Comments on: Escape From Sweethearts

By: Craig Griffiths

Craig Griffiths — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 07:20:28 +0000

Nice work Dan. Ahhh… used to love the Paradise, Roosda!! Tho sometimes had more trouble getting back up the stairs at night’s end than on the way in. And the Mandrax… oops… Manzil Room. (Sigh). Yep – nostalgia. And there are plenty of musos, working girls and punters of every kind who’ve sadly dropped off the twig or ended up a tad brain dead since the 70s. Good to see some of us still keep the memories alive. And if anyone’s at all interested I’m one of those old Kings Cross troopers still making music: http://www.skullbug.com . All the best and happy new year to you all

By: Roosda

Roosda — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 00:38:45 +0000

Thanx for the nostalgia hit. Yes Sweethearts was next to the Pussycat. The club that Michelle referred to was the Persian Room and the Jazz club was the Paradise Nite Klub. I worked in the Paradise as a bar person and enjoyed many iconic bands come through and jam there. Renee Geyer, Billy Fields, George Benson, The Commodores, The Supremes, The Stylistics, Erana Clarke, The Harlem Globetrotters, Doug Williams (who is still performing in Sydney) just to name drop a few groups that passed through the Paradise doors. I DJed in the Persian Room for a couple of years and we were the Funk/R&B pioneers in Australia – All the Afro American navy would beeline to our club – lines down the street hours before we opened when the US Missouri came to Sydney. I was up at our door way when Cold Chisel filmed Saturday Night video…and of course Carmen who just passed away this week….don’t forget the iconic Manzil Room that was one lane behind us….damn the memories of a infamous period in Australian history serviced by expat Kiwis and Pacific Island peoples!!! Cheers

By: Michelle

Michelle — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 16:13:17 +0000

I was a very naive girl of about 19 and I remember the Cafe next to the Pussycats well. What on earth was i doing in the cross?? I didnt do drugs or work as a prostitute..knew heaps of them..but I did love to dance .. I loved the dance club across from the pussycats and I would dance all night then go next door to the Jazz Bar..and finally to bed at about 6am…sleep all day and up again. I remember the crazy conversations that use to happen in that cafe…like a guy telling me that my new boyfriend was actually his boyfriend…like I said I was pretty naive and didnt have a clue about that sort of stuff….saw it but didnt understand it. I am wondering where all those people went? The looked after me I was seen as the one to be protected ..and the Kings Cross bikers of that time…Polite nice guys never gave me no trouble and treated me well. The memories have been with me a few years now and still I remember the faces so vividly. It really has a heart beat of its own its like a world of its own..and seems its still the same.

By: Craig Griffiths

Craig Griffiths — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 10:18:21 +0000

Yep, Neville is right with all that. I used to end my late nights at Sweethearts in the late 70s and early 80s when it was by the Pink Pussycat. As a musician who often ended up wired and in the Cross way after midnight it was a good chillout place after gigs at the Manzil Room or wherever.

By: Neville

Neville — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 12:36:46 +0000

Ann-Marie never existed. A lady by the name of Maria worked the night shift at Sweethearts, and never wore a mini skirt. Francis was a more attractive lady, with long blonde hair who worked through the day, and she always wore a mini skirt.

Maria was the only person who was at Sweethearts when both murders happened, the first one being Benny Kazawie and the second being John Pulitano.

Maria’s son was charged with murder on the Gold Coast shortly after the second murder at Sweethearts in a totally unrelated incident.

The original Sweethearts was at the location where the McDonalds now stands, however that building burnt down in the mid seventies.

Sweethearts moved across the road into the building along side the Pink Pussycat. It remained there until it closed during the late 80′s.