Editing Soho (section)

==Properties==

===Theatre and film===
[[File:Soho scenes 1.jpg|thumb|left|Colourful shop windows in a typical Soho backstreet in London]]
Soho is near the heart of London's [[Theatreland|theatre area]]. It is home to the [[Soho Theatre]], built in 2000 to present new plays and comedy.{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|p=848}}

The [[Windmill Theatre]] was based on Great Windmill Street, and was named after a windmill at this location that was demolished in the 18th century. It initially opened as the Palais de Luxe in 1910 as a small cinema, but was unable to compete with larger venues and was converted into a theatre by Howard Jones. It re-opened in December 1931, but was still unsuccessful. In 1932, the general manager Vivian Van Damm introduced a non-stop variety show throughout the afternoon and evening. It was famous for its nude ''[[tableaux vivants]]'', in which the models had to remain motionless to avoid the censorship laws then in place. The theatre claimed that, aside from a compulsory closure between 4 and 16 September 1939, it was the only theatre in London which did not close during the Second World War; this led it to use the slogan "We never closed". Several prominent comedians including [[Harry Secombe]], [[Jimmy Edwards]] and [[Tony Hancock]] began their careers at the Windmill. It closed on 31 October 1964 and was again turned into a cinema.{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|pp=1027–1028}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arthurlloyd.co.uk/Archive/Feb2003/Page2.htm|title=The Windmill Theatre, 17 – 19 Great Windmill Street, W.1|publisher=Arthurlloyd.co.uk|date=February 2003|access-date=5 August 2015}}</ref>

[[File:Raymond Revuebar 01.JPG|thumb|Façade of the Raymond Revuebar in 2015]]

The [[Raymond Revuebar]] at No.&nbsp;11 [[Walker's Court]] was a small theatre specialising in striptease and nude dancing. It was owned by [[Paul Raymond (publisher)|Paul Raymond]] and opened in 1958. The facade supported a brightly lit sign declaring it to be the "World Centre of Erotic Entertainment". Raymond subsequently bought the lease of the Windmill and ran it as a "nude entertainment" venue until 1981.{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|p=1028}} The upstairs became known as the Boulevard Theatre and in 1980 was adopted as a comedy club called "[[The Comic Strip]]"<ref name="Over21-1981">{{cite web |last=Johnson |first=David |title=Something Funny is Happening in Stripland |url=https://shapersofthe80s.com/seismic-shifts/1980-a-new-decade-demands-new-comedy/ |work=Over21, January issue, page 36, republished at Shapersofthe80s |location=London |date=1 January 1981 |access-date=7 April 2018}}</ref> by a small group of alternative comedians including [[Rik Mayall]], [[Dawn French]], [[Jennifer Saunders]], [[Alexei Sayle]] and [[Adrian Edmondson]], before they found wider recognition with the series ''The Comic Strip Presents'' on [[Channel 4]].{{sfn|Banham|1995|p=400}} The name and control of the theatre (but not the property itself) were bought by Raymond's business associate Gérard Simi in 1996. The theatre suffered financial difficulties owing to increasing rent, leading to its closure in 2004.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Obituary: Paul Raymond |url=https://www.thestage.co.uk/features/obituaries/2008/paul-raymond/ |journal=The Stage |date=4 March 2008 |access-date=8 November 2017}}</ref> It became a [[gay bar]] and cabaret venue called Too2Much; in 2005, [[Elton John]] staged a joint bachelor party there with his longtime partner [[David Furnish]] in anticipation of their [[civil partnership]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://people.com/celebrity/elton-john-marries-longtime-partner/|title=Elton John marries longtime partner|work=People|date=21 December 2005|access-date=8 November 2017}}</ref> The venue was subsequently renamed to the Soho Revue Bar, but closed in 2009.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/soho-revue-bar-shuts-down/%7Bsubjects%7D/article/877342|title=Soho Revue Bar shuts down|first=Chantelle|last=Thorley|work=Campaign|date=30 January 2009|access-date=8 November 2017}}</ref>

Soho is a centre of the independent film and video industry as well as the television and film [[post-production]] industry. Audio post duo White Lightning (Robbie Weston and Rick Dzendzera) opened two audio post-production facilities in different parts of Soho between 1978 and 1987: Silk Sound at 13 [[Berwick Street]], and The Bridge Facilities at 55-57 [[Great Marlborough Street]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Animation Industry Database Directory |url=https://docshare.tips/aidb-business-directory_58b3b57db6d87f5dac8b4989.html |website=DocShare |access-date=21 January 2025 |date=January 2002}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=4 July 1987 |title=View from a Unique Bridge |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1987/Music-Week-1987-07-04.pdf |magazine=[[Music Week]] |location=World Radio History |publisher= |access-date=21 January 2025}}</ref> Silk Sound was acquired by Bubble TV in 2010, and was rebranded under Bubble's banner in 2018, while The Bridge went defunct altogether in 2009.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bickerton |first1=Jake |title=Bubble TV and Silk Sound expand and rebrand |url=https://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/tech/bubble-tv-and-silk-sound-expand-and-rebrand/5133509.article |website=Broadcast Now |date= 10 October 2018 |access-date=21 January 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=THE BRIDGE FACILITIES COMPANY LIMITED |url=https://www.companysearchesmadesimple.com/company/uk/05282406/the-bridge-facilities-company-limited/#summary |website=Company Search Made Simple |access-date=21 January 2025}}</ref> White Lightning also opened a third studio at 16 Dufours Place, named Space Facilities, in late 1995.<ref>{{cite book |title=Kemps Film, Television, Commercials |date=2004 |publisher=Reed Business Information |location=Google Books |page=176 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4b4UAQAAIAAJ&q=dufours%20place |access-date=21 January 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=November 1995 |title=Space |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Archive-Studio-Sound/90s/Studio-Sound-1995-11.pdf |magazine=Studio Sound |location=World Radio History |publisher= |access-date=21 January 2015}}</ref> However, Space closed in 2008, just a year before The Bridge did.<ref>{{cite web |title=SPACE FACILITIES LIMITED |url=https://www.companysearchesmadesimple.com/company/uk/03028182/space-facilities-limited/#summary |website=Company Search Made Simple |access-date=21 January 2025}}</ref> Twentieth Century House in Soho Square was built in 1937 for [[Twentieth Century Fox]].{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|p=847}} Since 1947, Soho has also been home to [[De Lane Lea Studios]], which is currently owned by [[Warner Bros]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Our History - De Lane Lea |url=https://www.wbsl.com/de-lane-lea/about/history/ |website=WBSL Website |access-date=22 January 2025}}</ref> The [[British Board of Film Classification]], formerly known as the British Board of Film Censors, has been based in Soho Square since 1950.<ref>{{cite book |last=Robertson |first=James |title=The Hidden Cinema: British Film Censorship in Action 1913–1972 |publisher=Routledge |year=2005 |page=165 |isbn=978-1-134-87672-3}}</ref> Soho's key fibre communications network has been managed by [[Sohonet]] since 1995, which connects the [[Soho media and post-production community]] to [[British film studios]] such as [[Pinewood Studios|Pinewood]] and [[Shepperton Studios|Shepperton]], along with other locations worldwide include [[HBO]] and [[Warner Brothers]].<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240162781/Interview-Dave-Scammell-CEO-of-Sohonet|title=Interview: Dave Scammell, CEO of Sohonet|journal=Computer Weekly|date=6 September 2012|access-date=8 November 2017}}</ref> In the 2010s, research commissioned by Westminster City Council showed 23 per cent of the workforce in Soho worked in the creative industries.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/tomharvey/soho-tom-harvey_b_4864455.html|title=About Soho|first=Tom|last=Harvey|journal=Huffington Post|date=29 April 2014|access-date=10 November 2017}}</ref>

===Restaurants and clubs===
[[File:Kettners, Soho, W1 (3085949852).jpg|thumb|Kettner's]]
Many small and easily affordable restaurants and cafes were established in Soho during the 19th century, particularly as a result of Greek and Italian immigration. The restaurants were not looked upon favourably at first, but their reputation changed at the start of the 20th century. In 1924, a guide reported "of late years, the inexpensive restaurants of Soho have enjoyed an extraordinary vogue."{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|p=845}} [[Arthur Ransome]]'s ''[[Bohemia in London]]'' (1907) mentions Old and New Soho, including details about Soho coffee-houses including The Moorish Café and The Algerian.{{sfn|Nicholson|2003|p=215}}{{sfn|Clayton|2003|p=138}}

Kettner's was a restaurant on Romilly Street, established in 1867 by [[Napoleon III]]'s chef Auguste Kettner. It was frequently visited by [[Edward VII|Albert, Prince of Wales]] (where he is alleged to have dined with his mistress, [[Lillie Langtry]]) and [[Oscar Wilde]]. The restaurant survived both World Wars without incident, and was regularly visited by [[Agatha Christie]] and [[Bing Crosby]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2008/nov/28/kettners-restaurants-soho-jay-rayner|title=The killing of Kettner's|first=Jay|last=Rayner|work=The Guardian|date=28 November 2008|access-date=13 November 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/goingout/restaurants/goodbye-kettner-s-soho-icon-closes-its-doors-after-149-years-a3168576.html|title=Goodbye Kettner's: Soho icon closes its doors after 149 years|first=Ben|last=Norum|newspaper=London Evening Standard|date=29 January 2016|access-date=13 November 2017}}</ref>

In the 20th century, several Soho pubs and private members clubs gained notoriety for both their proprietors and clientele. Clive Jennings says of regular clientele such as [[Jeffrey Barnard]] and [[Francis Bacon (artist)|Francis Bacon]] that "the lethal triangle of [[The French House, Soho|The French]], [[The Coach and Horses, Soho|The Coach & Horses]] and [[The Colony Room Club|The Colony]] were the staging points of the [[Dean Street]] shuffle, with occasional forays into other joints such as [[Gargoyle Club|The Gargoyle]] or the Mandrake&nbsp;... [[The Groucho]] or Blacks".<ref>{{cite web |last=Jennings |first=Clive |title=Drink-Up Pay-Up F-Off: Tales from the Colony – London's Lost Bohemia |url=https://www.artlyst.com/news/drink-pay-f-off-tales-colony-londons-lost-bohemia/ |website=artlyst |access-date=29 February 2020}}</ref> [[Christopher Howse]] notes of the coterie of bohemian heavy drinkers that "There was no worry about pensions in Soho. People didn't live that long."<ref>{{cite news |last=Howse |first=Christopher |title=Soho's Golden Age |url=https://www.theoldie.co.uk/blog/sohos-golden-age |work=The Oldie |date=17 October 2019 |access-date=29 February 2020}}</ref>

The Gargoyle Club opened at 69 Dean Street in 1925.<ref>Luke, Michael (1991). ''David Tennant and the Gargoyle Years''. Weidenfeld & Nicolson: London, p2. {{ISBN|0-29781124X}}.</ref> It was founded by the socialite the Hon [[David Tennant (aristocrat)|David Tennant]] as a place where writers, artists and musicians could mingle with the upper crust and eat and drink at affordable prices for the next three decades. In May 1979 the Gargoyle's uppermost room started hosting a weekly club-night on Saturdays called the [[The_Comedy_Store_(London)|Comedy Store]], which made the reputations of many of the UK's upcoming "[[alternative comedy|alternative comedians]]". Among the original lineup here were [[Alexei Sayle]], [[Rik Mayall]] and [[Adrian Edmondson]] who broke away in 1980 to establish [[The Comic Strip]] team at Raymond's Revue Bar,<ref name="Over21-1981"/> before they found wider recognition with the series ''The Comic Strip Presents'' on [[Channel 4]].{{sfn|Banham|1995|p=400}} The Gargoyle's success and Bohemian clientele led to other restaurants being founded around Soho, including the Eiffel Tower and Bellotti's.{{sfn|Nicholson|2003|p=380}}

During the 1970s the building at 69 Dean Street housed another nightspot in its cellars, initially known as Billy's, and run by Soho's only Jamaican club owner, Vince Howard.<ref name=tf/> The [[Blitz Kids (New Romantics)|Blitz Kids]], a group of London clubgoers who spearheaded the [[New Romantic]] movement in the early 1980s, originally met at Billy's.<ref>{{cite book|title=Skinheads 1979–1984|first=Derek|last=Ridgers|page=25|publisher=Omnibus Press|year=2014|isbn=978-1-783-23124-9}}</ref> The club changed its name to Gossip's and became part of London's [[Clubbing (subculture)|clubland]] heritage by spawning several weekly club-nights that influenced British music and fashion during the 1980s.<ref name=tf>{{cite news| url=https://shapersofthe80s.com/clubbing/69-dean-street-and-the-making-of-uk-club-culture/ | work=The Face, February 1983, issue 34, page 26, republished at Shapersofthe80s | first=David | last=Johnson | title= 69 Dean Street: The Making of Club Culture | date=1 February 1983 |access-date=7 April 2018}}</ref>

[[Gerrard Street, London|Gerrard Street]] is the centre of [[Chinatown, London|London's Chinatown]], and along with Lisle Street and Little Newport Street, house a mix of import companies, oriental food shops and restaurants. Street festivals are held throughout the year, particularly on the [[Chinese New Year]].{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|p=324}}<ref>{{cite book|title=Chinatown in Britain: Diffusions and Concentrations of the British New Wave Chinese Immigration|first=Wai-ki|last=Luk|page=108|publisher=Cambria Press|year=2008|isbn=978-1-934-04386-8}}</ref> In March 2022, [[Cadbury]] opened a temporary vegan chocolate shop at 15 Bateman Street.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Keys |first=Lottie |title=Chocolate heaven for vegans, Cadbury's new London pop-up |url=https://www.timeout.com/london/news/dairy-milk-creators-go-dairy-free-in-new-london-pop-up-031722 |access-date=16 April 2022 |website=Time Out London |date=17 March 2022 |language=en-GB}}</ref>

===Radio===
[[Soho Radio]] is an [[internet radio]] station on Great Windmill Street, next to the [[Windmill Theatre]]. Since May 2014 it has been streaming live and pre-recorded programming from its premises, which also function as a retail space and coffee shop.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sohoradiolondon.com/news-soho-radio-2017/ |title=News – Soho Radio 2017 |publisher=Soho Radio |access-date=9 November 2017 |archive-date=25 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170925163854/http://www.sohoradiolondon.com/news-soho-radio-2017/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The station states on its website that it aims "to reflect the culture of Soho through our vibrant and diverse content".<ref>{{cite web |title=About |url=http://www.sohoradiolondon.com/about|website=Soho Radio |publisher=Flatpak Radio |access-date=6 September 2014|year=2014}}</ref> There is no playlist policy, and presenters are allowed to play any music they like. In 2016, it was voted the world's best radio station at [[Mixcloud]]'s Online Radio Awards.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/online-london-station-soho-radio-named-best-in-the-world-a3421831.html|title=Online London station Soho Radio named best in the world|work=London Evening Standard|date=16 December 2016|access-date=9 November 2017}}</ref>

===Religion===
[[File:Church of St. Ann, Soho - geograph.org.uk - 104124.jpg|thumb|left|St Anne's Church]]
Soho is home to numerous religious and spiritual groups. [[St Anne's Church, Soho|St Anne's Church]] on Wardour Street was built between 1677 and 1686, possibly to the design of [[Sir Christopher Wren]] or [[William Talman (architect)|William Talman]]. An additional tower was built in 1717 by Talman and reconstructed in 1803. The church was damaged by a [[V1 flying bomb]] during World War II in 1940, but the tower survived. In 1976, [[John Betjeman]] campaigned to save the building.{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|p=743}} The church was fully restored in the late 1980s and formally re-opened by the [[Princess Royal]] on 12 March 1990.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=kccl&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=BasicSearchForm&docId=IF501808516&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0|title=Court Circular|newspaper=The Times|location=London, England|date=13 March 1990|page=16|access-date=8 January 2018|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The [[Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and St Gregory]] on Warwick Street was built in 1788 and is the only remaining 18th-century Roman Catholic embassy chapel in London and principal church of the [[Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham]].{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|p=170}} [[St Patrick's Church, Soho Square|St Patrick's Church]] in [[Soho Square]] was built in 1792 to accommodate Irish immigrants who had moved to the area.{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|p=805}}

Other religious buildings in Soho include the [[International Society for Krishna Consciousness|Hare Krishna]] Temple off Soho Square, which was part-funded by [[George Harrison]] and opened in 1979.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://londonist.com/london/things-to-do/things-to-do-in-soho-during-the-day|title=Things to do in Soho during the day|work=Londonist|access-date=6 November 2017|date=30 April 2017}}</ref> There exists a small mosque on Berwick Street.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/soho-mosque-bans-women-worshipers-because-it-is-too-full-a3190281.html |title=Soho mosque bans women worshipers because it is 'too full' |newspaper=London Evening Standard |date=26 February 2017 |access-date=6 November 2017}}</ref> The [[French Protestant Church of London]], the only one of its kind in the city and constructed in the Flemish Gothic style, has been at Nos.&nbsp;8–9 Soho Square since 1893.{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|p=308}}

===Music===
The music scene in Soho can be traced back to 1948 and [[Club Eleven]], generally regarded as the first venue where modern jazz, or [[bebop]],  was performed in the UK. It closed in 1950 following a drugs raid.<ref>{{cite book|title=Circular Breathing: The Cultural Politics of Jazz in Britain e-Duke books scholarly collection|first=George|last=McKay|publisher=Duke University Press|year=2005|isbn=978-0-822-38728-2|page=112}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Marek Kohn|title=Dope Girls: The Birth Of The British Drug Underground|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r5wu3JAHsowC&pg=PA177|date=7 March 2013|publisher=Granta Publications|isbn=978-1-84708-886-4|page=177}}</ref> The Harmony Inn was a hang-out for musicians on Archer Street operating during the 1940s and 1950s.<ref>{{cite book|title=In the City: A Celebration of London Music|first=Paul|last=Du Noyer|publisher=Random House|year=2010|page=74|isbn=978-0-753-51574-7}}</ref>

[[File:Keith moon at marquee.JPG|thumb|left|A [[blue plaque]] at the site of the [[Marquee Club]] on Wardour Street, Soho, commemorating [[Keith Moon]]'s performances there with [[The Who]]]]

The [[Ken Colyer]] Band's 51 Club, a venue for [[Trad jazz|traditional jazz]],  opened on Great Newport Street in 1951.{{sfn|Allen|2016|p=75}} Blues guitarist and harmonica player [[Cyril Davies]] and guitarist Bob Watson launched the London Skiffle Centre, London's first [[skiffle]] club, on the first floor of the Roundhouse pub on Wardour Street in 1952. It was renamed the [[London Blues and Barrelhouse Club]] in the late 1950s, and closed in 1964.{{sfn|Allen|2016|p=66}}

In the early 1950s, Soho became the centre of the [[beatnik]] culture in London. The first coffee bar to open was Moka at No.&nbsp;29 Frith Street. It was formally opened in 1953 by the film star [[Gina Lollobrigida]], and the frothed coffee produced from stainless steel machines was pioneering in British culture.{{sfn|Hutton|2012|pp=61–2}} ''Le Macabre'' on Wardour Street, had coffin-shaped tables, fostered beat poetry, jive dance and political debate.{{sfn|Hutton|2012|p=62}} The Goings On, in Archer Street, was a Sunday afternoon club organised by the beat poet [[Pete Brown]], active in the mid-1960s. For the rest of the week, it operated as an illegal [[gambling den]]. [[Pink Floyd]] played at the club at the beginning of their career.<ref>{{cite book|title=Pink Floyd: The Early Years|first=Barry|last=Miles|publisher=Omnibus Press|page=86|year=2011|isbn=978-0-857-12740-2}}</ref>

[[The 2i's Coffee Bar]] was one of the first rock clubs in Europe. It initially opened on No.&nbsp;44 Gerard Street in 1956, but soon moved to its more famous venue of No.&nbsp;59 Old Compton Street.{{sfn|Allen|2016|p=76}} Soho quickly became the centre of the fledgling rock scene in London. Clubs included the [[Flamingo Club (London)|Flamingo Club]], a regular gig for [[Georgie Fame]],{{sfn|Allen|2016|p=45}}{{sfn|Haslam|2015|p=110}} [[Ronan O'Rahilly]]'s [[Scene (club)|The Scene]], which opened in 1963 and catered for the [[Mod (subculture)|Mod movement]] with regular attendees including [[Steve Marriot]] and [[Andrew Loog Oldham]],{{sfn|Haslam|2015|p=109}} and jazz clubs like [[Ronnie Scott's]], which opened in 1959 at 39 Gerrard Street and moved to 47 Frith Street in 1965.{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|p=702}}

[[File:Hanks Guitar Shop, 27 Denmark Street WC2 - 2015-03-10 14.55.33 (by Garry Knight).jpg|thumb|A typical music shop on [[Denmark Street]]]]
Soho's Wardour Street was the home of the [[Marquee Club]], which opened in 1958. In the 1960s, numerous major rock bands played at the venue, including early performances from the [[Rolling Stones]] in July 1962 and [[The Who]] in late 1964,{{sfn|Haslam|2015|p=119}} [[Jimi Hendrix]], [[David Bowie]], [[Led Zeppelin]], [[Pink Floyd]], [[Jethro Tull (band)|Jethro Tull]], [[AC/DC]] and [[Iron Maiden]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/in-pictures-the-history-of-some-of-londons-iconic-music-venues-a3179386.html|title=In pictures: The history of some of London's iconic music venues|first=Laura|last=Proto|work=London Evening Standard|date=14 February 2016|access-date=6 November 2017}}</ref> [[Eric Clapton]] and [[Brian Jones]] both lived for a time in Soho, sharing a flat with future rock publicist, [[Tony Brainsby]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110517101903/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-5046752.html "Tony Brainsby, Obituary"], ''The Independent'' March 2000.</ref>

[[Trident Studios]] was based at 17 [[St Anne's Court]], Soho and was a major London recording studio.<ref name=timeout>{{cite journal|url=https://www.timeout.com/london/blog/11-legendary-recording-studios-in-london-every-muso-should-know-112515|title=11 legendary recording studios in London every muso should know|journal=Time Out|date=24 November 2015 |access-date=8 November 2017}}</ref> It was established by Norman and Barry Sheffield in 1968, who wanted to expand from the small studio they had above their music shop. It became immediately successful after [[The Beatles]] decided to record several tracks on ''[[The Beatles (album)|The White Album]]'' there, as the facilities were better than [[Abbey Road studios]]. [[Queen (band)|Queen]] were originally managed by the Sheffields, and recorded their first four albums at Trident. Other artists who recorded at Trident include [[David Bowie]], [[Elton John]], [[Free (band)|Free]] and [[Thin Lizzy]]. It closed as a general-purpose recording studio in 1981, but has since reopened in various guises, including providing sound and mixing services for television.<ref name=timeout/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cambridgeaudio.com/usa/en/blog/great-british-recording-studios-trident-studios |title=Great British Recording Studios – Trident Studios |publisher=Cambridge Audio |access-date=8 November 2017|date=9 February 2017 }}</ref>

Although technically not part of Soho, the adjacent [[Denmark Street]] is known for its connections with [[British popular music]], and is nicknamed the British [[Tin Pan Alley]] due to its large concentration of shops selling musical instruments.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2015/jan/20/london-music-scene-denmark-street-tin-pan-alley |title=Why London's music scene has been rocked by the death of Denmark Street |newspaper=The Guardian |date=20 January 2015 |access-date=18 May 2017|first1=Marc|last1=Burrows}}</ref> The [[Sex Pistols]] lived beneath No.&nbsp;6 and recorded their first demos there. [[Jimi Hendrix]], [[the Rolling Stones]] and [[David Bowie]] have all recorded at studios on Denmark Street and [[Elton John]] wrote his hit "[[Your Song]]" in the street.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-26912005 |title=London's Tin Pan Alley gets blue plaque |work=BBC News |date=6 April 2014|access-date=29 June 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://music.guardian.co.uk/rock/story/0,,2140401,00.html |title=Making tracks |first=Andrew |last=Smith |work=The Guardian |date=4 August 2007 |access-date=26 June 2014}}</ref> [[Led Zeppelin]]'s first rehearsal in 1968 was in a basement studio on Gerrard Street.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://ultimateclassicrock.com/led-zeppelin-play-together-first-time/ |title=The Day Led Zeppelin Played Together For The First Time |journal=Ultimate Classic Rock |date=12 August 2015 |access-date=8 November 2017}}</ref>

===Sex industry===
[[File:saint annes ct.jpg|thumb|left|[[St Anne's Court]] in the early 1960s]]
The Soho area has been at the heart of London's [[sex industry]] for more than 200 years; between 1778 and 1801, [[Manor House, 21 Soho Square|21 Soho Square]] was location of the White House, a [[brothel]] described by the magistrate Henry Mayhew as "a notorious place of ill-fame".{{sfn|During|2009|pp=110–111}} Shortly before World War I, two rival gangs, one led by Chan Nan (also called "[[Brilliant Chang]]") and the other by Eddie Manning, controlled drugs and prostitution in Soho. Both were eventually arrested and imprisoned; Manning died midway through a three-year sentence in 1933.{{sfn|Kirby|2013|p=47}} Following World War II, gangs set up rings of prostitutes in the area, concentrated around Brewer Street and Rupert Street. Photographers also visited Soho in the hope of being able to [[blackmail]] people caught in the act of visiting prostitutes.{{sfn|Glinert|2012|p=844}}

When the [[Street Offences Act 1959]] drove prostitution off the streets, many clubs such as the Blue Lagoon at [[50 Carnaby Street|No.&nbsp;50 Carnaby Street]] became fronts for it.<ref>{{cite book|title=Dancing in the English Style: Americanisation and National Identity in Britain 1918–50|first=Allison|last=Abra|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=129|year=2017|isbn=978-1-784-99433-4}}</ref> Gangs controlled the clubs and the prostitutes, and the police were bribed.{{sfn|Kirby|2013|p=49}} In 1960 London's first sex cinema, the Compton Cinema Club (a members-only club to get around the law), opened at 56 Old Compton Street. It was owned by [[Michael Klinger (producer)|Michael Klinger]] and [[Tony Tenser]] who later produced two early [[Roman Polanski]] films, including ''[[Repulsion (film)|Repulsion]]'' (1965).<ref>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Sweet |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/the-lost-worlds-of-british-cinema-the-horror-525200.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090608213835/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/the-lost-worlds-of-british-cinema-the-horror-525200.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 June 2009 |title=The lost worlds of British cinema: The horror |newspaper=The Independent |date=29 January 2006}}</ref> As post-war austerity relaxed into the "swinging '60s", [[clip joint]]s also surfaced; these unlicensed establishments sold coloured water as champagne with the promise of sex to follow, thus fleecing tourists looking for a "good time".{{sfn|Hutton|2012|p=90}} [[Harrison Marks]], a "glamour photographer" and girlie magazine publisher, had a photographic gallery on Gerrard Street and published several magazines in the 1950s and '60s. The model [[Pamela Green]] prompted him to take up nude photography, and she remained the creative force in their business.{{sfn|Hutton|2012|p=61}}

[[File:Agent.provocateur.london.arp.jpg|thumb|[[Agent Provocateur (lingerie)|Agent Provocateur]], lingerie retailer at 6 [[Broadwick Street]]]]
By the 1970s, the sex shops had grown from the handful opened by Carl Slack in the early 1960s. From 1976 to 1982, Soho had 54 sex shops, 39 sex cinemas and cinema clubs, 16 strip and peep shows, 11 sex-oriented clubs and 12 licensed massage parlours.<ref name=LowCulture>{{cite book|title=British Low Culture: From Safari Suits to Sexploitation|first=Leon|last=Hunt|year=2013|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781136189364|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yXyMAQAAQBAJ|page=24}}</ref> The proliferation of sex shops dissuaded some people from visiting Soho.{{sfn|Glinert|2012|p=845}} The growth of the sex industry in Soho during this time was partly caused by corruption in the [[Metropolitan Police]]. The [[vice squad]] at the time suffered from police officers enforcing against [[organised crime]] in the area, while simultaneously accepting bribes. This changed following the appointment of [[Robert Mark]] as chief constable, who began to crack down on corruption.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/politics-obituaries/8037604/Sir-Robert-Mark.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/politics-obituaries/8037604/Sir-Robert-Mark.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Sir Robert Mark |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=1 October 2010 |access-date=8 November 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In 1972 local residents started the [[Soho Society]] in order to control the increasing expansion of the sex industry in the area and improve it with a comprehensive redevelopment plan. This led to a series of corruption trials in 1975, following which several senior police officers were imprisoned.{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|p=845}} This caused a small recession in Soho which depressed property values at the time Paul Raymond had started buying freeholds there.<ref>{{cite web|title=Paul Raymond the King of Soho|url=https://strip-magazine.com/articles/paul-raymond/|date=27 December 2013|website=Strip Magazine|access-date=15 June 2016}}</ref>

By the 1980s, purges of the police force along with pressure from the Soho Society and new and tighter licensing controls by the [[City of Westminster]] led to a crackdown on illegal premises. The number of sex industry premises dropped from 185 in 1982 to around 30 in 1991.{{sfn|Weinreb|Hibbert|Keay|Keay|2008|p=846}} By 2000, substantial relaxation of general [[Censorship in the United Kingdom|censorship]], the ready availability of non-commercial sex, and the licensing or closing of unlicensed sex shops had reduced the red-light area to just a small area around Berwick Street.{{sfn|Glinert|2012|p=430}}<ref>{{cite news |url=http://content.met.police.uk/News/Soho-drug-dealers-jailed/1400019263878/1257246745756 |title=Soho drug dealers jailed |work=Metropolitan Police Service |date=19 August 2013 |access-date=6 August 2015 |archive-date=28 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228001156/http://content.met.police.uk/News/Soho-drug-dealers-jailed/1400019263878/1257246745756 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Much of the business has been reported to have been run by Albanian gangs.{{sfn|Glinert|2012|p=430}} By the end of 2014, [[gentrification]] and competition from the internet had reduced the number of flats in Soho used for prostitution (see [[Soho walk-up]]), but the area remains a [[red-light district]] and a centre of the sex industry in London.<ref>{{cite news |title=So long, Soho |url=https://www.economist.com/news/britain/21637452-londons-seediest-district-hints-some-ways-capital-changing-so-long-soho |date=30 December 2014 |newspaper=The Economist}}</ref>

===Health and welfare===
The National Hospital for Diseases of the Heart and Paralysis was established at No.&nbsp;32 Soho Square in 1874. The property had previously been owned by the naturalist and botanist [[Joseph Banks|Sir Joseph Banks]]. It moved to Westmoreland Street in 1914, and then to [[Fulham Road]] in 1991.{{sfn|Girling|2012|p=108}}

In July 2019, Soho was reported to be the unhealthiest place to live in Britain. Researchers from the [[University of Liverpool]] found that the area had the greatest access to takeaways, pubs and off-licences and these were combined with high levels of air pollution and low levels of parks and green spaces.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/jul/01/soho-is-britains-unhealthiest-place-to-live-study-finds|title=Soho is Britain's unhealthiest place to live, study finds|last=Badshah|first=Nadeem|date=1 July 2019|work=The Guardian|access-date=1 July 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>