Unknown Club

Name: Unknown
Location: Esplanade, St. Helier  
Period: Late 1980s  
Fate: Closed down 
Regular Tunes: Chart music

The uknown club, so called because neither I nor anyone I've spoken to can remember its name, was located at the Conway Street end of the Esplanade in the building later more well known as Les Folies nightclub.

In comparison to Les Folies the unknown club was a tiny place, so small that when Folies redeveloped the building their front bar alone covered almost the entirety of the footprint of the unknown club.

Entry into the club was through the same doorway which later was used as Folies main entrance. However, unlike Folies fully-windowed door the unknown club had one of those heavy wooden doors with a little glass hatch for the bouncer to peer through, lending an air of foreboding to your entry.

Once inside the club you found yourself in a corridor not quite wide enough for two people to pass. There was a small till immediately to the left-hand side, and the latter half of the right-hand side was taken up by two small alcoves of seating, with a further alcove to the bottom left. My memory is  bit hazy, but I think the toilets may have been at the end of that corridor.

Just before that lower alcove was a double doorway (with no doors) which lead into the main club area, which was just one room. The bar ran the length of the wall immediately to your left, the space in front of  which was standing-room only. I don't recall any widows looking out onto the street.

To the right was a small dancefloor, big enough for maybe 20 people. I have a vague recollection of a small slightly raised alcove immediately behind the dancefloor which contained bench seating, but can't be too sure.

The main room could squeeze in about 150 people on a busy night. The small size gave the club a somewhat private or exclusive feel, rather than having the more deserved vibe of a speakeasy last decorated sometime in 1957. It was the kind of place where you tended to end up by accident or through curiosity, not on the map for the average clubber. It seemed to be kept afloat by a loyal crowd of regulars aged largely in their mid-30's to early 40's,  office worker types.

The music was nothing memorable, current chart hits and modern Pop.

The club closed in the early 1990s, after which the building was taken over by Le Folies. The new owners vastly expanded the club's interior, demolishing the rear wall and extending the length by at least four times that of the unknown club.