If you ever spent a night at the legendary 40 Thieves Club, Tony Brannon wants to hear from you.

He’s looking for anyone who spent time at the Front Street hotspot to share their stories.

The memories could become part of a book he is planning about the Bermuda nightclub, which brought some of the biggest names in music to the island during the 1960s and 1970s.

Founded in 1962 by his father, Terry Brannon, the club’s extraordinary line-up included Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, The Temptations, Dionne Warwick, Ike and Tina Turner, and Tom Jones.

Mr Brannon has begun piecing together its history, combining his own recollections with newspaper archives, old advertisements and accounts from those who experienced the club in its heyday.

He intends to spend the winter working on the manuscript and hopes people will e-mail him with even the smallest details — whether they saw a famous performer, met their future spouse or have an old photograph tucked away in an album.

“I've been sort of promising myself to write a book for a long time,” he said.

“It's such an unbelievable story to be told about this tiny little club out there in the Atlantic that arguably saw more famous people through its doors to perform in a short period of time in the Sixties.”

The book will trace the club's history from its opening until its closure in 1988.

“I was going to write a story totally about my life, but I think I want to make it more so that it's really about The 40 Thieves, and I will weave a little bit about me in it and the family,” he said.

“Obviously, I have my memories as a kid growing up with my dad and seeing it all happen. Some of it I missed because I was away in school in England, but I knew what was going on.”

The club opened with a performance by Mel Tormé and went on to host an array of American soul stars and British entertainers, among them Cilla Black, Freddie and the Dreamers, Roy Castle, Des O'Connor and Billy Preston.

At a time when even artists with major hit records regularly performed in nightclubs, what was a relatively small venue in Bermuda was able to attract some of the biggest names in the business.

Mr Brannon recalled a conversation with American soul singer Mel Carter, who told him The 40 Thieves had developed quite a reputation among Black entertainers in the United States.

“He said that word spread like wildfire that you’ve got to go play this place,” Mr Brannon recalled.

For some performers, Bermuda was their first destination outside the United States.

The nightclub generated its share of colourful stories, some of which Mr Brannon witnessed and others that have been passed down over the years.

He recalled an occasion when Marvin Gaye ended up at Hamilton Police Station, but was fortunately released in time for his performance.

“Joe Benjamin had to get him out and managed to get him out in time for showtime because he knew the station sergeant. Made my dad very happy,” he said.

Another involved Tom Jones and a late-night search for something to eat.

“My friend Tony Cox told me how he took Tom Jones one night, who was hungry at three o'clock in the morning, down to Green's Grill on Court Street and hung out with him eating soul food.”

Mr Brannon has particularly fond memories of saxophonist King Curtis, who performed at the club in 1970 with his band, the Kingpins.

“I got really close with him, and I got some good stories to share about my interactions with him,” he said.

Mr Curtis subsequently played on John Lennon's Imagine album, contributing saxophone to the track It's So Hard. He was killed in New York in 1971.

Not all the musicians who passed through the club were household names. Some were highly accomplished session players whose work could be heard on numerous hit records.

“It was just great to see that this little tiny club in Bermuda had people that really were at the heart and soul of the music business,” Mr Brannon said.

The book will also explore how the business of live entertainment changed during the club's lifetime, eventually making it too expensive for venues such as The 40 Thieves to attract major international acts.

According to Mr Brannon, his father typically paid visiting performers about $2,500 a week for six nights of performances during the early 1960s.

By the time he tried to book The Beatles in 1964, their asking price was considerably higher.

“They wanted $10,000 for most shows,” he said.

Mr Brannon believes The Beatles’ success, particularly their stadium concerts in the United States, transformed the live music industry. As performers began commanding higher fees, smaller clubs found it increasingly difficult to attract big names.

Bermuda was also attracting international entertainers to other venues, with the Hamilton Princess and Southampton Princess hotels staging major shows, alongside promoters such as Choy Aming.

“After the Eighties, it was all over because disco was in, and doing shows and bringing people in for a week or two weeks — the money, you couldn't afford it,” Mr Brannon said.

“That whole Sixties thing was just peculiar to the times, and it was great that Bermuda had those times.”

Mr Brannon has never written a book but, encouraged by others, started gathering material a while ago as he believes there are plenty of stories about The 40 Thieves waiting to be told.

He has been researching old editions of The Bermudian magazine, in which his father advertised, and hopes to use advertisements published in The Royal Gazette to piece together a more complete timeline of the club’s performers.

His website, Bermuda-entertainment.com, already documents many of the acts, but he continues to uncover names he had previously overlooked.

Meanwhile, Mr Brannon is also trying to obtain first-hand recollections from performers, including Dionne Warwick, who appeared at the nightclub twice, and Gladys Knight, who performed there with the Pips.

But it is the memories of ordinary Bermudians that could provide some of the most interesting material.

Mr Brannon has appealed through social media for people to share photographs, stories and recollections of evenings at The 40 Thieves and its later incarnation, Disco 40.

“Did you meet your future husband or your future wife at The 40 Thieves?” he asked.

He is also keen to track down photographs taken inside the club, including those by Roger Gosling and Leila Whiting who would sell their snapshots as keepsakes for five or ten shillings.

Mr Brannon hopes some of those pictures may still be tucked away in family albums.

“I just want to get it all down,” he said.

• Contact Tony Brannon at tonybrannonbermuda@gmail.com