A pub was ‘turned into a mini goldmine’ by the residency of rock ‘n’ roll singer Jumpin’ Jimmy Thunder.
The long-gone Golden Eagle in Weymouth town centre became nationally famous for hosting Jimmy’s gigs, with the Weymouth warbler described by a national newspaper as ‘the worst rock ‘n’ roll singer in the world.’
David Sheppard, landlord of the much-missed Golden Eagle pub in Weymouth’s Lower Bond Street, first spotted Jimmy performing in the Railway Arch pub.
He said: “I took over the Golden Eagle in 1983 as it was a bankrupt business. When I got in there it was reasonably cheap.
Landlord David Sheppard
“Jimmy lives and breathes Elvis Presley and most people would think of him as a comical singer. I scratched my head for while to find a singer for the pub - when I saw Jimmy I thought ‘I can do something with this’ and created an act and built a stage.
Jimmy wearing his Elvis Presley jumpsuit and donning various disguises
Fellow landlords called me an idiot. But my pub turned into a mini goldmine!”
The long-gone Golden Eagle in Weymouth’s Lower Bond Street
People came from miles around to hear Jimmy perform thanks to word of mouth. He was featured in a national newspaper, which wrote: “Fans flocked to every gig in their hundreds to discover whether he’s as bad as people say. He is.”
Jumpin’ Jimmy Thunder performing to a packed Golden Eagle
Many readers have told us of their fond memories of listening to Jimmy perform at the Golden Eagle. Rod Wallis said: “It was packed out on a Saturday night because of Jimmy Thunder.”
Graham Ryan remembers: “It was a good pub when Jimmy Thunder was in there - it was packed out.”
We even have a noise complaint letter sent by the council after neighbours complained about Jimmy’s performances!
Letter from the council about the noise complaint
Sadly the era of Jimmy at the Eagle came to an abrupt end in 1988 when the pub closed. The site remained derelict until 1998 when the pub was demolished.
Site of the closed Golden Eagle pub in the late 1980s
Today Jimmy lives in sheltered housing. He performed a gig at Weymouth Workies last year to celebrate his 76th birthday
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel