Soho sleaze and striptease

I've managed to round up a few more distinguished names to add to the list.

Big Toe (44 Gerrard St)

Boulevard Strip (7 Walkers Court)

Capricorn (32 Goodge St)

Club Moulin Rouge (49 Frith St)

Galaxy (19 Denman St)

Oriental (61 Dean St)

Pleasure Lounge (52 Rupert St)

Revue Paree (1 Tisbury Court)

These are the last Soho clubs where I can recall or verify the full address.

(01-09-2016 03:35 )mrmann Wrote:  Most of the time the women were very attractive with great bodies, and the harassment from the women was low. Also, the vibe was very chill, prices pretty low too, and they had a little stage show as well.

Don't get me wrong, every once and again the kinds of women there would be so so, but 9/10 times there would always be a few stunners!

I went to the Boulevard many times between 1996 and 2005 and saw some top shows there with some fantastic girls. Incidentally, before it was Boulevard Striptease it used to be the Boulevard Theatre, famous as a comedy venue and where the Comic Strip began in 1980.

(01-09-2016 19:06 )Kevin555 Wrote:  in the 1960s the situation was strange, the police were always looking for a conviction, the clubs that were open without the full annual membership were being raided and when that happened the police took the customers details, several people had a visit by the Met at their place of work.

Interesting stuff. It seems that even with the better known clubs the police were always looking for a conviction, as when Paul Raymond was on trial in the 60s the police said in court that undercover officers had been to the Ruvuebar on 6 occasions, prompting Raymond's defence counsel to ask sarcastically why they had to visit so often.

(01-09-2016 03:09 )shaun blue Wrote:  If we're posting pictures, surely we must have one of that famous Soho landmark, the old neon sign for the Raymond Revuebar.

A new sign was put up in 2014, even though the Revuebar had been closed for 10 years.

(01-09-2016 19:06 )Kevin555 Wrote:  His uncles favourite club was in Beak Street run by a lady called, Helen O’ Brien who was in effect a Romanian national and a lady who had worked the clubs in Europe, check out her obituary, well worth a read, the club today is a upmarket hamburger place but in the 1950s it was the home to a wide variety of individuals, including the aristocracy, the criminals and the spies of their day.
Link to the obituary is below and defiantly worth a read.
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/se...icahorwell

Good work Kev, the Eve Club is well worth a mention. In its heyday it was legendary for various reasons and its floorshow was the most daring show in the West End, although eventually the striptease era made its live acts look rather tame.

These are clubs where I know the street they were on, although not the street number.

Americana (Greek St)

Foubert’s Place Club (Foubert’s Place)

Geisha Club (Moor St)

Katy's Club (Greek Court)

New Life (Frith St)

Paint Box (Foley St)

Playboy Striptease Club (Wardour St)

Striperama (Greek St)

The Original Geisha (Greek Court)

The Venus Rooms (Old Compton St)

Vicki’s Studio (Old Compton St)

(03-09-2016 02:28 )CIA Snooper Wrote:  

(01-09-2016 19:06 )Kevin555 Wrote:  His uncles favourite club was in Beak Street run by a lady called, Helen O’ Brien who was in effect a Romanian national and a lady who had worked the clubs in Europe, check out her obituary, well worth a read, the club today is a upmarket hamburger place but in the 1950s it was the home to a wide variety of individuals, including the aristocracy, the criminals and the spies of their day.
Link to the obituary is below and defiantly worth a read.
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2005/se...icahorwell

Good work Kev, the Eve Club is well worth a mention. In its heyday it was legendary for various reasons and its floorshow was the most daring show in the West End, although eventually the striptease era made its live acts look rather tame.

Hi
Snooper, finding out more about the area, in the war years there were considerable number of prostitutes working the area, as it was the blackout they carried torches, to entice a customer they would open their coats and shine the torch, they were in various states of undress. These ladies were known as, for full time prostitutes “Piccadilly Commando’s” for the part time rent cheque prostitutes they were called the “Piccadilly Irregulars” in addition to these there were the semi-retired who would rent the room from a permanent girl on her day of, these were known as “Piccadilly Occasional” Now in the war years there was almost full time employment people were making decent money and spending it so the girls did well.
The Eve Club may have been the most daring of the mainstream but in the 1940s there were still small unlicensed clubs, this was before the rip of attitudes of the millennium, as so well described by Mr Mann became prevalent and even then at these place, usually in basements Blue Shows would take place.
One place I am trying to find out about is the one at the junction of Walkers Court and Berwick Street, walking along Walkers Court, turn right and that is the area, in the 1980s there was a small unlicensed club shut down by the police, however since then I have found out somewhere in that locality was a club I think 1960s/1970s which was unlicensed and attracted various members of society including aristocracy and captains of industry, the interest is the girls, some of whom came from the same background as the clients. It was into this background that Paul Raymond built his property empire.
Turning to rip of the post by Mr Mann, he says it all, speaking to some of the guys this began in the 1970s, when you paid to go into one strip club, which had the frontage and little else only to be directed to another club where you had to pay again. From there the excessive charges built up as did the occasional violence on a customer who would not pay up.
Overall worth researching and commenting on

(03-09-2016 17:56 )Kevin555 Wrote:  in the war years there were considerable number of prostitutes working the area, as it was the blackout they carried torches, to entice a customer they would open their coats and shine the torch, they were in various states of undress.

Talking of prostitution in the war years, there was a Soho club throughout the 40s called the Blue Lagoon, well known for its exotic dancers but also as a front for prostitution. The stage shows were said to be daring for the time, but for many people the Blue Lagoon was primarily a better place to find prostitutes than the Soho streets. In later years the Pink Pussycat (owned by Paul Raymond) had pretty much the same reputation.

These are clubs I have the name of, but can’t recall or find the address.

Casbah Striptease Club

Club Folies

Crazy Horse Saloon

Hawaii Striptease Club

Jane’s Club

Las Vegas Revue

Naked City

New Paris Theatre

Paris By Night

Taboo Revue

(03-09-2016 17:56 )Kevin555 Wrote:  One place I am trying to find out about is the one at the junction of Walkers Court and Berwick Street, walking along Walkers Court, turn right and that is the area, in the 1980s there was a small unlicensed club shut down by the police,

I remember a club in that location in the early 1980s. It didn't have continuous shows on, so I don't think I ever went in there.