Sheffield nightclub king Max Omare took city in new directions

His venue Shades on Ecclesall Road ran popular midweek student nights in the ‘70s.

Rebecca Jones remembers: “It had the most amazing atmosphere and it was always busy. All my university friends adored the place. We’d be there every single week without fail.”

“Shades was a cool place to go. Its music policy was regularly very different from anywhere else”, said regular Steve Twiby.

“I remember seeing a lot of really good live bands. As it was out of town on Ecclesall Road it attracted a very different crowd. I much preferred it to somewhere like the rowdy West Street.”

It had the added allure of a casino upstairs – Napoleons – run by Dave Allen.

Russell Smith said: “We’d feel we were living like kings. A nightclub followed by a roulette wheel – what could be better!

“At the weekend Shades was different – its music policy was more soul, ska and reggae. The venue also had regular live bands and nurses’ nights. It was a cool scene.”

Disco fever at Steely’s

Max also ran a record label – Shades Records. It released tracks by the reggae band Inner Mind.

He then went on to open Charter Square’s renowned Genevieve nightclub. The venue was named after his daughter.

Genevieve became the opulent Maximillions. He invested an eye-watering £250,000 to open the lavish venue. He also had the Mona Lisa on Rockingham Street and Max’s Downtown Cocktail Bar.

The early ‘80s recession hit clubs hard. Max told The Star: “I’ve seen businessmen who used to drink champagne by the magnum, and gallons of gin and tonic now ordering a half of lager.”

Now retired, Max was a revered cornerstone of the city scene for many years.

*You can read more in the Dirty Stop Outs Guide series: www.dirtystopouts.com​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

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