Out of town in Bodelwyddan was Poppies nightclub, which had two dance floors. On a Thursday it was happy hour and we would all descend there to bop to watered down alternative music like Baby I Love You (Ramones), Too Much Too Young (Specials), What Difference Does It Make (The Smiths), Love Cats (Cure) - that kind of stuff. It was quite a good night, Edwin Starr used to appear there on the other dancefloor and I remember watching one of his performances and feeling zero emotion. Normally we seldom strayed from our darkened area. I do remember there being this complete twat dressed like Michael Jackson (Thriller era), kitted out in a suit, trilby hat, hair-beads and one white glove. He had all the moves down to a tee and the DJ would play loads of Jacko-shit as this idiot danced on his own. I ended up some fifteen years later inadvertently employing him… Although not as a Michael Jackson impersonator!
My Thursday nights at Poppies became very regular, often with both my sisters in tow, and with the beer being so cheap (£1 a pint) and Thursday being payday, I soon began skipping work on Fridays due to a horrendous hangover. My boss quickly became wise to this and when I went to collect my wages she’d open my pay packet and take out a tenner and say,
‘This for you to go out tonight, have a great time. You can have the rest when you come in tomorrow.’ Alcohol is ace though, you wake up the next day all fuzzed out with a banging head. Despite waking up with a face like a badly drawn cunt, a hangover was something I loved having as it was the result of a great night out. My Poppies days were numbered however after I began helping myself to the Guinness. The pump was right at the end of the busy bar and there’d only be one girl working, who was really stressed and stretched. I used to quickly reach over, stick my empty glass under the tap, leave it there until three quarters full and make off with my free drink. My nights became very cheap for a few weeks until I was caught and literally kicked and punched down the road by the bouncers.
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