Rock Shrine No. 46 - The Scene (The Who)
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Artist:
The Scene Club in Ham Yard, Soho was thought of by many as Mod Central. It wasn't a hugely popular place filled to bursting with people, but more of an underground club where only the top mods hung out, and the whole mod style was created. The club's decor didn't match the smart cut of their clothes, being a bizarre dingy basement catacomb where the walls were padded and the floor was littered with cushions, but it was ideal for the pilled lifestyle they led, where you were buzzing into the early hours of the morning and needed a club that stayed open as late as 5am on a Sunday. The Goldhawk may have been a club for drinkers, but the Scene was definately designed for pills.
Pete Townshend - "The Scene was really where it was at, but there were only about fifteen people down there every night. It was a focal point for the mod movement. I don't think anyone who was a mod outside Soho realised the fashions and dances all began there."
Today, the location has been razed for several years pending redevelopment.
The Scene, Ham Yard, London W1D 7DT Map Location
More Rock Shrines:
Locating MOG account...
Comments (13)
Interesting, tell me John is all this info stored in your head?
I love zooming down to "st view" and revisiting (in this case) the Soho landmarks.. an area jam-packed with icons and living history. Not that i've ever been IN "The Windmill" ,but there it is,just a small corner of a block...and that grander looking edifice yonder ,why it's Brewer St Car park!
All things Mod and Mod related come to mind...how are you on "Blow-Up" locations?
IS the "Ricky Tick" the "100" club? ... The park is in Woolwich yes?
I used to know that stuff! But that's what the internet is for! The Ricky Tick is indeed the 100 Club (though the interior is a set). The park is in Woolwich, his studio (exterior) is in Chelsea.
I have been in The Windmill, when it was used as a TV studio in the 80s/90s. It was really small, the audiences must have been less than 100. Though it may have been rebuilt for use as a studio.
i think we should have a mog contest and the lucky few should be traveling to london all expenses paid for the full on double decker bus rock shrine tour hosted by sir jonh ingham
Love these posts, John. You really educate me on things I was not even aware of, but are very interesting.
Neil, that would be a trip to remember, huh?
Indeed! I like being edumacated in the science and history of our beloved rock n roll
Neil - I'm going to email the Hyman for a deposit on the tour bus! Everybody should have an edumacation.
he can just deduct it on their taxes as part of their promo budget and paint mog.com all over it
win, win baby!
lol! He was looking for a European ad manager. He should talk to you.
Great stuff..it is amzing when the beginnings of something that became worldwide can be traced back to a single spot and a few folks..Congo Sq.-NOLA, The Bronx River Pojects in NYC, and The Scene. Absolutely love when local flavor goes world wide.
Cody, the other factor that blows me away is how few people make things happen and how much of it is serendipity. In the great book on Swinging London, 'Ready Steady Go' by Shawn Levy, it basically boils down to 5 or 6 people who kept bumping into each other.
In a biography I read of Brian Epstein, the whole relationship with promoter Sid Bernstein began when he was a journalism student at NYU with an assignment to write a report based on a story in a foreign newspaper. He saw a photo of the Beatles on the front page of an English paper and as a music fan thought that at least that would be an interesting subject, He got intrigued by what he read, started going back to the newsagent to follow the group, and ended up calling Epstein and pitching to represent the group in America.
true also, the beginning of the music biz are full of folks like that....I finally read White Bicycles and yeah, it seemed like a few folks doing lots of stuff. Then there's the whole Bebop scene in 50's NYC..very,very small..but it seems a larger now.
John, The Scene hasn't been "razed for several years", it was underneath what is today a restaurant in Great Windmill Street. The club's old entrance is at the rear of the same building in Ham Yard.