Yahoo News The story of Newcastle's Blu Bambu - fingerprint ID, fishbowls, Fatman Scoop and THAT staircase
When it comes to Newcastl;e nightlife it will forever and always be about one street...the hallowed cobbles of the Bigg Market. And, while still thriving today, there are some legendary venues sadly no longer with is and one of those is Blu Bambu.
Along with also no longer with us nightspots like Destiny, Idols and the Pig & Whistle, the long since closed club holds a special place in the heart of many Geordies, for many of whom it was the first 'proper' one they went in at the turn of the millennium.
While Baja Beach Club pulled in plenty of punters on the Gateshead side of the water, Blu Bambu, or Bambu as it was known in later years, was one of the biggest draws in Newcastle city centre.
While, not a million miles away from its Gateshead peer, and doused in that familiar mix of Cool Water, Polo Sport and Charlie Red, Bambu wasn’t quite as cheesy as Baja and the clobber worn by its clientele was straight off the racks of Tucci, Top Shop, USC and Republic.
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Yes, you could strut your stuff to some early Girls Aloud and Holly Valance (Kiss Kiss anyone?) but, for many, it will be a place they associate with four particular songs - 50 Cent’s In Da Club, Justin Timberlake - Like I Love You, Ice-T’s You Can Do It and finally, a song that seemed to be on a permanent loop from 2003-2006: Fatman Scoop’s Be Faithful.
The latter is a song whose title probably means little to anyone but if we were to say, or rather shout “if ya got long hair put your hands up, if you got short hair...make nooooise!” you’d definitely catch our drift and can probably remember dancing with real main character energy, thinking you were in the film Save The Last Dance!
Unlike Baja, Bambu wasn’t home to its own beach shack cafe and you probably wouldn’t catch dancers going hell for leather in habits to songs from Sister Act, but with it also being a popular haunt for stag and hens, fancy dress definitely wasn’t a rare site.
It was no stranger to a PA with acts like N-Dubz and Ultrabeat performing to revellers and, as well as attracting famous faces, also attracted its own fair share of attention when a fingerprint ID entry system was introduced to crack down on underage drinking, fake IDs and criminal activity.
On a lighter note its drinks menu was home to some rather interesting concoctions which could play havoc with having to negotiate the club's rather treacherous spiral staircase!
In an era when fishbowls weren’t just reserved for bars on Magaluf strip, Bambu invited friends to dip their straws into some very potent punches and then there was the cocktail menu.
Many of you might have found yourself giving it the 'big I am' choosing the quickly infamous Bullshock drink - basically a can of Red Bull mixed with a hearty but not recommended dose of Red Aftershock. If you ever had it, consider yourself deserving of a medal for surviving!
Other than its music, one of the best things about Bambu, with its club nights included Sweet and Hangar 13, was its location.
Yes, the Bigg Market is known for its fair share of scuffles but for late night munchies, Blu Bambu couldn’t be better placed.
With such high end eateries as Ameens, Bigg Market Chippy and Toon Takeaway on its doorstep and KFC right next door, exiting the club in search of a late night snack before the taxi, you were short of choice.
There’s no doubt that Filthy’s, Passing Cloud and The Points are fitting successors to Bambu and are deservedly popular but, at the risk of sounding dead old, they don’t make clubs like they used to!
