“Soho: Rock ’n’ Roll, Mods, Punk & Fashion” - Christmas Walk - 4 miles

Take a journey through the heart of London’s musical history, from the birth of British rock ’n’ roll in the 1950s through Swinging Sixties Soho, Mods, jazz, R&B and psychedelia to punk, New Romantics, Britpop and beyond. Discover the legendary clubs, recording studios, coffee bars and streets that helped shape British music and fashion, following in the footsteps of icons including Jimi Hendrix, The Who, David Bowie, the Sex Pistols and countless others. From Denmark Street and Carnaby Street to the Marquee, 2i’s, the Blitz, 100 Club and Ronnie Scott’s — this is the story of the people, places, fashions and sounds that made Soho one of the most influential cultural neighbourhoods in the world.

Some of the places we will visit - 

The Blitz — Great Queen Street

The Roxy — Neal Street

Denmark Street — Tin Pan Alley

Regent Sound Studios — Denmark Street

Sex Pistols Rehearsal Rooms — Denmark Street

Original Marquee Club — Oxford Street

100 Club — Oxford Street

Carnaby Street

Bag O’Nails — Kingly Street

The Scene — Ham Yard

Flamingo Club / Whisky a Go Go — Wardour Street

Marquee Club — Wardour Street

Trident Studios — St Anne’s Court

Berwick Street

2i’s Coffee Bar — Old Compton Street

Moka Bar — Frith Street

Ronnie Scott’s — Frith Street

Tickets for this event cost £15.00. This payment is non-refundable. It will only be refunded in the event of a non-weather related cancellation. *Tickets/spaces for this walk/event are pre booked and pre paid, please don't just turn up on the day with cash*

This is the SMHT Christmas drinks walk for this year. As well as all the cool venues we will be visiting and discovering it would be rude not to get in the Christmas spirit and have a few drinks at various locations.

*Just remember - final Thames Path walk the following day - Sunday Dec 13th*

 The Blitz — 4 Great Queen Street
1979–81 — New Romantics.
Steve Strange on the door, Rusty Egan DJing, outrageous fashion, Bowie, Roxy Music and European electronic music. The regular crowd included people who would become Spandau Ballet, Culture Club and Visage.
London Museum confirms both the address and the 1979–81 dates. 
Boy George famously worked in the cloakroom. Bowie became fascinated by the scene and recruited Blitz regulars for his Ashes to Ashes video.


The Roxy — 41–43 Neal Street
The Roxy was one of the key clubs of the first-wave London punk explosion of 1976–77. The Clash, Buzzcocks, Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Slits, Wire and Generation X were among the bands associated with its brief but hugely influential existence. There's a plaque marking the site. 

5–8. Denmark Street — Tin Pan Alley
Historic England describes post-war Denmark Street as being at the heart of Britain's music industry, with virtually every building connected with music in its heyday.
No. 4 — Regent Sound Studios. The Rolling Stones recorded their first album here.
No. 6 — Sex Pistols. From roughly 1975–77 the rear building became their rehearsal space and living quarters. Early demos were recorded downstairs while Steve Jones and Glen Matlock initially lived upstairs. John Lydon's graffiti survives on the walls. 
No. 20 — Elton John. Elton worked for a music publisher on Denmark Street, and Historic England records the connection with the writing of Your Song. 
8. Denmark Street generally — Bowie/Kinks/Melody Maker. Melody Maker was founded here in 1926; Bowie spent considerable time around the street early in his career; and Ray Davies and the Kinks were deeply connected to its publishing industry. 

Original Marquee — 165 Oxford Street.  It opened here in 1958, initially jazz and then increasingly R&B. The Rolling Stones gave their first billed performance as the Rollin' Stones at the Marquee in July 1962. The venue moved to Wardour Street in 1964. 

100 Club — 100 Oxford Street
It began hosting jazz during WWII; later came blues and beat music, including the Stones, Kinks and the High Numbers/Who.
Then on 20–21 September 1976, the 100 Club Punk Special featured the Sex Pistols, Clash, Damned, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Buzzcocks and others. 

Carnaby St — fashion stop
Carnaby became synonymous with Swinging London, Mod fashion and youth culture. Boutiques such as Lady Jane became attractions themselves; Hendrix bought one of his famous military jackets in the Carnaby area, and the street remained entwined with music into the punk period. 

Bag O'Nails — 9 Kingly Street
Tiny place, enormous musical history.
Hendrix performed here and musicians including the Who and Animals frequented it. Paul McCartney met Linda Eastman here on 15 May 1967. 

The Scene — Ham Yard / Great Windmill Street area
Mod wasn't simply scooters and parkas. Soho's clubs were importing American R&B and soul, while young Mods combined the music with sharp Italian-influenced clothes, dancing, amphetamines and an obsessive interest in style.



Flamingo / Whisky a Go Go /Wag Club — 33–37 Wardour Street
You can cover several generations from one address: jazz, R&B, Mods and Soho's all-night club culture.

Marquee Club — 90 Wardour Street
The Wardour Street Marquee became one of London's most important emerging rock venues. London Museum's surviving 1967 programme includes bands such as Geno Washington and the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and describes its importance to emerging acts including Hendrix and Cream. 

Trident Studios — 17 St Anne's Court
One of my favourites for your walk because people could easily walk straight past it.
Bowie, Elton John, Queen and Marc Bolan recorded at Trident. Lou Reed's Transformer, produced by Bowie, was recorded here too. 

Berwick Street
Record shops made Berwick Street an important part of Soho's music culture, and most people will recognise the street scene from the cover of Oasis's (What's the Story) Morning Glory?



2i's Coffee Bar — 59 Old Compton Street
One of our star stops.
Opened in 1956, the tiny basement coffee bar helped nurture Britain's emerging skiffle and rock ’n’ roll culture. Tommy Steele and Cliff Richard were among the young performers associated with it. London Museum specifically highlights 2i's role in nurturing early British rock 'n' roll. 
There's also a commemorative plaque marking the site as the “birthplace of British rock 'n roll and the popular music industry.”

Soho espresso bars were the youth clubs of the 1950s. Young people could congregate around jukeboxes and live music without needing the money or social status required by traditional West End nightlife.


Moka Bar — Frith Street
A lovely little penultimate stop.
London Museum identifies the Moka on Frith Street as Soho's first espresso bar, opening in 1953. 

Ronnie Scott's - Frith Street
Ronnie Scott co-founded his club on Gerrard Street in 1959, before it later established itself on Frith Street.

Bring Christmas vibes, have fun and learn about some of Soho's most iconic locations.

How to find us - 

Outside Holborn Tube Station