Peter Stringfellow: London club Stringfellows a lasting tribute to flamboyant Sheffield-born 'King of Clubs'

Peter lost a battle with cancer in June 2018 and celebrities lined up to pay tribute to the charismatic 77-year-old, who grew up in the Steel City.

We take a look at Peter’s rise to fame and fortune and his legacy which lives on in London’s West End.

Who was Peter Stringfellow?

Peter grew up in his family home in Andover Street, Pitsmoor, and left Central Technical School at the age of 15. He took a string of jobs, including working at a tie salesman, before enrolling as an apprentice in the Navy.

His sailing career lasted two years, after which he returned to his home city and his nightclub career began.

In 1962, the aspiring businessman began renting St Aidan's Church Hall in Manor Lane every Friday night, and the night became known as the Black Cat Club.

As his reputation grew alongside demand for tickets for the bands he attracted, her had to start hiring larger venues and brought the Beatles to the Azena Ballroom in Gleadless when they were on the cusp of becoming huge - and it proved to be the turning point in his career.

He went on to arrange concerts at St John’s Church Hall, which became known as the Blue Moon Club, where he attracted the likes of The Kinks and Rod Stewart, before he opened King Mojo Club in 1964.

Over the next three years, bands and singers such as The Who, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Elton John, Tina Turner and Stevie Wonder performed in the Steel City.

He then opened Down Broadway and the Penthouse clubs in Sheffield but sold up because of issues with overcrowding at the Penthouse and reported objections from the local police. He then moved to Leeds, where he opened a superclub know as Cinderellas, mixing recorded music and live bands. He then expanded into the building next door and launched Rockafella’s. With his business partner and brother, Geoffrey, they then opened the The Millionaire Club in Manchester.

In 1980, they sold up in Manchester and Peter made his big move to London, where he opened and ran Stringfellows Covent Garden for the next 15 years. The club attracted musicians, models and other celebrities.

In 1983, he took over the old cabaret club, Talk of the Town, and re-opened it with its original name Hippodrome and it became the “World’s Greatest Disco”.

Venues in New York, Miami and Los Angeles followed.

In the 1990s, Stringfellow introduced table dancing into his New York and Covent Garden clubs, before opening an adult entertainment club - Angels - in Soho in 2006.

Before introducing striptease to his Covent Garden venue, it had previously been known as a disco, restaurant and cocktail bar.

The club has stood the test of time and is world-famous four decades later, still attracting celebrities and the rich and famous.