Tim was concerned not just with the closure of Madame JoJo’s but with a more general threat by property developers to the artistic nature of Soho.
On 3rd December, he wrote an open letter to London Mayor Boris Johnson. The letter was also signed by Benedict Cumberbatch, Stephen Fry, Eddie Izzard, Paul O’Grady, Pete Townshend and a virtual roll-call of the British entertainment industry, as well as nonentities like me.
On 19th December, Boris Johnson replied to the Save Soho! letter, saying:
Boris Johnson’s reply to Save Soho! letter
I believe that culture is the DNA of this great city. People from all over the world come to Soho to enjoy its unique character and history – its performing arts and live music, its gay and transgender scene and nightclubs. As a place where people from all walks of life come together, Madame JoJo’s has been at the heart of this distinctive London “village”.
I will be talking to the Leader of Westminster Council in the New Year urging her to protect the distinctive character of the area.
To respond directly to your question about Soho Estates, I know they are in a dialogue with a number of community groups and that they would be open to engaging with you to explore all the options for the future of Madame JoJo’s.
I very much hope that the character of this unique venue can be retained for future generations.
Fawn James and half-sister India Rose James of property owners Soho Estates share Paul Raymond’s fortune of £329 million. Queen Elizabeth II’s personal wealth is £320 million,
As a result of the publicity, Tim’s Save Soho! campaign has also now been given a place on Westminster Council’s ‘Soho Steering Group’.
So sometimes – just sometimes – campaigns do work and ordinary people’s concerns can get noticed.
Do not bet on it happening in other cases, though.
Tim stands by a photo of his mum in a Windmill programme
I was chatting to singer-songwriter Tim Arnold, aka The Soho Hobo about his Save Soho! campaign following the sudden closure of iconic Soho club Madame JoJo’s.
I photographed him standing by a photo of his mother.
“Gillian Arnold,” I said, reading the name on the photo.
“Yes,” said Tim. “Mother was a Windmill girl, just before it closed down. She was the youngest nude at the Windmill Theatre at 15. She changed her name to Polly Perkins.”
“Polly Perkins?” I said, genuinely surprised. “Heavens! Really?”
“Yes,” said Tim. “That’s my mum. She was one of the first presenters on Ready Steady Go!before Cathy McGowan. She made several records in the 1960s. Jimmy Page played lead guitar for her for a time, which was inspiring for me when I started writing music. She ran her own club in Mayfair: The Candlelight Club. And then she was a TV actress in both Eldoradoand, three years ago, EastEnders.”
The reason I mention this is to show Tim Arnold has quite a background in both show business and in London’s Soho.
Soho punters passing by the closed Madame JoJo’s last night
In late October, there was a fight between Madame JoJo’s bouncers and a customer. The police report recommended the club’s licence be suspended. The club changed its manager and selected a new team of bouncers approved by Westminster Council. The Council then permanently revoked Madame JoJo’s licence and, as Tim wrote in an open letter to London Mayor Boris Johnson on 3rd December, “half a century of Soho history ended.”
The letter was also signed by Benedict Cumberbatch, Stephen Fry, Paul O’Grady. Pete Townshend, Eddie Izzard and a virtual roll-call of the British entertainment industry.
“What’s it all about?” I asked Tim yesterday.
“It’s quite complicated,” he told me. “What we know is that Westminster Council suspended the licence and then they permanently revoked the licence. But what we also know is that, a year beforehand, the Council was given an application by Soho Estates to redevelop that block, which would have involved demolishing Madame JoJo’s.”
“Who,” I asked, “is Soho Estates? Is that the Paul Raymond company?”
“Yes. Paul Raymond’s granddaughters.” (Fawn James & India Rose James)
“I’m surprised,” I said. “Because they quite like Soho.”
“I’m surprised too,” said Tim. “Fawn is a friend who I met three years ago, at the launch of the Soho Flea Market. It was lovely for me to finally meet her, because my grandfather used to work for her grandfather – my grandfather Dickie Arnold was actor-manager of the Raymond Revue when it toured; and, later on, he worked at the Raymond Revuebar with my grandmother.
“It was really great to make that connection with Fawn and, because she’s an actress as well, she performed in one of my videos – Manners On The Manor – which was shot at Ronnie Scott’s – playing the role of Queen of Soho.
“So I am quite confused as to how this has been allowed to happen with her being involved, because I know that Fawn supports the performing arts. And Paul Raymond supported the arts – people don’t realise this.
“I grew up surrounded by musicians, comedians, actors and singers who all, at one point or another, were given a start in Soho, largely down to Paul Raymond. He supported the arts and that is part of what his legacy should be.”
“When I interviewed Fawn on BBC1’s Inside Out a year ago, I asked her off-camera what was going to happen to Madame JoJo’s and she said it was going to have to be moved; but she didn’t elaborate. It’s also a year ago since I sang at Madame JoJo’s with Andy Serkis and The Blockheads. That’s the last time I was inside the venue.
“The sadness over the closure is not about the name. It’s about the space.
“Soho has been a stage for every emerging artist from all over the country for 50 years. Madam JoJo’s was not a pub which had been given a licence for performers to work in – it was a professional space where people could hawk their wares and showcase their talents to the entertainment industry in general which, by and large, is based in London.”
“Surely,” I said. “one little club dying isn’t going to destroy the whole of Soho?”
The London Astoria – now knocked down & being redeveloped
“They’ve taken a lot of them out already,” said Tim. “The Astoria being knocked down was a shock, particularly to the music industry. That seemed to make it open season on other venues.
“I signed my first record deal with Sony after doing a gig in a basement club called the Borderline – a 200-capacity venue like Madame JoJo’s. These venues are important for up-and-coming bands. We have to keep these venues open, unless developers want to argue that TV talent shows are the only way forward for young artists to get their feet in the industry.
“People keep talking about Madame JoJo’s being representative of the gay and transgender culture. It is. But it was also somewhere bands could perform regardless of their sexual orientation.”
“It wasn’t particularly gay, though, was it?” I asked. “Lots of straight people went there for shows. It was not a gay club as such. It was cabaret, music, comedy, some gay stuff in among all that sex stuff around the Raymond Revuebar alleyway.”
“It was,” said Tim, “a microcosm of what Soho is. It’s everything – a melting pot. It does not have one single identity. Madam JoJo’s disappearing is almost like the performance heart of Soho is. It doesn’t matter what your culture, background, religion, sexual orientation is, you were welcome and that’s why it is pretty serious it has gone.
The Raymond Revuebar in its heyday
“I’m not a campaigner, I’m an entertainer. That’s the key. A campaign has arisen out of my passion for where I and my family have lived and worked for the last 50 years. I didn’t plan it as a campaign. My mother said I should write a letter to the mayor and I thought How can I make him respond to the letter quicker? So I called my friend Benedict Cumberbatch and he said he would help and, after that, it snowballed.
“Madame JoJo’s was open from 7.30pm to 3.00am. That’s a lot of entertainment. It kept performers working, earning a living, promoting what they do. Equity have come on board today and are also talking to the Council about this to try and repeal the decision.
“Where we are sitting now, in my flat on Frith Street, from Thursday to Saturday night, I see violent altercations pretty much every night dealt with by the police. It’s dealt with responsibly and none of these venues, restaurants or clubs get closed down. If a bouncer did something inappropriate on this street, they would lose their job. The venue does not get closed down and it doesn’t get green-lit for demolition. If they did that all the time, we would be able to see Buckingham Palace from here!”
The closed Raymond Revuebar (left) and Madame JoJo’s (right) in Soho last night
“It sounds,” I said, “like bizarre corruption of some sort. They close down this venue where there is an application to change it.”
“I have never,” said Tim, “mentioned corruption, but I have never heard a single person this week not mention it. I’m a singer-songwriter. What do I know?
“And, of course,”I said, “in Soho, there is no history of corruption involving the police in Soho.”
“Anyway,” said Tim, “I don’t want to focus on that. I want to focus on a very clear message from all sides of the entertainment industry – emerging and established artists – saying You can’t keep doing this without talking to this community first.
“We can welcome any new addition – Mozart lived on this street and television was first demonstrated just a few doors down this same street – but not at the expense of taking away what we already have here.
“Having new art galleries and pop-up art galleries is all well and fine and it looks, on the surface, like the landlords supporting those art galleries are supporting the arts, but Soho IS an art gallery.”
SO IT GOES - John Fleming's blog 