Surprise - Quest for the Marquee Club

About twice a month, someone asks "Where can I find the legendary Marquee Club?" In case memory fades, or it's just a bit too obscure for the casual fan, this famous London bar was where Tull really got their start as a regular club band in 1968. Tull was hardly the only act: the Rolling Stones, the Who, and Small Faces were also weaned at the famed "dive."

Ask someone in London these days and it will get confusing. The problem is there is a new Marquee Club on Parkfield Street which is not at the initial location. Someone may tell you Oxford Street. Nope. That is the original , 1958 location when the bar opened as a jazz club.

So, suspense aside, where is it? In 1964, it moved to 90 Wardour Street where its R&B reputation grew. That is where the Rolling Stones, the Who, and Jethro Tull played.

Alas, that spot was closed in 1996. The famed location is now Soho Loft Apartments as pictured here on 90 Wardour Street. Rumor has it Eric Clapton owns a lofty (sorry) share of these apartments which is rather ironic given Ian's comments about learning flute because of Clapton's guitar capabilities. Hey, make this your London vacation home to really get into the spirit. They have a furnished flat available at £600 per week.

If you want to create your own little "London Walk" on a Tull pilgrimage, here is a map. Please note the arrow just points to the street, not the exact address. The best directions are to take the Tottenham Court tube stop, go west on Oxford Street (London's premier shopping avenue), take a left on Wardour. It is about three blocks down on the left. If you get to Leicester Square, you have missed it.

By the way, Soho is no longer the rather trashy red light district it was in the 1970's/1980's (the transformation is similar to New York's Times Square sans Tom Brokaw). There are still some exotic sections (more west and south towards Leicester Square). Soho is now a very fashionable, yuppie area, especially Wardour Street so enjoy.

The Soho area is "bursting out" with Tull-related sites. Say hello to Jeffrey in Leicester Square (get your theatre tickets from the real, official half price ticket booth in the actual square, NOT the businesses near the tube stop), ask where the elephants and lions are in Piccadilly Circus, and lurch down Oxford Street (if it's raining), and further on. You get the idea: Ian spent a lot of time there in the early days.

All this walking make you hungry? Stop by Soho Spice just a few steps away for a great £6 set lunch menu which is as cheap as good eats get in London. It is Indian food, which preserves the Tull theme a bit, and the establishment has excellent food and decor, or so says the webmaster who is the apparent customer-in-residence during the summer months.

Now, to find Ian's old apartment near Baker Street...

NEXT EDITION: FINDING SCOTCH CORNER. STAY TUNED.

previous surprises

> January 2004
> October 2003
> July 2003
> April 2003
> March 2003
> January 2003
> June 2002

Tull in a real "School of Rock" in this story from The Guardian