It’s one of the biggest cultural phenomena to come out of Liverpool since . So it couldn’t be more fitting that Bongo’s Bingo kicked off its 10th birthday celebrations at the iconic Cavern Club, which launched the Fab Four’s rise to global domination.
And just like the Beatles, Bongo’s Bingo has come a very, very, long way since its early days in a bar, where the star prize was a humble Fray Bentos pie.
Since then, it has become a global entertainment juggernaut, selling more than FIVE MILLION tickets worldwide, in far flung locations from to , Newcastle to Dubai and Leeds to Ibiza.
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Yes, it’s bingo, but not as you know it. Forget dabbers in a dusty hall, it’s a cocktail-fuelled, cheesy dance music infused, full on rave-up where. if you shout ‘full house’ you have to make it to the stage to do an impressive dance-off in order to get your hands on the prizes.
Hollywood legend Samuel L Jackson is a fan, dropping into the Glasgow show, while Liverpool icons Ricky Tomlinson and Sue Johnston couldn’t wait to join host Jonny Bongo to call out the legs 11 and two little ducks in their hometown.
And some of the biggest names in retro pop have graced the Bongo’s stage including Craig David, Atomic Kitten, East 17, 5ive and the Vengaboys.
Bongo’s has given away thousands of pounds in cash prizes, as well as 6,000 Henry Hoovers, countless life-size cut outs of Gail Platt and Ainsley Harriott and used enough eco-friendly confetti to fill 17 Olympic sized swimming pools.
It has fans aged from 18 to its very oldest regular - 97-year-old Anne Gandy MBE - who joins the bingo party with her daughter and granddaughter, lapping up the wild escapism and nostalgia that only Bongo’s can bring.
And it has helped to create a whole new industry around the immersive night-out, with friends swapping a boring night at the pub for Bongo’s Bingo, crazy discos, escape rooms or dancing and darts.
Tonight, founder and host Jonny Bongo has invited the along to the Cavern Club for the start of the 10th anniversary celebrations.
Even he finds it hard to believe the scale of Bongo’s success. “I never imagined we would still be going ten years on,” he says. “Every year that goes past I still pinch myself. We started it as a bit of laugh, let’s put on a fun night. I used to do a pub quiz with the same sort of ethos, but we wanted to do something different.
“I latched onto bingo because it is a great game and anyone of any age can play it and have fun.
“All we have done is breathe a new lease of life into it with the music, the dancers, the crazy prizes. But at its core it is still bingo.
“The first year, it was mainly students. But quickly people started bringing their mums and their nans and it snowballed from there. Now we have nights where we have three generations playing together on the same table. It is class.”
Speaking to the fans cramming into the Cavern, it’s clear that Bongo’s is more than just a night out - it’s a lifestyle and a community.
Dental hygienist Louise Doran, 51, is the show’s biggest superfan, having boogied and bingoed her way through an incredible 100 shows.
Louise, from Liverpool, says: “I just love the vibe, the people. At every show you meet the most incredible people. I don’t think there is anything else like it.” She bagged front row seats along with her pal Rachel Pugh, 37, who she met through their mutual love of Bongo’s.
Teacher Rachel explains: “I won a trip to the New York Bongo’s at the eighth birthday show a couple of years ago. Louise had also gone to New York and we became friends. There is a group of us now and we all meet up regularly. We would never have met if it wasn’t for Bongo’s.”
Louise has now roped her husband into her love of the show, saying: “We even went to the Ibiza Bongo’s last year with another couple we met in New York. We all just love it.”
On the next table were more Bongo’s devotees - Tara Duffy, 40 and her pal Ellie Beirne, 26. Tara - a 25 times Bongo’s veteran - says: “I love it. I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad night. I once won a cardboard cut out of Philip Schofield - but I’ve had to get rid of him now. Another time I won an inflatable unicorn. I just went for it in the dance off.”
Mel McConnell, 40, and husband Gra, 43, were at their tenth show. Mel says: “There is nothing else like this for adults - you can play bingo, have a dance, and be in with the chance of winning a prize. It is just a boss night. We’ve not won anything yet but tonight could be our lucky night.”
The clock behind the iconic Cavern Club stage - which has seen not only the Beatles perform but also , The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, Stevie Wonder, Chuck Berry and Ben E King - is counting down.
It’s eyes down as Jonny Bongo bursts onto the stage to the sound of a remix of The Beatles ‘Come Together’ shouting: “Welcome to the Cavern Club - this is Bongo’s Bingo!”
On this Thursday night in February, the Bongo’s fans were embracing the craziness and the whole place erupted with everyone on their feet, as the next two icons to grace that famous stage burst through the audience - legendary Bongo’s dancers Slutty Susie and Horny Heidi.
In fact, they’re two bearded men wearing fancy-dress Disney Princess costumes, leaving little to the imagination.
At every Bongo’s show there is the chance to win cold, hard, cash - but that isn’t what fans come for.
Who wants a hundred readies when you can be staggering home with a space hopper, a Casio keyboard, an air fryer, a disco ball helmet, a karaoke machine or a giant fluffy unicorn?
This time, the star prize that sent the crowd wild was four special cardboard cutouts of John, Paul, George and Ringo.
Things were hotting up, as the fans scanned their bingo card for the numbers called out by Jonny - interspersed with breaks for dancing to the cheesy hits the show is famed for.
If someone mistakenly shouts house, they are berated by Slutty Susie and Horny Heidi and the baying crowd who call them ‘d**kheads’ as a corresponding picture of poor flashes up on the big screen.
At the end of the day, Bongo’s might be a bit cheeky, but it is good old-fashioned fun which keeps fans flocking back.
And on the big 10th birthday weekend next month, there will be prizes including cash, cars and holidays - as well as the obligatory Henry Hoovers and boxes of Coco Pops.
Jonny Bongo says: “There isn’t much else out there that just ticks the boxes of going out and having a laugh. I hope that as long as we don’t become complacent and keep coming up with new ideas, that people will still keep coming.
“It is a cultural phenomenon - when we started it off we didn’t expect people to fall in love with it as much as they do. Nobody just wants to go and sit in a pub any more - they want fun, an activity and I’m proud that we - without even knowing it - were the ones to kick it all off.”
(Must include) Bongo’s Bingo – The 10th Birthday Friday 7th and Saturday 8th March 2025
Exhibition Centre Liverpool with special guests including Simon Webbe and Lee Ryan from Blue, N-Trance and The Cheeky Girls. Tickets from Bongo’s Bingo website.
Five million tickets sold worldwide
6,000 Henry Hoovers won
More than 50,000 false bingo calls by well-refreshed revellers
Enough eco-friendly confetti released to fill 17 Olympic-size swimming pools
Shows in 40 UK towns and cities as well as in Dubai, New York and Ibiza
Dozens of celebs have cemented their icon status as Bongo’s life-size cardboard cut-out prizes including Claudia Winkleman, Bradley Walsh, Alison Hammond, Phil Mitchell, Elton John, Harry Styles and Gemma Collins.
More than 5,000 space hoppers have bounced off the stage with lucky winners
Bongo’s has 18 hosts plus the original Jonny Bongo
Thousands and thousands of dance offs - including pregnant women and an 80-year-old man in a dinosaur costume
