PICS: Joburg’s legendary club goes up in smoke

The last of Johannesburg’s legendary nightclubs has joined the choir invisible. Presleys nightclub and Silverado restaurant was gutted in a blaze on Saturday night.

The fire, said to have originated in the club’s thatch roof, started at about 7pm and soon engulf the building.

Two people were taken to hospital with injuries.

By mid-morning yesterday, the last Ekurhuleni fire engine finally departed from the scene. The cause for the blaze has not yet been established.

Onlookers parked on North Rand Road in Boksburg yesterday to record the scene on their cellphones.

Presley’s will be closed indefinitely, the venue said on its Facebook page yesterday.

The legendary club had been part of the Gauteng night scene since the 1980s. Mega clubs from that era are now all gone: Presleys, Masquerade, Idols, The Doors, Bella Napoli and White Horse.

Presleys had two dance floors, one which played a mixed bag of contemporary dance, pop and oldies, where Doc Martins, plakkies and takkies all danced together.

A short walk past a stretched bar, the sakkie and doef area attracted young and old alike.

Nobody cared whether you had a night out in your pyjamas or your matric dance ball gown. That was why Presleys was so special.

Former patrons shared their sadness at the club’s demise online. Chris Groenewald posted on the club’s Facebook page: “Thoughts, prayers and speedy recovery for you guy’s … this
legend of a jol palace won’t go down.”

Another former patron shared fond memories and the fact that she had met her husband while partying at Presley’s.

Another remained hopeful: “I hope you will be back soon, the legend will open again.”

One of the motorists snapping pictures remembered the club fondly and called it a landmark, not just in Ekurhuleni. He remembered meeting patrons who had trekked from around the province to squeak their takkies.

Mix 93.8 FM presenter Kerry Anne Allerston remembers seeing Fokofpolisiekar there and also moshing on Doors night reunions.

She said: “I will never forget the ‘90s parties, and letting my hair down and my makeup run until the wee hours of the morning. I am going to miss that place.”