Friends pay tribute to Peter Stringfellow following Sheffield-born nightclub mogul's death at 77

It was announced this morning that the man known as the 'King of Clubs' has died after a battle with cancer.

As tributes continue to pour in from a galaxy of stars, some of the people who knew him best during his rise to prominence on the Steel City nightlife scene have also shared their fond memories of him.

Barry Northall told how he showed Peter around St Aidan's Church Hall on Manor Lane in the early 1960s when he was looking for somewhere to 'hold a dance'.

The weekly Friday night dances at the Black Cat Club held inside the hall became legendary and Barry enjoyed a friendship with Peter that spanned six decades.

Mr Northall, now aged 71, said: "Peter was a very kind, generous person who loved to make people laugh."

He described how he was part of a team that helped him to run his nightclubs in the city, from 'serving drinks and crisps' to 'organising the cloak room'.

The Todwick resident told how Peter would often recount stories about when The Beatles played at the Azena Ballroom in Gleadless in 1963.

This proved to be a turning point in his career which led him to bring a string of huge acts to the city including The Who, Pink Floyd and Elton John who played at another of his venues the Blue Moon Club.

Mr Northall said: "The Azena is now a Co-op and one thing that Peter always used to say is that people doing their shopping at the bacon counter don't realise that's where The Beatles played!"

Musician John Parr, who received a Grammy nomination for his 1985 hit 'St Elmo's Fire', revealed that Peter represented him when he played in the band Bitter Suite - a popular act on the region's working men's club scene during the 1970s.

The 65-year-old, who now lives in Doncaster, said: "My sincere condolences to Pete’s family and friends.

"Pete was my friend and manager back in the day with Bitter Suite. He was a true one off, a unique northern lad who dared to dream and made his dreams a reality.

"Peter Stringfellow walked with the greats but never lost the common touch."

Public relations executive Neil Anderson invited Peter to the launch of his book 'Dirty Stop Out's Guide to 1960s Sheffield' several years ago when they recreated one of his famous clubs the King Mojo inside the Leadmill.

It is a night he will never forget.

The 51-year-old, of Millhouses, said: "It was great to see him do his thing. He was a very affable, larger than life man.

"He left hundreds of thousands of people in Sheffield with some great memories that will last a lifetime in terms of the musical acts he brought to the city."

A number of Sheffield Star readers also took to Facebook to add their tributes.

Janette Wills described him as a "great guy" and Philip Heathcote added: "RIP Stringfellow. Seemed like a nice bloke to me."

After his huge success on the Sheffield nightlife scene, Stringfellow later opened venues in Leeds and Manchester before moving to London in 1980 to launch Stringfellows Covent Garden.

The venue was an immediate hit, and became frequented by international film and rock stars, as did his subsequent clubs in New York, Miami and Los Angeles.

In the 1990s, Stringfellow introduced table dancing into his New York and Covent Garden clubs, before opening an adult entertainment club - Angels - in Soho in 2006.

His publicist Matt Glass announced his death earlier today and added: "It's very sad news. It was kept very private, he didn't want to tell. He wanted to keep it a secret."