the Bands contests and arranging the first Stadium Pop Show in Durban.
“Tiles closed due to changing trends. Woodstock and the British Invasion was over and the ’60s generation had come of age… but we can still celebrate the music, fashions and the moods of the ’60s.”
When Tiles closed its doors, Polly continued with the club scene, cashing in on the disco craze of the ’70s with his next venture, the popular Odyssey 2001 disco at the top of West Street, next door to the Lonsdale Hotel.
“After Odyssey, I worked in most Durban night spots as a DJ – including Raffles, Port of Call, Ruby Tuesday, The Med and Sandpebbles.”
Besides planning another Tiles reunion in two years, to mark the 60th anniversary of the club’s opening, Polly is also excited about a new venture: “TilesRadio.com is my next challenge. Watch this space…”
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WIN SHOW TICKETS… WIN SHOW TICKETS… WIN SHOW TICKETS
Care to put yourself in line to win FOUR tickets to the 2pm, Sunday, August 25, Tiles reunion event at Umbilo’s Rhumbelow Theatre?
You simply have to be a follower of the SoSuterBill site to win. At no cost.
If you are not already a follower, click on the word ‘…..SoSuterBill…..’ that appears under Billy Suter’s face on the red curtain at the top of this post. Next, scroll down a little and leave your email address in the blank space alongside the ‘Subscribe Free’ banner. You will then be a follower, and receive email notification whenever a new story is filed on the site. You will then be a follower, and receive email notification whenever I file a new story.
Once you have subscribed (there is no cost), send your NAME and PHONE NUMBER via email (NOT THIS SITE’S CONTACT FORM) to sosuterbill@gmail.com and place the words ‘TILES REUNION GIVEAWAY’ in the subject field.
Note that the competition closes at 6pm on Wednesday, July 31, and the winner of the four tickets will be contacted soon after. His/her name will be posted in this spot thereafter. (The lucky winner of the four tickets is Lyn Manggos).
Also note that tickets may not be exchanged for another performance and that the prize is for tickets only (not travel and/or accommodation should this prove necessary).
NOTE: PLEASE READ ENTRY DETAILS CAREFULLY AS SOME PEOPLE ARE ENTERING COMPETITIONS INCORRECTLY.
ALSO NOTE THAT ONLY ONE ENTRY PER SUBSCRIBER WILL BE CONSIDERED.
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.....SoSuterBill..... 