Darryl Patton, 1941-2011
A young Darryl Patton - Photos courtesy of the family of Darryl Patton
English Darryl Patton was the innovator behind most bars start expatriates in Jakarta, pioneering much of the nightlife scene we know today.
Born in Leeds, he was the second child of a family of four sisters and four brothers. Their father was a Royal Air Force navigator, whose last assignment was in Hong Kong. After studying at university in England, Darryl joined the family in Hong Kong and found a job as a radio presenter. Initially working as a disc jockey, he was then promoted to the commentator of football games. This led to his own radio show and a television show where he interviewed visiting celebrities, including Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando, The Beatles, Shirley Bassey, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jnr. His relaxed manner and memory for details of her a natural host did.
In the early 1970s, Darryl has accepted an offer to move to Indonesia to manage the Taman Ria (amusement park) in the complex National Monument (Monas) Jakarta Governor Ali Sadikin for. He discovered Jakarta was ripe for the international entertainment and over the years many acts made in Indonesia, including the Bee Gees, Deep Purple, Cliff Richard, Ray Charles and Uriah Heep.
The concert "Bee Gees at Senayan Stadium in 1972 has highlighted the pitfalls of staging big shows in Indonesia. More than 60,000 people gathered when torrential rain drenched the arena and the band sound system. The Bee Gees have refused to run for fear of electrocution, but authorities warned there would be a riot if there was no show, so Darryl was able to convince the group to play a game disconnected. Not much could be heard, but the crowd was appeased.
Aware of nightlife options limited Jakarta, Darryl in 1976 opened his first bar, the Tankard in Blok M, South Jakarta. He transformed later in the disco lipstick roll and these days the site is part of a new shopping center. second bar Darryl was Anchorage, located at Taman Ria, Monas. He had trouble attracting customers until he had the idea to organize fashion shows in the bar and business surged. Then come the Blok M Club, followed in 1978 by the infamous Tambora, it opened in association with the local underworld figure Karno. Suddenly expatriate men were flocking to Blok M every night. Tambora was not just a sleazy tavern for men to pick up bar girls. He also joined the Key Club, which was a nice place where men could take their wife or girlfriend.
Darryl parted with Karno in kind terms and left Blok M to open the Ragunan Business Club, which was a rather prestigious place, but it was too far from the city in the days to attract large crowds. Darryl then returned to Blok M, where he opened the Top Gun bar on Jalan Falatehan. At that time, he had been joined in Jakarta by his brothers, who helped in the management of bars. The next adventure was to Disco Tour Jayakarta Hotel in West Jakarta. This was followed by two bars in Bali: the Pink Panther and Bali Legian. In 1983, he opened a Pink Panther Jalan Wahid Hasyim bar, rivaling the famous Tanamur nightclub. Another bar was beat in Bendungan Hilir.
Darryl Patton - Photos courtesy of the family of Darryl Patton
In 1989, Darryl returned to England as its sole shareholder Karno had started taking extreme measures to demand a greater share of the action Blok M, culminating in the murder of a co-owner of Sportsmans Bar. Back in the UK, Darryl has devoted much time to his greatest passion: country music. He wrote many songs and often visited Nashville in pursuit of his dream of having a hit record. In 1990, a group of Singapore, Energy, had a top 5 hit with the ballad I'd fight the world for you .
Darryl returned to Jakarta in 2001 and quickly found investors willing to start a new bar, instead of the same name in D'Blok M. The bar was an instant hit and later spawned imitators finally took over part of its business. Blok M bars are known as holes for expatriate men seeking the company of girls watering bar, but when Darryl recruited barmaids, he still committed "pretty girls" rather than "naughty girls", explaining that they had not not go home with customers. It ensures that its staff was neat and barmaids would be taken home safely. Many Darryl staff did eventually marry expatriates and there are now many families that stemmed relationships kindled his bars.
In 2002, Darryl cofounded Pool League Jakarta, a competition that is booming today, after some teething difficulties with the rules and eligibility. It was a point of pride for the Patton brothers that their rods dominated the inaugural league. Darryl continued to find investors to open bars, but his dream of country music stardom made him sell his stakes and making trips to Nashville to sell his songs.
The disease has prompted Darryl to return to England in July for treatment in a hospice in Kent. Until the end, he maintained his humor and playful behavior, enjoying the company of nurses, who played recordings of his music. One of his final requests was, "I'm leaving soon, give me a rum and coke" He died earlier this month, with his two son, daughter and two nieces at his bedside He was a hero to his brothers.. , a sponsor of expatriate bar managers Jakarta, and leaves a legacy a city with bars that continue to foster friendships and relationships.
a sequel is planned for Darryl. for more details contact objective Terwee to lensterwee@gmail.com