Dancing to No End in South Bay : Night-meister Johny Taylor brings his hip brand of funk to the Redondo Beach Pier.

When Johny Taylor was growing up in England way back when, all the hip cats looking for some action headed to the West End in London.

Taylor figured that if the West End was the place to be in England, that would work for Los Angeles too, so he gave his Westside night club the same moniker. It worked. For 7 1/2 years, the West End has consistently been one of the most happening clubs in Santa Monica.

Now Taylor is again trying to make the West End the “in” place to go with a new venue on the Redondo Beach Pier. The 3-month-old waterside West End is already showing that there’s plenty of room for hip in the South Bay.

“I’ve had so many people say, ‘Thanks for bringing a little bit of Hollywood to the beach, Johny,’ ” said Taylor.

This area of beach cities and suburbs has dozens of restaurants with small dance floors and lots of bars where patrons can dance between bar stools, but the number of bona fide dance clubs are few and far between.

Taylor saw the opportunity and the need for a place where moving and grooving are the mainstay. Now the West End’s proven track record in Santa Monica is drawing South Bay locals to Redondo Beach.

In many ways, the two locations are the same. On Saturday nights the West End in Redondo Beach, with its cavernous dance floor, multicolored lights and disco ball, becomes a Boogie Wonderland at 9 p.m with the Funky Hippeez, a ‘70s cover band that plays at the Santa Monica location on Fridays.

The Hippeez wear afro wigs, polyester and platform shoes and sing almost every Bee Gees song known to man during their funky disco show. The ‘70s are their shtick, so if you hate the Village People and can’t stand the site of sequins, they’re not for you.

The scenesters who dig them and the ‘70s--and there are many--are most people in their 20s and 30s who weren’t old enough to shake their booty the first time the ‘70s came around.

Every song is a classic, each tune a calling card to get West Enders on the dance floor--undoubtedly one of the biggest on this side of town. There are few wallflowers on Funky Hippeez night; the music and the mood is far too energetic to stay stuck to your bar stool. The club truly lives up to its motto: “A funky good time.”

The West End, at the former Fashions nightclub site, is a big place with lots of elbow room and plenty to look at. A bar spans the south wall of the club while a 60-foot mural, a tribute to the bands of yesteryear, including the Beatles and Elvis Presley, covers the north side. The stage is to the front and a glass-enclosed deejay booth sits in the back.

On Friday nights, the club has Liquid Love, a night of deejayed deep-vibed and Groove Radio tunes. Tony B!, DJ Orlando, Sweedish Egil, DJ Joey and Jerry Touch’e do all the mixing. (On New Year’s Eve, KROQ’s Richard Blade and Scotty will mix up rock and alternative hits.)

There are lots of other plans. After New Year’s, Taylor, who runs his clubs with the help of sons Mick and John Paul, plans to add KROQ and reggae nights. Taylor is even thinking about possibly opening another site in Pasadena. The West End is where it’s at, no matter what the compass says.

BE THERE

The West End, 100-J Fishermans Wharf on the Redondo Beach Pier. (310) 379-4755. 21 and over. Full bar. Cover varies. Other locations: 1301 5th St., Santa Monica. (310) 394-4647.