The Tuxedo Princess (ex-TSS Caledonian Princess) and Tuxedo Royale (ex-TSS Dover) were two former car ferries used as permanently moored floating nightclubs in the United Kingdom from the 1980s to the 2000s. Both ships saw use on the River Tyne at different times, while the Princess also saw use on the River Clyde in Glasgow, and the Royale on the River Tees in Middlesbrough.
The Tuxedo Princess was the first of the two floating nightclubs, moored on the Tyne. When the Tuxedo Princess was briefly moved to Glasgow, the Tuxedo Royale took up her position. When the Tuxedo Princess returned, the Tuxedo Royale was moved to Middlesbrough. [1]
The idea of buying a second-hand ship to serve as a floating nightclub to be moored on the Tyne originated with Tyneside-based businessman Michael Quadrini (1943–2023), [2] who already owned the popular Tuxedo Junction nightclub in Newcastle, and several bars, and was looking for a larger venue. [1] And so he purchased the Caledonian Princess, renaming her the Tuxedo Princess. The vessel had been built in 1961 as a car ferry, in which role it served until 1981. The later Tuxedo Royale was also a former car ferry, the Dover, built in 1965. [1]
Originally the Tuxedo Princess was to be moored on the Newcastle side of the Tyne, but after failing to get planning consent, she was moored on the south bank, the Gateshead waterfront. When it first opened in December 1983, the club had a strict dress code for patrons, while the staff all wore naval uniforms, [1] a tradition carried on by resident DJ Chris King, who worked in a US Naval officer's uniform.
The music policy on both ships was contemporary dance, with some specialisations, notably on board Tuxedo Royale, which benefitted from two club areas. The music policy featured pop-dance in the below-decks club played by DJ Chris King, resplendent in his US Navy Officer's uniform, while DJ Tim Prince (who later worked as Tim 'Bomber' Lancaster), played soul, jazz, funk, and later NY house and garage, in the upstairs First Class Lounge, and on the Tuxedo Royale, there was a mid-week student night playing rock and alternative.
Both ships boasted restaurants and a variety of bars. Early-evening 'triples' deals offered three shots of spirits in a glass for the price of a single shot, and played a role in encouraging clubbers on board earlier than would otherwise have been the case. Door and wet take were the mainstay of revenue, with the restaurants functioning largely as loss-leaders.
According to the BBC, the Tuxedo Princess became a Tyneside icon during her stay, one of the most recognisable landmarks of the region. [1] [3] According to the Evening Chronicle , in her heyday the Tuxedo Princess was "a celebrity haunt", and she became affectionately known as The Boat by Geordies. [4] [5]
While moored in the Tyne, the Tuxedo Princess was host to several famous people including Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, actor Kevin Costner, DJ Noel Edmonds, comedian Freddie Starr, singers Mick Hucknall, Rick Astley, Nik Kershaw and Jason Donovan, pop group Frankie Goes to Hollywood, the cast of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet , athlete Daley Thompson, cricketers Ian Botham, Wasim Akram, footballers Kevin Keegan and Paul Gascoigne, and snooker player Steve Davis. [1] [4] She also played a role in the lives of famous Geordie people. Singer Cheryl originally worked on the Tuxedo Princess before becoming a singer, while actor Tim Healy proposed to his future wife Denise Welch on board the club. [1]
In popular culture, the Tuxedo Princess was used by the BBC to film scenes for a storyline in the Newcastle-based television drama Our Friends in the North , in which the character Terry 'Tosker' Cox (Mark Strong), a Tyneside businessman, opens a floating nightclub on the Tyne. [1]
In the Maxïmo Park song "In Another World", from their third album Quicken The Heart , the "revolving dancefloor in the middle of the river" refers to the famous revolving dancefloor on board. [6]
In December 2007 a farewell party for 300 invited guests was held on the Tuxedo Princess. [4] The ship was finally towed from her mooring on the Tyne on 27 July 2008. [3] Describing it as "the end of an era", according to the BBC there were mixed reactions to the removal of the Tuxedo Princess, citing one expressed view of nostalgia for the nightclub's role in the city's night life, and another welcoming removal of an eyesore, opening up new views of the bridges. [3] According to the Evening Chronicle , crowds gathered to watch the ship's departure. [4] Despite hopes of a future in Greece, [7] Tuxedo Princess was scrapped in Turkey. [8] The quayside area vacated by the Tuxedo Princess was to be redeveloped into a leisure, restaurant and office complex. As of the 2018 summer, the area now hosts the Gateshead riverside shipping container village. [9]
In May 2011, the Tuxedo Royale started to sink into the River Tees due to vandalism by metal thieves. [10]
In June 2014 businessman Terry Owens started a campaign to restore the vessel from a nearby dry dock, which would cost in the region of £250,000. The intention was to apply for lottery funding to finance the works. [11]
In June 2017, the Tuxedo Royale was badly damaged by fire whilst docked on the river [12]
In January 2018 it was announced that work would begin on demolition of the Tuxedo Royale to allow the dockside to be used once again for commercial traffic; [13] however it was not until September 2019 that, having been re-floated (following asbestos removal) the vessel was towed to Hartlepool to be scrapped. [14]
Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle, is a cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located on the River Tyne's northern bank opposite Gateshead to the south. It is the most populous settlement in the Tyneside conurbation and North East England.
Tyne and Wear is a ceremonial county in North East England. It borders Northumberland to the north and County Durham to the south, and the largest settlement is the city of Newcastle upon Tyne.
The River Tyne is a river in North East England. Its length is 73 miles (118 km). It is formed by the North Tyne and the South Tyne, which converge at Warden near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.
Gateshead is a town in the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank. The town's attractions include the twenty metre tall Angel of the North sculpture on the town's southern outskirts, The Glasshouse International Centre for Music and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art. The town shares the Millennium Bridge, Tyne Bridge and multiple other bridges with Newcastle upon Tyne.
South Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It is bordered by all four other boroughs in Tyne and Wear: Gateshead to the west, Sunderland in the south, North Tyneside to the north and Newcastle upon Tyne to the north-west. The border county of Northumberland lies further north. The borough was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the County Borough of South Shields with the municipal borough of Jarrow and the urban districts of Boldon and Hebburn from County Durham.
North Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It forms part of the greater Tyneside conurbation. North Tyneside Council is headquartered at Cobalt Park, Wallsend.
South Shields is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England; it is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. The town was once known in Roman times as Arbeia and as Caer Urfa by the Early Middle Ages. In 2021 it had a population of 75,337. It is the fourth largest settlement in Tyne and Wear, after Newcastle upon Tyne, Sunderland and Gateshead.
The Tyne Bridge is a through arch bridge over the River Tyne in North East England, linking Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead. The bridge was designed by the engineering firm Mott, Hay and Anderson, who later designed the Forth Road Bridge, and was built by Dorman Long and Co. of Middlesbrough. The bridge was officially opened on 10 October 1928 by King George V and has since become a defining symbol of Tyneside. It is ranked as the tenth tallest structure in Newcastle.
The history of Newcastle upon Tyne dates back almost 2,000 years, during which it has been controlled by the Romans, the Angles and the Norsemen amongst others. Newcastle upon Tyne was originally known by its Roman name Pons Aelius. The name "Newcastle" has been used since the Norman Conquest of England. Due to its prime location on the River Tyne, the town developed greatly during the Middle Ages and it was to play a major role in the Industrial Revolution, being granted city status in 1882. Today, the city is a major retail, commercial and cultural centre.
The Quayside is an area along the banks (quay) of the River Tyne in Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead in Tyne and Wear, North East England, United Kingdom.
Hebburn is a town in the South Tyneside borough of Tyne and Wear, England. It was formerly in County Durham until 1974 with its own urban district from 1894 until 1974. It is on the south bank of the River Tyne between Gateshead and Jarrow and opposite Wallsend and Walker.
TSS Manxman was a passenger ferry launched from the Cammell Laird shipyard, Birkenhead, on 8 February 1955. She was the final vessel in a class of six similar ships, the Six Sisters, ordered by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, and was the second of the Company's ships to carry this name. She was withdrawn from service in 1982. Following a failed preservation attempt, and featuring in a music video in the process, the ship was broken up at Sunderland in 2012.
HMS Calliope is a training centre and 'stone frigate' of the Royal Naval Reserve, located in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear.
QuayLink was a bus service in Tyne and Wear, England, which connected Gateshead and Newcastle upon Tyne, and later North Tyneside, with the Quayside. Funded by the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive, the service was launched on 22 July 2005. Operated initially by Stagecoach North East, the service was transferred to Go North East in July 2010 – later being operated commercially from July 2015, following budget cuts.
Tyne and Wear is a metropolitan area covering the cities of Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland, as well as North and South Tyneside, Gateshead and Washington.
The Gateshead Garden Festival was the fourth of the United Kingdom's five national garden festivals. Held between May and October 1990, in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, it lasted 157 days, and received over three million visitors. Attractions included public art displays, a Ferris wheel, and dance, music, theatre and sporting events. The site comprised four areas: Norwood, Riverside, Dunston and Eslington Park, and several modes of transport were provided around the site: a monorail which ran between Norwood and Eslington, a narrow gauge steam railway between Dunston and Redheugh, and a road train which covered the entire site. A ferry across the River Tyne, between Dunston Staiths and Newcastle Quayside, was also provided.
TSS Dover,, was a British ferry. Built in 1965 as a roll-on/roll-off (RORO) ferry, she spent much of her later life as one of the permanently moored Tuxedo floating nightclubs before being laid up, latterly on the River Tees in Middlesbrough.
TSS Caledonian Princess was a turbine steamship, built by William Denny & Brothers in 1961. A roll-on/roll-off car ferry, she primarily served the Stranraer - Larne route. Under Sealink ownership, however, she operated in both the English Channel and the Irish Sea. From 1984, she spent her later life as the Tuxedo Princess, a floating nightclub on the River Tyne. She never saw service under her final name, Prince, and was scrapped in 2008.
The North East Combined Authority (NECA), officially the Durham, Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland Combined Authority, was one of the combined authorities in North East England. It was created in 2014, and consisted of the City of Sunderland; Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, South Tyneside; and Durham County local authorities.
The North of Tyne Combined Authority was a mayoral combined authority which consisted of the local authorities of Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, and Northumberland, all in North East England. The authority came into being on 2 November 2018 under the statutory name Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside and Northumberland Combined Authority. The three local authorities previously formed part of the North East Combined Authority, which continued to exist covering a smaller area. The two combined authorities cooperated on the North East Joint Transport Committee.
Media related to Tuxedo floating nightclubs at Wikimedia Commons