2i's Coffee Bar

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Commemorative plaque at 2i's Coffee Bar in London, 59 Old Compton Street, Soho

The 2i's Coffee Bar [ TU aiz ] was a cafe in the basement building 59 Old Compton Street in London's district of Soho . It existed from 1956 to 1970 and is considered the "birthplace of British rock 'n' roll ".

history

1953 opened Gina Lollobrigida with the Moka Coffee Bar in 29 Frith Street, the first London cafe with original Italian Gaggia - espresso machines , which triggered a veritable "boom" in London's West End from. In this context, the 2i's Coffee Bar opened in the neighboring Old Compton Street on April 22, 1956. The music café belonged to the two Australian ex-wrestlers Ray “Rebel” Hunter and Paul “Dr. Death “Lincoln, who had taken over the place from brothers Freddie and Sammy Irani. The name 2i's should refer to the last name of the previous owner.

Live music was played on a small stage in the basement of the café. The fee for a four-piece band, a singer and three instrumentalists was 18  shillings (around 2 euros today  ) for one evening. Famous solo artists and bands included Ritchie Blackmore (Junior Skiffle Group), Rory Blackwell , Joe Brown , Paddy Chambers , Jay Chance , Terry Dene , Vince Eager & The Vagabonds, Adam Faith & The Worried Men, Chris Andrews , Paul Gadd (later better known as Paul Raven or Gary Glitter ), Jet Harris , Wee Willie Harris , Eden Kane , Bill Kent, Johnny Kidd & the Pirates , Dene Lincoln , Carlo Little , Hank B. Marvin , Mickie Most and Alex Wharton (The Most Brothers), Cliff Richard & The Drifters (later The Shadows ), Russ Sainty , Big Jim Sullivan , Screaming Lord Sutch , Tony Sheridan , Tommy Steele , Vince Taylor and his Playboys, Wally Whyton & The Vipers Skiffle Group and Marty Wilde & The Wildcats , The Rivets .

"It was just a cellar in a basement of a Coffee Bar where they sold frothy Coffee, but It was a breeding ground for Rock'n'rollers."

"It was just a cellar in the basement of a cafe where they sold frothy coffee, but it was the breeding ground for rock 'n' roller"

- Screaming Lord Sutch :

In July 1956, Wally Whyton's Vipers Skiffle Group appeared with Tommy Hicks as the first band. Paul Lincoln invited the band to play at 2i's anytime they had time. Tommy Hicks was discovered soon after by music managers John Kennedy and Larry Parnes , renamed “ Tommy Steele ” and known as “Britain's answer to Elvis Presley” - a slogan under which Cliff Richard and Billy Fury were also marketed - for “first domestic rock 'n' Roll-Star of Great Britain ”. The café quickly developed into a meeting place for skiffle and rock 'n' roll fans as well as a talent factory, where up-and-coming artists with impresarios and music producers such as Don Arden , Jack Good , George Martin , Norrie Paramor , Walter J. Ridley or Allan Williams met.

In November 1956 Paul Lincoln opened a second music venue at 44 Gerrard Street, which he called The New 2i's Club . Wally Whyton recalled, “The cafe just couldn't hold up to the throngs of people wanting to see where this was all happening - it was only about 30 by 10 feet - so Paul wisely opened a 2i's club around the corner in Gerrard Street ... and that's where the next wave started. "

From 1957 Lincoln began to organize various "2i's rock 'n' roll shows" in the surrounding area and to work as an artist agent and consequently had little time for his café. Eventually he appointed judoka Tom Littlewood, a friend from wrestling days, to run the old 2i's. Littlewood also managed artists such as Vince Taylor and hosted some “2i's Roadshow” tours across the UK.

In the mid-1960s, at the height of Beatlemania , public interest in 2i's declined. In addition, the leading rock bands now played in large halls, which is why many clubs were closed or converted into discos . In 1970 2i's also closed.

In September 2006, in the presence of numerous rock veterans, such as Cliff Richard and musicians of the Shadows and the Tornados , a Green Plaque of the City of Westminster was unveiled on the site of the former café to commemorate the historical place where music lovers once lived British rock music began. The building now houses a Med Kitchen restaurant, and the basement rooms have been converted into a lobby.

various

Before his career as a music producer, Peter Grant , manager of the groups The Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin , worked temporarily as a bouncer at 2i's.

The German organizer Bruno Koschmider discovered the Liverpool band Derry and the Seniors at 2i's and hired them for his Kaiserkeller in Hamburg . After a few months Koschmider wanted another Liverpool band to play in the Indra Club on the Große Freiheit . He got in touch with music manager Allan Williams, who eventually offered the performance to the Beatles . Ironically, the Beatles (like the Rolling Stones ) never performed at 2i's.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Soho and the 2 i's coffee bar. Another Nickel In The Machine, accessed July 2, 2011 .
  2. ↑ a b The History of the 2i's Coffee Bar. Musicstorytellers, accessed on July 1, 2011 (English).
  3. ↑ a b Artists Memories. Musicstorytellers, accessed on July 3, 2011 (English).
  4. ↑ “The Coffee Bar simply couldn't contain the droves of people who wanted to see where it was all happening - - it was only about 30 feet by 10 feet - so Paul very shrewdly opened a 2i's Club around the corner in Gerrard Street… and that's where the next wave started. " Wally Whyton: Artists Memories. In: Musicstorytellers. Retrieved July 3, 2011 .
  5. ^ 2 i's Coffee Bar, The Birthplace of British Rock'n. Retrieved July 1, 2011 .
  6. ↑ In some sources the year 1967 is given, but the commemorative plaque is dated 1956–1970.
  7. ↑ Stars gather at the birthplace of British rock n 'roll. Daily Mail .co.uk, September 18, 2006, accessed July 1, 2011 .
  8. ↑ Nick Logan: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock. Harmony Books, 1977, p. 137
  9. ↑ quoted from George Harrison in: The Beatles - Anthology. Ullstein 2000, ISBN 3-550-07132-9 , p. 45


Coordinates: 51 ° 30 ′ 45 "  N , 0 ° 7 ′ 58"  W.