Magazine: 2 I’s Coffee Bar - The birth place of Rock n Roll

by Andrew Ings

Comment left on amazon.co.uk: “Andrew Ings vividly captures the atmosphere of a Soho alive with Skiffle, Rock 'n' Roll, musicians, gangsters, 'working girls' and fans! If you're interested in the origins of English Skiffle and Rock 'n' Roll you'll love his book; it all started at the 2i's!”

Ok, let’s start at the beginning. Where did British Rock n Roll start?
No, not ‘The Cavern’ in Liverpool, but at the ‘2i’s COFFEE BAR’ in Soho.

It was pure chance… I was walking through Soho one lunchtime in September 2006, when in Old Compton Street I was confronted by the obvious excitement of a small crowd of people, cameras and other media. My first reaction was that they were shooting a scene for yet another soap opera - they haven't done many have they(!) – so I continued in my pursuit of a sandwich and a glass of wine. Well, it was lunchtime…

Later I emerged from lunch to find the crowd had been joined by some very elegant and 'mature' looking Teddy Boys. They really looked terrific in 'Ted's' gear, and my curiosity was aroused, especially as I can remember that era well. Their response to my questions was that a plaque commemorating the 2i's Coffee Bar was about to be unveiled. Ah! The 2i's Coffee Bar - that really began to stir up my memory bank, and with that my plans for the afternoon were suspended. I ended up in the ‘Compton Arms’ talking at great length to several old rockers. Although there were many coffee bars around the area, the 2i's and a bar called ‘The Skiffle Cellar’ were major venues with only a few steps between them. The 2i's was at 59 Old Compton Street, and the other at 49 Greek Street -- both great places, but they attracted very different crowds.

Now called the ‘Boulevard Bar / Restaurant’, in 1958 the 2i's was the fuse for the explosion that was to come in the World of U.K. Rock and Roll. Before Cliff, there was a major happening in music called "Skiffle", and there were various Skiffle bands, with some of them having hits in the charts, like the great Lonnie Donegan, The Vipers, Chas McDevitt and Nancy Whiskey etc. A lot of these guys still featured in coffee bars around Soho, so although the 2i's mainly featured Rock, there were other influences in there. These included Country, Blues, Jazz and Skiffle. It was a melting pot for musicians and their music.
So what was the i's really like? Well.... it was just a coffee bar, with room for about 20 people to stand comfortably. Behind the counter was the espresso machine, and a few bottles of soft drinks. A door at the back led to the kitchen....but not much cooking was ever done there - because it was also Tom Littlewoods office! Besides the sink and gas cooker, there was a large cupboard containing nothing but a desk diary, and on the wall, a four-pennies-in-the-slot telephone. And that was it.
 

The usual clientele of the 2i's, in addition to music fans, were general Soho flotsam and jetsam. Rock and Roll hopefuls were also regularly seen, and other doubtfully employed characters, including someone known as ‘Jerry the Bat’, a diminutive bass player. Also regularly seen was a nameless drummer straight out of Belsen, known as ‘Tom Football Head’, who could sing about three rock numbers, and had a job opening the curtains in a strip club.

From the main coffee bar area you went down some narrow stairs to a dismal, dark and gloomy basement, about the size of a large bedroom, dimly lit by a couple of weak bulbs. At one end were a few milk crates with planks on top of them, which everybody assumed was the stage, and there may have been some sort of microphone system, left over from the Boer War. As for the toilets, the nearest ones you could find were probably Piccadilly Circus Station.

Later on the walls of the 2i's were decorated with a few photos of musicians who'd once played there, but had since moved on and now avoided the place. Coffee bars were to the fifties what wine bars and gastro pubs are today. To start with, alcohol was not so much a part of teenager’s culture as it is today, and anyway, we did not have the money. Coffee bars were the place to “hang out”, to use modern jargon. There were others in Soho, but the leading venue for us where you could listen to Skiffle and early Rock n Roll was undoubtedly the 2i’s. It was an exciting place for a teenager, despite being very small and rather dingy.

In those days there was no air conditioning of any kind in such small establishments. The only access to fresh air was a small fan in the corner of the cellar. Everybody was sweating - and smoking in those days, so really, a very unhealthy situation. But everybody loved the place.

Although I did not discover the 2i's until early 1960, it had opened a few years earlier. My own introduction to Soho and the 2i's came when I was 18 or so. I was working at the ‘Queens Theatre’, which corners Wardour Street/ Shaftesbury Avenue. Anthony Newley was starring in 'Stop the World - I want to get off'. Also in the production were Anna Quayle, the Baker Twins, and Marti Webb. A great show, I remember... Some nights after the evening performance at the Queens finished, some of us used to walk just round the corner to Old Compton Street and go to the 2i's. The actual premises were really quite small, possibly no more than 5 metres wide at ground level, and maybe 9 metres long with another 2 metres at the back. In 1956, many people squeezed into the almost claustrophobic space to watch artists at the birth of their careers. Amongst others were Cliff Richard, Tommy Steele, Adam Faith, and Chas McDevitt.

Originally 3 of them, the Irani brothers who owned the building, used the first letter of their name for the venue. They also had interests in ‘The Tropicana’, later to be known as ‘The Establishment Club’. But it really started to become known from April 1956 when the lease was taken over by Ray Hunter and Paul Lincoln, both Australian wrestlers. Paul had actually arrived in Britain in 1951 with only about £20 in his pocket. Along with Ray Hunter, he started to look for a way to make a good life. Their publicity and marketing skills really put the place on the map. By March 1957, it had become The premier coffee bar, and attracted visitors from all over the country. Paul was actually instrumental in promoting some of the big early pop music shows in the country. He managed artists such as Terry Dene, The Most Brothers, and Lance Fortune.

Although the 2 i's was in some ways dominant, it was not the only bar of 'note' in the mid to late 50's. At that time, another coffee bar opened up, 'The Heaven and Hell', owned by Eric Lindsay and Ray Jackson. 'Heaven' was brightly lit on the ground floor, and 'Hell' was the dark basement. The result was that business dropped through the floor at the 2i's and it was under threat of closure. Then along with the Soho fair, Wally Whyton appeared and went into the 2i's, and that was the turning point.
 

Many years ago, Wally recalled:
"We went inside for a coffee and asked Paul if we could do a bit of busking. I realised he'd only been open about three weeks and was doing no trade whatever. He agreed, and we went down to the basement. We started playing and it seemed that within minutes the place was busy. It seemed to work well, and Paul asked us to make a regular stop over. Within a short time the place was jumping".

Within a matter of months, the 2i's became a haven for budding managers and agents on the look out for new talent.

Later in 1956, a young man called Lionel Bart decided to paint the place – well, inside anyway. Unfortunately as it was later note, he had not mixed the paint properly, and so when someone leaned on the walls, their clothes often got stained with the paint! When Lionel was six years old, a teacher told his parents that he was a musical genius. His parents gave him an old violin, but he did not apply himself and the lessons stopped. At the age of 16 he obtained a scholarship to St Martin's School of Art, but he was expelled for "mischievousness". He never learned to read or write musical notation, but this did not stop him from becoming a highly significant personality in the development of British Rock and Pop music.

The 2i's Coffee Bar, was commemorated on Monday 18th September 2006 with the award, by Westminster City Council, of a green plaque.
The event was organised by Bob Mandry, and the plaque reads:

"Site Of The 2i's Coffee Bar (1956-1970) Birthplace Of British Rock 'n' Roll And The Popular Music Industry - City Of Westminster Robert Mandry".

For the full story, and a signed copy of “Rockin at The 2i’s Coffee Bar”, contact andrew.ings@talk21.com

Andrew Ings book "Rockin at the 2i's Coffee Bar" is available on amazon.co.uk

More Good Rockin next month!

Andrew Ings

Author Biography

Andrew Ings has written many articles for a range of titles for over 30 years. These have included theatrical reviews for a number of newspapers and magazines such as Arts East, Centre Stage, the Jazz Rag the Guardian and The London Evening Standard.

Topics have included:

All aspects of Fire , Health and Safety and Stress Management
Theatrical reviews -- Jazz record reviews –
How to put on an Amateur Theatre Show—
Cooking for Men including some recipes –
Satirical pieces on modern life
Health and exercise -- Cycling -- Country walking --

He has also written a number of sketches for the stage and his first book was published in 2001. Andrew has broadcast on the arts, focusing on the theatre in particular, and was a contributor to a weekly radio programme on the arts for more than three years. He has been an advisor to a number of theatres in London and Mountview Academy of Theatrical Arts. Currently he is involved with Shakespeares Globe Theatre.