100 Club
Encyclopedia
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, United Kingdom. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, as well as its most dense, and currently has approximately 300 shops. The street was formerly part of the London-Oxford road which began at Newgate,...
, W1, originally called The Feldman Swing Club.
The 100 Club attained legendary status in modern British music, having played host to live music since 24 October 1942.
Feldman Swing Club
In 1942, the venue was a restaurantRestaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
called Macks, which was hired out beginning 24 October every Sunday evening by Robert Feldman at £4 per night to host a jazz club featuring swing music. The initial lineup of the "Feldman Swing Club" advertised in Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
included Frank Weir
Frank Weir
Frank Weir was a British orchestra leader and jazz musician. He reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart in 1954 with Vera Lynn and the song "My Son, My Son", and with positive reviews in Variety, Cash Box and Billboard....
, Tommy Pollard, Kenny Baker
Kenny Baker
Kenneth George "Kenny" Baker is a British actor and musician, best known as the man inside R2-D2 in the popular Star Wars film series.- Career :...
and Jimmy Skidmore
Jimmy Skidmore
James Richard 'Jimmy' Skidmore was an English jazz tenor saxophonist born in London and father to tenor and soprano saxophonist Alan Skidmore, perhaps best-known for his work with George Shearing from 1950-1952...
with guest artists the Feldman Trio, composed of Feldman's children, including then 8-year old child prodigy jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
drummer Victor Feldman
Victor Feldman
Victor Stanley Feldman was a British jazz musician, best known as a pianist.-Early history:...
.
The club was popular with working people and American GI's, who introduced jitterbug to the club, banned at most other music venues. Patrons included Glen Miller, who auditioned young Victor Feldman, and the club hosted many top American jazz acts, including Mel Powell
Mel Powell
Mel Powell was a jazz pianist and composer of classical music.Mel Epstein was born to Russian Jewish parents, Milton Epstein and Mildred Mark Epstein, and began playing piano as a child. He performed jazz professionally in New York City as a teenager...
, Ray McKinley
Ray McKinley
Ray McKinley was an American jazz drummer, singer, and bandleader.McKinley got his start working with local bands in the Dallas–Fort Worth area, before joining Smith Ballew in 1929, when he met Glenn Miller. The two formed a friendship which lasted from 1929 until Miller's death in 1944....
, Art Pepper
Art Pepper
Art Pepper , born Arthur Edward Pepper, Jr., was an American alto saxophonist and clarinetist.About Pepper, Scott Yanow of All Music stated, "In the 1950s he was one of the few altoists that was able to develop his own sound despite the dominant influence of Charlie Parker" and: "When Art Pepper...
, and Benny Goodman
Benny Goodman
Benjamin David “Benny” Goodman was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing".In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America...
. Bebop
Bebop
Bebop differed drastically from the straightforward compositions of the swing era, and was instead characterized by fast tempos, asymmetrical phrasing, intricate melodies, and rhythm sections that expanded on their role as tempo-keepers...
as well as swing was feaured. British musicians such as Ronnie Scott
Ronnie Scott
Ronnie Scott was an English jazz tenor saxophonist and jazz club owner.-Life and career:Ronnie Scott was born in Aldgate, east London, into a family of Russian Jewish descent on his father's side, and Portuguese antecedents on his mother's. Scott began playing in small jazz clubs at the age of...
and Johnny Dankworth were featured. It became a mecca for black musicians from the Empire, such as Frank Holder, Coleridge Goode
Coleridge Goode
Coleridge George Emerson Goode is a former British Jamaican-born jazz bassist most noteworthy for his long collaboration with alto saxophonist Joe Harriott. Goode was a key figure in Harriott's innovatory jazz quintet throughout its eight year existence as a regular unit...
and Ray Ellington
Ray Ellington
Ray Ellington was a popular English singer, drummer and bandleader. He is best known for his appearances on The Goon Show from 1951 to 1960...
.
The club was eventually taken over by Humphrey Lyttleton's manager and during that period, Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
appeared at the venue.
Punk rock years
Following involvement in the Trad boom, and the UK beat scene, (Karakorum played there 1971 with drummer Martin Chambers (later with Pretenders)and R'n'B, the club became famous during the punkPunk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
years.
20 and 21 September 1976 saw the 100 Club play host to the first 'International punk festival
100 Club Punk Festival
The 100 Club Punk Special was a two-day event held at the 100 Club—a typically jazz-oriented venue in Oxford Street, London, England—on 20 and 21 September 1976. The gig showcased eight punk rock bands, most of which were unsigned...
', an event which helped to push the then new punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
movement from the underground into the cultural and musical mainstream. Bands which played at this event included the Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
, Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton in 1976, led by singer–songwriter–guitarist Pete Shelley.They are regarded as an important influence on the Manchester music scene, the independent record label movement, punk rock, power pop, pop punk and indie rock. They achieved commercial...
, Stranglers, and The Damned.
Under the promotion of Ron Watts
Ron Watts
Ronnie Watts is an American former professional basketball player.A 6'6" forward from Wake Forest University, Watts played in the NBA for two seasons as a member of the Boston Celtics. He scored 40 points in his NBA career....
, the venue then became a regular venue for original punk bands like Angelic Upstarts
Angelic Upstarts
Angelic Upstarts are an English punk rock/Oi! band formed in South Shields in 1977. The band espoused an anti-fascist and socialist working class philosophy, and have been associated with the skinhead subculture...
, UK Subs
UK Subs
The U.K. Subs are an English punk rock band, among the earliest in the first wave of British punk. Formed in 1976, the mainstay of the band has been vocalist Charlie Harper, originally a singer in Britain's R&B scene. They were also one of the first street punk bands.-Career:The U.K...
and The Adicts
The Adicts
The Adicts are an English punk band from Ipswich, Suffolk, England. One of the more popular punk rock bands in the 1980s, they were often in the indie charts at that time. Their song "Viva La Revolution" was featured in the video game Tony Hawk's Underground. It was also featured in a commercial...
, as well as, from 1981 onwards, hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
bands such as The Varukers
The Varukers
The Varukers are a UK D-beat band formed in 1979 by vocalist Anthony "Rat" Martin, which produced its most influential recordings in the early 1980s. The band are one of the first to play in the musical style of the hardcore punk band Discharge, known as D-beat...
, Discharge
Discharge (band)
Discharge is a British hardcore punk band formed in 1977 by Terry "Tezz" Roberts and Roy "Rainy" Wainwright. They are often considered among one of the very first bands to play hardcore punk, and to mix punk with metal...
, Charged GBH
Charged GBH
Charged GBH are an English Street punk band, formed in 1978 by vocalist Colin Abrahall, guitarist Colin "Jock" Blyth, bassist Sean McCarthy and Drummer Andy " Wilf" Williams. GBH were early pioneers of English street punk, often nicknamed "UK82", along with Discharge, Broken Bones, The Exploited...
, Crass
Crass
Crass are an English punk rock band that was formed in 1977, which promoted anarchism as a political ideology, way of living, and as a resistance movement. Crass popularised the seminal anarcho-punk movement of the punk subculture, and advocated direct action, animal rights, and environmentalism...
, Picture Frame Seduction
Picture Frame Seduction
Picture Frame Seduction is a hardcore punk band from Haverfordwest, Wales. The band's influences included their peers of the day, Charged GBH and Discharge. With many other bands of the time like The Varukers, they helped develop the hardcore punk scene in the United Kingdom in the early to mid...
, English Dogs
English Dogs
English Dogs are a British crossover punk rock/heavy metal band that began life in the early eighties.-History:English Dogs formed in October 1981 in Grantham and produced two demos during 1982 entitled 'Show No Mercy' and 'Free To Kill'. The band toured as support to fellow punk band Charged GBH...
, etc. Several live albums were recorded at the club, including one by the Sex Pistols.
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
played a secret show there on 31 May 1982 as a warm-up for their European tour, and returned again on 23 February 1986 to play a tribute show for their recently deceased pianist Ian Stewart
Ian Stewart (musician)
Ian Andrew Robert Stewart was a Scottish keyboardist, co-founder of The Rolling Stones and inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...
, a concert that was their only performance between 1982 and 1989.
Other nights would see a range of old-school jazz, rhythm-and-blues and soul groups on the famous stage, including a memorable "duel" between tenor sax greats Teddy Edwards
Teddy Edwards
Theodore Marcus "Teddy" Edwards was an American jazz tenor saxophonist based on the West Coast of the US. Some consider him to be one of the most influential jazz saxophonists.-Biography:...
and Dick Morrissey
Dick Morrissey
Richard Edwin "Dick" Morrissey was a British jazz musician and composer. He played the tenor sax, soprano sax and flute.- Background :...
in the 1980s. Other giants of jazz, including Sonny Stitt
Sonny Stitt
Edward "Sonny" Stitt was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. He was also one of the best-documented saxophonists of his generation, recording over 100 albums in his lifetime...
, Lee Konitz
Lee Konitz
Lee Konitz is an American jazz composer and alto saxophonist born in Chicago, Illinois.Generally considered one of the driving forces of Cool Jazz, Konitz has also performed successfully in bebop and avant-garde settings...
and Archie Shepp
Archie Shepp
Archie Shepp is a prominent African-American jazz saxophonist. Shepp is best known for his passionately Afrocentric music of the late 1960s, which focused on highlighting the injustices faced by the African-Americans, as well as for his work with the New York Contemporary Five, Horace Parlan, and...
have also appeared at the club.
Northern Soul
The 100 Club has been the home to the world longest running Northern Soul all-nighters for the last 31 years, the 6t's Rhythm 'n' Soul Club, started by the late Randy Cozens and Ady Croasdell of Kent Records UK. 18 September 2010 saw the 6t's have their 31st anniversary at the home of Northern Soul.Today
The decor remains unchanged since the 1970s, although punk bands no longer appear there regularly. Instead there is a busy programme often booked up many months in advance. Occasionally, big-name touring bands will play "secret" or low-key unadvertised gigs there, relying on word of mouth to fill the 350-capacity space. The "Coda Club", a monthly social gathering of jazz musicians from the Feldman Swing Club era, continues to be held. Limelight, who have changed the venue's musical genre once again, bringing classical music in a rock 'n' roll setting http://www.londonlimelight.co.uk/. They host new or well established classical artists to the intimate venue, once a month, creating an exciting dynamic between the venue's historic past of excellent artists in punk and jazz with that of classical music. Since 1988, the London Swing Dance Society have held 'Stompin' on Monday nights, a swing dancing evening with classes and regular live bands.On 10 June 2007, George Melly
George Melly
Alan George Heywood Melly was an English jazz and blues singer, critic, writer and lecturer. From 1965 to 1973 he was a film and television critic for The Observer and lectured on art history, with an emphasis on surrealism.-Early life and career:He was born in Liverpool and was educated at Stowe...
, whose association with the 100 Club goes back to the days when he performed there with Lyttelton, gave his last ever public performance.
In 2009 Feldman's Swing Club was named by the Brecon Jazz Festival
Brecon Jazz Festival
Brecon Jazz Festival is a music festival held on an annual basis in the rural surroundings of Brecon, in south Powys, Mid Wales. Normally staged in early August, it plays host to a range of jazz musicians who travel from across the world to take part and to many visiting tourists who are attracted...
as one of 12 venues which had made the most important contributions to jazz music in the United Kingdom, for its contributions in the 1942-1954 period.
In September 2010, it was announced that the 100 Club would close at the end of 2010 owing to continuing losses. A campaign was launched to keep the venue open, supported by musicians including Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
, and in February 2011 a partnership with Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
subsidiary Converse was arranged, enabling the 100 Club to remain open.