Guests at the Grosvenor
1971
"In 1971 we still had Guys and then we got the premises on the Bearwood end of the Hagley Road, the Grosvenor House Hotel, which was the original name and we kept it. There were two bars, very large gardens, a nice restaurant that seated 40+ people, 14 bedrooms.
"We used to get lots of companies stay there, like the Royal Ballet, Ballet Rambert, Doyle Carte, Welsh National Opera, pantomime season we were always full from the gay people such as Anna Campbell from 'On the buses' who I'm still friendly with. Lots of famous people, Charles Hawtree - his favourite trick was, there used to be a pillar in the small bar and he used to hide behind it, and people standing at the bar, he used to pinch their arse, hide behind the pillar and look for their reaction, he was always pissed, he was an alcoholic. He'd see their reaction and get turned on by that and run away tittering and screaming to himself. Jimmy Edwards, Joan Turner, Wayne Sleep, who I evicted because he came back from the theatre (he'll probably sue me if he reads this, but it's true!) paying £6/7/6d a night and he expected room service - well we didn't do room service, 'if you want something, go and order it at the bar and I'll see if the night porter will do you something'. Anyway he was giving me a load of stick so I said 'I tell you what I'll do for you', I said, 'I'll make two phone calls for you, one will be to the Albany and the other for a taxi, so I suggest you go upstairs, pack your bags and go!' So he did! Supercilious queens, I don't care who they are! I didn't give a shit."
Contributed by: Keith Campbell, 58