The legendary Speakeasy club – owned by Iraqi-born entrepreneur David Shamoon – was here in the heart of Marylebone. Opened on 15 December 1966, the Speakeasy was frequented by record industry and artist agency executives.
It was immortalised on record by both The Who, in their song Speakeasy (which includes the line “Speakeasy, drink easy, pull easy”) from the album The Who Sell Out (1967), and Elvis Costello, in London’s Brilliant Parade from the album Brutal Youth (1994). The Rolling Stones, The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown, Pink Floyd (who first appeared on 19 September 1967), Love, King Crimson, Frank Zappa‘s Mothers of Invention (October 1967), Yes, Jimi Hendrix (1966), The Beatles, David Bowie, Deep Purple (10 July 1969), and Bob Marley (May 1973, Catch a Fire Tour) all played here. Thin Lizzy made their England debut here.
In January 1977, here at the Speakeasy, The Who’s Pete Townsend got drunk with the Sex Pistols‘ Steve Jones and Paul Cook, thinking they were Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious, and was later found by a police officer passed out in a Soho doorway outside. The song Who Are You? was born the next day. Its place was occupied by a salad and soup bar called Vital in autumn 2018 (it closed down in the meantime).
Address: 48 Margaret St, Marylebone, London W1W 8SE
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