The Two Red Shoes Ballroom, formerly located on South College Street, a short walk from Elgin Cathedral “the Lantern of the North”, was the “Glitter-ball of the North” as a beacon for popular music in 1960’s Scotland for thousands of young Scots who came to see their favourite bands. Today it is owned by Kaizen Kickboxing [4-6 South College, Elgin]
Article featuring members of the original TRS dance band with Jeanie Lambe. “Jeanie was born on 23rd December 1940 in Glasgow.
She was 79 when she died on 29th May 2020, in Australia and survived by her two sons”
Popular jazz vocalist Jeanie Lambe was the original female vocalist with Alex. Sutherland sextet at Elgin’s Two Red Shoes run by AA Bonici. On her last visit to Elgin, she was on a 1990 UK tour and planned to see an old friend Albert Bonici. Unfortunately, the great promoter had recently passed on. Albert loved jazz and had a lot of respect for Jeanie https://www.scotsman.com/news/people/obituary-jeanie-lambe-scottish-jazz-singer-who-found-global-fame-2893697?fbclid=IwAR3g2dyLXgg5E9XWcu9x2Y5IhVlou3U89orzjXoomsqoRuK2n_G5OJwmsgU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKhD_CQLDJA&list=PLOHbztwAsUeAg-gOhOhYeg0z9gvXtJND9
Albert Bonici https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2014/02/13/albert-bonici/ opened the Two Red Shoes opened on July 28th 1960 to a full house and was a successful venture until it closed in January 1977. Though the dance hall had a reputation for hosting many popular jazz and beat bands throughout the 1960’s, pop music was becoming big business and touring groups were seeking larger venues. The hall relied on it’s house band for live music to dance to besides discotheques part of the week. Besides purchasing the Ballerina Ballroom [in Nairn] for large music events, promoter Bonici also opened the “Straight Eight” discotheques in the family owned Eight Acres Hotel in the mid 1960s. The Two Red Shoes building was renovated in 1977 and reopened it as the Flamingo Room [a cabaret club that closed in 1978 as the venue was unable to turn enough profit].
NE Scotland was inundated with memorable performances of jazz and beat musicians/vocalists throughout the 1960s and 1970s. In Elgin, Scotland most acts booked by Mr. Bonici performed at Elgin Town Hall or Two Red Shoes Ballroom. Though it’s capacity was about 400, it was often packed with young dancers and music lovers.
During the 1960s, dozens of popular acts on tour performed to delighted pop music fans. Some of those who performed at the Elgin venue included:The Springfields, The Swinging Bluejeans, Alan Price Combo, The Big Three, Them [with Van Morrison], Packabeats, Jacobeats, Tangerine Atmosphere, My Dear Watson, The Animals, The Who, The Searchers, The Beatles, The Moody Blues, The Modelles, Pink Floyd, The Facells, Wayne Fontana and The Mindbenders, The Troggs, Bert Weedon, Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen, Gene Vincent, Sounds Incorporated, The Clyde Valley Stompers, Lulu and The Luvvers, The Puppets, The Overlanders, Johnny and The Copycats, Neil Landon and The Burnettes, Malcolm Clarke and The Cresters, The Four Pennies, The Rats, The Measles, The Baron Knights, Shane Fenton and The Fentones, Chance Gordon, The Strangers, Jet Harris and The Jet Blacks, Johnny and Mike with The Shades, Jimmy Crawford and The Ravens, Emile Ford and The Checkmates, The Viscounts, The Remo Four, The Rebel Sounds, The Jimmy Nicol Sound, The Poets, The Dollies, The Mixture, The T – Set, The Caravelles, Goldie and The Gingerbreads, The Viceroys, The Mighty Advengers, The Deacons, Roy Whitaker, The Boomerangs, Flintlocks, The New Apaches, The Undertakers, Anita Harris, The Allisons, Eden Kane, The Jay Walkers, Jim McHarg Scotsville Jazzmen , The Honeycombs, The Innocents, Mike Cadillac and The Playboys, The Elizabethans, The Stepping Stones, Eddie LePard and The Leopards, The Cresters with Mike Sagar, The Innocents and many more.
Notes: *Viscounts’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Viscounts_(British_band) “Gordon Mills: singer, songwriter and regarded as one of the world’s most successful personal music managers, responsible for the careers of artists such as Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck, and Gilbert O’Sullivan. Gordon’s first hit song “I’ll Never Get Over You” recorded by Johnny Kidd and the Pirates, reached number 4 in the British Charts in 1963. He was also a part of the sixties pop group The Viscounts.” *Jim McHarg Scotsville Jazzmen: included Cream’s lead singer, Jack Bruce. “At a gig in Cambridge he spotted [Ginger] Baker jamming with Dick Heckstall-smith… and both musicians played with Korner’s Blues Incorporated until Feb 1963”. [Clapton – Updated Edition: The Ultimate Illustrated History By Chris Welch] *Innocents: “band from Manchester, UK. They were originally Bobby Angelo & The Tuxedos who backed Mike Berry. The change in name came about when the group was traveling one day to rehearsals. They were surrounded by police at traffic lights near their manager’s office thinking five young guys in a van looked suspicious. While being questioned, their manager came along to explain who they were and that they were quite ‘innocent’ and so the name was born.” Them: featured lead singer, Van Morrison who went solo…
The Two Red Shoes Ballroom featured jazz and pop bands with a small stage and dance floor besides an adjoining area for concessions though alcohol free. The award winning Alex. Sutherland Sextet – original house band with vocalist Jean Lambe – were popular with those who attended [though maximum capacity was under 400].
Before promoter Bonici opened the Two Red Shoes Ballroom [July 1960], she had performed around the area as part of the Clyde Valley Stompers. She was the first of several female vocalist to perform with the TRS house band.
Sabres [aka Eddie Lepard and the Leopards] on Two Red Shoes stage 9 Dec 1961 – Saturday afternoon “Teen Dancing” with music by the rocking beat of The Sabres Photo: likely taken at the rehearsal
Though the original plans were drawn up and submitted for building permission by the Bonici family to extend the Park Cafe with the hall [facing North College, Elgin, Two Red Shoes was completed and opened in July, 1960 and had a 17 year run. The hall closed in January 1977 and was revamped to make way for the Flamingo Club which opened 9 July 1977 [night club with a jazz band and guest dancers]. Short lived due to overhead issues with dancers besides not being able to secure liquor licence, the hall was used as a squash court [similar to racket ball], and a cold storage unit before the family sold the building. Later it served as a theater production company before becoming a martial arts facility.
The title “Two Red Shoes Ballroom was inspired by a British production The Red Shoes [1948] according to Albert Bonici’s younger sister. Albert was an avid fan of dance and music and it was a British classic film featuring an impresario and a dance company performing The Red Shoes… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtHaVG4CicQ It is a beautiful adaption of a Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale of the same name. However, promoter Albert Bonici may have also considered the the Ballerina Ballroom in Nairn when coming up with the name in the mid ’50s.
Below: The Sabres before becoming Eddie Lepard and The Leopards followed by Two Red Shoes Christmas adverts [1960-67]. The house-band line-up changed over the years but continued to offer great entertainment from popular Scottish jazz musicians.
Two Red Shoes stage – with chairs to the right of the stage door . The band brought out instruments on stage through landing at LCB Agency [next to Park Cafe on North College Street] Hear Alex.Sutherland’s TRS house-band at:https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2014/07/08/two-red-shoes-album-2/
Jeannie Lambe http://wn.com/jeanie_lambe under contract with Albert Bonici was the first vocalist for the original Two Red Shoes houseband with Alex. Sutherland when the dance hall opened in 1960. Albert sister described her as bubbly onstage and whilst serious about her work as a jazz singer “she was a small girl with a large voice”. Photos at https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2014/07/08/two-red-shoes-album-2/ 
Photo of the original Two Red Shoes built onto the Park Cafe [which faces Cooper Park from North College Street] owned by the Bonici family [PC Holding Company] and operated by the Albert Bonici. https://bonici.wordpress.com/2014/04/05/albert-a-bonici/ and LCB Agency. I am told that 500 plus people could crowd into the hall though a safety violation by today’s standards. Albert Bonici may have styled the stage area reminiscent of an old style jazz dance-hall with enough room for a house-band or ensemble on the small stage perched off to one side. Though some beat musicians found the layout lacking for shape and not having a center stage, the TRS stage and dance floor filled the bill for music hungry kids who spent time at the record shops booths seeking new pop “beat” tracks besides R&B, folk, skiffle, swing, and jazz tunes. One can imagine the early days of the ballroom with the Alex. Sutherland sextet backing vocalists like Jeanie Lambe, Anita Harris, and Alyson Armstrong whilst attendees danced under the swirling coloured lights. https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2014/07/08/two-red-shoes-album-2/
Two Red Shoes Christmas party 1963
1960 photo of a celebration at the Two Red Shoes Ballroom, Elgin, Scotland
The hall accommodated all ages with discos, guest bands [age 16 and over], over 25’s dances, and so forth. The ballroom wasn’t L shaped as Ringo Starr remembered, though the positioning of the stage blocked some dancers from seeing the band as the dance floor was “dog-shaped” [see end of post].
Besides a few chairs between the stage and band entrance door, people who weren’t dancing could lean over the banisters in the café area above to watch the musicians. Besides the 1960 ballroom addition, the structures that make up the Little Cross Buildings included the Park Café facing the Cooper Park with Albert and Betty’s apartment above. On google street map [linked below], you can turn the screen left to see Elgin’s “Lantern of the North” cathedral or turn right and go around the corner of the Little Cross Buildings to view Two Red Shoes. Above the former Two Red Shoes [currently Chinese Thai restaurant] was Albert and Betty’s apartment. The yellow door of the next property [far right] , was the musicians entrance to the stage door for the TRS Ballroom. Up a few stairs is a landing with the door leading into the stage where Dusty Springfield, The Beatles, The Who, The Animals, The Moody Blues, Pink Floyd, and countless others performed. Alex. Sutherland and the musicians who played 5 days a week at the ballroom were impressed with various groups and solo acts that came through the Two Red Shoes stage door. Stan Williams who has written several articles on the Beatles for British Beatles Fan Club https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2014/05/26/the-silver-beetles-in-fraserburgh/, spoke of Alex Sutherland’s impressions of The Beatles when they visited TRS 3 January ’63 when dedicating a plaque to the Beatles at TRS Ballroom: “Alex remembered Paul McCartney playing so well and singing ‘Till There Was You’.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOsAsOI9xGY
Here is a street map from North College. Follow it around the corner to see The Two Red Shoes…
“clossie” on the High Street, Elgin
Many popular British bands performed at the Two Red Shoes Ballroom during the 1960’s though a few found the hall to small for their liking… Ringo Starr who began his tour with The Beatles at the Two Red Shoes, complained about the ballroom’s stage being off to the side as did Rog Waters… “Then off to a gig at the Two Red Shoes Ballroom, where locals mixed uneasily with squaddies from the nearby RAF base. The band were billed on posters for the gig as ‘the group that brings its own lighting to set the scene oscillating and vibrating with way out sets!’ They played ‘See Emily Play’ under duress on the smallest stage they had yet played on. Roger Waters groused, ‘Terrible stage. We’re going to give up ballroom gigs. Conditions are so bad. We’d like to set up in a big tent, circus style, and take our show around the country.’‘Syd Barrett: Lost in the Woods’ by Julian Palacios (Plexus, 2009) The The Two Red Shoes Ballroom opened in August 1960 and closed in 1975. It has been used since as various business on Elgin’s High Street. In 2008, the dance hall area was renovated and no longer includes the stage area where house band and various acts performed through the 1960s – ’70s. https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2014/03/05/two-red-shoes-disco-flyer-circa-early-70s/ Two Red Shoes house band: https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2014/07/08/two-red-shoes-album-2/
Graeme Nairn: “It was de ja vu when I returned to the Two Red Shoes” [this time as guitarist for Alex Sutherland Sextet]. Graeme loved his new position playing with a band highly respected in the jazz world, especially as he was able to live outside a bustling metropolitan area and have steady work playing music. Besides a relationship with Mr. Bonici who encourage Graeme creatively and otherwise, he was “in awe of Alex. Sutherland” who could play any instrument well, besides a talented arranger. https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2014/09/23/graeme-nairn-trs/
John Ruggeri with David Dills holding the Beatles contract that brought them to the Two Red Shoes: Northern Scot/2008: John Ruggeri and I when researching the Beatles first tour in 1963. Ken McNabb was completing his project “Beatles In Scotland” and contacted me. I donated a couple of images to the book besides correspondence. Also went to Fraserburgh to meet with Stan Williams who wrote about the Johnny Gentle/Silver Beetles tour for the British Beatles Fan Club.
Albert A Bonici [1920-90] made plans to construct the Two Red Shoes Ballroom in 1956. There were planning changes after former flats were demolished and hall was finally completed in 1960.
http://www.northern-scot.co.uk/Entertainment/Beatles-fan-to-profile-Moray-impresario-4249.htm
https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2014/05/21/beatles-tour-contract-nov63/ https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2014/03/10/silver-beetles-part-2/
Two Red Shoes Valentines Dance 1973 – Selecting a Queen My spouse Angela [left] was 19 when asked to by Albert Bonici that she join the competition to select a Valentine’s Queen at Elgin’s Two Red Shoes. The girls stood on the stage where the Beatles began touring 10 years earlier. This was during the Valentines Dance of 1973. Albert’s brother-in-law, Ugo Ruggeri, was with the Moray Camera Club and took several photos of Angela. The Valentine Queen was obligated to compete for Gala Queen [in the spring] besides various duties. As Angela was leaving the area, she requested to not be selected for the title though agreed to be part of the competition. Like many who grew up in the area, attending the Two Red Shoes was something to look forward to and set the stage for many happy memories. Though not allowed to go to the dances with live bands until aged 16, Angela was able to see local bands rehearse, and met various up and coming musical groups growing up. The Valentines program would be the last time she danced at the ballroom.
![Albert Bonici tells Valentine contestant Angela a joke to get her to smile for a photo [14 Feb 73].](https://scotbeat.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/angela-feb-1973.jpg)
Albert Bonici tells Valentine contestant Angela a joke to get her to smile for a photo [14 Feb 73].
![Kids enjoying themselves at a dance in the Two Red Shoes Ballroom [circa 1962]](https://scotbeat.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/trs-dance-1962-2.jpg)
Kids enjoying themselves at a dance in the Two Red Shoes Ballroom [circa 1962] The ballroom was built under Albert Bonici’s direction after demolishing old dwellings formerly used for those employed with the local college in Elgin. Owning half a block of attached properties, the Two Red Shoes which opened the summer of 1960, was “dog-legged” shaped as it had to fit between other structures [blueprint at bottom of page]. https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2014/07/08/two-red-shoes-album-2/ https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2014/02/17/the-park-cafe/
Elgin, Scotland was a swingin’ town in the Two Red Shoes days…
Looks like a rehearsal with TRS band… Graeme Nairn [far right] became band leader after Jimmy Martin left
Jimmy Martin’s TRS band
Two Red Shoes band with teenage Colin Henderson who later co-founded https://morayjazzclub.com/.
The Two Red Shoes band with Alyson Armstrong and Alex. Sutherland [standing right]
https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2014/06/11/come-dancing/ The Two Red Shoes was a destination for young people around Morayshire and though it brought great fun, it was not without problems. There were fisticuffs in downtown Elgin between the Elgin, Buckie, and Lossiemouth teenagers though minor scuffs…
In The Beatles in Scotland, Moira Loveland, who worked in the office of the dance venue, is quoted “The Two Red Shoes then [early 60s] was really all about jazz. It was so unusual to have a guitar line-up at the Two Red Shoes.” Besides the Beatles, several musicians that Bonici hosted in NE Scotland were trailblazers for new styles of music though met with mixed reactions, depending on the crowd. https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2014/02/25/copycats-pack-two-red-shoes/
James Smith: “My parents met there on a February night in 1974! My dad fell down the stairs and fell at my mother’s feet and asked her if she liked ‘The Who’? My dad still is an avid Who fan. They married in 1976 and will celebrate their 40th anniversary in November next year. The two Red Shoes has a lit to answer for as I certainly would not be here today.” Note: The Who was advertised on 29 May in Elgin and played at the Two Red Shoes evening of 6 May 1965. They first came to Scotland on 4 Sep 64 [Glasgow] and returned for a few shows in Scotland in ’65 and ’66. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2i_es7DDes&index=4&list=PLE5AEAC0DCE25D834 “My dad can recall many a fight between Lossie and Elgin loons. A friend of his was refused entry for being too drunk so climbed the drainpipe at the rear and into the toilets, the dirty marks on his white stay press trousers gave the game away and he was swiftly removed from the premises…” [James’s dad was a plumber from Lossiemouth and his mother worked at William Low supermarket in Elgin].
Ann Ralph: “I went to the Two Red Shoes when I was 15 as my ex husband’s father, uncle and auntie worked there… After I had my two girls, I worked in the Two Red Shoes in the ladies coats, the café, and then went on to the men’s coats and sometimes took the money at the door. The bouncers nearly died laughing when they said that they were wanting me to be a bouncer… I did but I didn’t like it. You have to see if they had drink them especially the women as they were worse than the men. I saw all sorts getting thrown out of the Two Red Shoes for fighting and many a night I was in between it. Oh me, I was some lady… I worked there for a few years then went onto work in the Carousel Bar in the picture house. Those were the days…”
Kate Reed: “While the Assembly Rooms were open us younger ones went there on a Saturday. But if there was a “Special Night” as Albert had at Valentine’s Day or a big band on we would go along. If you were lucky to get in unless you had advanced tickets. We New all the bouncers as they rotated around the dance venues. They were quiet articles on the dressed code there. Suit and tie job!!! Then the music began, no dancing in girlie groups in those days. Young stood there like a wall flower waiting to be asked to do a salary shuffling thing around and around. Then there was Iain Falconer up in his box with his search light. If you got caught sniffing on the dance floor you got search out with the beam. And died of embarrassment to boot. During the band break you popped upstairs for a coca cola. That was when if you were not careful in choosing your underwear before you came out the UV showed the whites up. Times that you got caught out we’re if you planned to go somewhere else. Then a quick look over the balcony to see who was in. Off to powder your nose. And back to the shuffling again. By they way no refusals you could be put out for that. Being drunk and fighting got you out on pavement too. Then when you heard Jimmy Martin Band playing Passing strangers that was the last dance. Wednesday night’s were the over 25’s night. Never ever went to that as my brothers went. Then Sunday afternoon disco’ s started, quiet several coming out at five o’clock tea time in daylight. Happy Times many memories of the Tacky Bits.” Note: Have been told that after the council failed to renew the ballroom’s liquor licence [late ’60s], there was more of a problem with people showing up drunk as they’d have a few drinks at a pub before going to the dance. Apparently, a council member who lived in the neighborhood was having confrontations with some of the youths hanging out around the area besides a council member and owner of Lido, another music venue who voted against Albert Bonici’s business dealings. A few years later when a neighbor near the Eight Acres Hotel complained about the disco music at the Straight Eight, they threatened to shut down the hotel so Albert decided to shut down the popular music venue. The TWO RED SHOES ALBUM: https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2014/07/08/two-red-shoes-album-2/ 
Beatles visit the Two Red Shoes: “So it was that on 2 January 1963 the Beatles flew north from London to Scotland. The had been due to land at Edinburgh where faithful roadie Neil Aspinall… was waiting with the band’s battered van, loaded with their guitars and tiny amps, to ferry them north. But Scotland was shivering in the grip of a crippling arctic winter, sub-zero temperatures carpeting the whole country in a blanket of snow and frost. The plane was diverted to Aberdeen, which suited the band but left Aspinall having to make the long journey north alone on twisty, ice roads. The weather had already taken its toll on the concert arrangements: the first show, scheduled for Keith, where the band played two years before as the Silver Beetles, was scrapped as hugh snowdrifts blocked roads, making travelling impossible. Rather than hang around for a day, John Lennon used the unexpected break to fly back down to Liverpool to see his by now pregnant girlfriend Cynthia. Lennon promised to be back in time for the band’s first gig at the Two Red Shoes the next night. Typically, though, he was racing against the clock and only made it to the venue with a little over an hour to spare…” The Beatles in Scotland: Ken McNab “Elgin was one of the strangest gigs we played [his first in Scotland]. We got all the way to the outskirts of Scotland to find an L-shaped room – we were playing at the wrong end! I have a vision of the audience all wearing wellies – farmers and country people. The bar was on one side and we were in the other and you could tell which side was doing the business. In those days they were still laughing at us because we’d be out there in the leather and stomping. Then we got in my car and slid all the way to the next gig. On that tour, we were staying in one of those theatrical boarding houses. The rumour went around that before we came they had a hunchback staying and we got a bit worried that we’d be having his bed. George and John went to stay in another place but Paul and I took a chance that we wouldn’t catch the humpback.” [Ringo Starr https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beatles-Anthology/dp/0811836363%5D
To work with the structures already in place, the stage area had a distinctive shape, which years later, Ringo Starr complained of the “L – shaped” ballroom “It was an L-shaped room and we were at the wrong end” besides an unruly audience in Elgin. In rebuttal, former member of LCB Agency, [Little Cross Buildings], John Ruggeri, wrote:
“The hall was not L shaped but had a slightly longer wall on one side, you could see the stage in all areas although you may not have been able to see the whole stage if you were standing in the far left hand corner when facing the stage, the “bar” which we called the buffet was upstairs, I think Ringo’s memory is somewhat blurred or mixing the shoes up with another venue they played, as I don’t think anyone was wearing wellies.” Note: It may have been that some came with wellies as there was snow on the ground, but there was a strict dress code and they were clean-cut kids wanting to meet up and dance… https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2014/02/14/17/ Beatles perform at Two Red Shoes https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2014/02/19/3-january-1963-beatles-gig-in-elgin-scotland/
two red shoes ballroom plans – 1:2500 scale The ballroom area [with alleyway to left] was actually “dog-legged” rather than “L shaped” as cited by other authors. There was a concessions area [to the right] where audience could watch looking down on the band and dancers. The lower level was used by the Park Café which faced Cooper Park.
Also, check out https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2014/07/08/two-red-shoes-album-2/
Some of the bands who performed at Two Red Shoes; https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2014/02/24/moody-blues-circa-1965/ Moody Blues: February 11, 1965. They had only been touring the UK from the beginning of the year when they played in Elgin. The rest of their scottish gigs where consecutive nights in Kircaldy, Ayr, and Dundee. https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2014/02/18/eric-burdon-and-the-animals/ By 1962, Albert Bonici was featuring more “beat” bands as ballad singers and swing jazz was waning. Before the Beatles, Dusty Springfield had played gigs at the Two Red Shoes as the Springfields [singing with her brother], the Crestas, and others. The Animals returned to the dance hall having already played in Elgin as the Alan Price Combo with Eric Burdon. https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2017/11/14/the-beatles-visit-elgins-two-red-shoes/ “It is where Keith Moon cleared a cafe with a stink bomb, Van Morrison lost his jewellery after being ‘captured’ by screaming fans and The Beatles launched their first UK tour on a freezing January night. The pleasantly sedate town of Elgin on the Moray coast, known for its ruined cathedral and expensive cashmere shops, may seem like an unlikely place for the rising pop and rock stars of the 1960s to gravitate. But the town, thanks to the efforts of local music promoter and cafe owner Albert Bonici, became a magnet for new musical talent trying to push their singles up the charts.”… “It was a life’s ambition of Bonici, who was born in Inverness, to work in the music industry with his LCB Agency forged through close contacts in London and an eagle eye on what music fans were buying. Bonici’s parents owned the Park Cafe in the town with the businessman to later model it on the 2i’s cafe in Soho where the impresario would return to time and time again to strike deals and secure bookings. Burgers were put on the menu at the Elgin joint, where his parents’ soft ice-cream was considered the best around, a small stage was built, vinyl booths were added – and the kids loved it. Bands, including The Beatles, would be fed here during the intervals of their shows at the Two Red Shoes Ballroom, which Bonici opened up next door in 1960. Elgin man David Dills has spent the past nine years researching the music scene in the north of Scotland and will present an exhibition of his work, published on his Scotbeat blog, in the town this weekend.”
http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/when-the-who-s-keith-moon-was-kicked-out-a-cafe-in-elgin-1-4613300 Notes: it was the late ’70s that the Two Red Shoes closed and “kidnapping” THEM [with Van Morrison] was agreed upon with Aberdeen Student Union who brought them to their Elgin office. https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2014/02/21/beatles-at-two-red-shoes/ The Beatles: Alex. Sutherland’s Two Red Shoes house band played between sets when the Beatles performed at the Elgin dance hall. Small audience after a snow storm in the cold winter in January ’63. I heard from one of the bouncers on the night, that after the local bars closed, more people arrived which brought the tally up to 200. There were also concessions sold though did not include alcohol. I heard that people weren’t used to the louder amps but apparently Ringo was able to hear the audience. As it was a new sound, not everyone was into the Beatles style though even Alex. Sutherland gave them thumbs up when speaking to Albert. https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2017/01/02/mindbenders/ The Mindbenders: [Wayne Fontana] ‘had always entertained visions of eventually graduating to a solo career and, in October 1965, everybody concerned realized the time had come; everybody, that is, aside from the band. They remained in the dark until, midway through a live show, Fontana simply walked off stage, turning to Stewart as he left and saying, “It’s all yours.”‘ https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2014/02/24/pink-floyd-odyssey/ Nick Mason speaks of early tour in Scotland [Elgin – July 20, Nairn – July 21, Aberdeen Saturday July 22 [from Pink Floyd Odyssey, “saucerful of secrets” From “Scream Thy Last Scream”: “Finally on 18 July [1967], with ‘See Emily Play’ at eight in the singles chart, the album was mastered. Two days later, the Floyd were playing the wilds of Elgin, to a crowd who clearly expected a pop band, one heckler offering the opinion, ‘I could sing better in ma wee bath.’ The band – Syd included – seemed to take it all in their stride, at least according to the Disc journalist along for the ride. However, the broadcast of Top of the Pops the same night – featuring Floyd’s pre-recorded performance from earlier in the week – unveiled a Barrett no longer so stoic.” https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2014/06/02/dusty-and-the-springfields/ Promoter Albert Bonici was on holiday the second time The Springfields performed at Elgin’s Two Red Shoes Ballroom [September 1962]. His youngest sister, Rosanna, remembered sitting in Albert’s upstairs flat waiting for Dusty to usher her into the stage area at the top of the stairs next to the flat. Her 10 month old baby was crying when Dusty reached the landing and came in to comfort Rosanna’s son by holding his hand and singing a lullaby. He stopped crying and looked curiously at Dusty “though didn’t fall asleep”. https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2014/04/25/van-morrison-and-them/ When Van Morrison and Them visited NE Scotland to perform at the Two Red Shoes [1965], it was not without incident though enjoyed by those who attended their performances. Northern Ireland journalist, Chris Ryder, wrote: “in Elgin rag students captured them…all were mobbed and lost cufflinks, ties and even shoes”). David Hay who was involved in the “kidnapping” wrote: “We were students at Aberdeen from 1962 to 1966 and during the Easter holidays we ran a local charities campaign which culminated in the Charities Ball in the 2 red shoes. We painted strips of newsprint with poster paint and hung them like wallpaper in the dance hall. The top was stapled to the plaster board and the bottom parts were sellotaped to the formica panels. https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2014/03/11/the-who-1965/ I have a friend who’s parents met at the concert and gives them some credit for his birth. Another Elgin local told me about their appearance in the local Park Cafe where bands came to speak with promoter Albert Bonici and have a bite to eat or mingle with the locals. Apparently, Keith Moon helped to create a stir when he came over and sat on the knee of a teenage girl. She said that the group was having a laugh when Keith decided to pull a stick bomb out of his pocket, light and toss it. He holds the distinction of being the only guy chucked out of the cafe… At least, co-owner/manager Albert Bonici had a sense of humor about the stink bomb as he brought The Who back for a performance at Nairn’s Ballerina Ballroom. https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2014/06/07/lulu/ Lulu and The Luvvers performed in the Two Red Shoes on 18 June’64 and shared the bill with The Puppets. Their recording “Shout” had just hit the top 10 UK singles http://demondaveuk.bravepages.com/Charts/jun64.htm. The band returned a few times to the dance hall including a week later to be part of “Another Mod Be In featuring The Animals” [Two Red Shoes also hosted a “Mod Ball” on May 7th “featuring Brian Epstein’s “golden boy” Tommy Quickly and The Remo Four]. On 4 Feb ’65, Lulu came back once more to perform a venue which included The Jacobeats. Lulu was only 15 when she came to Elgin and was well received, including the young lads that found her attractive with her Glasgow swagger. https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2014/04/17/kenny-ball-and-his-jazzmen/ AA Bonici booked many swing jazz bands in addition to beat groups. One of those who played for those who came to dance at Two Red Shoes was Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen. Kenny and bandmates were a favorite with Mr. Bonici and the audiences in Scotland loved them too.
Eat your BEAT roots [1965]
SCOTBEAT and http://bonici.wordpress.com includes photos and documents from the Bonici Archives with permission from the Bonici family [PC Holding Co]. You may contact me at dillsdavid@yahoo.co.uk for consent in using images for media projects. Am currently updating http://djdills.wordpress.com with original new collages. #collageart #beatmusic #popmusic #1960smusic
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[…] popular throughout the UK from the 1920s though the 1960s. The “Two Red Shoes Ballroom” https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2014/03/04/two-red-shoes-2/ was built in 1960 with a small platform for the house band when jazz dominated popular music. There […]
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[…] Two Red Shoes Ballroom […]
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[…] Ringo Starr was one of the musicians who complained of the “L – shaped” ballroom “It was an L-shaped room and we were at the wrong end” besides complaining about the audience in Elgin laughing and speaking during the show. https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2014/03/04/two-red-shoes-ballroom/ […]
[…] Note: The comment about wellies and sliding to the next gig was because it was one of Scotland’s worst winters with slow and ice. The Two Red Shoes Ballroom was designed for a jazz band off in a corner whilst people danced. The hall was built to accommodate the existing wall against the alley and was more like a “dog-legged” shape. https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2014/03/04/two-red-shoes-ballroom/ […]
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[…] between the Park Café: https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2014/02/17/the-park-cafe/ , Two Red Shoes: https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2014/03/04/two-red-shoes-ballroom/, Norco Records: https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2014/05/15/norco-records/ to promote Alex. […]
[…] for their acts on tour in Scotland. One of the last popular act to play at the “Shoes”https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2014/03/04/two-red-shoes-ballroom/ that year was The Pink Floyd who complained about the size of the stage and dance floor. As their […]
[…] as Bonici’s LCB Agency were filling the large hall on a weekly basis. The Two Red Shoes https://scotbeat.wordpress.com/2014/03/04/two-red-shoes-ballroom/ retained the house-band into the mid 1970s though closed it’s door in 1977. Later in the […]
My wife and I met in the Two Red Shoes at the Aberdeen University Students Beatnik Ball on 25th December 1963.
We celebrated our 55th Wedding Anniversary this year.
Thank Two Red Shoes for wonderful memory
Thank you Alistair, appreciate your comment. I bet that was a fun night besides having met your spouse back in ’63!