Bambi's Teen Club - Newport, Rhode Island

One of the Newport clubs we associate with The Cowsills is Bambi’s. The first dance/concert was held on December 6, 1966. The first band to play in Bambi’s was The Cowsills. They played to a crowd of over 750.

Bambi’s was named for James “Bambi” Tsagaris. To try to avoid the opposition to a teenage club that was sure to happen, they promoted it as an exposition or convention hall. And opposition there was. Mrs. Jane Pickens Langley of Berkely Court (the closest Bellevue Ave. mansion to Bambi’s), Mrs. Charles Pepys of Holly House on Berkely Avenue, C. Matthews Dick, Anne H. Russell, Cynthia Cary, Gwendolyn K. Armstrong, Dr. Charles A. Serbst, Dr. Paul C. Houston, Dr. Anthony T. Carrellas and Dr. Richard K. Knowles, and officials of the Audrain Building Corp. filed suit to stop the club.

Bambi’s was in the rear of Bambi’s Delicatessen in a building that had been a Chevrolet automobile showroom and garage. The building lease and renovations cost $75, 000, which was a very high about for the day. The delicatessen was decorated in a “Mickey Finn” style, predominantly red, as was the ‘convention’ hall that could accommodate 1200-1500 people. A record shop was added in September of 1967.

A license was granted by a city council vote to operate on Friday and Saturday nights with a crowd limit of 729 (odd number huh?) Teenagers were required to “dress up” and were not allowed to come and go.

Ads starting January 6, 1967 carried the statement “Now Under The Supervision of William J. Cowsill”

Bambi’s saw some great bands within its walls. Not only our Cowsills, but The Left Banke, Eric Burdon and The Animals, Strawberry Alarm Clock and Wilson Pickett. Another band which played at Bambi's was The Pigeons which went on to become Vanilla Fudge.

Newport Daily News on July 19, 1967, had an ad saying “For reconsideration of policy and IN CONSIDERATION of both the Newport Lawn Tennis Association and the Lions Club Annual Gaslight Key Club Event” Bambi’s would be closed until further notice." The Key Club night was August 3rd and there wasn't a newspaper explanation of the “reconsideration of policy.” The August 24th newspaper again announced a teen dance. The Cowsills played there at least once more, that being in September 1967.

Not sure when Bambi’s closed for good, but the last mention in the Newport paper was September 16, 1967.

Update: Larry L. put two and two together and discovered that Bambi's became the club Popocrat. Ads for both clubs in the newspaper show the address as 1 Casino Terrace, Newport. The first ad I see for Popocrat is dated September 27, 1967 and appears totally open in October 1967.