Sheffield retro: 14 nostalgic photos show working men's clubs in 80s and 90s, including Def Leppard at Crookes

They were founded by a teetotaller to ‘improve’ the working man and keep him away from the pub.

But working men’s clubs in Sheffield and across the nation soon became less about education and more about entertainment, with members lapping up the cheap booze, bingo, music and comedy on offer. There were some 4,000 working men’s clubs across Britain in their 1970s heyday, a number which has reportedly more than halved since then amid rising costs and growing competition from home entertainment.

In Sheffield, working men’s clubs in Darnall, Handsworth, Woodhouse Mill and Ecclesfield are among those to have closed in recent years, though perhaps the most famous casualty is the one in Shiregreen where the final scene of The Full Monty was filmed before a live audience. Some clubs continue to defy the odds and pull in the punters, however, like the hugely popular Crookes Social Club, which was founded in 1919 as Crookes Working Men’s Club.

This retro photo gallery shows some of Sheffield’s numerous working men’s clubs during the 1980s and 1990s, when they were still a big draw despite the decline of the steel industry. Some of them are still thriving in these photos, while others are sadly boarded up or have been converted into pubs. The clubs featured include those in Pitsmoor, Burngreave, Handsworth and High Green.

All the photos featured are shared courtesy of Picture Sheffield.