Decca Studios and Klooks Kleek: West Hampstead's Musical Heritage Remembered

Product Information

Jordan often liked to share amusing stories about Klooks. As he tells it, one evening two Decca Records executives entered the club and asked for opinions on two songs recorded by a contract singer of theirs named Tom Woodward. One song was greatly preferred over the other, and when it was released in 1965 under the artist’s new stage name, Tom Jones, “It’s Not Unusual” went to Number 1.

November 1965 – Armco Sports & Social Club, Letchworth, Hermitage Ballroom, Hitchin, Herts with The Various Others (Hertfordshire & Bedfordshire Express) Colin Jamies, bass player with The Various Others, got in touch to say his group was called The Various Others Bass player, Steve York lived in Mill Lane from 1972 to 1977. He has had a long career playing with many well known musicians and recording numerous records. Beginning with various blues bands in the 60s including Graham Bond and Manfred Mann, in 1971 he joined Dada which had three singers Robert Palmer, Elkie Brooks and Jimmy Chambers. Dada became Vinegar Joe in 1971. Steve said: “I left Vinegar Joe after we recorded our first album and lived in the US for about a year. I let Graham Bond stay in my flat in Mill Lane while I was away on tour in 1973. He was homeless after his marriage broke up.” July 1965 – Klooks Kleek, West Hampstead, London (Geoff Williams research: Decca Studios and Klooks Kleek book)June 1964 – Klooks Kleek, West Hampstead, London (Geoff Williams research: Decca Studios and Klooks Kleek book) December 1968 – Malvern Winter Gardens, Malvern, Worcestershire with The Basin Street Jump Band (Malvern Gazette) October 1967 – Redcar Jazz Club, Redcar, North Yorkshire with The Skyliners (Dennis Weller, Chris Scott Wilson and Graham Lowe’s book) March 1968 – City of Coventry Confederation of Colleges, Locarno Ballroom, Coventry, West Midlands with The Spencer Davis Group, St Louis Union and Piccadilly Line (Coventry Evening Telegraph)

Proprietors Williams and Jordan frequently utilized humor in promotional materials to differentiate Klooks from other London-based clubs. They also organized playful field trips and contests, including a 1962 members’ only photo contest. The contest judges were in the music business or employed in other creative crafts, including a photographer who specialized in nudes. The contest’s grand prize was 10 (British) pounds, with the winning photograph published in Melody Maker, a leading British weekly music magazine. January 1966 – Kirklevington Country Club, Kirklevington, North Yorkshire (Middlesbrough Evening Gazette)November 1964 – Klooks Kleek, West Hampstead, London (Geoff Williams research: Decca Studios and Klooks Kleek book) September 1965 – Klooks Kleek, West Hampstead, north London (Geoff Williams research: Decca Studios and Klooks Kleek book)

At my old age, I know little about computers, so when my daughter Carol showed me a photo on the web of my old pub, The Railway, I was surprised it looked so good. Of course West Hampstead has other musical claims to fame. Artists as diverse as Dusty Springfield and Slash were both born here; and that Decca audition might have put the Fab Four off NW6 but it didn’t stop them from recording some of their most influential material just down the road by the world’s most famous zebra crossing. In 1963 the promoters were very aware of a burgeoning scene in both blues and RnB which arrived at Klooks Kleek in the shape of Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames. The band's mix of Louis Jordan, soft soul, funk and even vocal versions of bebop numbers (“Parker’s Blues”) met the interests of a pretty diverse audience. Their first appearance at KK was on a scheduled Jazz night causing a queue of a rare length and mass approval of their music. They opened the Tuesday RnB nights on 10 September 1963 and performed a further twenty-one times, continuing to appear at this small venue even after two No 1 chart singles. Their legendary manager, Rik Gunnell, [3] allowed them to work for “peanuts” every so often because the band so liked the ambience of KK.

By the beginning of 1964, RnB nights had become so successful that an additional Monday session was introduced. Georgie and the Blue Flames opened on 13 April that year to the usual full house, but Monday nights proved not to be viable, and on 1 April 1965 Thursday became the second club night. Zoot Money who was already on the way to becoming a club legend opened. The last Monday session took place on 26 July 1965. Thursdays endured until November 1969. In early May, Dave Greenslade left to join Geno Washington & The Ram Jam Band. Ian Hague departed about the same time to join PP Arnold & The Nice. Carl Palmer took his place on drums. World Cup Ball, Mayfair Ballroom, Newcastle 14.07.66 with Alan Price Set, Junco Partners, Gas Board,The Colts Jean-Jacques Burnel the bass player with The Stranglers lived upstairs in Tower Mansions. He had been with the group since they formed in 1974. Steve Strange had just arrived from Wales where he had previously met JJ Burnel at a Stranglers gig. Steve and Billy Idol squatted in the basement of Tower Mansions. One day the local postman saw Steve and his girlfriend Suzy with their dyed spiky hair and said, “You two are an odd looking couple, you’re Mr and Mrs Strange”. They liked the idea and called themselves Steve and Suzy Strange. After playing in several other bands, Steve formed Visage in 1979. He appeared in the David Bowie video, ‘Ashes to Ashes’ and Visage had a hit with ‘Fade to Grey’ in 1980.