Today's Feature
- webbworks333
- Dec 10, 2023
- 2 min read
December 10th
Sunset Club, Soho, London
Seeking refuge from the oppressive constraints of post-war Britain, they sought solace within the vibrant ambiance of a Soho nightclub. Here, they could revel in the freedom to dance, indulge in a favourite drink, and engage in social interactions, all while escaping the pervasive and repugnant racist prejudice that plagued their daily lives.
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From the early 1950s it was the Sunset Club, a racially mixed club where jazz was played until seven in the morning. American GIs were regular customers, as they were in many London clubs in the 1940s and 50s.Caribbean music became more important in the club and the Russ Henderson Steel Band, the first steel band in Britain, formed late 1952, played their first gig there.
The influential Trinidadian musician Rupert Nurse was a bandleader at the club from 1954. According to Duke Vin (Vincent Forbes), by 1959 the Sunset Club was one of the five main Caribbean music clubs in London, the others being the Contemporanean in Mayfair, club 59, Flamingo and Club 77. The proprietor of the club, Gustavus Alexander Leslie, filed for bankruptcy in December 1959.
Sunset Club was known for being a racially mixed club where music was played until seven in the morning.
American GIs were regular customers, as they were in many London clubs in the 1940s and 50s following the Second World War.
Caribbean music sat at the very heart of the club - and the Russ Henderson Steel Band, the first steel band in Britain formed in 1952, played their first gig there.
Russ Henderson said: "Even if you'd never met a Jamaican or an African, you got together in London.
"And Soho was the place in those days, particularly the Sunset Club in Carnaby Street, where jazz played until seven in the morning.
"That was where the musicians went when the other clubs closed: West Indians and Africans along with the Chris Barbers and the Humphrey Lyttletons.
"Racially, it was totally mixed.
"There was no such thing as a black clientele then.”
According to Duke Vin, the first man to bring sound systems to the UK, by 1959 the Sunset Club was one of the five main Caribbean music clubs in London, along with the Contemporanean in Mayfair and Club 77.
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