That was of course the tagline for the once thriving, and now sadly closed, nightclub and cabaret entertainment bar Foo Foos Palace, which stood proudly on Dale Street in the heart of Manchester’s Northern Quarter for over 27 years.
Opening in 1975, the club was owned by legendary drag artist Foo Foo Lammar.
Named in his The Times obituary as “one of the North of England’s most popular female impersonators”, Frank ‘Foo Foo Lammar’ Pearson was the son of an Ancoats rag and bone man and left school at the age of 15 with no qualifications.
But with a fierce ambition to go into showbusiness, he created his iconic stage persona Foo Foo – adding Lammar in honour of Hollywood actress, Hedy Lammarr – and started performing in the clubs and bars of Greater Manchester.
Appearing on stage in blonde bouffant wigs and expensive sequinned gowns, with an act that was risqué but perfectly-timed, Foo Foo was known for his caustic wit and repartee with tough northern audiences, so much so that he said “I don’t see myself as a drag queen, I’m more of a comic in a frock”.
After finding himself in particularly high demand and attracted a large following, the success of Foo Foo Lammar lead Pearson to opening his first club in 1971 called The Picador in Shudehill, with the infamous Foo Foos Palace coming along shortly after (1975 – 2002), following a brief stint where it was named ‘Celebrity’.
Off stage he became almost as big a celebrity as he was in drag, a familiar sight in his native city dressed in shiny suits and dripping in gaudy jewellery. He owned a succession of Rolls-Royces with the registration plate FOO 1, and he delighted in giving lifts to local people in the neighbourhood.
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One described him as being as essential a part of Manchester as the town clock.
He was also known for his tireless charity work – raising hundreds of thousands of pounds for the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital and The Christies – and even released an album (My Life At The Palace) and published his autobiography (I Am What I Am) a year before his death in 2003.
Foo Foos Palace – now a block of apartments – went on to become a favourite with Manchester United players and was also frequented by many showbusiness personalities, but who could forget its popularity for hen and stag parties in the city too?
This is probably why many Mancunians have memories of a night in those four walls, and here are The Manc – as ‘the people’s voice of Greater Manchester’ – we’re always keen to hear your stories.
So we took to our social platforms Facebook and Instagram this week with a picture of the club’s iconic frontage to pay tribute to the venue and ask our loyal audience to share your memories of this undeniable cultural gem with us.
“Well that’s spooky – I woke up this morning and for some reason I started singing I Am What I Am – with Foo Foo singing it in my head. I went on my first works do at 16 – many years ago. What a great performer Foo Foo was and what a genuinely kind and generous person Frank was.
You don’t get many people like Frank these days.”
Louise Pearson
“I went a couple of times. One night I went in a new dress, and felt amazing in it. Until foo foo himself, walked on the stage in the exact same dress. I don’t know who was more annoyed me, or him.
My mate laughed so much we nearly got kicked out, because you couldn’t hear him over her laughing.”
Julie Diane Gallaher
“They broke the mould after Foo. Amazing man very funny guy. I knew him for many years worked with him on lots if his charity events.
“I had my 18th birthday party there it was the best night out. Everyone was up for a laugh. Good old chicken in a basket. My dad was so up for a laugh, Foo Foo got him up on stage and in typical Foo Foo style humiliated him. My dad thought I was drinking whisky and lemonade and I came back to a table of 30 glasses of whisky. I was drinking Southern Comfort and Lemonade, but we made the best of it.
Remember it like it was yesterday, my dad has passed away and this night will be in my memories always – really was a night to remember.”
Sharon Anne
“Had some great night’s out there. Few years later I walked past down Dale St on my way to work each morning, Foo Foo was often outside the club with his golden Rolls Royce parked at the kerbside. He always had time to have a natter, lovely man with a big heart but very modest, did lots of kind things for people having a hard time but didn’t make a big deal about it.
Was very sorry to hear about him passing away – RIP.”
Barbara Jameson-Taylor
“Had my stag night there. Foo Foo got wind I had fish nets and a thong on under my clothes (for when the lads stripped me off on way home), [so] he got me to one side and said “if you strip off later when I get you on stage, your drinks will be free”.
Absolute legend, I got free drinks and the old fella nearly has a heart attack.
For years, my picture was on the wall as you went down the stairs.”
Mark Carrigher
Do you remember a night in Foo Foos Palace?
We’d love to hear your stories.
You can head on over to our posts on Facebook and Instagram to have your say and take a read of the rest of the memories thousands of memories of the venue that we unfortunately just didn’t have the room to include on this article.
Trending
Southampton troll Manchester City after Ruben Dias’ frustrated interview
Danny Jones
Southampton FC have decided to respond to Manchester City star Ruben Dias with some casual trolling following his frustrated post-match interview this weekend.
In short, someone let the admin off the leash, and we’ll admit it caught us a little off guard.
Man City shared the points away at St Mary’s Stadium against the already relegated Saints – a fate which plays somewhat into the rather nonchalant nature of their social media this past Friday, 9 May.
Southampton hosted City for what turned out to be a beyond forgettable bore draw, although Dias himself was clearly still dwelling on it at least somewhat after the full-time whistle, claiming the home team put in very little effort. To which this was their reply…
While plenty of people online had already seen Ruben‘s review of their performance, the south coast side had no problem in drawing even more eyes to it by sharing the video above.
There’s one thing to disagree with/mock a single player’s response in a moment of tension, but putting together a mini blooper reel about last season’s Premier League champions and recent Treble winners to the rather out-of-tune flute version of ‘September’ by Earth, Wind & Fire felt pretty bold, to say the least.
Again, not that they’ll care one bit, given they won’t be even in the same division for at least another year.
It’s also just not all too often that you see football clubs’ official media channels memeing other teams, so it’s hard not to react when instances like this do happen.
Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola had a fair few of his own visibly frustrated feelings on the match as well, including some words for his own players, although stating that they should have been able to break down a team that’s already on their way to the Championship.
Pep’s post-match press conference following Southampton 0-0 City in full.
It’s also worth mentioning that while it may have felt like a bit of a damp rubber game, there was actually a lot more at stake in the grander scheme of things.
Not only did the draw rescue Southampton from setting a new record for the lowest points tally in the top-flight competition’s history, but much more importantly, it meant crucial points were dropped for the Blues in the race to secure Champions League football.
Most supporters would rightly assume Man City will be in UEFA’s premier continental competition next season, but it’s not a certainty just yet.
You can watch the highlights, or lack thereof, down below.
Who had more of a point, do you think – Ruben Dias or the Southampton admin?
Featured Images — Sky Sports (screenshots via YouTube)
Trending
Why are people queuing HOURS for these viral toys in Manchester?
Thomas Melia
A viral craze has yet again struck the internet, and this time it’s a cute plush collectible toy character even causing queues in Manchester.
In Britain it’s safe to say we are accustomed to a queue or two, but this newest line which has started forming outside a toy and collectibles shop on Market Street has puzzled a fair few Mancs.
The queues aren’t appearing from nowhere either; social media users describe how they’ve walked past the store as early as 7:30am and seen dozens of people standing outside waiting.
The culprit of these queues? An adorable collectable plush toy character that goes by the name of ‘Labubu‘.
Here’s the reason why Market Street has those insane queues.Labubu has made her way to Manchester in all her variations.Credit: Pop Mart
If your follow-up question is, “What is a Labubu?”, don’t worry because we asked exactly the same thing before we ended up nose-deep in the world of these widely popular plush toys.
Labubu is the name of the viral plush toy created by Hong Kong-born, Netherlands-raised designer Kasing Lung, who drew inspiration from his love of fairytales to make this worldwide cuddly phenomenon.
Recognised by their bunny-like ears, large eyes and big smiles (which some people find off-putting), Labubu has become a bit of an overnight superstar and shows no signs of slowing down.
The general public aren’t the only ones all over these famous fur-balls either, as celebs and stars alike have been attaching them to their handbags and sporting them like a prized possession.
And these are some pretty big names too, everyone from global superstar Rihanna to pop princess Dua Lipa have been pictured with a variation of Labubu dangling from their handbag.
People don’t just want to buy these viral toys as they are, part of the reason people are so obsessed with Labubu is the surprise element as you’ll find thousands of unboxing videos online.
Avid TikTok users will come across plenty of unboxing style videos, where collectors predict which colour or variation of the viral toy they will get before inevitably find out for themselves.
Previous Love Island contestant, reality TV star and model Olivia Attwood has got involved in this current Labubu trend, making lots of videos on social media expressing her love towards these plush collectables.
Attwood has become an unofficial mascot for Labubu through her various videos on social media, where she either unboxes or makes reference to these ‘monsters’.
This adorable plush toy character has even made its way into the rap field with UK drill act Central Cee not only having one but five variations of Labubu.
Each Labubu falls under a category or ‘series’, Cench seems to be a fan of the ‘Have A Seat’ range with all his collectibles in a sitting position.
The series all have their own names and limited edition style characters too including ‘Wings Of Fortune’, ‘Big Into Energy’, Pop Mart even launched a collaboration with household brand Coca Cola.
Labubu toys are exclusive to Pop Mart and available in their stores nationwide including Manchester Market Street and soon in their brand-new Trafford Centre destination too HERE.
So, that explains all the queuing, at the very least.
Emily Sergeant -
27th November 2020 
