 The club's entrance in September 2013 | |
 Interactive map of Café de Paris | |
| Address | 3–4Coventry Street London England |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°30′38″N0°07′55″W / 51.5105°N 0.1319°W /51.5105; -0.1319 |
| Type | Nightclub |
| Capacity | 700 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1924 (1924) |
| Reopened | 1948 |
| Website | |
| web | |
TheCafé de Paris was anightclub in theWest End of London, active from 1924–41 and 1948–2020. It was located onCoventry Street, which runs betweenLeicester Square andPiccadilly Circus.
In the 1930s it became one of the leading theatre clubs in London. On March 8, 1941, duringThe Blitz bombing campaign of theSecond World War, the club was hit by aGerman bomb. The explosion killed at least 34 people, injured at least 80, and caused extensive damage to the building. The club remained closed until 1948, when it reopened.
The club regained its popularity in the 1950s and operated successfully for decades. It closed permanently in December 2020, due to the economic effects of theCOVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom.[1] The venue was re-opened in February 2023 under a new name,Lío London.
Café de Paris first opened in 1924 and subsequently featured such performers asDorothy Dandridge,Marlene Dietrich,Harry Gold,Harry Roy,Ken Snakehips Johnson andMaxine Cooper Gomberg.[2]Louise Brooks made history when she worked there in December 1924, introducing theCharleston to London.[3]
Much of the early success of the Café de Paris was due to the visit of the thenPrince of Wales who became a regular guest, often dining with notables from high society across Europe.[4]Cole Porter was a regular, as wasAga Khan III.[5]
On the outbreak of theSecond World War, the venue lowered its entry prices. It became less socially exclusive and attracted a more mixed clientele, including many officers from the armed forces on leave.[6][7]
On 8 March 1941, soon after the start of a performance, a 50-kilogram (110 lb) bomb fell down a ventilation shaft into the basement ballroom and exploded in front of the stage.[6] At least 34 people were killed and around 80 injured.[6][8] The victims included the 26-year-old bandleaderKen "Snakehips" Johnson,[9] his saxophonist Dave "Baba" Williams,[10][11] other band members, staff and diners.[6]
Sister Larvis, a nurse at Charing Cross Hospital stationed nearby, was first on the scene. Since reports were that the bomb fell through the centre skylight, the front of the building seemed untouched[7].
Confusion caused by bombing-related chaos in the West End that night delayed ambulances and rescue services; it was up to half an hour before they could the basement area of the explosion. The Garland Hotel had also been hit, with many casualties for mobile units to attend to[12]. Immediate aid came from doctors and nurses who were amongst the guests at the Café de Paris. Reportedly several looters made their way into the blacked-out ballroom area and took jewellery from the dead and injured,[13] resulting in forty soldiers from the Scots Guards being called to cordon off the building from the crowd that had gathered[14].
The venue did not reopen until 1948[4] but re-established itself as one of the leading theatre clubs in London, playing host toJudy Garland,Josephine Baker,Frank Sinatra,Ava Gardner,Humphrey Bogart,Lauren Bacall,James Mason,David O. Selznick,Jennifer Jones,Tony Hancock andGrace Kelly. In the 1950sNoël Coward often performed cabaret seasons there[4] as didMarlene Dietrich.[15][16]
In the mid-1980s, the Cafe de Paris was the venue for the regularLes nuits du Mercredi, conceptualised byAnne Pigalle around her French take on cabaret and run by Nick Fry. Among the many personalities attending wereDavid Bowie,Andy Warhol,Tina Turner,Mickey Rourke,George Michael andSteve Strange.[citation needed]
Later on, it was a location used in films includingAbsolute Beginners andThe Krays.[5]
Brian Stein and his Maxwell's Restaurants Group purchased the venue in 2002.[17]
It was used in the 2006 music video for "I Think We're Alone Now" byGirls Aloud. Today the venue is used regularly for film location, and has been used for scenes inThe Queen's Sister (based on the life ofPrincess Margaret) and inThe Edge of Love (based on the life ofDylan Thomas).[5]
The Café de Paris, which hosted regular cabaret shows on Friday and Saturday nights, had adress code for its club and dining room, which stated:[18]
More smart than casual. No trainers or sportswear. Smart jeans are fine. No fancy dress or any other paraphernalia for hen parties. Vintage/Burlesque/cabaret attire is encouraged.
In December 2020, the venue's parent company Maxwell's Restaurant Group went into liquidation, reporting that they had been impacted by restrictions of the Covid-19 pandemic.[19] In November 2022, it was reported that the venue would reopen in February 2023 under the ownership of thePacha Group and renamed Lío London.[20]
The 1941 bombing is described in a chapter ofThe Attenbury Emeralds byJill Paton Walsh. The bombing and its aftermath have a considerable bearing on the investigation carried out byLord Peter Wimsey in that book.
The café, and the bombing, are major plot devices in the 2011 novelMoon Over Soho byBen Aaronovitch.
Disguised as the Café Madrid, this event is also featured in a scene inThe Soldier's Art,Anthony Powell's eighth novel in hisA Dance to the Music of Time series, on which several of the characters in the series are killed when "a bomb hit the Madrid full pitch."[21]
There is a passing reference to the air-raid inBarbara Pym'sA Few Green Leaves.[citation needed]
The bombing features inAJ Pearce's novelDear Mrs Bird (2018); inKate Quinn's 2021 novelThe Rose Code; and in the novelThe Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn, resulting in the death of one of the characters.
During the war, the British composerVaughan Williams had been writing his6th Symphony, which premiered in 1948. The deaths of the band members moved him to incorporate elements of jazz, including a saxophone solo in the Scherzo movement.[22] This influence was noted by the conductorMalcolm Sargent who took the symphony on its initial tour around the world.[23]
The Café de Paris and its 1941 bombing are discussed in the episode "Safest Spot in Town" in the BBC 4'sQueers, a series of monologues in response to the fiftieth anniversary of theSexual Offences Act 1967 and are mentioned in the novelTranscription byKate Atkinson.
The Music Video for the single "Tell Me Why" by Nick Heyward was filmed at Café de Paris, London in 1989. The song is from the album I Love You Avenue.
The café features in theEdgar Wright filmLast Night in Soho.
There is also a passing reference to the cafe in the 5th episode of the 6th season ofDownton Abbey.
The cafe was used as the strip club back drop in the 1991 comedy filmKing Ralph starring John Goodman andPeter O'Toole.
A sequence where a nightclub is bombed and the dead subsequently looted inSteve McQueen's 2024 filmBlitz is clearly based on the Café de Paris incident (indeed Jonah Coombes, the film's Supervising Location Manager, refers to it as the Café de Paris,[24] and Ken "Snakehips" Johnson is included in the character/cast list), though the nightclub is not named and the film is set in 1940.
The Café de Paris is a main plot point inMatthew Bourne's production ofCinderella set during WW2 in London. It is the location of the main ball/party at the heart of the fairy tale. Act 2 begins with the cafe having just been bombed, destroyed and full of dead bodies. Then an Angel (the fairy Godmother equivalent) reverses time and brings the cafe fully to life.[25]
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