Clubs and some of the watering holes across London from 1960 to…..

 I was a policeman during the swinging sixties in Soho, central London. Needless to say it was a rather strange and interesting experience. The Street Offensive Act 1959 had only recently come onto the statute books. Sex was to become big business in Soho and I was there to bear witness. The prostitutes were taken off the streets and put into small flats in Soho. In addition what became known as - near beer establishments popped up - on innumerable streets across Soho. They were called - ‘near beer’ as the drinks served, were only - near beer. Other places were - strip clubs. Men would go into these darkened rooms, where there was space for - say 20 people. The men would chat to the young lady and after many drinks, costing lots of money. Would be asked if they would like to - “meet outside for further entertainment”?

The men would go onto the street and wait, meanwhile the young lady - had left by another exit to another establishment. The chap would be left standing there. Eventually they realised something was wrong and stop me. I would explain that the had been ‘clipped’. They were very unhappy with what had happened, after spending so much money. That is why the were called ‘clip-joints’. The punters had been clipped. This happened on many occasions each night. 

So this was the background and atmosphere of the Soho area where I was a young probation policeman. In addition we had the escalation of  British pop-music, starting with the Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Who and many more. There was a large variety of places to see and listen to pop-music, jazz etc. 

I will concentrate on those places I went to over a number of years, many have now disappeared and are only - faint memories. Some are still going strong like Bar Italia, The Escargot and Ronnie Scott’s in Soho. To kick off in alphabetical order we have. I have indicated where I’ve not been with this mark *.  And where I’ve worked for short periods of time - with £.

1. The Ad Lib Club, off Leicester Square. Jazz and live music.*.

2. Act One Scene One, coffee and live music, Old Compton Street, Soho.

3. The Arts Lab, Drury Lane, music, theatre etc. 

4. Blacks, Club Soho, a dinning and members club. 

5. Bunjies, coffee bar and jazz club. Soho. £.

6.  The Cafe Royal, Regents Street,  music food and much more. Soho. 

6. The Carnival Club, Old Compton Street, Soho. Live strip club. £.

7. The  Churchill Club, New Bond Street, W1. Upmarket members dinning club and cabaret. *

8. The  Coach and Horses pub, Soho. 

9. Colony Room, Dean Street, Soho. A heavy drinking establishment. 

10. The Embassy club, Old Bond Street. Upmarket members club for music etc. 

11. The Gargoyle Club, Soho. A posh strip club. 

12. The Groucho Club, Soho. A clubhouse for theatre actors and others in entertainment.*

13. The French House, Soho. A rather - rakish bohemian drinking den. In WW2 many French people hung out there. 

14. Bar Italia, Soho. The very epitome of a Italian cafe and late night drinking oasis. 

15. Jimmy’s Greek, restaurant, Soho. A basement cafe that had a gloom and complete disregard for hygiene, but the cheap food was excellent. 

16. The Macabre Club, coffeehouse, Soho. The basement cafe had tables in the shape of coffins, the general decor was like being in a dungeon. 

17. The Pizza Express, Soho, for jazz and live music. Still going strong. 

18. The Flamingo Club, Soho, live music. Wild atmosphere and drugs in universal use everywhere. 

19. Les Enfants Terribles, Soho. A bizarre cafe on the corner of a building on Dean Street. It was invariably packed with French students studying in London. A great place to meet French women. 

20. The Establishment Club, Soho. This was the anti-establishment venue. The cast from Beyond the Fringe, brought the club. It was rather good after hours drinking place where there was a cabaret event most nights, excellent music but poor food. 

21. Murray’s Club, up market club for music and restaurant, Soho. Christine Keeler and Mandy Rice-Davies, worked here.

22. Cafe de Paris, Soho. A basement for good music, dance and cabaret. 

24. The Roaring Twenties, Soho. One of the best places for live rock music and jazz. 

25. The Speakeasy club, Margaret Street, W1. This basement room had people like Jimmy Hendrix, play here. One of the top places at the time for good live music. 

26. The Troubadour cafe and jazz club. Old Brompton Road, SW5. Bob Dylan played there. 

27. The 2’ Eyes coffee bar and live music venue, old Compton Street, Soho. One of the earliest pop-music venues in town. 

28. Raymond’s Revenue, Soho. Live strip club, a step up from the - clip joints.*

29. Ronnie Scott’s, jazz club, Soho. The very home and epicentre of jazz in London. 

30. The Windmill Club, strip dancing. Soho. Good for after hours drinking and live shows. Some very good comedians started off here following WW2. 

So that’s my list. I’m not saying is definitive, but it’s a start to get the conversation going. Memories of a - distant country past, but some still present. 

It’s possible we may have bumped into each other and had a drink together or past like - ships in the night.? Either way may I wish you best wishes for Christmas and 2025. We appear to have managed to dodge the - Covid bullet - good luck.