Hot Jazz, black coffee
and late neon nights
47 & 22 Frith St
Legendary Giants
Ronnie Scott’s
Two saxophonists. Ronnie Scott and Pete King, founded Ronnie Scott’s
Originally opening its doors in 1959 over on Gerrard Street.
In 1965 it moved to larger premises at 47 Frith Street
Ronnie Scott was inspired by the earlier jazz clubs of Soho.
Ronnie Scott’s revolutionised the UK jazz scene and became one of the world's most celebrated jazz clubs to this day.
Ronnie-Scott. by permission National Portrait Gallerys
The move came at a defining moment for London. The swinging sixties brought a vibrant new mix of music, fashion and culture and a new generation embraced live gigs and nightlife along with new ways of sharing new sounds.
Six decades on it is still going strong, having hosted musical giants such as Miles Davis, Nina Simone, Ella Fitzgerald, Chet Baker and Jimi Hendrix as well as later legends including Prince, and Amy Winehouse.
Ronnie-Scott’s By The Other Kev 2020.
Ronnie Scott became a famous comic raconteur, introducing his acts and roasting his illustrious audiences with such gems as
"You don't seem very impressed. Why don't you all hold hands and contact the living?"
Jean Baptiste Greuze, Mozart Yale University Art Gallery.
On the subject of musical giants:
Frith street hosts a blue plaque which marks what was once the residence of an 8 year old Mozart and his family.
Though since rebuilt, 20 Firth Street was the house of a corset maker called Williamson where the Mozart family took rooms. It was there that the young Wolfgang Amadeus composed many of his earliest works and where he met the composer J.C Bach who influenced his musical style greatly. J.C Bach was, at the time, a regular musician for Tereasa Cornelys’ entertainments..
Neon sign with Bar Italia clock - part of its historic fabric since 1947 Tony Zohari .
Bar Italia
stand outside and listen to the hum of an espresso machine that has barely stopped for 75 years
Bar Italia’s doors hardly close. It was built on the ethos that they close when the last person leaves,
It’s always been much more than just a cafe.
It’s a community hub, a meeting spot for an eclectic crowd and has been since the rise in coffee culture of the 1950’s
Family run since 1949 this Soho icon is now in its 4th & 5th generation of the Polledri family who moved to London from Northern Italy in the 1920’s.
When the cafe first opened Soho was something of an Italian quarter and bar Italia its social centre; an important hub for Italians living in London
Waiters did split shifts so they’d head to Bar Italia for their coffee break. In an era before smartphones and cheap long distance calls, communication was by word of mouth and Bar Italia is where word from back home would be exchanged - you've just come back from Italy did you see my mother what did she say? “ described Antonio Polderi - these catch ups were a lifeline to emigrees missing home
…it was also the place to get the football results!
Bar Italia by Night Alec Doua
Because it stayed open late it drew artists and young people in the 50s &60s who, freed from post-war rationing and armed with new disposable income, wanted somewhere to go that wasn't just a pub. So Bar Italia became a hub of the youth culture.
Bar Italia brought the warmth and ritual of Italian coffee culture to post-war London — and it's that authenticity and consistency that still make it special today. Despite interest from big commercial brands, it has resisted major renovation. The floor, laid by hand in '49 by "Uncle Torino," is now well-worn and marked with the footprints of legends: Bowie was a regular in his youth, Jarvis Cocker immortalised it in his song "Bar Italia,
" There's only one place we can go, It's around the corner in Soho, Where other broken people go
Italian football fans, post-club stragglers, musicians, mods, artists, early risers: its melting pot of patrons has shaped the vibrant atmosphere it's celebrated for today.
Peer down the road at 59 Old Compton Street, and between 1956 and 1970 you'd have found the legendary 2i's Coffee Bar — another hub of the 50s and 60s Coffee Bar Craze and widely regarded as Europe's first rock club. Its basement gave rise to Britain's skiffle and rock and roll scene, with live music watched for the price of a coffee: on just an 18-inch stage, standing room for about 20 people, and a counter serving espresso, orange juice and sandwiches. Stars including Tommy Steele, Adam Faith, Billy Fury and Cliff Richard were first discovered performing there.