Sheffield's Hanover Way used to be surrounded by blues clubs; palaces to heavy dub, Red Stripe and ganja. These were establishments having extensive and prolonged opening times much greater than that of ordinary pubs and clubs. There was Sonny's, Solly's, CJ's* and before it was knocked down to make way for the ring road, 91's.
Some clubs could have a bit of a reputation but for the most part those around Hanover Way weren't wrapped so tight, some were more like community centres, and CJ's in particular was quite relaxed for a place of its particular type.** It often had a cosmopolitan mix of clientele. During the Snooker World Championship you might find a player or two here, you can guess which ones, you might see Linton Kwesi Johnson and Smiley Culture after a gig at The Octagon, or a variety of local celebrities fresh from duty on television, radio presenting or comedy performing.
Old maps of the area show there to be engineering works on the site but the building was like no factory. Generally entered by walking through a warren of cellars,*** CJ's was an interesting structure, brick built and in some respects similar in construction to a chapel or church. Inside it featured stained glass sections in some parts of the wood panelling, particularly those around the formal entrance and toilet area, odd short flights of overly ornate wooden stairs, and from the main room there were further stairs to an odd shaped upper floor room which featured a full sized snooker table.
At some point around the millennium CJ's burned down**** bringing an end to the reverberating bass, whistles, beeps and hypnotic psychedelic echoing from the various guest DJ's and sound systems.
There aren't anywhere near the number of blues clubs there used to be, much of the trade will be in the more orthodox establishments which are now allowed to sell alcohol around the clock.
This is the site of CJ's now after transformation into a very pleasant communal garden and allotment.
* Named after the proprietors, Colin and Joe.
** Relatively speaking - if you were from a sheltered, middle-class background then just being in Broomhall would probably give you palpitations.
*** Or if there was fear of some type of 'event', or it was a busy weekend, entering by the main upper entrance after first being identified as 'non-hazardous' by someone looking through a hatch in the door.
**** I have no idea when, I don't recall even seeing the building since before the mid 1990's.
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