The Royal Peacock and Ike & Tina Turner

I got of the Navy in July 1965.

We haven’t seen the movie “Dream Girls” but from the trailers Eddie Murphy reminds me of a little outing back in July 1965.

I was only back at my parents home about two weeks when two of my old friends, *Monty and John came by. They wanted to go to Atlanta to The Royal Peacock Club.

The Royal Peacock Club was a black owned and controlled club. I have never been there but heard of it many times. The all-black club allowed teenagers there. We were no longer teenagers, but I suppose we still had that teenager frame of mind.

Monty said The Royal Peacock had Ike and Tina Turner there for a week. I asked who were Ike and Tina Turner.

“You are kidding – right?” Monty said and sung a few words of their recent top 40 hit. Now, I remembered. M used to do a good job with his renditions of top 40 songs, you should have heard his “Mona Lisa”.

We drove to Atlanta to the all black area of the downtown area. Monty had been there before and knew where it was at. Before we went in we went into a whiskey store and bought some bourbon. We then went upstairs to the famous night club. We were the only white people there.

The Royal Peacock did not have a liquor pouring license. They had a covered charge, sold set-ups along with a big bowl of ice, and food from the restaurant next door.

So! That is why they waited on teenagers I knew so openly several years ago. They didn’t sell them booze, they sold them set ups.

Ike and Tina Turner and the Ikettes came into the spotlight and put on a fantastic high energy show. I sat there transfixed on the action. Tina Turner and the Ikettes were dressed in very revealing and clinging sparkling clothes. The show they put on had the house rocking.

As I remember there was not stage and we were fairly close to them – they were right up in our face.

The Royal Peacock had no dancing license. You had to sit in your chair and rock and beat on the table as they took us higher.

The Ikettes reminded me of the Supremes, only sexier, and the backup singers in the movie “Ray”, and I suppose also like the singettes in "Dream Girls".
they were sexy, but not as sexy and bountiful as the lead singer Tina Turner. She dominated the show.

Ike Turner had his on special talents also. He played an electric guitar and handled it in a very erotic fashion. He also did some wicked tongue work with the each loud strum of his guitar.

They put on a good show.


I found this picture on Google of the interior of The Royal Peacock. It looked about right.

*You might remember Monty from a previous blogs on March 29 2006 and August 27 2006. That is when we found ourselves with one heck of a problem at The Golden Horn Coffee House (Beaniks) about 6 years before. To read it, if you haven't read it before go to the top bar and type in "Golden Horn" in the "search this blog" blank.