Raymond Revuebar
Encyclopedia
The Raymond Revuebar was a theater and strip club
at 11 Walker's Court, now The Box Soho
, in the heart of London's Soho
district. For many years, it was the only venue in London that offered full-frontal, on-stage nudity of the sort commonly seen in other cities in Europe and North America. Its huge brightly lit sign declaring it to be the "World Centre of Erotic Entertainment" made the Revuebar a local landmark.
The Revuebar was one of the few legal venues in London to show full frontal nudity; by turning itself into a members only club it was able to evade the strictures of the Lord Chamberlain's Office which then barred models from moving. Even though homosexual acts between men were illegal at that time, the Revuebar also incorporated a Sunday night show aimed at a gay audience. By 1967, the venue was purely hosting striptease. This would, in turn, make way for glitzy, big budget erotic shows of the type presented by Continental clubs such as the Crazy Horse
. Performers were mostly female, with a small number of male dancers. Shows involved a mixture of solo striptease acts mixed with simulated boy/girl and girl/girl sex. These were packaged together as a show known as The Festival of Erotica which ran for many years. There were as many as three performances nightly.
In the early 1980s, the comedy group The Comic Strip
, which included Peter Richardson
, Nigel Planer
, Rik Mayall
, Adrian Edmondson
, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders
and Alexei Sayle
, moved their show from The Comedy Store and began performing at the Raymond Revuebar's second venue, the Boulevard Theatre. In 1989, the Boulevard Theatre was also home to Eddie Izzard
's stand-up venue, Raging Bull.
During the 1990s, audiences dwindled. Competing table dancing clubs such as Spearmint Rhino
and Stringfellow's
offered a more intimate experience for patrons, and with Soho was becoming more of a venue for gay nightlife the Revuebar was looking increasingly dated. The name and control of the theatre (but crucially, not the property itself) was bought by Gérard Simi in 1997. who reconfigured the show as a more conventional striptease revue. Gradually the theatre's fortunes waned, with Simi citing rising rent demands from Raymond as the cause.
The Revuebar closed on 10 June 2004 and became a gay bar and cabaret venue called Too2Much, designed by Anarchitect. In November 2006, it changed its name to Soho Revue Bar, where it was the home of popular club nights including Trannyshack
and hosted frequent special events including the West End
Gala performance of the musical Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens
on 1 December 2008. On the 29th January 2009, the Soho Revue Bar closed.
The venue is set to reopen on the 8th of January 2011, with a new name and new management, and a complete decor/equipment refurbishment/upgrade.
Today Magazine January,1961."A Nice Quite Country Town,That's the Place for a Strip Show".An article by Ernest Dudley.
British Pathe film."Clubs Galore ". Released 22-12-1958. Film no.1563.29. Paul Raymond talks about the Raymond Revuebar.
London Weekend Television programme 1969, "For The Record".Paul Raymond is interviewed by Alan Watson.
The Revuebar appeared briefly in the Beatles movie Magical Mystery Tour
(1967).
Thames Television programme 1975. "Good Afternoon".Paul Raymond is interviewed by Elaine Grand.
In the 1983 film ,"Mona Lisa" the Raymond Revuebar was used as a film location.
Extensive film of the 1970s/80s version of the Festival of Erotica show can be seen in the movie Paul Raymond's Erotica (1981) and the Electric Blue
special VHS video, A Night at the Revuebar (1983).
The theater's 20th Anniversary was covered by the BBC TV news programme Nationwide
in 1978.
The Sunday Times magazine 23 November 1980.An article about Paul Raymond and the Raymond Revuebar.
National Film School documentary film, "And They Called Me Pussy Dynamite".1980 .The film features the Raymond Revuebar dancer,Yvonne Ocampo. Directed by Jenny Wilkes and Jennie Howarth .
A short dance routine was filmed for the Massive Attack:Eleven Promos DVD, "Be Thankful For What You've Got" in 1992. The film features a Raymond Revuebar dancer, Ritzy Sparkle.
The 1996 BBC 2 television documentary series ,"Soho Stories" . Some of the 12 television programmes featured the Raymond Revuebar. The Programmes were screened from 28-10-1996 to 20-11-1996.
The Sunday Times Magazine.17 August 2008."Virtue and Vice".
A 2008 Channel 4 television documentary,"Soho Sex King-The Paul Raymond Story". A sorter version of this film, produced before the death of Paul Raymond was screened in 2005 under the title of "Sex in the 70's-The King of Soho".
A DVD documentary about the club featuring footage from Gerald Simi's revised show was released in 2008. The title of this DVD is,"The Raymond Revuebar- The Art of Striptease". This film was produced in 2002 and screened at some film festivals.
The Soho Clarion Issue no.132. Spring,2008. The Soho Society."My Own Private Revuebar" by Gerard Simi.
The Soho Clarion Issue no.136. Spring,2009. The Soho Society."When the Show Has to End" by Gerard Simi.
Raymond promoted the Revuebar through regular photo articles in his publications Men Only
and Club International
which also featured full-page adverts for the show.
Raymond Revuebar programmes and brochures.
Penthouse magazine Vol 2 No.11. October.1967."Stripping the Light Fantastic". A review of the 1967 show.
A Pictorial History of Striptease by Richard Wortley .Octopus Books Ltd.,London.1976 (And a later edition by the Treasury Press, London] .ISBN 0 907407129)
Members Only-The Life and Times of Paul Raymond by Paul Willetts. Serpent's Tail Ltd., London, August 2010.ISBN 9781846687150.
Strip club
A strip club is an adult entertainment venue in which striptease or other erotic or exotic dance is regularly performed. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or bar style, but can also adopt a theatre or cabaret-style....
at 11 Walker's Court, now The Box Soho
The Box Soho
The Box Soho is a cabaret nightclub located at 11-12 Walker's Court in Soho, London, located in the old building of the notorious former Raymond Revue Bar. Opened on February 9, 2011, it bills itself as a "theatre of varieties" and is a sister club to The Box Manhattan, New York City...
, in the heart of London's Soho
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...
district. For many years, it was the only venue in London that offered full-frontal, on-stage nudity of the sort commonly seen in other cities in Europe and North America. Its huge brightly lit sign declaring it to be the "World Centre of Erotic Entertainment" made the Revuebar a local landmark.
History
The Raymond Revuebar was the creation of property magnate and magazine publisher Paul Raymond. The theatre was formerly the Doric Ballroom. When it opened on the 21st April 1958 it offered traditional burlesque-style entertainment, which included strip tease, and was popular with leading entertainment figures of the day.The Revuebar was one of the few legal venues in London to show full frontal nudity; by turning itself into a members only club it was able to evade the strictures of the Lord Chamberlain's Office which then barred models from moving. Even though homosexual acts between men were illegal at that time, the Revuebar also incorporated a Sunday night show aimed at a gay audience. By 1967, the venue was purely hosting striptease. This would, in turn, make way for glitzy, big budget erotic shows of the type presented by Continental clubs such as the Crazy Horse
Crazy Horse (cabaret)
Le Crazy Horse Saloon or Le Crazy Horse de Paris is a Parisian cabaret known for its stage shows performed by nude female dancers and for the diverse range of magic and variety 'turns' between each nude show...
. Performers were mostly female, with a small number of male dancers. Shows involved a mixture of solo striptease acts mixed with simulated boy/girl and girl/girl sex. These were packaged together as a show known as The Festival of Erotica which ran for many years. There were as many as three performances nightly.
In the early 1980s, the comedy group The Comic Strip
The Comic Strip
The Comic Strip is a group of British comedians, known for their television series The Comic Strip Presents.... The core members are Adrian Edmondson, Dawn French, Rik Mayall, Nigel Planer, Peter Richardson and Jennifer Saunders, with frequent appearances by Keith Allen, Robbie Coltrane and...
, which included Peter Richardson
Peter Richardson
Peter Richardson is an English actor, comedian, director, and writer, best known for The Comic Strip Presents... television series. He is also a long time comedy partner with Nigel Planer.-Early career:...
, Nigel Planer
Nigel Planer
Nigel George Planer is an English actor, comedian, novelist and playwright.Planer is perhaps best known for his role as Neil Pye in the cult BBC comedy The Young Ones. He has appeared in many West End musicals, including Evita, Chicago, We Will Rock You, Wicked and Hairspray...
, Rik Mayall
Rik Mayall
Richard Michael "Rik" Mayall is an English comedian, writer, and actor. He is known for his comedy partnership with Ade Edmondson, his over-the-top, energetic portrayal of characters, and as a pioneer of alternative comedy in the early 1980s...
, Adrian Edmondson
Adrian Edmondson
Adrian Charles "Ade" Edmondson is an English comedian. He is probably best known for his comedic roles in the television series The Young Ones and Bottom , for which he also wrote together with his long-time collaboration partner Rik Mayall.-Early life:Edmondson, the second of four children, was...
, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders
Jennifer Saunders
Jennifer Jane Saunders is an English comedienne, screenwriter, singer and actress. She has won two BAFTAs, an International Emmy Award, a British Comedy Award, a Rose d'Or Light Entertainment Festival Award, two Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards, and a Peoples Choice Award.She first came into...
and Alexei Sayle
Alexei Sayle
Alexei David Sayle is a British stand-up comedian, actor and author. He was a central part of the alternative comedy circuit in the early 1980s. He was voted the 18th greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-ups in 2007...
, moved their show from The Comedy Store and began performing at the Raymond Revuebar's second venue, the Boulevard Theatre. In 1989, the Boulevard Theatre was also home to Eddie Izzard
Eddie Izzard
Edward John "Eddie" Izzard is a British stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy style takes the form of rambling, whimsical monologue and self-referential pantomime...
's stand-up venue, Raging Bull.
During the 1990s, audiences dwindled. Competing table dancing clubs such as Spearmint Rhino
Spearmint Rhino
Spearmint Rhino is a chain of strip clubs that operates venues throughout the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Central Europe, Russia and Australia. The club opened in 1989 as a supplement to the existing Peppermint Elephant Restaurant. This first Spearmint Rhino was located in Upland,...
and Stringfellow's
Peter Stringfellow
Peter James Stringfellow is an English nightclub owner.-Early life:Stringfellow was born on 17 October 1940 to Elsie and James William Stringfellow , a steelworker...
offered a more intimate experience for patrons, and with Soho was becoming more of a venue for gay nightlife the Revuebar was looking increasingly dated. The name and control of the theatre (but crucially, not the property itself) was bought by Gérard Simi in 1997. who reconfigured the show as a more conventional striptease revue. Gradually the theatre's fortunes waned, with Simi citing rising rent demands from Raymond as the cause.
The Revuebar closed on 10 June 2004 and became a gay bar and cabaret venue called Too2Much, designed by Anarchitect. In November 2006, it changed its name to Soho Revue Bar, where it was the home of popular club nights including Trannyshack
Trannyshack
Trannyshack is a monthly drag club taking place at DNA Lounge in San Francisco. It was started by drag queen Heklina in 1996 as an offshoot of Klubstitute, and was a weekly fixture at The Stud bar in San Francisco for 12 years, drawing large crowds on a regular basis...
and hosted frequent special events including the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
Gala performance of the musical Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens
Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens
Elegies For Angels, Punks and Raging Queens is a song cycle with music by Janet Hood and lyrics and additional text by Bill Russell. The work features songs and monologues inspired by the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt and Edgar Lee Masters' Spoon River Anthology...
on 1 December 2008. On the 29th January 2009, the Soho Revue Bar closed.
The venue is set to reopen on the 8th of January 2011, with a new name and new management, and a complete decor/equipment refurbishment/upgrade.
Media appearances
Today Magazine.Vol.2 No.45. 31 December 1960."Raymond King of Strip Clubs" .An article by Ernest Dudley.Today Magazine January,1961."A Nice Quite Country Town,That's the Place for a Strip Show".An article by Ernest Dudley.
British Pathe film."Clubs Galore ". Released 22-12-1958. Film no.1563.29. Paul Raymond talks about the Raymond Revuebar.
London Weekend Television programme 1969, "For The Record".Paul Raymond is interviewed by Alan Watson.
The Revuebar appeared briefly in the Beatles movie Magical Mystery Tour
Magical Mystery Tour (film)
Magical Mystery Tour is an hour-long British television film starring The Beatles that originally aired on BBC1 on 26 December 1967...
(1967).
Thames Television programme 1975. "Good Afternoon".Paul Raymond is interviewed by Elaine Grand.
In the 1983 film ,"Mona Lisa" the Raymond Revuebar was used as a film location.
Extensive film of the 1970s/80s version of the Festival of Erotica show can be seen in the movie Paul Raymond's Erotica (1981) and the Electric Blue
Electric Video
Electric Video was a video porno company based in the United Kingdom during the 1980s and 1990s. It was run by Adam Cole & Vic Marchant and featured models: Debbie Ashby,Cindy Milo,Christina Hance,Tina Reid,Karen Drummond & many more...
special VHS video, A Night at the Revuebar (1983).
The theater's 20th Anniversary was covered by the BBC TV news programme Nationwide
Nationwide (TV series)
Nationwide was a BBC News and Current affairs television programme broadcast on BBC One each weekday following the early evening news. It followed a magazine format, combining political analysis and discussion with consumer affairs, light entertainment and sports reporting...
in 1978.
The Sunday Times magazine 23 November 1980.An article about Paul Raymond and the Raymond Revuebar.
National Film School documentary film, "And They Called Me Pussy Dynamite".1980 .The film features the Raymond Revuebar dancer,Yvonne Ocampo. Directed by Jenny Wilkes and Jennie Howarth .
A short dance routine was filmed for the Massive Attack:Eleven Promos DVD, "Be Thankful For What You've Got" in 1992. The film features a Raymond Revuebar dancer, Ritzy Sparkle.
The 1996 BBC 2 television documentary series ,"Soho Stories" . Some of the 12 television programmes featured the Raymond Revuebar. The Programmes were screened from 28-10-1996 to 20-11-1996.
The Sunday Times Magazine.17 August 2008."Virtue and Vice".
A 2008 Channel 4 television documentary,"Soho Sex King-The Paul Raymond Story". A sorter version of this film, produced before the death of Paul Raymond was screened in 2005 under the title of "Sex in the 70's-The King of Soho".
A DVD documentary about the club featuring footage from Gerald Simi's revised show was released in 2008. The title of this DVD is,"The Raymond Revuebar- The Art of Striptease". This film was produced in 2002 and screened at some film festivals.
The Soho Clarion Issue no.132. Spring,2008. The Soho Society."My Own Private Revuebar" by Gerard Simi.
The Soho Clarion Issue no.136. Spring,2009. The Soho Society."When the Show Has to End" by Gerard Simi.
Raymond promoted the Revuebar through regular photo articles in his publications Men Only
Men Only
Men Only is a British soft-core pornographic magazine published by Paul Raymond since 1971. However, the title goes back to 1935 when it was founded by C. Arthur Pearson Ltd as a pocket magazine . It set out its editorial stall in the first issue:'We don't want women readers. We won't have women...
and Club International
Club International
Club International is a United Kingdom-based magazine that depicts softcore pornographic pictures of women. It is a sister magazine of American magazine Club. Club International was founded in 1972 and is published every four weeks, making thirteen issues per year...
which also featured full-page adverts for the show.
Raymond Revuebar programmes and brochures.
Penthouse magazine Vol 2 No.11. October.1967."Stripping the Light Fantastic". A review of the 1967 show.
A Pictorial History of Striptease by Richard Wortley .Octopus Books Ltd.,London.1976 (And a later edition by the Treasury Press, London] .ISBN 0 907407129)
Members Only-The Life and Times of Paul Raymond by Paul Willetts. Serpent's Tail Ltd., London, August 2010.ISBN 9781846687150.