Named  after a tap dance with origins in 1920s Chicago- there are several stories about the  origin of the word ‘Shim Sham.’: tap dancer Howard Johnson claimed that ‘Shim’ was a contraction of the words “she” and ‘him.’, used at a nightclub in Harlem (Ranch 101) where most chorus girls were drag queens

London’s Shim Sham however was founded by African-American Singer Ike Hatch & Jewish Business Man Jack Isow and became known as London’s Miniature Harlem -  a hub of Black Culture and open expression.

Pioneering African-American gay jazz musician, Garland Wilson, performed on the opening night and went on to lead the club’s resident band.

Artists, writers, musicians, Black, Jewish, and queer Londoners mixed freely on it’s large, well-sprung dance floor — a rare mingling in a city usually divided along class and race lines.

Success brought police attention: a 1935 raid ended in a £200 fine for operating without a licence.

Officer Gowens observation statement 1936 outside the Shim Sham

Soho itself, at this time, was one of Britain's only genuinely multicultural pockets. Here Black lawyers, waiters, students, dancers, sailors, doctors, and actors shared space with cockney traders, jazz fans from the suburbs, and the landed gentry alike.

Though short lived the club paved the way for a multiracial, queer-friendly London.

Title The Shim Sham Bottle Party by kind permission of  Kinolibrary

Worth noting but off our Shuffle route, The Florence Mills Social Parlour  (50 Carnaby st) was run by Amy Ashwood, Marcus Garvey’s first wife,serving jazz, calypso and tea it was meeting point for discussion of militant black activism and the fight for post colonial independence
Ashwood declared  in 1944: "There must be a revolution among women. They must realise their importance in the post-war world …."

Back at 33–37 Wardour Street, in 1957 opened The Flamingo. After moving from Coventry Street, it grew from a jazz club hosting Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Ronnie Scott into a licence free all-nighter running to 6 a.m.

The same openness that defined the Shim Sham defined the Flamingo two decades on, drawing gangsters, prostitutes, American servicemen, recent émigrés, and music obsessives all in one room. It employed Black musicians and DJs, hosted The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and Jimi Hendrix, anchored 1960s mod culture, introduced ska to white British audiences, and saw performances from Dizzy Gillespie, Otis Redding, and Stevie Wonder. Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames were the resident act - managed by the club’s owner Rik Gunnell.

Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames - On this recording Gunnell_s younger brother Johnny can be heard announcing the songs over the noisy club clientele

More than a venue, the Flamingo was a cultural phenomenon —where music dissolved social barriers. The club has recently been revived in Kingly Court near Carnaby Street

The Wag

As if all this history wasn’t enough- 33 Wardour street was also where Chris Sullivan opened the Wag Club in 1982. Fashion, Music & Art all came together there, If you could get past the notoriously challenging door policy: Style, creativity and attitude were what got you through the unmarked door.

This edge of Soho was still the beating artistic heart of the capital and the Wag’s style revolutionized nightlife-shaping the face of club culture across the UK.

It’s eclectic blend of latin jazz, vintage funk, northern soul, hip-hop, and house, was a far cry from the usual champagne and chart music of the ‘VIP’ clubs of the West End.

“What we were doing at the Wag became a clarion call to the world,” said Sullivan

“It opened the door for dance music! …You weren’t hearing that music before the Wag. You went into a club round here and you’d hear Bucks beeping  Fizz!”

Chris Sullivan at the door of his Wag Club 1990s

Heading back to Shaftesbury Avenue take a left then a right to find Great Windmill Street where you get a most iconic view of our next stop - The Windmill Theatre.