epub or mobi
He
was a lovely guy, used to have a queers' club in the Haymarket, before the law
changed, and that was where I met [names of famous stars deleted] and Shaky
Sheila, who ran three clip-joints. Soho was always dangerous. It was dangerous
in those days, when you had the Italian gangs and the Maltese; it was dangerous
when the Krays were there, and it's still dangerous now with the Chinese.
Soho has always been a dangerous place. There
has always been sex and violence, with people disappearing without a trace. Nothing's changed, only the people who run the show.
Most of the punters who came to Soho got what they came for. Sometimes you'd
get the odd one who was a bit cheeky. Then I'd have to give 'em a backhander
and tell 'em to get on their bike. The girls would come down to the pub if a
geezer was causing problems. You'd get these guys who were quite happy being
silly until they had to pay for it. I'd sort them out. No one asked them to
come. ...
Last time I was in the nick for anything
serious was in 1980. The same time another feller comes in called Hugh
Cornwell. Said he was lead guitarist with a pop group called The Stranglers. He
had been done for drugs offences.
'I'm Hugh Cornwell,' he says.
'Oh,yeah.'
'I'm with The Stranglers.'
'Big deal!' I gave him a bucket and a brush
and told him to clean the floor. No mop. Just a scrubbing brush. And he did not
like it. I tell you: HE DID NOT LIKE IT!
