Our Story
Uncle Sam's was located at 296 Nantasket Ave, former home of The Surf, and the Ocean Garden Restaurant & Dance Hall before that. It is now the home of Nantasket Resort Hotel (formerly the Clarion).
I was there, when it opened as a Disco in '76 and when it grew up to Rock in the 80's. Uncle Sam's was one of THE hottest nightclubs on the South Shore. Whether you lived in Hull, or made your way down here (like I did), how can you NOT remember Uncle Sam's?
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Confirmed Headlining Bands & Dates:
Compiled from verified sources, web sites dedicated to band history, ticket stubs, promotional calendars/schedules. No hearsay.
Note: It will be assumed the Band actually played the date scheduled (since promotional material is printed in advance, there is no way to determine if a cancellation took place).
01/24/80 ~ James Montgomery
02/14/80 ~ NRBQ
02/15/80 ~ Pousette Dart Band
02/16/80 ~ Roomful of Blues
02/18/80 ~ The Neighborhoods
02/20/80 ~ Taj Mahal
02/21/80 ~ Robin Lane & the Chartbusters
02/22/80 ~ Jonathan Edwards
02/23/80 ~ David Johansen
02/24/80 ~ James Cotton
02/24/80 ~ James Montgomery
02/29/80 ~ Edgar Winter
03/01/80 ~ Joe Perry Project
03/02/80 ~ Joe Perry Project
03/06/80 ~ Iggy Pop
03/09/80 ~ Humble Pie
03/30/80 ~ Squeeze
04/18/80 ~ Rick Derringer
05/09/80 ~ James Montgomery
05/23/80 ~ Pousette Dart Band
05/24/80 ~ Beaver Brown
05/25/80 ~ ROCKFEST '80 -featuring James Cotton, Jon Butcher Axis and more...
05/30/80 ~ Edgar Winter
06/08/80 ~ Aerosmith
06/13/80 ~ The Fools
06/20/80 ~ New England
06/27/80 ~ Rick Derringer
07/12/80 ~ Jonathan Edwards
07/17/80 ~ Hall & Oates
08/01/80 ~ New England
08/02/80 ~ Blushing Brides
08/07/80 ~ The Cast (Beatles Tribute)
08/08/80 ~ New Riders of the Purple Sage
08/09/80 ~ The Ramones
08/16/80 ~ Johnny Winter
10/10/80 ~ Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels
10/11/80 ~ Nervous Eaters
10/30/80 ~ Steven Stills
12/13/80 ~ Joe Cocker
07/05/81 ~ The Ramones
07/13/81 ~ Foghat
08/15/81 ~ Greenpeace Benefit Concert -featuring Pousette Dart Band & Midnight Traveler
08/19/81 ~ Roy Orbison
08/21/81 ~ Beaver Brown
08/22/81 ~ Beaver Brown
08/28/81 ~ The Stompers
08/29/81 ~ The Stompers
09/04/81 ~ L.A. Woman (Doors Tribute)
09/05/81 ~ Utopia w/Todd Rundgren
09/06/81 ~ James Montgomery Band
09/18/81 ~ Q.T. Hush (AC/DC Tribute)
09/25/81 ~ Ian Hunter
10/09/81 ~ Jon Butcher Axis / Berlin Airlift
10/10/81 ~ Human S*xual Response
10/10/81 ~ Mission of Burma
10/16/81 ~ Freebird (Skynyrd Tribute)
10/17/81 ~ Beaver Brown
10/22/81 ~ Cheap Trick
10/23/81 ~ Pousette Dart Band
10/24/81 ~ Private Lightning
10/31/81 ~ The Stompers
11/06/81 ~ L.A. Woman (Doors Tribute)
11/12/81 ~ The Tubes
11/26/81 ~ Blushing Brides
01/01/82 ~ L.A. Woman (Doors Tribute)
01/02/82 ~ The Ramones
03/20/82 ~ Leon Russell
04/09/82 ~ Joe Perry Project
05/06/82 ~ Ian Hunter
05/07/82 ~ The Ramones
05/12/82 ~ Blushing Brides
06/20/82 ~ Jim Carroll Band
07/24/82 ~ Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes
07/29/82 ~ Dicky Betts & Butch Trucks
07/30/82 ~ Joe Perry Project
07/31/82 ~ Joe Cocker
09/04/82 ~ Joe Perry Project
10/07/82 ~ Warren Zevon
10/22/82 ~ Cheap Trick
11/12/82 ~ Gregg Allman Band
02/05/83 ~ David Johansen
02/12/83 ~ Pat Travers
02/19/83 ~ Robin Lane & The Chartbusters
02/25/83 ~ Jon Butcher Axis
02/26/83 ~ Berlin Airlift
03/04/83 ~ New Riders of the Purple Sage
03/12/83 ~ The Stompers
03/19/83 ~ Through The Doors (Doors Tribute)
03/25/83 ~ Iggy Pop
03/26/83 ~ Betts, Hall, Leavell & Trucks
04/29/83 ~ Through The Doors (Doors Tribute)
05/06/83 ~ The Stompers
05/07/83 ~ Joe Perry Project
06/04/83 ~ The Stompers
07/01/83 ~ Gregg Allman Band
Confirmed "Regulars" & Local Bands, some appeared at Uncle Sam's on numerous occasions. And Backup Bands (that possibly traveled with Headliners):
Alive 'n Pickin'
American Teen
Atlantics, The
Balloon
Billy Whyte
Breakdown
Caravan
Cast, The
Crockett
Gary Shane & The Detours
Dangerous Birds
Dead End Kids
Dirty Dog Band
Edna Jean & Wild Country
Fountainhead
Jesse Leary Band
Joni & The Blast
Kate Taylor
Lace
Lines, The
Lonely Boys
Luna
Make, The
Midnight Traveler
Nash the Slash
New Models, The
November Group
Rath
S*x Execs
Shake, The
Shane Champagne
Sky Island
Southpaw
Spores, The
Steve Geyer Band
T Gangster
T's, The
Travis & Shook
Wood & Steel
Zachariah
Zaitchik Brothers Band
The following list is compiled from random internet sources, personal conversations, and posts from this page and our former group with no confirmed dates:
Average White Band
Beatlemania
B-52's
Bill Chinook
Billy Idol
Buddy Rich
Calamity Jane
Cars, The
Chris Smither
Clarence Clemons
Dickey Betts & Great Southern
Dave Edmunds
Drive, The
Duke & the Drivers
Gary U.S. Bonds
Juice
Katie Taylor
Limit, The
Mirrors, The
Modern English
Molly Hatchet
Nephews, The
Outlaws, The
Rainbow w/Ritchie Blackmore
Rare Earth
Stray Cats
'Til Tuesday
Tower of Power
War
Lists will be updated as the info comes in. For a Band to be Confirmed, the Date they played should be available somewhere "in print". If you run across one, please post it up on the main wall. If you could please post it up in a NEW thread (and not as a "comment") it will make it much easier to spot! Good information can easily be buried in the comments when they get contracted by FaceBook!
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Working on the Time Line:
1976 ~ Formerly "The Surf", Uncle Sam's opens as a Disco, the 6th club in the chain (American Scene, Inc.) at the time, and would become the most profitable at one point.
-Managed by Patrick Lyons
04/16/79 ~ Drinking age in MA changes from 18 to 20
12/79 ~ Format changes from Disco to Rock w/Live bands.
-Frank Petrella assumed all management responsibilities and ownership of Uncle Sam's from the American Scene Inc. Frank booked all the bands during Uncle Sam's LIVE Rock years.
12/05/84 ~ Drinking age in MA changes from 20 to 21
12/84 ~ Uncle Sam's Closes, reopens as Vogue in 1985, doesn't last long...
04/12/98 ~ The home of many great bands, exciting evenings & untold stories, the building that once housed The Surf, Vogue & Uncle Sam's located at 296 Nantasket Ave gets leveled by the wrecking ball to make way for the Clarion Hotel. Thus, the end of an era...
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♪ Related Links:
The Surf Nantasket:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/52294432761/
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As of yet, there is no Vogue page, go for it!
And then link us up!
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♫ Notable Links:
The C Note:
https://www.facebook.com/CNoteHull/
Daddy's Beach Club:
https://www.facebook.com/daddysbeachclub/
§ Missing Links:
Paragon Park:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Paragon-Park-Memories/103289636409972
https://www.facebook.com/groups/27498785991/
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The Firecracker:
(not confirmed)
Vodka
Gin
Rum
Seven Up
[May, or may not have included the following]
fruit punch
sour mix
sloe gin
grenadine
With at least 11 different Uncle Sam's franchises operating at one time, the chances are pretty good that there were many variations of this popular beverage.
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[Original Group created 4/15/10]
http://www.facebook.com/groups/117915838221653/
The information presented above is as accurate as I know it to be at the moment, and is not presented as 100% fact. I welcome any questions, input and corrections. Feel free to message me or post up here on this site.
I wish to thank everyone, former patrons and employees of Uncle Sam's for their memories, photos & behind the scenes posts! I have missed Uncle Sam's for years now, and I see I am not alone.
Thank you Joyce!
Last but certainly not least, I wish to personally, and collectively thank Frank P. Petrella for the LIVE version of Uncle Sam's. Without Frank we would not have had the good times, the great bands, and truly the world-class night club and concert stage that we all loved and remember! For many of us, it was a time in our lives that we will never forget! Frank, we can't thank you enough!
Uncle Sam's opened sometime in the summer of 1976, we're still trying to nail down the exact date, so for now, why not the 4th, America's birthday! Whoever can supply us with the exact and CONFIRMED date of Uncle Sam's opening will win a pair of Firecracker Glasses! I have a suspicion that the Grand Opening was on July 4th, if so then I win! :-)
