City of Westminster

Enjoyed the Secret Food tour equivalent of our SFT Tour in Melbourne… It was great. There are actually five different tours to choose from here in London & we did the one in Soho. We visited places where you got to sample lots of delicious foods including Arancini with black truffles, Beef Rendang (a little too spicy 🌶️ for me!), London Dry Gin, Chinese Bao, cheese croquettes and more. The best part was the guide, Gary’s knowledge of the area…particularly the bohemian past which was very interesting.

In 1963, the Rolling Stones recorded their first single, “Come On,” at Regent Sound Studios on Denmark Street. The band also played early gigs at Soho clubs, including the Marquee Club on Wardour Street, which became a launchpad for many major rock acts. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were immersed in Soho’s gritty energy, which influenced their raw blues-rock sound.

Though Amy Winehouse was famously linked with Camden, she frequented Soho’s jazz clubs like Ronnie Scott’s—a legendary venue that shaped her musical style. She performed there and soaked up the history of Soho’s jazz scene. Her music carried the essence of vintage Soho: smoky, soulful, and a little bit wild.

While mostly associated with Abbey Road and Liverpool, The Beatles also frequented Soho. They played early gigs at the Marquee Club and hung out in Denmark Street. Paul McCartney has spoken about the importance of Tin Pan Alley to the early days of their career, where songwriters and music publishers were buzzing.

Afterwards, we went out to the unique but very loud “Room where it happens” in SoHo. Essentially it is a bar where the waiters and servers burst into song and the piano 🎹 continues to play constantly with showtunes. In the right frame of mine it would’ve been fantastic, but we met one of Marks friends and it was probably more of a distraction than an interaction at that stage!

It had turned freezing 🥶 today so beanies & coats were the order of the day too!Read more