Soho sleaze and striptease

(28-09-2016 15:15 )southlondonphil Wrote:  

(28-09-2016 12:33 )Kevin555 Wrote:  The attached images of a building on the corner of Meard Street, back in the late 1960s early 1970s there was a club entrance being on Meard Street.
Does anyone know which one it was, my friend is unsure if it was a strip club or a hostess bar or a hybrid combination, but he had some good nights until it was taken over and became a rip-off bar

That was the Gargoyle Club, later renamed the Nell Gwynne. It was the first ever strip club in the heart of Soho, opened in October 1957. The address was 69 Dean Street, but as you said the entrance was round the corner in Meard Street. It closed its doors in December 1982.

Hi Phil,

Many thanks and problem solved I think

(28-09-2016 11:20 )Kevin555 Wrote:  Quicker than I had thought

It was in Frirth Street, my friend confirmed this to me and he was a regular

See attached image with location

Brilliant work Kev and quick too. I'm highly impressed!

I wonder if your friend has any idea of when Taboo closed? The 3 pictures/video we have are dated 1971, 1973 and 1975, so that is some guide.

(29-09-2016 13:35 )elgar1uk Wrote:  

(28-09-2016 11:20 )Kevin555 Wrote:  Quicker than I had thought

It was in Frirth Street, my friend confirmed this to me and he was a regular

See attached image with location

Brilliant work Kev and quick too. I'm highly impressed!

I wonder if your friend has any idea of when Taboo closed? The 3 pictures/video we have are dated 1971, 1973 and 1975, so that is some guide.

Hi Elgar

Spoke to him, it was open in 1976 after which he went to live in New Zealand for 3 years and following a posting to Cooks Islands for 2 years he returned to London in late 1981 and he is of the opinion it had closed in that period
He has spoke to others and the feeling is that in the late 1970s a lot of the establishments closed for financial reasons plus there were increasing police interference with the industry. So 1976s/1979 looks the most viable

(28-09-2016 12:36 )Kevin555 Wrote:  Hello Marlowe

Please see image below, after over 40 years the image of Casino De Paris has gone

I would like to think behind the painted brick work there are 3 sheets of corrugated steel one with my earlier image and two with the old image split in two

I shall be keeping a watchful eye on the place to see if it resurfaces

It looks like the Tattooist and 2 shops are staying put throughout the redevelopment. Do you know what the 2 shops are? At least one is a sex shop I think.

(02-10-2016 15:47 )marlowe Wrote:  

(28-09-2016 12:36 )Kevin555 Wrote:  Hello Marlowe

Please see image below, after over 40 years the image of Casino De Paris has gone

I would like to think behind the painted brick work there are 3 sheets of corrugated steel one with my earlier image and two with the old image split in two

I shall be keeping a watchful eye on the place to see if it resurfaces

It looks like the Tattooist and 2 shops are staying put throughout the redevelopment. Do you know what the 2 shops are? At least one is a sex shop I think.

Hi Marlowe,
I shall be in the area Monday and will find out and post the result, Monday will be busy so results on Tuesday

(29-09-2016 16:59 )Kevin555 Wrote:  Spoke to him, it was open in 1976 after which he went to live in New Zealand for 3 years and following a posting to Cooks Islands for 2 years he returned to London in late 1981 and he is of the opinion it had closed in that period
He has spoke to others and the feeling is that in the late 1970s a lot of the establishments closed for financial reasons plus there were increasing police interference with the industry. So 1976s/1979 looks the most viable

This tallies with my own information, as I first ventured into Soho in July 1981 and the Taboo definitely wasn't there then.

(28-09-2016 12:33 )Kevin555 Wrote:  The attached images of a building on the corner of Meard Street, back in the late 1960s early 1970s there was a club entrance being on Meard Street.
Does anyone know which one it was, my friend is unsure if it was a strip club or a hostess bar or a hybrid combination, but he had some good nights until it was taken over and became a rip-off bar

It was actually both a strip club and a hostess bar, so it was a hybrid combination. The strip club operated on one floor (until midnight if I remember) and after that the hostess club was open on the floor below the theatre. I always found the Nell Gwynne to be a very good show, a cut above most clubs in the way that it was produced.

(02-10-2016 17:06 )Kevin555 Wrote:  

(02-10-2016 15:47 )marlowe Wrote:  

(28-09-2016 12:36 )Kevin555 Wrote:  Hello Marlowe

Please see image below, after over 40 years the image of Casino De Paris has gone

I would like to think behind the painted brick work there are 3 sheets of corrugated steel one with my earlier image and two with the old image split in two

I shall be keeping a watchful eye on the place to see if it resurfaces

It looks like the Tattooist and 2 shops are staying put throughout the redevelopment. Do you know what the 2 shops are? At least one is a sex shop I think.

Hi Marlowe,
I shall be in the area Monday and will find out and post the result, Monday will be busy so results on Tuesday

Hello Marlowe,
This morning at 10.15 only the sex shop was open but a sign said the tattooist was also open, perhaps a bit later in the day.
The rest of the area is closed apart from workmen on the redevelopment of the site.
Will post some images Tuesday

This is an interesting old picture I've found of the Beatles.



But where is it exactly? It looks like Soho in the 60s, especially with the strip club on the left, but I can't place the location.

(05-10-2016 11:42 )elgar1uk Wrote:  This is an interesting old picture I've found of the Beatles.



But where is it exactly? It looks like Soho in the 60s, especially with the strip club on the left, but I can't place the location.

Hello Elgar,
Interesting image, the main clue is the sign Blue Posts which is a pub on the corner of Ganton Street and Kingly Street however there are others, one being on the corner of Hanway Street and Tottenham Court Road, pulled down as part of a development that now houses Boots on TCR and an upmarket Japanese Restraurant on the site of the old Neal Akash restraurant in Hanway place. Plus one other guy has said there is a pub near Broadwick Street with the same name where Jessie Mathews was born.
I shall check to see if I have an image if not then I will be in the area before the weekend and come back