Bit of useless information from me, the large new building in Manette St is on the site of Foyles book shop. Above Foyles were some apartments, one of which the late Danny La Rue lived for decades. And next door to goldsmiths with the green and black frontage is a very old building which was La Rues bar. During WW11 Danny with his mother lived on the site of Center Point in victorian flats. Unfortunately their home was bombed, and they would attend the Catholic Church in Soho Square. I use to drive for Danny. That's my bit of gossip 😊

@JohnRogersWalks

8 ай бұрын

That’s fantastic info - wish I’d included it in the Soho chapter of my book

@peterward3965

8 ай бұрын

@@JohnRogersWalks Thank you, cheers 🍻

@tbjdiamonddog

7 ай бұрын

Great info, not useless at all, thanks

@zcam1969

6 ай бұрын

Priceless information Peter thanks for sharing.My dad scrolled through there as a American Soldier 44 prior to D-Day

My dad lived in Pulteney Chambers Brewer Street middle of the 60's to the 90's. In those days it was gas lit flats, battery powered tv and we'd sit at the open window listening to the music playing in the street. We used to have a bath in Westminster public baths when we visited him. Thanks so much for this.

@jamesdellaneve9005

Жыл бұрын

Wow. No electricity? No water? Or just no bathroom?

@luapnosboh7421

Жыл бұрын

Sat at the open window listening to the music below , memories ❤

@tbjdiamonddog

7 ай бұрын

Baths in Marshall Street ?

I remember when I worked on feature films we had to stop filming at 5:30pm so the film reels could be collected from Cardiff at 6pm to be taken "up London to Soho Square" for processing overnight and a draft version would come back from Soho Square when they came to collect a new reel of film the following day. One day, as runners, we missed the van so drove very quickly down the M4 to try and find the Soho van in the service station before it left Wales, we did find him and return to the set drained and relieved without any of the producers being aware of what had happened. The Prince Edward Theatre was the first theatre I visited back in the late 1980s to see Elaine Paige in Anything Goes. We travelled up from the valleys of South Wales for the day. I remember we had food in a little cafe just opposite. I went for a walk before the show and there was a lady in every door way asking if you "want an experience". Totally different vibe from today. Last time I was in Soho I had lunch at Poppie's (21:28) for fish and chips with cuppa tea and bread and butter. Lovely place but like most of that area, overpriced. 27:20 Eleanor Marx lived just down the road from me in Sydenham SE26 on Jews Walk having been born at 28 Dean Street, Soho. 27:40 I always remember going down Meard Street and noticing on one of the black doors a golden plaque reading: 'This property is a home and no longer used by prostitutes so please stop knocking'.

@JohnRogersWalks

Жыл бұрын

Great notes Sean thanks

@chrisprobert5340

Жыл бұрын

That was put there by the artist Sebastian Horsley who lived, I think, at No. 3...

@wendyHew

Жыл бұрын

I felt the same poppies was so expensive. It costs a fortune for a day out in London these days. I miss a nice portion of chips wrapped in newspaper for a pound.

@PhilipStacey-ty2em

7 ай бұрын

what about this video, ? very well done and great narration,

Soho has been a constant reference in my understanding and enjoyment of London. It has that "Threshold" quality... is not posh, is not low, is not beautiful, is not ugly, is not glamourous is not tacky it has that great feel where everybody is welcomed, Soho takes life easy, there is a peculiar., sort of charming pace to it.. in any case, I really wish it remains for many many many years to come:))))

@Carad0c

6 ай бұрын

Nicely said..

i was watching this one while working and every few minutes i heard "...i used to work here..." and i thought this man is my hero.

Thoroughly enjoyed this walk. I was lucky enough to work for a company in Dean Street from 1974-82. Fascinating to see how much is still the same and yet how much has changed. Brought back so many memories. Thanks.

Rogers really is the doyen of London walks isn't he? ...he should be given an award and a generous stipend to ensure he keeps doing what he does ..so well !

When I first came to London in 1972 I used to go to Berwick Street market every Saturday. There was a fabulous Italian deli where we bought the best ham and mortadella. It was really buzzing then! Thank you for a great dose of nostalgia!

I watch so many videos about London, but this video stood out for me, possibly because you brought your film making talent to the screen, and in so doing captured the feel of Soho which is often missing in a lot of modern ‘walking’ videos. I like the way your camera seem to linger on its subject, while life went on gently around it, but not distracting from what you’re focused on, or talking about - very clever that!

Another gem John, thank you! In the early 70s I worked for the Metropolitan Water Board. Trying to collect water rates from the clubs and the 'ladies' who worked in the flats above them led to some interesting encounters. Thanks for stirring the memory banks.

Absolutely brilliant John , I used to be a despatch rider in the late 1970's and based in Soho Square and Kingly court .. Brought back many memories ;)

Evening. Just watching after a stroll around Skopje, Macedonia. The Internet is wonderful, isn't it!?

I love the line "I'm not sure I'd go there if I had a bad back, if I was you" 😄

The inimitable Kirsty MacColl wrote a song called 'Soho Square', and she has a dedicated bench on the south side of the square. Every year, on the Sunday nearest her birthday on the 10th of October, fans (including me) gather at the bench for a sing song, then to 'The Spice of Life' basement for open mic of Kirsty's songs. An absolute highlight of the year for me.

I love this very much. It’s also very meaningful because my father Harold’s Arthur Drury, an artist lived in Soho between 1948 and 1952 and then again in 1968 to 1975 before he re-joined us in the states. He also talked about talking with Francis Bacon and all of the other characters that I have since learned so much about. This is the first update that I have watched online about Soho today so in our family it is very meaningful. Coming to you from Greensboro Vermont

When YT was invented I wondered what individuals could possibly upload that would be worth watching, now I’ve cancelled my BBC Licence because the KZread has such compelling content.

DEFINITELY put: "Wherever that may be!" on a mug. I'll buy one...

Just a mention for Groove Records & Jean who knew everything about dance music……It was Jazz, Funk & Soul for me in the 80’s

Loved it, John. There's so much in Soho, all crammed into quite a small area. I worked as a runner for an advertising agency on Lower John Street, back in 2004-06. Mostly involved getting lunch for the creative director, but I did a bit of running between post production houses like Framestore. It was a very eye-opening experience for a 19 year old.

@JohnRogersWalks

Жыл бұрын

I bet Joe - hope they treated you well, the runners are the most important people in the operation

@joebenge3920

Жыл бұрын

@@JohnRogersWalks Well, I should note that they didn't replace me when I left. Think that indicates how crucial I was to the success of the business, Good times though.

I used to spend a lot of time in Soho in the 90's. I always found it relaxing around that area. The bar scene at night is always the best. My bestie who now lives in Paris with his husband would take me out all the time around there. Best memories. It was "our place" & gay men are such great people to hang out with. So much fun 💘 I'd go back to those days in a heartbeat. Thank you for this xx

I loved the sonorous sound of those church bells at the start,added atmosphere. Not a place in London I know but I did find myself in Soho square by accident 2 or 3 years ago,lost again!,but I made it to the theatre just in time! Nice to hear about the history. Danny La Rue! I was astonished. Do you think our Danny knew about the other Danny! Danny La Rue,now he had class,what a performer,I've got his film,the only one he did Our Miss Fred on DVD. It's so funny. In the Carry On style but luckily I like the Carry On style. I was lucky enough to see Danny La Rue onstage,it must have been in the mid 1980s. I know it was after he lost all his money but as he pointed out,not his talent. I didn't know this at the time only later. It was at the Bristol Hippodrome. At the end of the show he came on in his man's attire and talked to us the audience,he chatted and reminisced. In particular he recalled how he saved the Bristol Hippodrome from closure and he truly did. It must have been around 1980 that the then management of this central city theatre announced it cost too much to run and they were going to sell it for redevelopment. There was an outcry,locally and nationally. The upshot was that Danny La Rue staged a fabulously showy and over the top pantomime Cinderella that year and the theatre was saved. Of course lots of negotiations etc were going on in the background but I don't know about any of that.

I love all the blue plaques and seeing who lived in these buildings. I don’t get to London very often. ❤

In 1963 aged 15 my first job after leaving school was in Hanway St number 39 to be exact. It was a textile warehouse which was deep underground and covered a area approx half the size of a football pitch. I would spend my lunchtimes in the early days over the other side of Oxford St sitting on a bench in Soho Square wondering where all the action was that I had read about in the Sunday newspapers re Soho and wondering what all the fuss was about. Eventually after a couple of weeks and fed up with sitting on the bench I took a walk down Greek St and the nearer I got to Old Compton St the more the aroma of coffee got stronger. There were quite a few shops along OCS then with coffee beans displayed outside. I would then turn into Wardour St and make my way back to that underground place of toil still wondering what all the fuss was about Soho. Most of my working day was spent underground as I travelled in by tube to Tottenham Crt Rd. Sometimes when sitting in Soho Square I would see those trolleys full of cans of film being pushed through and I thought I could do that. I saw a job advertised in the Evening Standard for a Messenger Boy for A B Pathe and applied. In those days it was easy to get a job and in March 64 I started working from Film House in Wardour St. It was then I became aware of the Soho I had read about as previously I had never ventured or strayed from my Greek St/OCS/Wardour St route. My eyes were opened daily as I walked during the course of the job through streets I had never seen before. Might I suggest John a route for your next walk through Soho starting in Hanway St, then across to Soho Square through to Film House, 142 Wardour St, making your way to Golden Square where we Messenger Boys sometimes went for lunch at the film company building (name forgotten) on the West Side. Then a short walk to Ham Yard home of the top Mod club back in the 60s The Scene club although I think it's a bit different to how it was round there now. Finally over to Haymarket House down Haymarket where I worked as a Projectionist ia Ad Agency after leaving Pathe in 65. I would do it myself but live to far away now and I don't think I would get any further than that bench in Soho Square. Keep up the good work and interesting videos.

My Head Office is based in Soho Square, without fail I go for a walk around the nearby streets at lunchtime, such a fantastic area

Kettners now owned by Soho House. Was a Pizza express at one point. Famous for being a favourite of Oscar Wilde. I think he always ordered the pepperoni😄

I love stories about you coming to London as a young student, I very much look forward to more Soho (especially now that I know Hammer Films is there!) and I have longed for a "wherever that may be" tshirt if you are looking to merchandise!

Wonderful video. I used to work in music publishing early-90s and would walk through Greek St and Soho Square on my way up to work in Mortimer St. Glad to see if it still looks somewhat the same! Also, I'd buy the mug 👍

You have an uncanny ability to draw our eye to things people walk past in their thousands John. What a groovy trip this week. Thank you so much for this tremendous piece of work. Looking forward to episode 2. 🙌🙌🙌🙌

Great video I must admit I have learnt more true facts about the history of London watching your videos John than any where I can remember so interesting videos congratulations on another masterpiece thanks for sharing John much appreciated.

Marco Piere White was involved in both Escargot and Quo Vardis, he bought the later with Damien Hirst. I lived on Monmouth Street for a while and worked for Wicked Films at Tisbury Court making music videos, I have wonderful memories of that area, especially The French House with Gaston and his amazing moustache, the Soho Brsserie, cheap Italian meals downstairs at the Pollo Bar and for a while there was someone who kept pooing in the porcelien urinal in the gents at The Coach and Horses, Norman was not happy, regulars there were guessing who it might be but I don't think he ever got caught

Loved this, brought back memories of the 80s and the Intrepid Fox. We were going to be rock stars! Still love walking the area when we visit although I do miss the sleaziness and there are only so many trendy coffee shops you can cope with in a day. Who remembers queuing at the Soho Soundhouse music shop for their summer sales?

Interesting to see the streets of Soho again. I worked near by in the late 70's early 80's when I was around 22. Wow what a time we had. Clubs, pubs, late nights & food too. Can't remember the names of any place we went to but we tried them all. x

I worked with someone who had a council flat just off Charing Cross road, he and his wife would dash off to the countryside for a weekend away in a different setting! I go back far enough to be a regular customer at Dobells jazz record shop there.

Actors John Hurt and Tom Baker were Coach regulars in the '70s.

Thank you John, you're always so informative and the depth of your knowledge is great. Soho looks a lot safer than when I first went there mid 70s. It reminded me of the TV show Budgie, with Adam Faith lol. 👍🏼

@JohnRogersWalks

Жыл бұрын

I loved that show Paul

The original Sister Ray Records used to be down the old Compton end where the market is. The original location you show was actually it’s second location. I’m very happy you included it anyway as it’s Sister Ray that is the main association to Soho for me.

London....always the coolest city in the world.

Thanks, made an old man very nostalgic.

Thanks for the educational walk, as usual much appreciated.

I walk this path at least once every month and seeing it through film just brings a romantic aspect to it that I've never appreciated. Thanks John.

Mozart was already a recognised prodigy touring in Europe when he was 8 and lived in Soho. He started composing when he was 4 or 5.

What a fascinating walk and talk around Soho. I never realised there was a strong French connection in that area. So much history you have covered John, that otherwise, would be easy to overlook.

I was a despatch rider based in Soho in the early 80's. Great memories 😊

It is so wonderful to walk these streets with you and see London as it was and is now.

Hi John. I watched your Soho walk today for first time and what a fascinating part of London. I recall wandering the area years ago and I came across a very old shop which sold old maps and prints. Even more intriguing it had a very small restaurant in the basement and I sat alone and had a vegetarian saffron stew followed by home made cream. One of the best lunches ever, I wonder years later if it is still there and if you have ever passed it by. Thank you

I do enjoy your trips around London I'm a history buff and I like to see the old places thanks for showing.

Ah, now we're on my patch! Many stories to tell but suffice to say the morning was not underway 'til I had two coffees at Cafe Boheme & a few pints in 'The Coach' (in Jeffrey Bernard's seat if it hadn't been taken) - great memories of just about all the places you indicated & I think I could write a 500 page memoir about it & only get to the end of Dean St...fabulous stuff as ever, sir & I look forward to parts 2 & 3 & also buying the mug...

@JohnRogersWalks

Жыл бұрын

brilliant - thanks for sharing Phil

33:09 - Tom Waits’ ‘One From the Heart’ at £28.99, Space’s ‘Tin Planet’ at £21.99, ‘Steptoe A La Cart’, John Coltrane’s ‘Love Supreme’ at £24.99, and CD of Hall & Oates’ ‘Timeless Classics’ for two pound forty nine💪 Very interesting video about an area that goes over my head. Cheers John

Good vibes in Soho, not bustling like it was. Glad you included Bar Italia, had many wild eyed early Sunday mornings after nights out at the Milk Bar.

Love your videos. It's like walking with an old and wise mate who knows how magnetic nostalgia can be.

@JohnRogersWalks

Жыл бұрын

Thanks so much Abdullah

My GG grandfather Francis Girard a Huguenot veteran of waterloo was living in Frith street at Hazlits in 1814.He convinced a jeweller in the Strand to bring two watches for his companion to consider in his lodgings..and absconded out the window(must have been one of the lower ones)ended up being transported Down under..pardoned fairly quickly ..started out as french dancing instructor and became the first french baker in Australia. went into flour milling and then timber milling.owning several stations including Lismore(flooded badly recently).He got involved in fight with Governer Darling over a piece of land for his candle factory. complained to the uk authorities and had Darling sent home..there is a street in Sydney in ironically Darling harbour named after him.

@JohnRogersWalks

Жыл бұрын

Great story

Great walk!

Really enjoyed that, thanks John

@JohnRogersWalks

Жыл бұрын

Cheers John

Another great video John!

Lived in Soho 5 years up till 2022, so many great memory’s. I guess you know about Mcartney building on Soho Square, that’s worth a talk

Oh my god John, I was there last night with my mrs, we started off in Charing Cross road, I haven’t been up the west end in years, I wish we was there at the same time and I bumped into you, I would love to meet you one day and buy you a beer, your videos are legendary!

Thank you for the SoHo Sampler. Very eventful and lively walk.

Wonderful walk. Looking forward to part 2.

@JohnRogersWalks

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Robbo

Hi John Been watching and enjoying your videos for a while now and find them very absorbing and educational. Always felt your East London and Epping ones were the best but this Soho one has been fantastic and is right up there, love the musical snippets that you included (Strummer, Blur and Oasist. Looking forward to Pt2 as Carnaby St and surrounding areas should be a real treat. KR Cooksta Booksta

One of your best so far, John! The memories of visiting the area when I worked in london, flood back. When you flashed the front cover of that book by Tom pocock, I thought! I recognise that! I must have had a copy of that! I'll have to see if I can get it on eBay!

Brilliant work as always 👌👌

Thanks for bringing new information to my old memories of Soho. At Patisserie Valerie opposite Comptons Pub in the 60's & 70's it was always packed, 6 to a table with a three tier cake stand in the centre, and after coffee and wonderful French cakes one would pay by an honesty system of declaring how many cakes one had eaten from the stand. Did anybody else cheat?

You must’ve held back your tears when you saw the destruction of Berwick St.. It was a heart beat.

I'd buy a mug with your classic sign off on it John.

@JohnRogersWalks

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Lydia

Thank you for sharing John. Hope you are having a lovely bank holiday weekend 😊

@JohnRogersWalks

Жыл бұрын

Cheers Ali - just enjoying a post upload pint

@AliB102

Жыл бұрын

@@JohnRogersWalks well deserved. Cheers!

great video John, look foward to part 2

@JohnRogersWalks

Жыл бұрын

Cheers Richard

Nice one John, awesome walk - Cheers mate...

@JohnRogersWalks

Жыл бұрын

Cheers Ralph

Magnificent John. Thank you so much for this wonderful walk.

@JohnRogersWalks

Жыл бұрын

My pleasure Sally thanks for watching

When I was about 8 or 9 in '62/63, my Grandfather announced one day in the school holidays that we would drive up to town to stroll through Soho "to show the boys a slice of life". My Uncle and me were only a couple of years apart in age and we were very giggly as we walked through the crowded streets at night with coloured neon lights everywhere & pictures of naked women outside strip clubs. My Grandmother thought it was leading us both astray to take us there but Sidney told us interesting stories about what went on in the buildings including the Windmill Theatre and how it never closed. I'm pretty sure he was a jack-the-lad in 1920's London before settling down in Metroland 😀

Wow, packed a lot in there John. Great vid. My experiences with SoHo are from my carefree youth so it’s really nice to get a bit of historical context

Hi John!! Great video as always!! Thanks!!

@JohnRogersWalks

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Tom

Hey John! Been a viewer for a while now and I reckon this is your best video yet! Keep up the good work :)

Once again John another excellent video, thank you.

great walk and great video, thanks John

Great video John. Takes me back to my art school days. Thank you.

Lovely, as always. St Barnabas House, by the way, is now a private members' club. And quite a nice and principled one (with a secret chapel attached - alas a decaying organ), which is active in helping the homeless.

@Stephen_Pettitt

Жыл бұрын

Oh also Mozart surely did compose in Frith Street. Young though he was. He had already composed his first symphony in London, while he and his dad Leopold were lodging in Ebury Street.

Cheers JohnI am learning about my neighbourhood.. I move in Bloomsbury 23 years ago, my Job was located in Soho NHS Clinic,, back then .. now retired. Nostalgia, I used to sit there in SoHo square back early 2000 4 my lunch break😟😥

Love your videos so much John, London history is almost on every doorstop, amazing, thanks for bringing the past back

My favourite place in central London in the early to mid eighties, and I'm so relieved to see it still recognisable now. Fantastic walk John.

20 years since I visited the area and great to see, despite the timeframe, that Soho has retained so much of it's former glories. With the sun shining, I definitely felt a 'must add Soho to my bucket list' moment. Thanks for another entertaining vid 👌

Thank you for another enjoyable video John, especially as our street was featured. The much welcomed reduction in Soho traffic was due to the resurfacing of Carlisle Street.

Lovely video. Coincidently whilst waiting for it to be uploaded I had been watching your past video 'Sunday stroll through central London- Bloomsbury Soho' followed by the one that documented the campaigns to save Denmark Street and Soho centre.

Another great walk John. I can remember as a teenager walking some of those streets in 1970s. Early morning smells of coffee brewing from the various cafe's and deliveries of blocks of ice the size of a refrigerator standing on the pavement waiting to go in. I guess they didn't have refrigerators in some of those places, hard to believe in 1970s lol.

Another gem John. I find your videos therapeutic and fascinating at the same time. Wonderful stuff.

Love it. Really need to go to London soon

excellent informative presentation

Super once again John, you are so watchable - I appreciate the time and effort you put into these productions. Makes me want to retrace your steps and go and look for this gems myself.

Excellent as usual John. The only obvious omission is arguably the most famous and emblematic of all disappeared Soho venues: the Colony Room.

@JohnRogersWalks

Жыл бұрын

Really gutted I missed it Lou, confused it with the Colony Rooms so it got cut

@JohnRogersWalks

Жыл бұрын

Re-read your comment- confusion was with the Establishment Club

@carbonarapadrino

Жыл бұрын

@@JohnRogersWalks Just reminiscing with my brother, we were in the Colony Rooms, me aged 19, he a mere sixteen, dancing with a young lady of the night and these two very friendly gentlemen sending drinks over to us and smiling. It wasn't until years later it dawns upon us that they were Bacon and Freud, 'the Twins' of the world of fine art...

Soho has so much to offer, looking forward to more of it soon

.John Rogers you are a walking gold mine of historical information ! You Bedazzle me like Peter Cook ,have you ever met him?.

Thank you John what a brilliant walk around one part of Soho . I use to work in an office in Frith Street and have lunch my in Soho Square. I haven't been around that area for couple of years thanks for bringing alot of memories back can't wait for part 2.

Hugely enjoyable, John! Looking forward to Part II. 💥

Magical video - as always John. The ending to your videos apways makes me smile. Wherever that may be. Peace and love to you.

Travelled up from South Wales to visit Ronnie Scott's at 39 Gerard St. in late October 1961 midnight to 3am session but had an extra hour because the clocks went back , Tubby Hayes Quintet with Jimmie Deuchar and the Ronnie Scott Quartet , i remember seeing a photo of Zoot Sims at the top of the stair entrance which Ronnie had just put in to the display case. Learnt later that he was the first American jazz musician at the club . Such great memories of Soho at that time.

Fantastic... thank you so much John.

Great tour of Soho John. Thank you. Your knowledge is staggering. I only recently discovered your videos and look forward to watching more soon. I believe Raymond's Revue Bar was also the venue The Beatles filmed the striptease section of Magical Mystery Tour in.

Thanks John. Incredible how much info you retain. 👍🏼

Amazing how you remember all the buildings and details about the the history....a nice way to spend half an hour or so.keep up the good work...or should that be walking.

a great video - thank you sir! Always visit when I'm in the city, you've given some sense of the place. keep it up and i'll watch out for more

Enjoying this video. I particularly enjoy the history and all the renowned people you mention, some of whom I've never heard of, that I end up taking notes and wiki my afternoon away. Thank you.