Luv-A-Fair, Richard’s on Richards, The Cave, the Town Pump.
The mere mention of some of Vancouver’s long-shuttered nightclubs is enough to send residents of a certain age into fits of nostalgia.
In his new book, Vancouver After Dark: The Wild History of a City’s Nightlife, author Aaron Chapman looks back at a time when live music clubs were all over the city.
WATCH: (Original airdate Feb. 2, 2003) Vancouver says goodbye to legendary nightclub Luv-a-Fair
“Vancouver was always blessed with a great nightclub scene because so many acts would start their tours here before they headed down the coast or went to Vegas,” Chapman said.
The epicentre of Vancouver’s nightlife scene changed over time. There was a time when Hornby Street was the place to be, with clubs like The Cave, The Body Shop, The Living Room, and Misty’s.
“Everything here now is bank towers,” Chapman said as he strolled down Hornby.
Richards Street was also a nightlife hub. Today, a condo development stands on the site of Richard’s on Richards, a popular club that closed in 2009. Chapman guesses the location of the Richard’s on Richards stage, where countless musical acts performed, is now the living room of a second-floor condo.
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“They probably have no idea where they’re sitting,” Chapman said of whoever lives in the condo.
WATCH: The Cave nightclub bulldozed to make way for downtown Vancouver office tower
Richards Street was also home to Graceland, a club named, in part, after Elvis Presley’s Memphis mansion. But Chapman notes the name was also a nod to prominent B.C. politician Grace McCarthy.
“When it opened in 1986 everybody told them they weren’t going to get a liquor licence,” Chapman said. “But the owner was friends with Grace McCarthy’s son. She quietly went to bat to get them a liquor licence.
“All the people that were dancing and whooping it up down at Graceland had no idea they could thank a Social Credit cabinet minister.”
Graceland later became the Palladium, where gangster Bindy Johal was gunned down on a packed dance floor in 1998.
Not too far away was Luv-A-Fair, which was a disco club in the 70s and later hosted a wide array of musical acts from Sonic Youth to Nine Inch Nails.
Luv-A-Fair closed in 2003 and is now home to a four-storey condo tower.
Aside from the odd marker like the one on Thurlow Street marking the site of Oil Can Harry’s, most of Vancouver’s nightlife past is buried under new buildings, but not all of the old clubs are gone.
The oldest remnant of Vancouver’s nightlife scene is Celebrities on Davie Street, which dates back to 1914. It was originally known as the Lester Ballroom, then the Embassy Ballroom, and later Dante’s Inferno and Retinal Circus, hippie-era clubs that played host to The Velvet Underground and The Doors.
WATCH: (Original airdate December 1998) B.C. gangster Bindy Johal shot on crowded nightclub dancefloor
The downstairs served as home to the Elegant Parlour, a popular after-hours spot run by musician and comedian Tommy Chong.
Chapman says the book was intended to be a history lesson, and is not a critique of the city’s current music scene.
While many of the city’s prominent nightspots are now condos or office towers, he bristles whenever anyone refers to Vancouver as “No Fun City.”
“I never believed that,” he said.
“When you look through the entertainment history of the city, there’s always something going on, there’s always something fascinating and I really think that continues today.
“The ‘No Fun City’ thing was started by the bar owners just so they could get some later hours to serve. That was always an artificial thing that people just adopted because they felt bored. Well, get out of your house and see some shows, I say. There are plenty of things to see in this town.”
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