One of the busiest places in Newcastle for the Euros this summer with some wild scenes for England games; The Mayfair has an even wilder past as a long since shut down party bar.
If you go back even 10 years ago, one of the biggest places to party in Newcastle was Sam Jacks. Biggest quite literally, due to it being a two floored super venue, it's closure in 2017 caused a lot of upset and, after plans to turn it into a beach themed club failed to materialise, the venue is now a big hit with football fans in its new guise.
Whether it be as Saturday afternoon when Newcastle United were playing or into the night when the likes of Pour Some Sugar on Me or Fatman Scoop were blasting out, Sam Jacks was definitely one of the busiest haunts in town. A place where you'd cross paths with a load of Baywatch lifeguards or Where's Wallys and not bat a eye lid, fancy dress was most definitely encouraged at Sam Jacks, as was a turn in the dentist's chair - if you were brave enough.
Many revellers, most likely egged on by their mates, took a turn in the chair to await their fate, while at the other end of the bar, there was a often a rodeo bull, so you could pretend you were on your holidays in Benidorm or Magaluf, when in reality, you were slap bang in the middle of Newcastle.
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In its later years, Sam Jacks hosted guest appearances from chart stars like Basshunter and Cascada, so it was a sad day in 2017, when a notice went up on the door of the Newgate Street to reveal that Sam Jacks would be closed with immediate effect, after a drop off in business.
Sam Jacks' closure sparked immediate speculation as to what would replace it, with one big rumour being of a new carnival themed venue for the city. - Babylon Beach Club - which was described by the then owners as "a cross between the Rio Carnival and Thai Island Full Moon parties with a bit of Geordie Shore thrown in”.
That never happened and instead, since the end of 2019, the building has enjoyed a new lease of life as The Mayfair bar & kitchen, with the business taking its name from the legendary Mayfair Ballroom, which pulled in massive names into Newcastle back in the day.
And, as well as carrying on the name of a Geordie institution Mayfair is now one of the best places in town to watch live football action. Always busy whether NUFC were at homer and away during their Champions League campaign last season, there were some serious scenes inside and out for every England match at both the World Cup at the end of 2022 and at the much more recent Euro 2024.
The bar got so full hours before the kick off of the Euros final, that people were getting turned away outside, while, back inside the atmosphere was top notch (until Spain made it 2-1 anyway) with chant after chant and mass renditions of the likes of Sweet Caroline, Three Lions,. Vindaloo and the National Anthem.
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