CityLife

Stringfellow can't bare to return!

BAD news for fans of Peter Stringfellow's legendary nightclubs - he says he no longer has an interest in returning to the city where he made his name, despite a relaxation in the law that allows full nude striptease.

Peter ran the infamous Millionaire Club in Manchester in the 1970s, before heading off to New York and then London to create his legendary Stringfellows lapdancing empire.

In the 1990s, he made plans to bring a new Stringfellows club to the city, but, after opposition from Manchester City council about the striptease licence, Peter decided to withdraw his application.

However, since a change in the law last year, full nude striptease is now allowed.

Boutique opened last month, with the promise of hosting full nude striptease in a luxurious setting for the city's VIPs, and Long Legs, in Chinatown, also offers full nude dancing.

Long Legs

Although Peter tells me he's keeping a "close eye" on Manchester and is watching with interest to see how Boutique develops, he's got bigger fish to fry.

"I think it is good news for Manchester that there's now a club like Boutique, and I've heard good reports about it.

"But my view is I will stand back and watch how things develop. There was a time when I was thinking of Manchester, but that doesn't quite feature in my plans now.

View

"There was a lot of opposition to my plans back in the Nineties, and my view is if people don't want me, then I won't come.

"I've just spent é5m on my new Soho club, which is probably the most beautiful club in the world, and for my next clubs I'm looking internationally, possibly Las Vegas."

But Peter still thinks fondly of his time in Manchester in the 1970s. He added, wistfully: "I had a great time with The Millionaire Club, and really that would be the perfect building for one of my clubs now, but it has been demolished.

"I haven't ruled out coming back to Manchester completely, so I'll keep my eye on how things develop."