Industry Nightclub Headquarters Sheffield Ceased operations 1980 | Defunct 1980 Founded August 1970 | |
Founder Keith and Jim Lipthorpe | ||
When it was opened by Keith and Jim Lipthorpe in August 1970, the Fiesta nightclub in Sheffield, England was reputed to be the largest in Europe. The Lipthorpes had originally opened a Fiesta nightclub in Stockton 5 years earlier in Stockton on Tees. The Sheffield Fiesta was situated on Arundel Gate in Sheffield, it cost £500,000 and had a 1,300 seat amphitheatre. Some of the biggest stars of the 1960s performed there, generally for a week at a time, in fact the opening act was The Shadows. Other major stars performing there included Matt Monro, Sandie Shaw, The Beach Boys, Stevie Wonder and the Jackson Five.
The building now houses the Sheffield Odeon cinema which opened in 1992.
Closure
The club closed in 1976 following a 17-day strike by the workers wanting to join the Transport & General Workers Union. It reopened under new management shortly afterwards before closing for good in 1980. It is said the history of the Fiesta mirrored that of Sheffield itself, when it opened in 1970 Sheffield was a city with a booming industrial economy and full employment, but by 1980 the steel and coal industries were in steep decline.
The story of the venue is told in No Siesta 'Til Club Fiesta book by Neil Anderson.