06/10/2023
As the Hully Gully enters its’ 24th year of existence, we thought it might be appropriate to put forth a brief history. First off, what is a Hully Gully and what is all this fuss about? Well we come to find out that it is a dance and song originated by the Olympics in 1959. Well I guess that’s somewhat appropriate. The Anniversary we celebrate is for the Hully Gully itself and not any one style of music that has been showcased there over the years. As a club, the Hully Gully originated in its’ Downey location in 2000. At that time it offered up a variety of music styles from Punk to Death Metal, Rockabilly and 80’s to name but a few. We, the present owners of the Hully Gully took over in 2002. We kept that format after an extensive remodel and rebranding of the logo. We continued to offer through “promoters” a lot of the same music styles that had preceeded our ownership. After a year or two we began through two promoters to offer Rockabilly in one room and 80’s in another. This went on for a couple more years until “Club Addiction” took over both rooms providing 80’s bands and DJs in both rooms. This arrangement worked well for everyone concerned, Hully Gully ownership, the promoter and most importantly the valued clientele. The time spent at the Downey location was a very special time. Many friendships and relationships were begun and flourished the years we were there. Unfortunately as often happens the real world gets in the way of the perfect world. First came COVID. We adapted the best we could offering outdoor service while trying to stay on top of whatever new edict was put forth by the authorities, of which there were many and changed almost daily. In the end, we came out the other side. We resumed business as usual, or as close to it as possible. Any business that is in a community, has to rely on its’ community for support. Coming out of COVID, we found that many of those in the community that had supported us had either not survived the ordeal or had changed their outlook. Ultimately we were faced with the prospect of not enough parking to accommodate us, as well as some challenges with the owners of the property it sat on. It became evident that the Hully Gully had to either cease to exist or move its’ operation to another location. So, we moved the Hully Gully to another of our businesses, The Royal Room in Bellflower and began “Club Hully Gully.” We again did another extensive expansion and remodel and tried to put as much of the old Hully Gully into this space as we could. Are there varying opinions of the result? Of course. A lot of folks felt very strongly about the old location as did we. What we are certain of however, is that we have continued what we started at the old location, to offer 80’s entertainment and a safe comfortable place to enjoy it in a location that harkens back to the one we had to leave. We love the 80’s community and have made many friends over the years. We love seeing these new friends when they visit us at our new location. We feel that it is wonderful that there are so many places for people to go and experience the music and lifestyle. We love that our bands and DJ’s are free to play anywhere they can and would never restrict that. Those who do, and yes, believe it or not it happens, simply don’t see the big picture and think only of their world and not the 80’s community. These are some of the same people by the way, who desperately proclaim that the “Hully Gully is closed forever” while at the same time telling bands if they play here they cant play for them. Our response is to simply move forward and to celebrate the anniversary of a wonderful club that so many enjoyed and to continue it here at “Club Hully Gully.” So, there you have it. From its origins in 2000 to the present day. As always, we are grateful to the community and to all of you out there that have visited us in the past and continue in the present and plan to in the future. Thank you from Hully Gully ownership as we enter our 24th year.
