Yahoo News Newcastle's 'sticky floor' nightclub inside shopping centre shut down after epic farewell party
When you say to people that such a thing as a club inside a shopping centre did actually exist in Newcastle they'd probably stare at you with a blank looks, until that is, you mention one word. And that word is Idols - the sticky floored slice of cheap and cheesy night out heaven, that was also a huge hit with Newcastle United fans.
Yes, it was a very sad day in February 2016 when the legendary Geordie drinking and dancing den closed its doors for a final time, after the building it sat inside in - the Newgate Shopping Centre - was earmarked for demolition and has since been replaced by the likes of the Maldron Hotel, Junkyard Golf and German Donner Kebab.
And while, granted, kebabs were probably part and parcel of many a night out at Idols, it was about so much more than that. Idols was one of the last remaining businesses in the shopping centre and, while something an acquired taste, it played a prominent pub-crawl role in the city centre route for revellers for over 20 years, standing its ground as newer drinking haunts sprung up.
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Songs like Vengaboys - Boom Boom Boom and Rednex - Cotton Eye Joe, regularly filled the air, along with the likes of Proud Mary, Sweet Child O'Mine and Show Me Love, making Idols one of the best places to party in the Toon and a serious guilty pleasure for many, as well as being a matchday MUST for United supporters.
A trip to Idols was something of a rite of passage for Geordies, with many people throwing a shape or two on its dancefloor or taking advantage of its drink offers, so there was plenty of upset when it was announced eight years ago that it would be no more. But Idols being Idols, its story didn't end quietly, with a packed house of revellers gathering for its Farewell Party and then again for a huge throwback night at Bigg Market bar City Vaults in 2019.
When asked for their memories of Idols, many ChronicleLive readers mentioned Idols' sticky floor, with one commenting: "Walking to the toilet and losing your shoe because the floors were so sticky," and following the same train of thought, someone else recalled "Sticking to the floor and falling flat on me back."
