Berwick Street: How The Market Used To Be
Carnaby Street: Love to Hate it
Soho Blitz Kids – Clubbing in the 1980s
Striptease at The Gargoyle Club
Striptease 1960s: Dancing in the Nude
Soho Create 'The Creative Future of Soho'
Glittering Art of Falling Apart Soundtrack
"Soho destroys human beings."
Soho Square: A Brief History
David Bowie and Soho
I Love Dean Street, Soho
Soho has always been a place for pleasure – and it was in the 1960s that the streets became a playground for the art of striptease.
The 1930s saw the start of nude shows – at the Windmill Theatre, thanks to Laura Henderson – but the law prevented the girls from moving. To get around this, the girls stood on moving stages or used fans to conceal herself until she was ready to show everything (and at which point she'd stay still!).
By the 1950s, striptease shows had increased in popularity – and Soho legend Paul Raymond got into the act by opening the Raymond Revuebar in 1958. s were used to attract audiences to the dying music halls. Arthur Fox started his touring shows in 1958. A few years later the law had changed – nude girls were given the freedom to move! – and this saw an explosion in strip clubs with full-on dancing. The video below captures the era perfectly.
1960s Walk Through Striptease Soho
From the Kinolibrary archive film collections, posted on YouTube.
Previous articleSoho Nights: 1958 until 1962
Next articleStriptease at The Gargoyle Club
Soho Nights: 1958 until 1962
Soho Goes Gay! 1955
Soho Coffee Bars in the 1950s
1960s Soho Footage
Soho is being demolished at an alarming rate. Developers are scouring at layers of history to make way for new-build, luxury apartment blocks and a high-speed train line.
In doing so, Soho not only loses its memories and its glitzy, grubby beauty, but it also loses its people: the local traders, the musicians, the lovable reprobates and the raconteurs.
This site is a collection of the articles I read, the videos I watched, and the photos I gazed at when I was researching THE GLITTERING ART OF FALLING APART. I think they capture the spirit of Soho that's being scrubbed away.
READ THE NOVEL
"The Glittering Art of Falling Apart is a gripping, heartbreaking wonder of a book. I felt as though I was right back in the heart of Soho, I loved it. This is a truly beautiful novel." - Lindsey Kelk, author.
"I devoured it like a hungry wolf. It has everything: a crumbling mansion, a fractured family and long-buried secrets all mixed in with the seductive glamour of 1980s Soho. There are monsters in the shadows, but a sense of belonging wins out - belonging to a place, to a family and deep in someone's heart. Enchanting." - Veronica Henry, author.
"This was an amazing book full of family secrets and devastating events that really pulled at my heart-strings. Even though it made me cry, I really loved this book and would read it again." - Michelle, The Book Magnet.
About Ilana
SAVE SOHO
Save Soho is a lobbying group dedicated to preserving the spirit of the area. This site isn't affiliated with Save Soho, but if you love Soho as much as I do and you're interested in finding out more, please visit www.savesoho.com.
When I was writing the novel, I listened to a lot of the music that was being played in the clubs in Soho in…
Ilana Fox 2015 - 2016.
All content is attributed to the copyright holder, where known. If your work is not credited, get in touch.
This popup will be closed in:
If you love Soho, you'll probably love my new novel. Order it now.