Joe was the Scots barman at Sid Lambert's social club in 1965, working under Weatherfield Athletic's sports and social officer David Barlow.
Though a capable bartender, Joe was a pushover when it came to dealing with troublemakers such as Johnny Nicholls and Tony Gordon, deferring such matters to David. In July of that year, days before the social club dance, Joe stood by as the men poured their own pints, after Joe refused to serve them as they were outside licensing hours. David then arrived and saw Johnny and Tony off by emptying their glasses and threatening to report the men to Sid. Johnny and Tony, who were part of the maintenance staff, were further aggrieved when David employed Len Fairclough to put up shelves in the bar, rather than have the work carried out in-house. Deciding to get their own back, they got tickets to the dance from Joe, who later warned David that they were planning to cause trouble.
During the dance, Johnny and Tony pestered David and his fiancée Irma Ogden, with David nearly lamping Johnny when the man pinched Irma's bottom, though the arrival of Sid prevented the situation from escalating further. On being introduced to Irma, Joe told David that he had a right smasher there.