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young fair-haired pretty little Scots woman who had been the manager here for the past three years.
There were four of us on that door, two in-house and two front of house. The two other boys Dave and Mark were both very experienced and confident and could definitely handle themselves. The club had an alarm system with strategically placed alarm buttons, one was just inside the front doors on the floor so a discreet tap with your toe would summon the rest of the boys when things were going pear shaped at the front entrance. The other alarm button was up by the D J who incidentally was a right little prima donna. And definitely was more trouble than he was worth. The other thing that annoyed me was that he was on twice as much money as us; it should have been the other way around. Mind you we did used to give him a bit of stick especially if he started to play that r ‘n’ b music. One of the lads had a quiet word with him one night and he seemed to be as good as gold after that. I never found out what was actually said but he was always very well behaved when this particular doorman was around. If I were to hazard a guess as to what was said to him it would be something to do with him his equipment and a large plate glass window. I did feel that the type music that was played was important; it sets the tone of the club thereby attracting a certain type of punter and discouraging another. There was some really good dance music around at the time Robin S, The Nightcrawlers and “Dreamer” by Livinjoy” being my own personal favourite at the time. They all still sound just as good over ten years on.
As you entered the bar on your left was a large L shaped bar with eight t v screens above it, which showed various endless music videos all night long. To the left of the bar was a small dance floor and a little staircase that led you up to a raised platform were the D J was positioned. Straight-ahead was a conservatory area with a pool table plus a large beer garden beyond that. At the time it was the most popular pub in the area with the younger generation. Little did I know when I turned up that first night that I would eventually be the head doorman and stay there for the next four years, experiencing some happy and sad occasions, lots of small fights and some that were pretty rough. I had a few laughs as well though.
Pete and I have been here three months now; we’ve had nothing too serious to contend with so far, it’s just been a lot of verbal… Mark has now gone; he decided to get involved in some close protection work. Eventually he is replaced by Darren a big useless lump who lasted about three weeks. Dave has now moved on which was a shame because we got on well with him; he was a pleasure to work with and was 100% reliable and trustworthy. We get a succession of different guys turning up; the first one was Garry, a nice fella but he was a bit too aggressive at times and lacked the diplomacy you need to have in this line of work. The next one to turn up was Alex, a big Scots lad, a nice bloke and a bit of a hard nut but again aggressive when it wasn’t really necessary. I think they just didn’t give a toss, an example. One lovely warm summer evening we were all on the front doors in shirtsleeve order. The barman comes out to where we were and asks if we could keep an eye on some fella who was acting a little strange and who was also becoming a little bit abusive. He is pointed out and one of the lads asks him to behave, the right response was not forthcoming and he is asked to leave. He refused, Pete grabs one arm and Alex grabs the other and he is thrown out of the door. I am outside in my usual position and the guy goes flying past me from a really hard shove off the step, the other two lads go back to their positions just inside the door.
The guy who’s been thrown out looks like a right nutter, I was looking for his banjo; he looked like an extra from “Deliverance”. He stands there staring at me from