This week’s London Shoes blog was undertaken the day before the 2nd Covid19 lockdown restrictions were implemented – so following this publication, there will be a brief lull in weekly blog publications for a few weeks whilst ‘Shoes’ observe the Governments non-essential travel advice – but hopefully I shall be able to knock a few new ones out before the Xmas festivities.
The subject matter of this blog represents ‘Part 5’ of an on-going theme that I’ve been publishing this year – and it’s a topic that has certainly encouraged quite a bit of unpredicted feedback from London Shoes followers – especially those of a certain age who grew up listening to the music of the late 1960’s & 1970’s.
So – the topic in question for this blog represents Part 5 of “London’s-Lost Music Venues”.
This piece focuses specifically on two Clubs that were located in the Soho district of London’s west-end – that came to prominence in the late 1970’s at the emergence of the ‘Punk’ music and fashion scene namely:-
‘The Vortex’ and ‘The Roxy’
First up is ‘The Vortex’ which was situated at 203 Wardour Street-London W1.
Now – way back in 1974 to 1978, I worked at Barclays Bank 183 Wardour Street, literally just 4 doors away from what became The Vortex club.
Before the emergence of the Punk scene, The Vortex was the famous “Crackers” club, a sort of bar/nightclub that was an extremely popular venue on the London ‘dance scene’ map & beyond.
When I started working at the Barclays branch in Wardour Street, I was 17, and I moved on from there when I was 21. It was a very busy, well staffed branch at that time – and a lot of the junior staff like me, were around the same age. Anyway – most Friday nights after a busy week at work – me & my work colleagues would pile into ‘Crackers’ for a few drinks, before heading off on a crawl of our favourite Soho drinking dens – ‘Crackers’ would often be our starting point.
Anyway – In 1977 and with the emergence of punk music and the punk scene, ‘Crackers’ changed its name to ‘The Vortex’ and started to book punk bands to play there, initially on a Monday & Tuesday night.
It didn’t take long before The Vortex in Wardour Street became one of the top London venues on the London punk scene and beyond – as punks from all over the country would descend on The Vortex, to see popular punk bands such as:- The Buzzcocks – The Fall – Siouxie & The Banshees – Generation X – Sham 69 – The Police – Tubeway Army & The Jam.
In fact the 5th single to be released by The Jam in August 1978, was entitled “ ‘A’ Bomb in Wardour Street”, which Paul Weller wrote about the total chaos and violence that always seemed to occur at The Vortex when the punk bands played there.
The Vortex was licensed to hold 650, but the punk gigs regularly attracted over 1,000 punks from all over the country – and that overcrowded atmosphere only helped to create the ‘vibe’ that The Vortex was famous for.
However – after just 1 year of staging punk gigs The Vortex club had gained too much of a bad reputation and at the end of 1978 it had to close down – but in that short period of time The Vortex had done enough to go down in history as one of London’s top memorable punk music venues.
Following its closure The Vortex was converted into a trendy nightclub and bar called “Dirty Harry’s”.
Personally, I have only happy memories of The Vortex when it was ‘Crackers’ – and am so pleased that I was around at a moment in time when all this was happening in London.
It is also pleasing to see that the venue appears to have gone back to its roots, as today the advertising placards indicate that it is now a ‘Simmons Bar’ – a franchise that specialises in creating a ‘disco’ club vibe – although the place was completely abandoned and boarded up when I was there, and sadly, because of the impact of the Covid19 virus, it may be the case that, as with a number of the west-end’s once busy nightclub haunts – it may never re-open.
So – having re-visited what was my old working manor for 4yrs, to seek out the old Crackers venue that became The Vortex club – I took a short stroll over to Neal Street in the Seven Dials district of London, very close to Soho.
Seven Dials was once the filthiest, poorest, dangerous and notorious slums in London – but today (well, pre-Covid) it is one of the west-end’s trendy places where people from all over the world want to visit.
In the early 1970’s no. 41/43 Neal Street was a building that was a run-down fruit & veg warehouse.
In 1976 the building was bought by the now legendary music & nightclub owner and promoter Andy Czezowski – who transformed the building into the infamous “The Roxy” club.
By the end of 1976 Czezowski had staged 3 gigs in the basement of his new ‘The Roxy’ club – where Generation X (with Billy Idol* as lead vocalist) – Johnny Thunders & the Heartbreakers (Johnny Thunders-the ex-guitarist of the excellent New York Dolls) & Siouxsie & the Banshees – were the headliners.
*there is an extremely tenuous link between me and Billy Idol – because when I worked at Barclays Bank Minories branch in the late 1970’s, (Minories being the branch I was transferred to after Wardour Street branch) – I was involved in the opening of a business account for the band ‘Generation X’ and had to witness the signatures of the 4 band members, one of which was a ‘William Broad’ who’s stage name was ‘Billy Idol’. I told you it was tenuous!!!
Anyway – back to The Roxy – having laid on these 3 gigs at the end of 1976 – on the 1st Jan 1977 the club formally opened with “The Clash” headlining.
Throughout the following year, most of the top ‘punk’ or ‘new wave’ bands of the day, played The Roxy, and it soon became one of London’s top ‘live’ punk-music venues, that punks from all over the country would travel to, to be a part of that movement – to watch bands such as The Jam – The Buzzcocks – Generation X – The Damned – Sham 69 – The Police – The Stranglers – XTC plus many more play ‘live’.
By the end of 1977 a ‘live’ album of bands that had played The Roxy, was released – and it made the Top 20 of the UK Album Charts – which just goes to show how popular and influential the venue was.
However – similar to the nearby Vortex club, the life of The Roxy club was short-lived, probably because of all the trouble that tended to flare-up at the gigs – and by the end of 1978, The Roxy was no more.
In 2017 a commemorative plaque was put on display on the exterior of the building, to commemorate the fact that it was once the famous Roxy Club.
Up until recently, the old Roxy club venue had been the flagship store for Speedo Swimwear – a massive difference to its previous lives.
The day I visited the site, it was evident that the old club was undergoing another massive renovation – as the building was completely scaffolded up – but I don’t know whether it was a result of the local council regulations, but the exterior of the building was completely wrapped in a picturesque covering depicting a street scene – presumably to prevent the building works damaging the touristy ‘vibe’ of Neal Street – a very nice little touch I thought.
So – having wandered around my old work manor in Soho – before setting off back home – I popped down to the famous Soho Square, to rest me ‘plates’ for a few minutes in the lovely gardens situated bang in the middle of the Square.
Records show that the existence of Soho Square dates as far back as 1681.
In 1895 the Victorians built a very small mock Tudor building in the middle of the Gardens.
Throughout WW2 temporary air-raid shelters were erected in Soho Square Gardens to help protect all the Soho’ites from the Blitz.
Today – the eye-catching mock Tudor building is still the focal point of the Square – and it is now used to store garden tools. However, the story goes that there are believe to be a number of ‘secret’ underground tunnels that lead out from beneath the building, to secret locations throughout Soho.
The reason I chose Soho Square to rest me plates, was for the specific purpose of locating and photographing a memorial bench that commemorates the life of the late great singer/songwriter ‘Kirsty MacColl’ (1959-2000).
Kirsty MacColl was a prominent well respected singer/songwriter & performer throughout the 1980’s -knocking out hits such as:- Ray Davies’s ‘Days’ / ‘There’s a guy works down the chip shop swears he’s Elvis’ / ‘Don’t play the Cowboy with me Sonny Jim’ / ‘Walking Down Madison’ / ‘Free World ‘ / Billy Bragg’s ‘New England’ – Kirsty also provided backing vocals on records by top 80’s artists such as:- The Smiths / Simple Minds / Talking Heads / Alison Moyet / Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant / Tracey Ullman.
However – it’s her brilliant shared vocal with Shane MacGowan on his band ‘The Pogues’ monumental 1987 Xmas hit – the legendary “Fairytale of New York” – that Kirsty MacColl is, and will probably be best known for – even though she has her own fine body of acclaimed solo work, left as a legacy.
Sadly – in 2000, whilst holidaying in Mexico with her 2 young sons, Kirsty MacColl was killed instantly whilst swimming in a bay, when she was hit by a speedboat, whilst trying to shield her sons from the on-coming vessel that was being illegally used in speedboat restricted waters.
In 2001 Kirsty MacColl’s family & friends obtained agreement from the authorities to dedicate a memorial bench to her memory, in Soho Square Garden.
Displayed on the memorial bench is a commemorative plaque which quotes a couple of lines of the lyric from her song “Soho Square”:-
“One day I’ll be waiting there – No empty bench in Soho Square” – A very touching tribute to a very talented and under-rated British artist.
So – having grabbed a quick 5mins rest on Kirsty’s bench in Soho Square, it was time to head off home via a deserted Oxford Street and an even more deserted Tottenham Court Road tube station…….and this was BEFORE the commencement of the 2nd lockdown restrictions……where the hell is this all going.
Hope the muso fans reading this enjoyed reminiscing about the old Vortex and Roxy venues
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See below the entire gallery of photos taken to accompany this blog
Wardour Street – in the heart of London’s Soho district – a place which witnessed the ‘Punk’ explosion in the mid to late 1970’s (when I actually worked in Wardour Street)
Wardour Street’s legendary ‘Crackers’ disco/nightclub – just a couple of doors down from the Barclays Bank where I worked from 1974 to 1978, at the cusp of the ‘Punk’ music explosion – and a Club that me, and my work-mates, used to frequent on a Friday night after work.
When Punk music hit London, the ‘Crackers’ club in Wardour Street became the legendary ‘Vortex’ Club – one of London’s most infamous punk venues
A punk rocker at the Vortex – Wardour St
The Jam – at the beginning of their long and influential career – on stage at the ‘Vortex’ venue in Wardour Street. In fact Paul Weller’s “A Bomb-in-Wardour Street” was all about the rowdy and rough nights witnessed when the band played the Vortex
An example of the sort of ‘flyers’ seen all over London in the late 70’s – advertising punk music events at the Vortex in Soho’s Wardour Street.
When the punk movement finally faded out, the old ‘Crackers’ come ‘Vortex’ Club became ‘Dirty Harry’s’ a trendy west-end bar
Wardour Street’s old ‘Crackers’ / ‘Vortex’ Club venue, as it is today
Me – outside the entrance to what was the old ‘Vortex’ punk venue – and previous to that the ‘Crackers’ Club, which I and my Barclays Bank Wardour Street branch colleagues used to frequent on a Friday night after work during the mid to late 1970’s.
It was good to see the old ‘Crackers’ & then ‘Vortex’ venue in Wardour Street, still keeping up the ‘music entertainment’ tradition – it’s known today as the ‘Simmons-Disco-Bar’ – although it was prior to the arrival of the Covid19 virus. Whether it still will be in the ‘new normal’ world, remains to be seen.
The old ‘Crackers’ / ‘Vortex’ Club venue in Soho’s Wardour Street’s – as it looks in today’s world.
Me – outside the old Barclays Bank Wardour Street branch (now a closed down restaurant) where I used to work between the years 1974 to 1978 – the bank building was just 4 doors down from what was then the ‘Crackers’ club, which me and my work colleagues used to frequent on a Friday nights after a busty working week. ‘Crackers’ became the infamous punk venue, the ‘Vortex’ during my matter years working in Wardour Street.
A deserted Wardour Street-Soho – the day before the 2nd Covid19 lockdown. In ‘normal’ times this road and its pavements would be mobbed with people and gridlocked traffic. However, on this ‘new normal’ occasion I was able to stand in the middle of the road to take this photo, without any fear of being hit by a vehicle :-((
Having re-visited the old Vortex club in Wardour Street – I made my way east to ‘Seven Dials’ on the outskirts of the Soho district – to track down another of London’s infamous ‘Punk’ venues – ‘The Roxy’ in Neal Street.
Normally Neal Street in the Seven Dials district would be rammed with people at any time & day of the week – however, this is what it looked like the day before the 2nd Covid19 lockdown
An old photo of ‘The Roxy’ punk venue in Neal Street-Seven Dials – as it was in the late 1970’s.
At its height of popular4ity in the late 1970’s – posters and flyers for The Roxy would be seen all over London
In 2017 a commemorative plaque was displayed on the exterior wall of the building in Neal Street which was once the infamous punk venue The Roxy
At its height of Punk popularity in the late 1970’s – posters and flyers for The Roxy would be seen all over London
Poly Styrene & X-Ray Specs – on stage at The Roxy club – late 1970’s.
At the height of Punk popularity in the late 1970’s – posters and flyers for The Roxy would be seen all over London
Siouxie & The Banshees on stage at The Roxy in Neal Street in the late 1970’s
When The Roxy club eventually closed down – the property became one of the flagship stores for Speedo swimwear
Today – the old Roxy club in Neal Street is undergoing further renovations to accommodate another new business venture
The old ‘Roxy’ club in Neal Street, as is it looks today – undergoing yet another round of serious renovations
Me – alongside the building in Neal Street that, in the late 1970’s was once the legendary ‘The Roxy’ club
Me – at one of the entrances to the tranquil ‘Soho Square’ – just a couple of minutes walk from ‘Tottenham Court Road’ tube station
Inside a tranquil ‘Soho Square’ Gardens – the day before the 2nd Covid19 lockdown in Oct 20
Inside the lovely ‘Soho Square’ gardens – the day before the 2nd Covid19 lockdown in Oct 20 – There days its magnificent ‘hut’ houses gardening and street cleaning equipment – but it is said that in olden days it used to conceal the entrance to a number of secret tunnels that networked out to various destinations in Soho.
Me – alongside the beautifully preserved & historic ‘hut’ situated in the middle of Soho Square gardens.
In 2001 Kirsty MacColl’s family & friends obtained agreement from the authorities to dedicate a memorial bench to her memory, in Soho Square Garden.
Displayed on the memorial bench is a commemorative plaque which quotes part of a lyric from Kirsty MacColl’s “Soho Square”:- “One day I’ll be waiting there – No empty bench in Soho Square” – A very touching tribute to a very talented and under-rated British artist.
The late Kirsty MacColl
Kirsty MacColl & Shane MacGowan in a still from the legendary promo music video for the all time Xmas classic ‘Fairy Tale of New York’ .
Me – taking the weight ‘off me plates’ on the “Kirsty MacColl” commemorative bench located in Soho Square gardens-London W1.
A deserted Tottenham Court Road tube station concourse – the day before the 2nd covid19 lockdown – normally one of the busiest tube stations in London
Me – doing a ‘Jam’ (eg “Down in the tube station at Midnight” – but at 2pm) at Tottenham Court Road tube station – on the day prior to the 2nd Covid19 lockdown :-((
Fantastic read Geoff , glad you managed to take a seat on the Kirsty MacColl bench and never seen Tottenham Court Road Underground so quite! Look forward to read your next instalment!
Thank you Denise – glad you enjoyed it 🙂 yes, it was good to take a pew on the Kirsty MacColl bench – such a lovely tribute to her.
Excellent stuff – when I lived at the Waverley I remember walking down to the Vortex to see Wayne County and the Electric Chairs. It kicked off in there good and proper. The support was a short lived band called the Killjoys fronted by Kevin Rowland. 😱
Enjoyed reading that. Must have been great working there in those days. Thank you 🎸
Great stuff Geoff and you must have so many memories of that time working in Soho. Although I liked a lot of the music, we always felt a long way away from where it was as happening up in London ! Did get to see The Jam, Boomtown Rats, a young Elvis Costello, Ian Dury amongst others when they headed down South
As ever Geoff Clements an interesting, informative and enjoyable article
Spooky to see London so quiet. Very interesting as ever. Geoff Clements News at Ten London. 😀👍
Fantastic post, really enjoyed it. This is my manor, having worked for years & years in a pub just across Tottenham Court Road in Rathbone Place 🍺🍺
What an amazing read. Superb job, great photos. Really well done. Enjoyed your article so much. And yes, even before the 2nd lockdown, London is weirdly quiet. We will be back though.
Hi Bruce,
I just wanted to thank you for taking the time and trouble to contact my London Shoes website – really appreciate it, and I’m glad that you enjoyed my recent blog on the ‘Vortex’ and ‘Roxy’ clubs – I certainly enjoyed knocking them out👍
It’s feedback such as yours that make my little London Shoes hobby, that I took up upon my retirement 4yrs ago, all worthwhile👍
You may not be aware but there are now almost 200 blogs on my London Shoes website (www.londonshoes.blog) – so feel free to browse the Archives section in the main menu, as there may be others that you might enjoy – particularly ‘music’ related ones🎸🎼
Once again – many thanks for your feedback and very kind words – and I hope you continue to enjoy my London Shoes work.
Cheers…..GEOFF (London Shoes)