The Orinoco Club was a seedy establishment in Manchester that catered for guests to see a mixture of second-rate singers, strippers and other acts. The club was managed by the equally sleazy Sam Johnson who booked the various artistes.
Dennis Tanner got his first gainful employment in the club in December 1960 soon after being released from prison. His vaguely-defined employment included being on the door, helping out behind the bar, and as he put it himself: "this an' that." The job did awaken a latent wish within him to be immersed in the world of showbusiness and Dennis never seemed to see that his glittery view of such a world was totally at odds with the sordid club itself.
In addition, Sam Johnson didn't share the same view of Dennis's talents that he did, using him to clean the toilets and the like. Only allowed on occasion to announce the "cabaret" - including a girl who ballet-danced in a bikini - his patience was eventually rewarded when he was given a solo singing spot. This galvanised him into buying a guitar, adopting the stage name of "Ricky Dennis" and trying to learn to play the instrument. One evening, in July 1961, a disgruntled Sam received a telegram from stripper Ramona Hicks, billed as the "stone age stripper", saying she had suffered a nervous breakdown. As the second act, The Lawson Sisters, had broken down in Preston, Sam put Dennis on the stage where, against all expectations, he proved successful with two songs and two encores. Sam was so pleased that he gave him a regular nightly spot at the club for the coming week.
The following month, impresario Lenny Phillips visited the club, even though he thought it was a dump, and saw Dennis. Not that impressed with his act, he nevertheless saw him as a suitable talent scout and took him on in the role. Dennis stayed at the club but with his stage work taking over his other duties more and more, Jed Stone took over his work on the front door. Towards the end of the year, Ken Barlow walked out of his hated job as a personnel manager at Amalgamated Steel and asked Dennis if there were any jobs going at the club. He was soon able to gain far more suitable employment as a teacher at Bessie Street School.
In the December, the club organised a gala night fancy dress party and Dennis went along in an ambitious costume as King Charles II. His other work as a talent scout had led to him forming his own company as a sideline - Dennis Tanner Enterprises - and in this capacity, rather than his singing, Dennis went to London in March 1962 and left his employment at the club. The place had undergone decoration in February 1962 and Jed took an unimpressed Jerry Booth, Sheila Birtles and Doreen Lostock there one night a year later as he especially wanted to see a stripper. When Dennis returned to the area in April 1963 he continued to frequent the club and it was there that he met exotic dancer and singer Rita Littlewood. She topped the bill there and she and Dennis struck up a friendship. They were in the club on the evening of 22nd November that year when the shocked audience digested the shock of the assassination of President Kennedy which had just been flashed across the Atlantic. The two met up again when she was booked for the Viaduct Sporting Club in December 1964 but then lost touch until May 2011 when Dennis was a down-and-out. Rita took him in, love blossomed and the two married in March 2012 when Dennis reminisced about the club as part of his wedding speech.
List of staff[]
- Sam Johnson (Manager)
- Dennis Tanner
- Jed Stone
- Betty Ridgeway