ISIS Nightclub, Lenton Industrial Estate


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Hi

I was wondering if anyone had any information/memories they could share on the now closed ISIS nightclub on Lenton Industrial Estate (opposite the Showcase Cinema?) in particular whether anyone knows if the interior is still accessible? I very much doubt it but I'd really like to get inside for a video project I'm producing about Nottingham clubs.

Anything at all would be greatly appreciated, can't seem to find much info on the Internet so far.

Thanks

colsmith50

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It was the Black Orchid from it's opening pre 1990 A little bloke called Ian was the manager, Linky Wilson was head bouncer.

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When the Black Orchid first opened, the manager was Mike Hilkene. He left First Leisure for a time and Ian'Bomber' Harris took over. In the mid-90's Ian was transferred whilst Mike Hilkene returned as area manager and Pete Walsh took over at the Orchid. When the club closed to refurb as Isis, Ian Harris was back as Pete Walsh had moved down to North Acton then Uxbridge. Unfortunately, one of the first things Ian did was to lose Sue Brailsford whose little black book used to bring all the 'movers and shakers' into the club and she moved to the newly opening Faces in the Lace market, taking many of the Orchid VIPish regulars with her. This coincided with the Baltimore Diner being refurbed so lots of the people who used that as a staging post to the Orchid stayed in town and never went back when Isis opened. The club never regained it's former status as a destination venue, and the days of numerous coaches coming from all over the place never returned. This came at a bad time for First Leisure as they had spent a fortune trying to replicate the out-of-town success of the Orchid in places like Leeds where Club Barcelona was never anything but a drain on their resources. They also opened the Works believing it wouldn't impact on Isis somehow. They were wrong and then lost the license for the Works to add insult to injury. If anyone knew Mike Hilkene, he died a couple of years ago from cancer whilst working as area manager for David Lloyd's.

The last information I had about ownership of the building may be wrong or out of date but a guy who owned a local radio station in Peterborough bought one of First Leisure's Peterborough clubs and later told me he planned to buy Isis with the intention of turning it into a lap dancing club but this didn't happen at the time so I'm not sure if he kept it, didn't end up buying it or what.

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Sue was a mate of mine , and got me and Mick out of there one night , on a trip to Gryfydam

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Yes, I see Beefsteak and I were 'Movers and Shakers' :)

Unfortunately, one of the first things Ian did was to lose Sue Brailsford whose little black book used to bring all the 'movers and shakers' into the club

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A friend of mine who went there a couple of times described it as the human equivalent of a cattle market in a big shed.

The boys/youths had the role of the farmers - they stood around the edge looking at what was available and trying to decide what was worth having........and the girls played the role of the cattle by being herded around in the middle, waiting to see if they attracted any attention.

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You obviously frequented the Nottingham night club scene as often as I went to the Salvation army if you think that is out of the ordinary!

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Wasn't it a flawed concept, putting a large nightclub in an out of town industrial estate?

There was something I was thinking of going to at Isis once but when I saw how difficult it was to get there (and get back) I quickly went off the idea!

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I used to go there regularly and never really had problems getting to or from it, there were hundreds of taxis in and out of the place all the time!

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I worked in the upstairs room of The Bell a few weeks ago and was looking out of the window towards Yates's. It was noticeable that there were no promo girls outside giving away tickets for the bus to Isis. There used to be quite a crowd around there at one time.

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In the days when I worked for the RAC, (Earning 'silly money') Me and a mate called Dave used to go there regularly. The 'round' used to be two pints of Bitter and a bottle of Moet! absolutely crackers!!

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  • 1 month later...

Welcome to Nottstalgia, Toffeespice. I look forward to reading your posts and sharing your memories. I used to enjoy watching The Hitman And Her with Pete Waterman and Michaela Strachan. She was always a bundle of fun and the right partner for Waterman. Jason Orange was a regular dancer on the programme before he joined Take That. If only you'd known then who you was rubbing shoulders with on the dancefloor...lol

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