LAUTOKA’S Vitogo Parade is perhaps the city’s best known street, the towering royal palm trees that line the main thoroughfare reminiscent of the days when the business centre stood majestic as the main sweetener of the country’s economic pie.
And while most of the businesses within the city grid have changed hands over the decades, one particular office space along this famous road still brings people together today for a workout, albeit with “subtle” differences in the intensity of “training”.
Today, one can find residents keen on maintaining fitness puffing and panting at the Bodylife Gym.
More than four decades ago, this space the gym occupies was known as Whiskey Town, a nightclub owned by a family bearing the Patel name.
It was the hottest nightclub in the West and a regular meeting point for professionals, couples and those primed up for a night of dancing.
Bobbing and weaving bodies pounded to a different rhythm in the ’70s as patrons danced to the music of a renowned resident live band.
“The band at Whiskey Town in the early to mid ’70s was made up of local legends like John Brown on drums, Isikeli Delaivanua or Claude Larry on bass guitar, Yogi on keyboards and a guitarist called Douglas,” recalled Waiyavi native and veteran musician, George Moore.
“They were something else, John was a rock solid drummer and he really led the group with his powerful beats.
“John, Claude and Delai are still around but unfortunately, Douglas passed away and Yogi has been living in the US for some time now.”
Moore was reminiscing about a time when Lautoka was a thriving entertainment mecca. Like Suva in the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, the Sugar City was awash with night -clubs and live music.
Raymond’s, near the entrance to the Lautoka Wharf is now home to Gilontas and the NPT Agency while Whiskey Town on Vitogo Parade, upstairs from popular clothing outlet Sydney Secrets is now known as the Bodylife Gym.
The Lautoka Hotel’s Hunters Inn, Whiskey Town and Raymond’s were home to some of the hottest bands in the Western Division.
Lautoka Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Pyara Singh said venues such as Whiskey Town were the life of the Sugar City back in the day.
“What made the clubs in those days really exciting were the live bands that used to play there,” he shared.
“And this is one thing that is missing in Lautoka today, none of the nightclubs have live bands and the only place you can get to listen to some form of live music is at the Northern Club on Sundays or Tanoa Waterfront Hotel during the weekend.”
Singh, who also owns Lautoka General Transport Company Ltd, said live bands drew couples out on weekends and added to the colour and atmosphere of the city’s central business district when the sun went down.
“It was different in those days, the live bands brought new and exciting songs and people dressed up to go out.
“People went to nightclubs like Hunter’s Inn, Whiskey Town and Raymond’s to listen to good music played by very professional musicians.
“They went to be entertained and to catch up with friends and work mates outside of the office.
“We need that type of buzz back in Lautoka and I believe the only way we can do that is by encouraging nightclubs to bring in live music and to improve security so that it’s safe for patrons to go out and have a good time.”
George Moore said the musicianship displayed by the bands at the three popular venues inspired him to pursue a career in music.
Moore would go on to record and tour the Pacific as bass guitarist for local music icon Daniel Rae Costello. He also played bass on Costello’s collaboration Golden Memories Tour with the legendary Toni Wille from Pussycat in 2010.
“If you look back in time, I was inspired to take my music further when I used to hear the bands at Hunters Inn, Whiskey Town and Raymond’s.
“The house band at Whiskey Town was legendary at that time, so we used go down and listen to them every chance we got.
“I was in Form Three in 1973 and for three straight years, I would talk the bouncers into letting me and a few friends go in and listen to the band.
“This was back in the days of no internet or CD players. Young musicians these days are lucky because with the internet they have access to tutorials where they can learn how to play music from international professionals.
“And these days bands play a few sets a night with breaks in-between the sets.
“Back in the ’70s, the only way to learn was if someone showed you a few things and if that didn’t happen then your only option was to ‘choro chord’ as they say.
“And in those days bands used to play non-stop for hours because there was no such thing as a deejay back then.
“People respected musicians and one thing I can say is that while we may have some pretty awesome musicians around now, back in the day everyone was awesome.
“You had to be otherwise you wouldn’t get a foot into any band. You had to know your stuff and practise all the time to be on top of things.”
Moore said Raymond’s Night Club was another venue where top class musicians came to showcase their polished act.
“This place was a real music hot spot. It was owned by a Lautoka guy called Raymond Wong and the bands that came and played there were nothing but the best in Fiji at that time.”One of Fiji’s most experienced guitarists George Knight was the band leader and he had seasoned gang like Claude Larry on bass guitar, Mervyn Thaggard played rhythm guitar and Joel Knight played keyboards.
Among the musical greats that have played at Raymond’s are Maxie Columbus, bassist Sunny Nautu and legendary Toorak band, Red Fink.
Ulysses, the band that rocked Lucky Eddies in the ’70s and ’80s used to lug their gear for a five-hour journey on the dusty Queen’s Rd from Suva to Lautoka to perform at Lautoka Hotel’s Hunters Inn.
Moore recalls another band that made waves at Hunters Inn in the ’70s.
“It was a band called The Raiders and the group was made up of the Tui Tavua’s family, the Bokini brothers.
“Hunters Inn those days was like a beer garden, it wasn’t a walled up nightclub like it is today.
“The wall separating patrons inside the venue from the general public outside had holes at regular intervals.
“And there were more people outside getting a free show than the paying patrons that went inside.”
NEXT WEEK:
Read about how a Lautoka boy began a music career that has spanned more than four decades.
George Moore took on the bass guitar as his instrument of choice, a decision that led to him performing with Pacific music icon Daniel Rae Costello and international superstar Toni Wille from legendary ’70s band, Pussycat.